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

Article L. 1411-1 of the Labor Code assigns the labor tribunal a dual role in disputes that may arise from any employment contract between employers, or their representatives, and the employees they employ. Initially, it must attempt to resolve the dispute through conciliation, and if this fails, it proceeds to adjudicate the dispute. The tribunal is also competent to resolve disputes and litigati …

General jurisdiction

Article L. 1411-1 of the Labor Code assigns the labor tribunal a dual role in disputes that may arise from any employment contract between employers, or their representatives, and the employees they employ. Initially, it must attempt to resolve the dispute through conciliation, and if this fails, it proceeds to adjudicate the dispute. The tribunal is also competent to resolve disputes and litigation involving public service personnel when they are employed under private law conditions (Article L. 1411-2 Labor Code), and disputes and litigation arising between employees in the course of work (Article L. 1411-3 Labor Code) . The competence of the labor tribunal thus requires, as derived from the provisions of the Labor Code, the existence of an employment contract , meaning work performed by an employee for an employer in exchange for remuneration, accompanied by a relationship of subordination. According to the Court of Cassation, the existence of an employment relationship depends neither on the will expressed by the parties nor on the designation they have given to their agreement, but on the factual conditions under which the workers' activity is carried out . The competence of the labor tribunal covers both the existence of an employment contract and the determination of the employer's status . The exclusive competence of the labor tribunal to hear disputes arising from an employment contract is also strictly limited to these disputes . Thus, while it is competent to resolve disputes between employers and employees or between employees themselves, arising from the employment contract , or conflicts between employees and their former employer regarding commitments made within the framework of a social plan , it cannot hear claims for compensation for damage a worker attributes to the issuance by other employees of the same company of statements deemed defamatory . Its competence being exclusive, the amount of the claim is irrelevant, and any contrary agreement is deemed unwritten (Article L. 1411-4 Labor Code). Furthermore, the tribunal may be consulted to provide its opinion on questions posed by the administrative authority (Article L. 1411-5 Labor Code).

The jurisdiction of the labor tribunal is, however, not without limits. According to Article L. 1411-4, para. 2, of the Labor Code, it cannot hear disputes assigned to another court by law, particularly by the Social Security Code concerning work accidents and occupational diseases. It is also incompetent, according to consistent case law, to hear collective labor disputes: it can only resolve individual conflicts . In the case of collective dismissal proceedings, the administrative court has sole jurisdiction to hear the collective agreement that determines the content of the employment protection plan as per Article L. 1233-24-4, the administrative intervention in the development of such a plan, and the regularity of the procedure (Art. L. 1235-7-1 Labor Code). Similarly, the jurisdiction of the labor tribunal is excluded in disputes related to the formation, execution, or termination of the maritime employment contract between the employer and the seafarer, under the conditions provided in Articles L. 5542-48 and L. 5621-18 of the Transport Code (Art. R. 211-3-5 COJ)  and disputes related to incarcerated persons .

Finally, the president of the labor tribunal has powers specific to his or her role i.e. in respect of the administration and internal discipline of the court (Art. R. 1423-31 Labor Code), including - since the entry into force on 1 January 2020 of Decree No 2019-1419 of 20 December 2019  - the appointment of an occupational health inspector (médecin inspecteur du travail) other than the one who is territorially competent, in case of unavailability of the competent inspector or if he or she is recused (Art. R. 4624-45-2 Labor Code).

Cass. soc., 3 March 1983, No 81-15.453, LawLex202200007113JBJ, regarding the action brought by employees against other employees of the same company for compensation for the harm caused by the latter's actions during a strike.

Cass. soc., 13 June 2018, No 16-25.873, LawLex202200007678JBJ.

Cass. soc., 17 December 1996, LawLex202300000275JBJ.

Decree 2019-1419 of 20 December 2019 concerning the expedited procedure on the merits before the judicial courts, OJ 22 December 2019.

Cass. soc., 19 December 2000, No 98-40.572, LawLex202300000179JBJ; 28 November 2018, No 17-20.079, LawLex202300000182JBJ.

Cass. soc., 7 December 2005, No 04-46.625, LawLex202300000176JBJ.

