Introduction

Role of the parties

Role of judge

Contentious matters

Concept

Powers of the judge

Principle of adversarial proceedings

Non-contentious matters

Underlying principles of civil proceedings

Right to bring civil action

Abuse of the right to bring proceedings

Type of action

Concept of action

Interest in bringing proceedings

Standing

Rules governing action

Legal action

Initial claim

Counterclaim

Additional claim

Intervention

Incidental claim

Interruption of limitation period

Application to file suit (demande en justice)

Defense on the merits

Procedural objections (exceptions de procédure)

Procedural bars to admissibility (fins de non-recevoir)

Defenses

Nature of claim

Amount of the claim

Jurisdiction ratione materiae

Principles

Exceptional territorial jurisdiction

Extension of jurisdiction

Territorial jurisdiction

Competent court

Formal requirements

Substantive requirements

Presentation of the QPC (Question prioritaire de constitutionnalité)

Referral to Court of Cassation

Referral to Constitutional Council

Referral of the QPC

Investigation procedure

Conduct of hearing

Decision of the Constitutional Council

Proceedings before Constitutional Council

Priority question of constitutionality (QPC)

Simplified case preparation procedure

Participative procedure for case preparation purposes

Extra-judicial case preparation

Recourse to technical expert

Agreements on extra-judicial case preparation (mise en état)

Disclosure of exhibits

Production of documents

Exhibits

Common provisions for investigations

Rules specific to each investigation

Investigative measures

Disputes concerning private deeds (actes sous seing privé)

Forgery procedure against authentic instruments

Challenges to documentary evidence

Oath sworn as decisive evidence

Oath tendered by way of supplementation

Judicial oath

Administration of evidence

Hearings

Deliberations

Judgment

Formation

Judgment after adversarial proceedings

Judgment by default or judgment after trial

Contentious or non-contentious judgment

Judgment on the merits or provisional ruling (avant dire droit)

Combined judgment

Provisional judgment

Judgment in fast track proceedings

Types

Joinder and severance of proceedings

Interruption of proceedings

Suspension of proceedings

Discontinuance of proceedings (extinction)

Procedural incidents

Plea of lack of jurisdiction

Recusal/Dismissal for legitimate suspicion

Challenging the judge's competence

General rules

Voluntary intervention

Compulsory intervention

Joinder in proceedings (intervention)

Existence of a judgment

Same subject matter, cause, and parties

Authority of res judicata

General conditions of enforcement

Provisional enforcement

Grace period

Enforcement of the judgment

Bearing of costs

Order to pay non-recoverable costs

Verification/Recovery

Claims/Disputes

Costs and expenses

Ordinary remedies

Extraordinary remedies

Remedies

Judgments

Calculation of time-limits

Acts of judicial commissioners

Service of documents

Ordinary notification

Notification between lawyers

International notification

Place of notification

Notification

Communication by electronic means

Procedural acts

1. Ordinary Law of Civil Procedure

Pursuant to Article 12, para. 1, of the Code of Civil Procedure, “the court shall rule on the dispute in accordance with the rules of law applicable to it,” with para. 2 specifying that “it must give or restore their exact classification to the facts and acts in dispute without being bound by the designation proposed by the parties.” The concept of applicable rule of law is understood broadly and  …

Principle

Pursuant to Article 12, para. 1, of the Code of Civil Procedure, “the court shall rule on the dispute in accordance with the rules of law applicable to it,” with para. 2 specifying that “it must give or restore their exact classification to the facts and acts in dispute without being bound by the designation proposed by the parties.” The concept of applicable rule of law is understood broadly and includes all rules of law, whether legislative, customary, case law, or derived from general principles, as long as they have an imperative character. The Court of Cassation considers, indeed, that the rule must not be devoid of any normative value .

The principle requiring the court to decide according to the applicable rule of law applies whether or not the parties invoke a legal basis for their claims. According to the Court of Cassation, it is the court's responsibility, bound to resolve the dispute according to the applicable legal rules, to examine the facts from all legal perspectives in accordance with the legal provisions governing the matter, even if their application has not been expressly requested . Indeed, the parties are not obliged to base their claims in law, and the court must decide the dispute according to the applicable rule of law, regardless of the legal basis invoked . However, in most cases, the litigant supports their claims with legal rules, especially since Article 56, 2°, of the Code of Civil Procedure states that the writ of summons must contain, on pain of invalidity, “a statement of the grounds in fact and in law.” The trial courts cannot rule without specifying the legal basis of the claim  or risks preventing the Court of Cassation from exercising its power of review .

Cass. 2e civ., 11 June 2009, LawLex202200007262JBJ.

Cass. 3e civ., 22 April 1976, LawLex202200000727JBJ; Cass. 1e civ., 19 June 1984, No 83-12.396, LawLex202200007233JBJ.

Cass. 1re civ., 16 April 1991, LawLex200500004332JBJ.

Cass. com., 26 October 1993, LawLex202200005559JBJ.

Cass. 3e civ., 6 February 1991, LawLex202200005520JBJ.

1. Ordinary Law of Civil Procedure

19. Principle

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19. Principle

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