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

Pursuant to Article R. 322-1 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures, upon the expiration of an eight-day period from the issuance of the order to pay constituting seizure and in the absence of payment, the judicial commissioner may enter the premises to draw up the report of description of the premises (procès-verbal de description). He may proceed with the opening of doors and furniture to describe the seized property, and, in the absence of the occupant of the premises or if the latter refuses access, he must be assisted by the mayor of the municipality, a municipal councilor or a municipal official delegated by the mayor for this purpose, a police or gendarmerie authority required to attend the operations, or, failing that, by two adult witnesses who are neither in his service nor that of the creditor . When the premises are occupied by a tenant, the judicial commissioner may only enter with prior authorization from the enforcement judge, in the absence of the occupant's agreement . Furthermore, the judicial commissioner may use any appropriate means to describe the premises and be assisted by any qualified professional if necessary .

The drafting of the report requires the judicial commissioner to mention the essential characteristics of the seized property that exist at the time of its establishment. Indeed, they cannot merely recall a prior notarial deed, according to which a parcel is located in a subdivision, without mentioning its flood-prone nature or the buildability with reservations that appear in the subdivision regulations  or refer only to the indications in the writ of execution, without investigating whether the buildable nature of the land in question, an essential element of the nature of the seized property, has not been subsequently modified due to a change in urban planning rules .

The record of description of the seized property, which, on pain of invalidity, must be included in the schedule of conditions of sale , includes the description of the premises, their composition and area, the indication of the occupancy conditions and the identity of the occupants as well as the mention of the rights they claim, if applicable, the name and address of the property manager and any other useful information about the property provided, notably, by the occupant. However, the mention of the presence of witnesses assisting the judicial commissioner during the operations, with their name and capacity, is not required .

CPC exéc., Art. L. 322-2, which refers to Articles L. 142-1 and L. 142-2.

Cass. 1re civ., 25 May 2005, LawLex202300010429JBJ.

Cass. 1re civ., 11 October 1994, LawLex202300010430JBJ.

CPC exéc., Art. R. 322-10. On this requirement, See Cass. 2e civ., 21 February 2013, LawLex202300010345JBJ and 26 September 2019, LawLex202300010425JBJ, specifying that it cannot be the report drawn up on the occasion of a previous order to pay.

CA Aix-en-Provence, 25 October 2018, LawLex202300005970JBJ.

Content

141. Content