Introduction

Existence of a claim

Issuance of enforcement order (writs of execution)

Existence of seizable assets or claims

Conditions of enforcement

Judicial authority

Other authorities

Competent authorities and persons

Operations

Difficulties in enforcement

Implementation of compulsory enforcement

General regime of enforcement procedures

Concept of penalty

Scope ratione personae

Material scope

Determination of penalty

Competence of judge

Powers of court

Effects of ruling ordering or rejecting penalty

Pronouncement of penalty

Substantive conditions

Procedural conditions

Role and powers of the judge

Effects of liquidation judgment

Liquidation of the penalty

Penalty

Conditions of implementation

Contesting the measures

Ordinary law on protective measures

Protective seizures

Judicial security interests (sûretés judiciaires)

Specific regimes

Interim protective measures (mesures conservatoires)

Seizure of claims for sums of money

Seizure of tangible movable property

Seizure of intangible rights

Enforcement measures on movable property

Real estate seizures

Evictions

Enforcement measures on real estate

Enforcement measures

5. Civil Enforcement Procedures

The seizure for delivery procedure organized by Articles L. 222-1 and R. 222-1 to R. 222-16 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures does not, unlike seizure and sale, aim to convert tangible property into a sum of money, but to obtain the compulsory enforcement of an obligation to deliver  or return . Rather than an amicable or forced sale, the procedure concludes with the apprehension of the  …

Recovery under a writ of execution or by order of a judge

The seizure for delivery procedure organized by Articles L. 222-1 and R. 222-1 to R. 222-16 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures does not, unlike seizure and sale, aim to convert tangible property into a sum of money, but to obtain the compulsory enforcement of an obligation to deliver  or return . Rather than an amicable or forced sale, the procedure concludes with the apprehension of the property, meaning a return to possession. The texts distinguish between apprehension carried out under a writ of execution and that carried out on the judge's order.

In the presence of a writ of execution, Article R. 222-1, para. 1, distinguishes between the scenario where a tangible movable property is seized from the hands of the person obliged to deliver it and the scenario where this property is directly seized from the hands of a third party holding it on behalf of the debtor of the obligation to perform. This distinction is necessary because, in the second case, the person targeted by the measure is not the one designated by the writ of execution and may, if applicable, assert a right of retention over the property.

a) Recovery directly from the person required to deliver

The procedure begins with the service, to the person required to deliver, of an order to deliver or return . The order contains, on pain of invalidity: the mention of the writ of execution by virtue of which the delivery is required; the indication that the person required to deliver may, within a period of eight days, transport at their expense the designated property to a place and under the conditions indicated; the warning that failing delivery within this period, the property may be seized at their expense; and the indication that disputes may be brought before the enforcement judge of the place where the recipient of the act resides. This order may be served in the same document as the judgment that constitutes the writ of execution.

The requirement for a prior demand is waived, and the property can be immediately seized upon the mere presentation of the writ of execution, when the person obligated to deliver is present and, upon being asked by the judicial commissioner, does not offer to transport it at their own expense .

An official record is then drawn up of the voluntary delivery by transport of the property within eight days to the specified location or of the apprehension of the property at the end of the period, failing voluntary delivery or immediately, in the presence of the debtor of the obligation. This record contains a detailed description of the property and indicates that disputes may be brought before the enforcement judge of the place where the person from whom the property is taken resides .

The procedure concludes, once the property is seized to be returned to its owner, with the delivery or notification of a copy of the act of delivery or seizure by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt requested to the person required, under the writ of execution, to deliver or return the property .

Specific rules apply when the property has been seized for delivery to a secured creditor . Indeed, in such a case, the act of delivery or seizure places the property under the creditor's custody, and, unless the creditor has requested judicial allocation of the pledge, it is then subject to compulsory sale at public auction, according to the rules applicable to seizure and sale . However, to allow the debtor to proceed with an amicable sale instead, a document must be delivered or served to them, which must include, on pain of invalidity: a copy of the act of delivery or seizure, as applicable; the indication of the location where the property is deposited; a separate breakdown of the amounts claimed in principal, costs, and accrued interest, as well as the indication of the interest rate; the indication, in very conspicuous characters, that the debtor has a one-month period to proceed with the amicable sale of the seized property; and the date from which, failing an amicable sale within this period, a compulsory sale at public auction may be conducted.

