Peter E. Herzog

Professional Legal Assistance

This chapter surveys the various types of professional legal assistance available. After a brief introduction (1.01–1.02), it discusses avocats (2.03), officiers ministeriels (2.04), avocats before the Cour de Cassation (2.05), avoues (2.06), agrees (2.07), huissiers (2.08), greffiers (2.09), notaires (2.10), and special professionals involved in the administration or sale of property (2.11). The chapter concludes with a prognosis of future developments (2.12).

Parties and Classifications of Actions

This chapter discusses the rules regulating who may function as parties in civil litigation (6.01–6.04), including rules relating to the requirement of an interet (6.02), rules concerning capacity to sue or to be sued (6.03), and rules determining who are proper parties (6.04). The second part of this chapter deals with classifications of actions (6.05–6.08).

Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments

This chapter discusses the requirements for recognition and enforcement in France of foreign judgments and arbitral awards. Discussion of the procedure for obtaining an exequatur (14.01–14.04) precedes treatment of foreign judgments relating to personal status that do not need an exequatur to be recognized (14.04). The chapter concludes with a description of the circumstances in which, and the procedure by which, foreign arbitral awards are recognized and enforced (14.06) and with a brief summary on international agreements dealing with the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards to which France is a party (14.07).

Res Judicata and Enforcement of Judgments

This chapter discusses the French doctrine of res judicata, including the scope of the basic rule (13.01–13.02), and the manner of invoking its applicability (13.03). It continues with a discussion of procedures for enforcement of judgments, embracing the remedy of specific performance (13.04–13.05) and the astreinte device (13.06), as well as procedures for enforcement against property (13.07–13.16). The description of enforcement against property deals with the various types of enforcement proceedings (13.08), the binding nature of rules on enforcement (13.09), judicial competence in enforcement proceedings (13.10), the time at which enforcement may commence (13.11), property subject to and exempt from enforcement (13.12), enforcement against movables (13.13), enforcement against intangibles (13.14), enforcement against immovable property (13.15), and distribution of the proceeds of enforcement proceedings (13.16).

Proceedings before the Cour de Cassation

This chapter describes the territorial competence of the Cour de Cassation (9.01–9.02), decisions subject to review (9.03–9.05), waiver of the right to review (9.06), grounds for review (9.07–9.12), the prohibition against raising new matter (9.13), private parties before the Cour de Cassation (9.14), the role of the ministere public (9.15), the method and time for filing a pourvoi (9.16–9.17), the effects of pourvoi on execution (9.18), procedures before the Cour de Cassation (9.19–9.22), preparation of the decision (9.23), effects of the decision (9.24), procedure on remand (9.25), proceedings on a second pourvoi (9.26), cases in which there is no remand (9.27), and the role of the Cour de Cassation in the development of the law (9.28).

Pre-Commencement Activities

This chapter describes the role of the legal practitioners in gathering factual information preparatory to the commencement of an action (5.01–5.02) and pre-commencement conciliation procedures (5.03). The second part deals with provisional remedies and other pre-commencement relief (5.04–5.07).

Proceedings before Courts of First Instance

This chapter describes ordinary proceedings before the courts of first instance. A discussion of proceedings before the tribunal de grande instance (7.01–7.15) is followed by brief descriptions of proceedings before the tribunal d’instance (7.16) and before various specialized courts (7.17–7.21). The chapter concludes with a detailed treatment of proof proceedings and rules of evidence (7.22–7.58) and a summary of the 1965 reforms (7.59–7.62).

Litigation Expenses and Legal Aid

This chapter describes amounts of litigation expenses (12.01–12.07), their allocation (12.08–12.10), and legal aid (12.11–12.17).

Extraordinary Methods of Review

After having indicated the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary methods of review (10.01), this chapter describes tierce opposition (10.02–10.08) and requete civile (10.09–10.15), two extraordinary methods of review.

Proceedings on Appeal

After defining the term appeal (8.01), this chapter discusses what decisions are appealable (8.02), courts from which an appeal may be taken (8.03), appealability of final (8.04) and non-final (8.05) decisions, time limits within which an appeal must be taken (8.06–8.08), who may appeal (8.09–8.10), appeals in actions with multiple parties (8.11), intervention on appeal (8.12), the manner of taking an appeal (8.13), the effect of appeal on execution (8.14–8.15), the scope of the powers of the cours d’appel (8.16–8.18), the scope of appeal (8.19), procedure on appeal (8.20), appeals from decisions of specialized tribunals (8.21) and the impact of the 1965 reforms (8.22).