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

The subject matter of the dispute may determine territorial jurisdiction. Unlike the jurisdiction options in Article 46, jurisdiction in this case is, by way of exception to the principle of jurisdiction of the court of the defendant's domicile, reserved to the court designated by the law.
1) Real estate matters
Thus, Article 44 of the Code of Civil Procedure grants exclusive jurisdiction to hear  …

The subject matter of the dispute may determine territorial jurisdiction. Unlike the jurisdiction options in Article 46, jurisdiction in this case is, by way of exception to the principle of jurisdiction of the court of the defendant's domicile, reserved to the court designated by the law.

Thus, Article 44 of the Code of Civil Procedure grants exclusive jurisdiction to hear disputes in real estate matters to the court of the location where the property is situated. A real action is constituted by one brought by the co-owners of a building seeking the demolition of equipment encroaching on a private part  or the application seeking the annulment of a judgment of adjudication .

Claims between heirs, claims made by the deceased's creditors, and claims relating to the execution of testamentary dispositions must be brought before the court in the jurisdiction where the succession is opened, up to and including the partition. In particular, the court in the jurisdiction where the succession is opened has jurisdiction to rule on the request for discharge of their inheritance obligation by heirs in the context of an action by a creditor of the deceased .

In patrimonial matters, several codes establish rules of exceptional territorial jurisdiction outside the Code of Civil Procedure. Disputes related to residential leases fall under the jurisdiction of the judge for the protection of the place where the property is located (Articles L. 213-4-3, L. 213-4-4, and R. 213-9-7 COJ). In the case of commercial leases, disputes concerning the determination of the rent for revised or renewed leases are brought, regardless of the rent amount, before the president of the Judicial Court or the judge who replaces them, and other claims are brought before the Judicial Court of the location of the property (Article R. 145-23 Commercial Code). The Judicial Court of Paris has exclusive jurisdiction over actions concerning patents, utility certificates, supplementary protection certificates, and semiconductor product topographies (Article D. 211-6 COJ).

In matters of life annuities, Article R. 211-12, para. 1, of the Code of Judicial Organization grants jurisdiction to hear disputes related to the application of Law No 49-420 of 25 March 1949 revising certain life annuities constituted between individuals to the court in whose jurisdiction the property is located when it concerns real estate or a business, and to the court in whose jurisdiction the annuitant's domicile is located when it concerns movable property. Disputes related to the application of Law No 49-1098 of 2 August 1949 revising certain life annuities constituted by insurance companies, by the national old-age pension fund (Caisse nationale des retraites pour la vieillesse), or by individuals in exchange for the alienation of capital in cash, except for Title II of this law, and Law No 51-695 of 24 May 1951 increasing certain life annuities and pensions are, according to para. 2, brought before the court in whose jurisdiction the annuitant's domicile is located.

In matters of insolvency proceedings, the competent court is the one within whose jurisdiction the debtor, if a legal entity, has its registered office, or the debtor, if an individual, has declared the address of their business or activity. If there is no registered office in French territory, the competent court is the one within whose jurisdiction the debtor has the main center of their interests in France (Art. R. 600-1 Commercial Code).

Measures for handling situations of personal over-indebtedness and the procedure for personal recovery, except for the case provided in IV of Article L. 681-2 of the Commercial Code, fall under the jurisdiction of the judge of the protection litigation at the debtor's place of residence, including for the application of Articles R. 721-5 and R. 722-9, except in the case provided in Article L. 711-2 where the competent judge is then the one in the jurisdiction where the seized commission is located (Art. R. 713-1 Consumer Code).

In non-pecuniary matters, the provisions relating to exceptional territorial jurisdiction also fall under different codes. The jurisdiction to hear cases regarding the rectification and annulment of civil status records depends, according to Article 1048, para. 1, of the Code of Civil Procedure, on the jurisdiction of the Judicial Court or its president where the person whose civil status is in question resides, or if they reside outside France, the Judicial Court of Paris or its president. The court of the place where the act was drawn up or transcribed may also be seized. However, only the court of the place where the central civil status service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is established is competent for acts held by this service, and the Judicial Court of Paris or its president for certificates serving as civil status acts for a refugee, a stateless person, or a beneficiary of subsidiary protection. Similarly, certain Judicial Courts have special jurisdiction to hear disputes regarding the nationality of individuals in the cases and conditions provided by the Civil Code (Art. D. 211-10 COJ). Furthermore, to contest before the family affairs judge the first name(s) chosen by the parents, the territorially competent Public Prosecutor, pursuant to the third paragraph of Article 57 of the Civil Code, is the one in whose jurisdiction the child's birth certificate is held (Art. 1055-1, para. 1, CPC), and when the birth certificate was drawn up or transcribed by diplomatic or consular authorities, it is the one where the central civil status service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is established (Art. 1055-1, para. 2, CPC). When the Public Prosecutor opposes the change of first name pursuant to the provisions of the last paragraph of Article 60 of the Civil Code, the application is brought against him before the family affairs judge of the Judicial Court where the Public Prosecutor exercises his functions (Art. 1055-2 CPC). Certain exceptions may also be noted in matters of adoption (Art. 1166 CPC), educational assistance measures (Art. 1181 CPC), parental authority (Art. 1202 CPC), guardianship (Art. 1211 CPC), divorce or legal separation (Art. 1070 CPC), or presumption of absence (Art. 1062 CPC). The list is not exhaustive.

Cass. 3e civ., 20 November 2002, LawLex202300000812JBJ.

Cass. 2e civ., 19 November 2008, LawLex202200006273JBJ.

Cass. 1re civ., 4 July 2018, LawLex202200006468JBJ.

1. Ordinary Law of Civil Procedure

94. Exceptional territorial jurisdiction

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94. Exceptional territorial jurisdiction

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Les notions juridiques connexes

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