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 court registry can be defined as the ministerial office, placed under the authority and responsibility of a court clerk holding office, which provides all the administrative services of a court. It centralizes the acts and documents related to judicial proceedings.
The status of court registrars was initially defined by Decree No 2003-466 of 30 May 2003 , repealed by Decree No 2015-1275 of 13  …

Court registry

The court registry can be defined as the ministerial office, placed under the authority and responsibility of a court clerk holding office, which provides all the administrative services of a court. It centralizes the acts and documents related to judicial proceedings.

The status of court registrars was initially defined by Decree No 2003-466 of 30 May 2003 , repealed by Decree No 2015-1275 of 13 October 2015, which establishes the new statutory rules applicable to the body of court registrars .

Pursuant to Article 4 of the decree of 13 October 2015, court clerks are procedural technicians who assist judges in the acts of their jurisdiction and authenticate judicial acts. They also assist judges in the preparation and handling of cases as well as in legal research. They may also be tasked with functions involving informing, guiding, and assisting users in completing judicial formalities or procedures.

Judicial Courts have a registry composed of State officials (Art. L. 123-1 COJ). According to Article R. 123-1 of the Code of Judicial Organization, this registry includes all administrative services of the bench and the Public Prosecutor's Office (para. 1). However, certain courts, such as the Judicial Court of Paris, may have an autonomous Public Prosecutor's Office secretariat, the list of which is set by an order of the Minister of Justice, in accordance with Table II annexed to the Code of Civil Procedure (para. 2).

Articles 726 to 729-1 of the Code of Civil Procedure entrust the court registry with a number of tasks:

- the keeping of a general register of cases submitted to the jurisdiction, indicating the date of submission, the registration number, the names of the parties, the nature of the case, where applicable, the chamber to which it is assigned, the nature and date of the decision (Art. 726 Code of Civil Procedure);

- the constitution, for each case registered in the general directory, of a file i) on which are recorded, in addition to the information appearing in this directory, the name of the judge or judges assigned to the case and, if applicable, the name of the persons representing or assisting the parties, ii) to which are added, after being endorsed by the judge or the court clerk, the acts, notes, and documents related to the case, iii) to which are included or added in copy the decisions resulting from it, the opinions and letters sent by the court, and iv) to which, when the procedure is oral, the claims of the parties or the reference they make to the claims they would have made in writing are noted or recorded in a report (Art. 727 CPC);

- the keeping of a register, signed after each hearing by the president and the court clerk, where for each hearing the date of the hearing, the names of the judges and the court clerk, the names of the parties and the nature of the case, the indication of the parties appearing themselves in matters where representation is not mandatory, the names of the persons representing or assisting the parties at the hearing, as well as whether the hearing is public or not, the incidents during the hearing, the decisions made on these incidents, and the indication of the judgments pronounced are recorded (Art. 728 CPC);

- in the event of an appeal or referral after cassation, the file is sent to the competent court, either within fifteen days of the request made to it, or within the time limits provided for by specific provisions, by preparing, if necessary, copies of the documents required for the continuation of the proceedings (Art. 729 CPC). Article 729-1 specifies that the general directory, the file, and the register may be kept in electronic form, provided that the information processing system ensures their integrity and confidentiality and allows for their preservation.

Furthermore, several specific rules governing the conduct of proceedings before the Judicial Court apply to the court registry.

Pursuant to Article 769 of the Code of Civil Procedure, “the filing with the court registry of a copy of a procedural document or exhibit is evidenced by the entry of the date of filing and the clerk's endorsement on both the copy and the original, which is immediately returned.” Failure to comply with this formality may result in the inadmissibility of the document or exhibit concerned .

When proceedings are initiated by way of an application, a copy of the application is presented to the president of the court upon its submission to the court registry for scheduling and distribution formalities. The president's decision is then simply noted in the margin of the copy (Art. 770 CPC). The clerk of the chamber to which the case is assigned maintains and updates the file. They also prepare a summary sheet to track the progress of the case at any time (Art. 771 CPC).

In disputes subject to ordinary written procedure, the lawyers of each party are, in principle, summoned or verbally notified, with acknowledgment and mention in the file, of the responsibilities incumbent upon them by the president or by the pre-trial judge, depending on the mode of case preparation (Art. 774, para. 1, CPC), knowing that in case of absence, the court clerk proceeds with this by a simple dated and signed slip delivered or deposited at the place where notifications between lawyers are made at the court's headquarters. The injunctions issued also result in the issuance of a slip under the same conditions (Art. 774, para. 3 CPC).

In case of emergency, when the president of the court authorizes the claimant to summon the defendant on a fixed date, the court clerk places in the file, as soon as it is constituted, copies of the application, the documents submitted to the president, and a copy of the order. If, on the day of the hearing, the copy of the summons has not been submitted to the registry, the clerk automatically returns the copies in their possession to the lawyers (Art. 772 CPC). According to Article 773, para. 1, of the same code, the clerk immediately informs the instructed lawyers of the registration number in the general register, the day and time set for the hearing of the case, and the chamber to which it is assigned. Para. 2 specifies that “this notice is given to lawyers whose instruction is not yet known, as soon as the copy of the instruction document is submitted to the registry.”

Furthermore, certain procedural documents must be submitted to the court registry, including the copy of the instruction of counsel to defend (Art. 764 Code of Civil Procedure), as well as the copy of the writ of summons (Art. 754 Code of Civil Procedure) or the application (Art. 756 Code of Civil Procedure), to bring proceedings before the Judicial Court.

Decree No 2003-466 of 30 May 2003 on the special status of court registrars, OJ 125 of 31 May 2003, amended by D. 2007-654 of 30 April 2007 amending certain statutory provisions relating to category B bodies of the State civil service and D. 2010-55 of 15 January 2010 on recruitment through the professional examination of court registrars.

Decree No 2015-1275 of 13 October 2015 on the special status of court registry clerks, OJ of 15 October 2015.

Cass. com., 5 February 2002, LawLex202300013691JBJ. Cf. Cass. com., 6 April 1993, LawLex202400003053JBJ, dismissing the objection of inadmissibility of the reply brief of the regional director of tax services, even though the accompanying slip bore no arrival stamp or any indication of the date it was actually filed with the court registry, on the grounds that no prejudice resulting from the alleged irregularity was established.

2. Proceedings before the Judicial Court and the Commercial Court

44. Court registry

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44. Court registry

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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