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

For a legal action to be declared admissible, the interest in bringing proceedings of the litigant cannot be hypothetical or potential . The interest must, in fact, be vested and present, meaning it must exist at the time of the legal action . However, the Court of Cassation considers that the fact that the offense causing the indirect moral damage to approved associations, which the specific provisions of Article L. 142-2 of the Environmental Code allow to be remedied, has ceased by the date of the summons, remains without consequence on their interest in bringing proceedings to obtain full compensation for the damage suffered . The requirement of a vested and present interest prohibits the exercise of preventive actions, that is, in consideration of a future and potential interest, distinguishing within these actions, the provocative actions which aim to force a person claiming to hold a right to assert it immediately and failing that, to lose it , the interrogatory actions, which aim to oblige a person benefiting from an option to exercise it without delay, and the declaratory actions, which allow establishing the existence or non-existence of a legal situation . However, case law has admitted the admissibility of declaratory actions when, in view of the utility they present for the litigant, the latter can then claim a vested and present interest . The legislator has also established a number of preventive actions, such as the declaratory action in matters of nationality (Art. 29-3 Civil Code) or the interrogatory action of Article 300 of the Code of Civil Procedure which provides that “if a private deed is alleged to be false as a principal matter, the summons indicates the grounds of forgery and summons the defendant to declare whether or not they intend to use the allegedly false or falsified document” or the action of Article L. 615-9, para. 1, of the Intellectual Property Code according to which “any person who justifies an industrial exploitation on the territory of a Member State of the European Economic Community or effective and serious preparations for this purpose may invite the holder of a patent to take a position on the enforceability of their title with regard to this exploitation whose description is communicated to them,” or the action of Article 1844-12, para. 1, of the Civil Code which provides “in the event of nullity of a company or acts or deliberations subsequent to its formation, based on a defect in consent or the incapacity of a partner, and when regularization can occur, any person with an interest may give notice to the one who is likely to carry it out, either to regularize or to act for nullity within a period of six months under penalty of forfeiture (…)”. Finally, Ordinance No 2016-131 of 10 February 2016  established interrogative measures or actions (actions interrogatoires) in matters concerning pre-emption agreements (Art. 1123 Civil Code), representation (Art. 1158 Civil Code), and confirmation of invalidity (nullité) (Art. 1183 Civil Code).

Cass. soc., 19 June 1985, LawLex202200009340JBJ; CA Papeete, 28 December 2006,  LawLex202200009160JBJ.

Cass. 3e civ., 8 December 1999, LawLex202200005982JBJ, this is not the case for landlords who act to have a notice of repossession declared valid before its expiration date; 4 December 2007, LawLex202200009210JBJ, the claimant who loses the status of co-owner by selling their lot no longer has standing and interest to enforce the subdivision regulations; Cass. 1re civ., 3 March 2010, LawLex202200006058JBJ, the spouse who no longer resides in the disputed property during the divorce proceedings does not have an interest in seeking the nullity of the mortgage assignment deed; Cass. 3e civ., 18 October 2018, LawLex202200009213JBJ; Cass. civ. 1re, 26 June 2019, LawLex202200009209JBJ, the applicant for exequatur who is a party to the proceedings for whose benefit the foreign decision was rendered has an interest in bringing proceedings.

Cass. 3e civ., 8 June 2011, LawLex202200009212JBJ.

Cass. 3e civ., 13 December 2006, LawLex202200009208JBJ.

Cass. soc., 19 June 1985, LawLex202200009340JBJ, a union cannot, outside of any dispute, request a general ruling that the conditions for applying a text are met for the benefit of all journalists in a press group; Cass. 3e civ., 8 February 2006, LawLex202200005983JBJ; D. 2006. IR 527, landlords cannot have the notice declared valid before the effective date.

Cass. 1e civ., 10 February 1971, LawLex202200009220JBJ; CA Douai, 28 January 2009, No 07/04397, LawLex202300000893JBJ; Cass. civ. 1e, 9 June 2011, LawLex202200006061JBJ; 7 December 2011,  LawLex202200006059JBJ; CA Versailles, 17 November 2022, LawLex202300000896JBJ.

Ord. 2016-131 of 10 February 2016 on the reform of contract law, the general regime, and proof of obligations, OJ of 11 February 2016.

Vested and present interest

50. Vested and present interest