Cass. soc., 30 November 1977, LawLex202300000191JBJ, on the jurisdiction of the labor tribunal to hear an action for liability brought by a company operating a hotel against its former employee, accused of disclosing certain facts concerning the private life of clients; 20 April 1989, LawLex202300000189JBJ, on the jurisdiction of the labor tribunal to hear a claim for payment of sums remaining due by an employee to their employer under a loan, which became immediately payable due to the employee's departure from the company, and were included in the receipt for full and final settlement; 6 March 1990, LawLex202300000815JBJ, on the jurisdiction of the labor tribunal in the context of the order of the judicial commissioner setting the number of employees whose dismissal is authorized, with regard to the individual situation of the dismissed employees on the claims made by them against their employer; 3 March 1998, LawLex202300000814JBJ, on the jurisdiction of the labor tribunal to hear disputes relating to dismissals in the context of collective proceedings; 21 June 2005, LawLex202200005546JBJ, on the grant by the employer to an employee of an option giving the right to subscribe to shares, which constitutes an ancillary to the employment contract within the jurisdiction of the labor tribunal; A contrario, Cass. soc., 16 September 2008, LawLex202200005547JBJ, which specifies that if the grant by the employer to an employee of an option giving the right to subscribe to shares constitutes an ancillary to the employment contract within the jurisdiction of the labor tribunal, disputes that may subsequently arise in the relations between the company and the employee who has become a shareholder, independently of the conditions of acquisition of their shares, fall within the jurisdiction of the commercial court; Cass. com., 6 May 2003, LawLex200300002254JBJ, and 26 October 2010, LawLex201000001276JBJ, regarding the jurisdiction of the labor tribunal on the violation of a non-compete clause; Cass. soc., 2 June 2004, LawLex202300004405JBJ, regarding a dispute between an employer and a former employee concerning the copyright claimed by the latter due to the functions performed within the framework of their salaried activity; 21 May 2008, LawLex202300000193JBJ, on the dispute relating to the intellectual property rights of a photographer arising from the employment contract; Cass. com., 15 November 2011, LawLex201100001826JBJ, which considers that the dispute between the employer and a former employee regarding the non-performance of an obligation contained in the settlement agreement settling the consequences of the termination of the employment contract falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the labor tribunal; Cass. soc., 3 July 2012, LawLex202300000192JBJ; Europe No 11, November 2012, chron. 3, AZOULAI, on a dispute relating to the application of the provisions of Article L. 3251-3 of the Labor Code, concerning the reimbursement of advances made by the employer through successive deductions; 3 May 2018, LawLex202300000277JBJ, regarding the action for compensation for damage resulting from the termination of the employment contract and asserting the lack of real and serious cause for the dismissal due to the employer's breach of their safety obligation; Cass. soc., 3 May 2018, LawLex201800000663JBJ, according to which the claim of an employee concerning the benefit of additional remuneration for an invention, which does not involve the examination of either the existence or the infringement of a right attached to a patent, nor of a proprietary right, falls within the jurisdiction of the labor tribunal; 23 October 2019, LawLex202300000202JBJ, on the action for liability based on the allegation of wrongful reporting of offenses committed during the performance of employment contracts arising from the employment contract.

Cass. soc., 24 January 1990, LawLex202300000817JBJ, D. 1990. IR 41, regarding the jurisdiction of the labor tribunal, responsible for disputes arising from the execution of the employment contract, to interpret and apply the texts relating to the guarantee of claims arising from this contract; 19 January 1999, LawLex202300000816JBJ, which specifies that any action based on the violation, invoked by an employee or former employee, of an obligation incumbent on the employer, must be brought before the labor tribunal; 11 September 2012, LawLex202300000820JBJ, for a dispute concerning the payment of compensation to an employee for the harm caused by alleged unequal treatment in the granting of company shares to some of its employees.

Cass. soc., 23 February 1994, LawLex202300000190JBJ.

Cass. soc., 15 June 1995, LawLex202200011401JBJ.

Cass. soc., 10 March 1965, LawLex202300000274JBJ, according to which the labor tribunal has jurisdiction to rule on claims for damages brought individually on behalf of employees against their employer, even when applying a collective agreement that requires interpretation.

Cass. soc., 28 March 2018, which specifies, however, that the labor tribunal has sole jurisdiction to hear disputes between shipowners and seafarers concerning the conclusion, performance, or termination of the maritime employment contract on a foreign vessel.

1. Ordinary Law of Civil Procedure

80. General jurisdiction

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

80. General jurisdiction

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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