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 judgment may be delivered immediately. In this case, the decision is pronounced on the day of the hearing. The Court of Cassation, which interprets the concept of a judgment rendered immediately in a broad manner, considers as such the decision adopted on the same day as the hearing of the parties' representatives , the judgment pronounced at the hearing after the filing, on the same day, of o …

Verdict

The judgment may be delivered immediately. In this case, the decision is pronounced on the day of the hearing. The Court of Cassation, which interprets the concept of a judgment rendered immediately in a broad manner, considers as such the decision adopted on the same day as the hearing of the parties' representatives , the judgment pronounced at the hearing after the filing, on the same day, of objections to jurisdiction by the defendant , at the end of the hearing during which the judge declared themselves incompetent  or on the day of the hearing of the proceedings . Judges who rule immediately, after hearing the parties' representatives on the same day, are not required to record their presence at the pronouncement of their decision . The judgment pronounced in court is rendered by one of the judges who deliberated, even in the absence of the others and the Public Prosecutor's Office, and may be limited to the operative part (Art. 452 CPC).

When pronouncement on the spot is not possible, it is postponed for further deliberation to a date specified by the president, unless the pre-trial judge, in accordance with Article 781 of the Code of Civil Procedure, has set a schedule for the preparation for trial, after consulting the lawyers, which includes the expected number and date of exchanges of submissions, the date of closure, the date of proceedings, and the date of the decision's pronouncement (Art. 450 CPC). The president of the court must expressly inform the parties of the date on which the decision will be rendered, as the fulfillment of this formality cannot be presumed . The president may, under Article 450, paragraph 3, of the Code of Civil Procedure, decide to postpone the pronouncement of the decision to a later date. In this case, he informs the parties by any means. The notice must include the reasons for the extension as well as the new date on which the decision will be rendered (Art. 450, para. 3, CPC) .

Judgments and rulings may be delivered in open court, but also “by making them available to the public at the court registry” . Indeed, the president may inform the parties, at the end of the proceedings, that the judgment will be delivered by making it available at the court registry on the date he specifies (Art. 450, para. 2, CPC). The statement in the ruling that notice was given to the parties that it would be delivered by making it available at the registry meets the requirements set out in Article 450, paragraph 2, of the Code of Civil Procedure and serves as proof until a claim of forgery is filed . The date of delivery to the registry and the date of the judgment may be identical . However, it follows from Article 458 of the Code of Civil Procedure that the requirements provided for in Article 450 of the same code are not sanctioned by invalidity .

Finally, Article 453 specifies that the date of the judgment is the date on which it is delivered in a hearing or made available at the court registry.

The rule of publicity for the pronouncement of the decision is the same as that applicable to proceedings. Decisions are, in principle, pronounced publicly in contentious matters and in the absence of the public in non-contentious matters (Art. 451 CPC) . There are also specific exceptions for certain matters. Article 11-2, para. 2, of Law No 72-626 of 5 July 1972 , amended by Law No 2019-222 of 23 March 2019 , thus provides that, without prejudice to the application of other legislative provisions, and except before the Court of Cassation, judgments are not pronounced publicly:

- in matters relating to the status and capacity of persons determined by decree (2°);

- in matters concerning private life determined by decree (3°);

- in matters involving trade secrets under the conditions provided for in 3° of Article L. 153-1 of the Commercial Code (4°).

The Court of Cassation considers that issuing a decision in chambers in violation of the publicity rules set out in Article 451 does not constitute an abuse of power .

Cass. 2e civ., 10 July 1978, LawLex202200007074JBJ.

Cass. 2e civ., 26 October 1978, LawLex202300009288JBJ.

Cass. 2e civ., 12 June 2008, LawLex202200010672JBJ; Cass. 1re civ., 15 June 2017, LawLex202300009292JBJ.

Cass. 2e civ., 29 May 1991, LawLex202300009010JBJ; Cass. 1re civ., 19 March 1996, LawLex202300009009JBJ.

Law No 72-626 of 5 July 1972 establishing an enforcement judge and relating to the reform of civil procedure, OJ of 9 July 1972.

Law No 2019-222 of 23 March 2019 on the 2018-2022 programming and reform for justice, OJ of 24 March 2019.

Cass. com., 7 February 2012, LawLex202300009012JBJ.

Cass. soc., 11 October 1994, LawLex202300009290JBJ.

Cass. 2e civ., 21 June 2005, LawLex202300009467JBJ.

Cass. 3e civ., 13 June 2001, LawLex202300009289JBJ.

Cass. 2e civ., 27 February 2020, LawLex202300009293JBJ.

Cass. soc., 24 January 2007, LawLex202300009496JB.

Cass. 1re civ., 25 April 2006, LawLex202300009459JBJ.

Cass. 2e civ., 14 December 2005, LawLex202300009464JBJ.

1. Ordinary Law of Civil Procedure

207. Verdict

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

207. Verdict

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