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 compulsory sale procedure necessarily begins with the execution of publication acts intended to inform as many bidders as possible . The arrangements for potential buyers to visit the properties must also be settled in advance.

1) Publication of the sale

The Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures provides for ordinary law publication, as well as a possible adjustment of these rules at the requ …

Publication and terms of the auction

The compulsory sale procedure necessarily begins with the execution of publication acts intended to inform as many bidders as possible . The arrangements for potential buyers to visit the properties must also be settled in advance.

The Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures provides for ordinary law publication, as well as a possible adjustment of these rules at the request of the pursuing creditor, one of the registered creditors, or the seized party.

Article R. 322-31 provides that the compulsory sale is announced, at the initiative of the pursuing creditor, within a period of one to two months before the adjudication hearing. According to Article R. 311-11, this period is prescribed on pain of lapse of the order to pay deemed as seizure. This formality involves drafting a notice, filing it with the registry of the enforcement judge so that it is posted without delay in the premises of the court, in a location easily accessible to the public, and its publication in one of the legal announcement newspapers circulated in the district where the seized property is located. The notice must mention the name, first name, and domicile of the pursuing creditor and their lawyer, the designation of the seized property and a brief description indicating its nature, possible occupation, and all known elements relating to its area  as well as, if applicable, the dates and times of visits, the amount of the reserve price, the day, time, and place of the sale, the indication that bids can only be made by a lawyer registered with the bar of the Judicial Court of the place of sale, and that the conditions of sale can be consulted at the registry of the enforcement judge or at the office of the pursuing lawyer. The notice published in the legal announcement newspaper must not contain any other mention. The posted notice must be written in characters no smaller than size 30 font, on A3 format.

Then, within the same period, the pursuing creditor must post a simplified notice at the entrance or, failing that, at the boundary of the seized property, which is also published in two periodic editions of newspapers with local or regional circulation, at the rate for ordinary announcements . Unlike the first notice, this second notice must not indicate that it is a forced sale, nor the identity of the debtor. However, it must mention the public auction sale of the property, its nature and address, the starting bid amount, the day, time, and place of the sale, and the indication that the conditions of sale can be consulted at the registry of the enforcement judge or at the office of the pursuing creditor's lawyer.

Failure to comply with these rules, which constitute a substantive formality, is sanctioned by invalidity for a procedural defect, which can only be declared if the party invoking it proves the prejudice caused by the irregularity .

Finally, Article R. 322-36 authorizes the pursuing creditor or registered creditors to independently use any additional means of information to announce the sale, provided that these do not incur costs for the debtor and do not reveal the forced nature of the sale or the debtor's name.

b) Judicial adpatation of publication rules

The enforcement judge may be petitioned by the pursuing creditor, one of the registered creditors, or the seized party with an application to arrange, restrict, or supplement the ordinary law publication measures . The application is made, as the case may be, at the orientation hearing or no later than two months before the adjudication hearing. The judge must consider the nature, value, location of the property, and any other particular circumstances. He may notably order the addition of new information to those provided by the ordinary law rules, that the publication measures be carried out by other means of communication he specifies, or that the notices mentioned in Articles R. 322-32 and R. 322-34 be posted at a place he designates in the municipalities where the properties are located. His decision is not subject to appeal. The measures ordered must be carried out at the diligence and advanced costs of the party requesting them .

2) Conditions regarding visits to properties 

When the enforcement judge orders the compulsory sale, they determine the arrangements for visiting the property at the request of the pursuing creditor . The dates and times during which the visit may take place are indicated in the notice posted in the court premises and published in a legal announcements newspaper circulated in the district where the seized property is located .

Cass. 2e civ., 13 January 2022, LawLex202300010351JBJ, emphasizing that the designation and description of the property must be free of errors and correspond to the reality of the seized property, and not to the description appearing in the order deemed as seizure and in the schedule of conditions of sale.

Cass. 2e civ., 13 January 2022, LawLex202300010351JBJ.

5. Civil Enforcement Procedures

150. Publication and terms of the auction

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150. Publication and terms of the auction

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