Introduction

Subject-matter jurisdiction

Territorial jurisdiction

Extensions of jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

Initiation of the proceedings

Instructing counsel

Submissions

Registry

Rules common to all procedures

Ordinary contentious procedure

Non-contentious proceedings

Single-judge procedure

Fixed-date procedure

Written procedure

Ordinary procedure

Interim relief proceedings

Expedited trial on the merits

Oral proceedings

Ex parte proceedings (sur requête)

Referral procedure by decision of the criminal court

Specific procedures

Proceedings before the Judicial Court

Initiation of proceedings

Proceedings

General procedure

Interim orders

Orders on ex parte application

Expedited proceedings on the merits

Powers of the President

Proceedings before the Commercial Court

Proceedings before the Judicial Court and the Commercial Court

2. Proceedings before the Judicial Court and the Commercial Court

The writ of summons must contain the standard information required by Articles 54 and 56 of the Code of Civil Procedure, as well as that required by Article 855 of the same code.

On pain of invalidity, any initial claim, made by writ of summons or by application submitted or sent to the registry of the Commercial Court, must mention:
- the court before which the application is brought (Art. 54, p …

Content

The writ of summons must contain the standard information required by Articles 54 and 56 of the Code of Civil Procedure, as well as that required by Article 855 of the same code.

On pain of invalidity, any initial claim, made by writ of summons or by application submitted or sent to the registry of the Commercial Court, must mention:

- the court before which the application is brought (Art. 54, para. 2, 1° CPC);

- the subject of the application (Art. 54, para. 2, 2° CPC);

- for natural persons, the surname, first names, profession, domicile, nationality, date and place of birth of each of the applicants (Art. 54, para. 2, 3°, a, CPC);

- for legal entities, their form, name, registered office, and the body that legally represents them (Art. 54, para. 2, 3°, b, CPC);

- where applicable, the information relating to the identification of real property required for publication in the registry of real property (fichier immobilier) (Art. 54, para. 2, 4° Code of Civil Procedure);

- when it must be preceded by an attempt at conciliation, mediation, or participatory procedure, the steps taken towards an amicable resolution of the dispute or the justification for exemption from such an attempt (Art. 54, para. 2, 5° Code of Civil Procedure).

Apart from the mandatory information prescribed for extrajudicial acts and those previously stated, the writ of summons, which constitutes pleadings (Art. 56, para. 3, CPC), must include the following  or will be invalid:

- the place, date, and time of the hearing at which the case will be called (Art. 56, para. 1, 1° Code of Civil Procedure);

- a statement of the factual and legal grounds (Art. 56, para. 1, 2° CPC);

- the list of exhibits on which the application is based in a schedule attached thereto (Art. 56, para. 1, 3° CPC);

- the indication of the methods of appearance before the court and the specification that, should the defendant fail to appear, they risk a judgment being rendered against them based solely on the elements provided by their opponent (Art. 56, para. 1, 4° CPC);

- if applicable, the designated chamber (Art. 56, para. 2, CPC).

The claim may arise from the reasoning of the initiating act of proceedings, even if it is not included in the operative part . The writ of summons is valid as long as it implicitly but necessarily contains the subject of the application . It must aim at resolving a dispute, which is not the case for a simple request to acknowledge the reservation to formulate claims later . The subject of the application must be clear to the defendant. This is not the case when the writ of summons is vague regarding the date of the disputed transport, so that the summoned carrier, who had performed another transport during the same period for the same client, could not identify the one referred to by the summons . Furthermore, the trial courts must verify that the summons contains a statement of the factual grounds necessary for the defense of the recipients of the act, but they are not required to assess the probative value of the allegations contained therein . The absence of motivation implies the invalidity of the summons. Thus, the summons by which a claimant merely requested the nullity of a general meeting resolution on the grounds that the co-owners were misled is void for lack of legal motivation . However, this invalidity can be remedied by the defendant's submissions at first instance asserting their substantive defenses without raising this invalidity . On the other hand, the obligation to list in the summons and by an attached schedule the documents on which the application is based is not subject to any sanction and does not constitute a substantial or mandatory public policy formality . No provision of the Code of Civil Procedure imposes a maximum time limit between the summons and the date of the hearing . However, effective access to the court requires clear information on the consequences of the parties' failure to appear at the hearing, and a summons notified to the defendant merely inviting them to specify by mail whether they intend to be present at the hearing, without mentioning that their appearance is mandatory, on pain of inadmissibility of their pleadings and exhibits, is contrary not only to the requirements of Article 56 of the Code of Civil Procedure but also to those of Article 6§1 of the European Convention on Human Rights . The issuance of a summons to appear before the Commercial Court mentioning a date corresponding to a public holiday when the court does not sit constitutes a procedural defect .

