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 party claiming that a legislative provision infringes upon the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution submits their priority preliminary ruling on the issue of constitutionality (QPC) in a plea that must be presented in a separate and reasoned document (Art. 126-2, para. 1, CPC). The court is required to ex officio declare inadmissible any plea not presented in this form (Art. 126- …

Individual and reasoned document

The party claiming that a legislative provision infringes upon the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution submits their priority preliminary ruling on the issue of constitutionality (QPC) in a plea that must be presented in a separate and reasoned document (Art. 126-2, para. 1, CPC). The court is required to ex officio declare inadmissible any plea not presented in this form (Art. 126-2, para. 2, CPC). The court may also reformulate the question to make it clearer or to restore its exact classification, but it is not within its purview to alter the subject or scope . Other observations by the parties on the priority preliminary ruling on the issue of constitutionality must also, if presented in writing, be contained in an individual and reasoned document. Failure to comply with this formal requirement prevents them from being attached to the decision transmitting the question to the Court of Cassation (Art. 126-2, para. 3, CPC).

Cass. 2e civ., 3 May 2018, LawLex202300000915JBJ.

The QPC must be linked to ongoing proceedings before the court. Such a requirement excludes the procedure for admission to legal aid . The question can be submitted at any stage of the proceedings (Art. 23-5, para. 2, Ord. 58-1067 of 7 November 1958), even for the first time on appeal (Art. 23-1, para. 1, Ord. 58-1067) or before the Court of Cassation (Art. 23-5 Ord. 58-1067) . When the proceedings are no longer ongoing due to a withdrawal from proceedings  or they are discontinued , the question is devoid of purpose and cannot be transmitted to the Constitutional Council. However, once the Constitutional Council is seized of the priority preliminary ruling on the issue of constitutionality, the termination, for any reason, of the proceedings during which the question was raised has no impact on the examination of the question (Art. 23-9 Ord. 58-1067 of 7 November 1958).

The application to which the question is attached must also be admissible. Thus, in the absence of an admissible appeal, the priority preliminary rulings on the issue of constitutionality, presented by a separate and reasoned memorandum on the occasion of this appeal to the Court of Cassation, are not admissible .

Cons. constit., 21 November 2014, LawLex202300001140JBJ.

Article 126-10, para. 1, specifies that when the priority preliminary ruling on the issue of constitutionality is raised during an appeal, the separate brief provided for in Article 23-5 of Ordinance No 58-1067 of 7 November 1958 bears the mention: “priority preliminary ruling on the issue of constitutionality.”

Cass. 3e civ., 30 June 2011, LawLex202300001098JBJ; Cass. 1re civ., 9 November 2011, LawLex202300001536JBJ.

Cons. constit., 14 December 2015, No 2015-491 QPC, LawLex202300001133JBJ.

Cass. com., 26 June 2012, LawLex202300001099JBJ.

Ongoing proceedings/Admissible application

Under Article 61-1 of the Constitution, the right to argue that a legislative provision infringes upon the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution is reserved exclusively for the parties to the proceedings. In other words, it is a ground that cannot be raised ex officio by the court (Art. 23-1, para. 1, and 23-5 Ord. 58-1067). According to the Constitutional Council, the prohibition on courts from raising a priority preliminary ruling on the issue of constitutionality ex officio does not violate the Constitution . A QPC raised ex officio by the court is therefore inadmissible, even if one of the parties subsequently adopts it . However, the Constitutional Council has amended its rules on the procedure for priority preliminary rulings on the issue of constitutionality to allow interested third parties to submit observations. Thus, a third party to the proceedings who demonstrates a special interest may submit observations in intervention regarding a priority preliminary ruling on the issue of constitutionality within three weeks following the date of its transmission to the Constitutional Council . Finally, before a court under the Court of Cassation, when the Public Prosecutor's Office is not a party to the proceedings, the case is communicated to it as soon as the ground is raised so that it can provide its opinion (Art. 23-1, para. 2, Ord. 58-1067).

Cons. constit., 3 December 2009, LawLex202300001125JBJ.

Cass. 2e civ., 8 June 2011, LawLex202300000937JBJ.

Cons. constit., 21 June 2011, LawLex202300001139JBJ.

Parties to the proceedings

1. Ordinary Law of Civil Procedure

100. Individual and reasoned document

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

100. Individual and reasoned document

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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