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 investigative measure is enforced, at the initiative of the court or one of the parties according to the rules specific to each matter, based on an extract or a certified copy of the judgment (Art. 154 CPC). It is executed under the control of the court that ordered it when it does not proceed itself . When the measure is ordered by a full bench, the control is exercised by the judge who was i …

Principle

The investigative measure is enforced, at the initiative of the court or one of the parties according to the rules specific to each matter, based on an extract or a certified copy of the judgment (Art. 154 CPC). It is executed under the control of the court that ordered it when it does not proceed itself . When the measure is ordered by a full bench, the control is exercised by the judge who was in charge of the investigation. Failing that, it is exercised by the president of the full bench if it has not been entrusted to a member of it. The control of the execution of this measure can also be ensured by the judge designated under the conditions of Article 155-1 (Art. 155 CPC) .

The court may travel outside its jurisdiction to conduct an investigative measure or to oversee its execution (Art. 156 CPC). When the distance of the parties or persons who must contribute to the measure, or the distance of the locations, makes the travel too difficult or too costly, the court may assign another court of equal or lower degree to carry out all or part of the ordered operations (Art. 157, para. 1). The decision must be transmitted with all useful documents by the registry of the commissioning court to the commissioned court. Upon receipt, the prescribed operations are carried out at the initiative of the commissioned court or the judge that the president of this court designates for this purpose (Art. 157, para. 2). The parties or persons who must contribute to the execution of the investigative measure are directly summoned or notified by the commissioned court. The parties are not required to instruct counsel before this court. As soon as the operations are completed, the registry of the court that conducted them transmits the minutes to the commissioning court, accompanied by the annexed or deposited documents and objects (Art. 157, paras. 3 and 4).

Once ordered, the investigative measure can be enforced immediately (Art. 159 CPC). The judge carries out the execution of the investigative measure or attends its enforcement. For this purpose, the judge may travel without being assisted by the court registry (Art. 165 CPC) and may make an audio, visual, or audiovisual recording of all or part of the investigative operations conducted (Art. 174 CPC). This recording is kept at the court registry, and each party may request a copy, duplicate, or transcript at their own expense. The judge may also record the conciliation, even partial, of the parties (Art. 171-1 CPC).

The judge who carries out the enforcement of the measure or oversees its enforcement must resolve any difficulties it encounters, whether at the request of the parties, on the initiative of the appointed specialist, or ex officio (Art. 167 CPC). When it arises during the operation in which he is involved or present, he decides immediately. Otherwise, he sets a date for which the parties and, if necessary, the appointed specialist will be summoned by the court registry (Art. 168 CPC) . As soon as the investigative measure is executed, the proceedings continue at the judge's initiative, who may, within the limits of his jurisdiction, immediately hear the parties' observations or pleadings , even on-site, and rule immediately on their claims (Art. 172 CPC).

Cass. 2e civ., 22 February 2007, LawLex202300003572JBJ, which specifies that the expert assessment ordered during proceedings does not divest the court that ordered it.

“The president of the court may, in the interest of the proper administration of justice, appoint a judge specifically responsible for overseeing the execution of investigative measures entrusted to a specialist pursuant to Article 232.”

Cass. 2e civ., 10 December 2020, LawLex202200005786JBJ, which recalls the court's obligation to respect the adversarial principle when exercising the powers conferred by Articles 166, 167, and 168 CPC. See also Cass. soc., 28 June 1978, LawLex202300004112JBJ.

Cass. soc., 24 November 1988, LawLex202300003283JBJ.

1. Ordinary Law of Civil Procedure

130. Principle

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130. Principle

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