In addition to the information required by Articles 54 and 56, Article 855, para. 1, of the Code of Civil Procedure states that the writ of summons must include, on pain of invalidity, “the name, first names, and address of the person with whom the claimant elects domicile in France if residing abroad” . Article 855, para. 2, further specifies that the initiating document must mention:

- the conditions under which the defendant may or must be assisted or represented;

- if applicable, the name of the applicant's representative;

- the provisions of Article 861-2 of the same code when the document contains a claim for payment.

The election of domicile provided for in Article 855 does not grant the person at whose place domicile has been elected the authority to receive the service of the judgment intended for the party itself . Furthermore, the text is not applicable to the declaration of claim . Finally, the Court of Cassation considers that the instruction of counsel to defend does not constitute an election of domicile before the Commercial Court, and this election cannot result from the mention of the lawyer's name on the writ of summons .

Cass. 3e civ., 26 May 1992, LawLex202200006841JB.

Cass. 3e civ., 19 March 1985, LawLex202300001544JBJ, which quashes the appeal judgment that declared an application inadmissible on the grounds that it merely sought the organization of an expert assessment and did not formulate any claim on the merits. However, by specifying that the expert was to be tasked with investigating the causes of the defects affecting the building, indicating the remedies to be applied, and determining who should be held responsible, the writ of summons implicitly but necessarily contained a claim for a declaration of liability against the builders, who were in a position to assess the merits of the dispute and take a stance from the outset of the proceedings.

Cass. mixte, 7 July 2006, LawLex202200010952JBJ.

Cass. com., 23 April 2013, LawLex202400000228JBJ: the writ of summons accepted by the consular judge as the initiating act of proceedings is regular, as it mentions the two possible addresses of the party concerned, one in France and the other in the United States, since the spouse of the latter accepted delivery at his French address and the defendant was duly informed of the date of the hearing concerning him, allowing him to take all necessary measures to ensure the defense of his interests.

Cass. 2e civ., 2 December 2010, LawLex202400000498JBJ.

Cass. com., 5 November 2013, LawLex202400000225JBJ.

Cass. 2e civ., 19 November 2009, LawLex202400000519JBJ.

Cass. 3e civ., 14 June 1989, LawLex202200010722JBJ, which quashes the appeal judgment that holds, in order to refuse to declare the writ of summons null and the action brought by the claimant on the basis of the ten-year guarantee admissible, that, after recalling that this summons aimed to reserve the rights of the union to later formulate claims, the defendant knew through the interim proceedings in which he had been a party and the reminder of the expert's mission that the summons necessarily aimed at the recognition of responsibilities.

Cass. com., 25 January 1994, LawLex202200006854JBJ.

Cass. 2e civ., 22 October 2020, LawLex202200006959JBJ.

Cass. 2e civ., 6 April 2006, LawLex202200006623JBJ.

Cass. 3e civ., 26 November 2003, LawLex202200010688JBJ, which adds that the fact that the trial court was only seized by the arguments contained in the parties' latest submissions has no impact on an invalidity that has already been remedied.

Cass. 2e civ., 3 April 2003, LawLex202200006620JBJ, who add that the defendant, summoned to the proceedings, cannot effectively invoke a lack of disclosure that is merely the consequence of their failure to appear.

Cass. 2e civ., 9 July 2015, LawLex202200005785JBJ.

Cass. 2e civ., 11 July 2013, LawLex202200010677JBJ.

2. Proceedings before the Judicial Court and the Commercial Court

101. Content

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101. Content

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