When the property is held by a third party, a formal demand to deliver this property is directly served . It is also notified by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt to the person required to deliver or return it. The formal demand must, on pain of invalidity, contain: a copy of the writ of execution by virtue of which the delivery is required and, if it is a judgment, the operative part thereof; an injunction to, within eight days, either deliver the designated property or communicate to the court bailiff, under penalty, if applicable, of damages, the reasons for opposing the delivery; an indication that any difficulties must be brought before the enforcement judge of the place where the recipient of the act resides.

If voluntary delivery is not made within the allotted time, the seizing creditor may request the enforcement judge of the place where the third party holding the property resides to order its delivery. The enforcement judge may also be approached by the third party, particularly when the latter claims a right to the property, such as a right of retention. The enforcement judge must be approached, under penalty of lapse of the summons and any interim protective measures that may have been taken, within one month following the day the summons was served . If the enforcement judge grants the creditor's request, the mere presentation of the decision ordering the delivery of the property to the applicant and a special authorization from the judge issued on application if it is located in premises used for the third party's residence, allows for the apprehension of the property . The judicial commissioner then draws up a record of the delivery or apprehension, of which a copy is delivered or notified to the third party by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt. Finally, after the removal, the person required to deliver is informed by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt.

When the creditor does not hold a writ of execution, they may still file an application for an injunction to deliver or return a specific movable property. The application is submitted to the enforcement judge of the place where the debtor resides, who has exclusive jurisdiction . This application must, under penalty of inadmissibility, specify the property whose delivery is requested, as well as any document justifying the request. The order issued by the enforcement judge, enjoining delivery or return, must then be served to the person required to deliver it . The service must contain, under penalty of invalidity , a demand to, within fifteen days, either transport the specified property at their expense to a designated place and under specified conditions, or, if the holder of the property has defenses to assert, to file an opposition with the registry of the judge who issued the order, by declaration against receipt or by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, failing which, the order becomes enforceable . In case of opposition, the creditor must bring the matter before the competent court, namely the trial court , to rule on the delivery or return of the property within two months from the service of the order, under penalty of lapse of the application and the injunction order as well as any interim protective measures that may have been taken . In the absence of opposition within the fifteen-day period, Article R. 222-15 authorizes the applicant to request the registry to affix the enforceable formula. The order thus endorsed produces all the effects of a final adversarial judgment. Not subject to retraction , this order may be subject to an appeal to the Court of Cassation to contest the regularity of the issuance of the enforceable formula. In the absence of such an appeal, the creditor, armed with this writ of execution, may now initiate the measures of apprehension provided for in Articles R. 222-2 and following, except that when these are implemented against the person mentioned in the injunction, they are exempt from the formality of the command to deliver or return if they act within two months after the order has been rendered enforceable .

Specific rules apply to the seizure for delivery of a motor vehicle  or goods placed in a safe .

E.g. unpaid sellers, lessors, sellers with retention of title clauses, etc.

This refers to the unpaid seller, the lessor, the seller with a retention of title clause, etc.

CPC exéc., Art. R. 222-11. - The text specifies that any contrary clause is deemed void and that the court improperly seized is required to ex officio raise its lack of jurisdiction.

Cf. CA Rennes, 7 June 2019, LawLex202300010601JBJ, annulling an order for payment on the grounds that it states it is already subject to provisional enforcement, orders the debtor to deliver the goods specified upon first presentation by the judicial commissioner, that the service makes no demand to deliver the goods to the applicants within fifteen days or to file an opposition against the order within the same period, failing which it would become enforceable, and that the goods were seized on the same day as the service.

Cass. 2e civ., 26 March 1997, LawLex202400003650JBJ, emphasizing that opposition to an order for an injunction to deliver or return does not have the effect of bringing the matter before the enforcement judge.

See notably Cass. 2e civ., 4 November 2021, LawLex202300010583JBJ; CA Aix-en-Provence, 2 December 2021, LawLex202300010582JBJ; CA Riom, 5 April 2022, LawLex202300010608JBJ.

CPC exéc., Art. R. 222-3, para. 3 and R. 222-4.

5. Civil Enforcement Procedures

136. Recovery under a writ of execution or by order of a judge

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136. Recovery under a writ of execution or by order of a judge

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