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

Ordinary law jurisdiction at second instance, the Court of Appeal hears, subject to the jurisdiction attributed to other courts, judicial, civil, and criminal decisions rendered at first instance and rules sovereignly on the merits of the cases (Art. L. 311-1 COJ). The judgment rendered at first instance may be appealed in all its provisions when the judge has declared themselves competent and has …

General and specific competencies

Ordinary law jurisdiction at second instance, the Court of Appeal hears, subject to the jurisdiction attributed to other courts, judicial, civil, and criminal decisions rendered at first instance and rules sovereignly on the merits of the cases (Art. L. 311-1 COJ). The judgment rendered at first instance may be appealed in all its provisions when the judge has declared themselves competent and has ruled on the merits of the dispute in the same judgment (Art. 90 CPC). The Court of Appeal hears disputes related to the election of the president of the Commercial Court (Art. L 311-2 COJ) and certain decisions or elections within the professional bodies of lawyers, court bailiffs or judicial commissioners, notaries, and judicial auctioneers or judicial commissioners (Art. L 311-3 to L 311-6 COJ).

Certain Courts of Appeal are assigned specific jurisdictions. Thus, the Paris Court of Appeal has exclusive jurisdiction to hear appeals against decisions of the Competition Authority (Art. D. 311-9, 1°, COJ), individual decisions of the Financial Markets Authority (Art. D. 311-9, 2°, COJ), decisions of the Committee for the Protection of Plant Varieties (Art. D. 311-9, 3°, COJ), and those made by the Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority (Art. D. 311-9, 4°, COJ). It exercises its jurisdiction in the cases and conditions set by the codes and texts relevant to the litigation in question. Furthermore, under Article D. 311-10 of the Code of Judicial Organization, actions brought for compensation of victims of harm resulting from HIV contamination, iatrogenic conditions, and nosocomial infections fall under its jurisdiction. The same applies to disputes concerning the election of members of the National Bar Council and members of its board (Art. D. 311-11, 1°, COJ), appeals against individual decisions made by the National Bar Council (Art. D. 311-11, 2°, COJ), and appeals against decisions made by national commissions regarding the registration, removal, or discipline of judicial administrators, judicial representatives for reorganization and liquidation of companies, and business diagnostic experts (Art. D. 311-11, 3°, COJ).

Furthermore, certain Courts of Appeal, listed in Annex XVI to the Code of Judicial Organization (Art. D. 311-8 COJ), are specifically designated to handle appeals against decisions of the Director of the National Institute of Industrial Property (Art. L. 311-10 COJ). Finally, disputes relating to decisions of the retirement and occupational health insurance funds and the agricultural social mutuality funds concerning, in matters of agricultural and non-agricultural work accidents, the setting of the contribution rate, the granting of rebates, the imposition of additional contributions, and, for accidents, the determination of the contribution provided for in Article L. 437-1 of the Social Security Code are entrusted to the Amiens Court of Appeal (Art. L. 311-16 and D. 311-12 COJ). These rules of allocation characterize an exclusive jurisdiction and not an exclusive subject-matter jurisdiction and not a bar to proceedings, so that the appeal filed before the incompetent court, not having interrupted the appeal period in the absence of an irrevocable decision, the appeal filed before the competent court is admissible .

Cass. 2e civ., 3 July 2025, LawLex202500005633JBJ.

1. Ordinary Law of Civil Procedure

74. General and specific competencies

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Les notions juridiques connexes

74. General and specific competencies

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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