FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Kyum Lee, Florian Dessault, Hannah Cobbett and Claire Gonzalez, BDGS Associés
Punitive damages are not per se contrary to French international public policy, provided that the amount awarded is not manifestly disproportionate to the harm suffered and the breach at issue ( Cour de cas- sation , First Civil Chamber, 1 December 2010, No 09-13.303; Cour de cassation , First Civil Chamber, 12 January 2022, No 20-16.189; Paris Court of Appeal, 9 January 2024, No 21/14563). 10.3 Recovering Interest and Legal Costs The arbitral tribunal may award interest and allocate legal and arbitration costs, subject to the applicable substantive law, the procedural rules chosen by the parties and any institutional rules. French arbitration law does not impose a specific prohibition on either form of relief. In international arbitration, an award is not subject to appeal. International arbitration awards rendered in France may be set aside unless the parties have waived their right to bring such proceedings by spe - cial agreement (Articles 1518 and 1522 of the French Civil Procedure Code). However, international arbitra - tion awards rendered abroad cannot be challenged by way of set-aside proceedings in France. The grounds for setting aside an award are exhaus - 11. Review of an Award 11.1 Grounds for Appeal tively listed in Article 1520, and include that: • the arbitral tribunal wrongly upheld or declined jurisdiction; • the arbitral tribunal was improperly constituted; • the arbitral tribunal ruled without complying with the mission entrusted to it; • the adversarial principle was violated; or • recognition or enforcement of the arbitral award is contrary to international public policy. A set-aside application against an international award rendered in France must be brought before the Paris Court of Appeal within one month of notification of the award; notification is by service unless the par - ties agree otherwise (Article 1519 of the French Civil Procedure Code). A domestic set-aside application
is brought before the Court of Appeal within whose jurisdiction the award was rendered (Article 1494). General procedural rules may extend time limits for parties located abroad. According to the Paris Court of Appeal, under Arti - cle 1518 of the French Civil Procedure Code, which opens the right to bring set-aside proceedings against awards rendered in France in international arbitration matters, only genuine arbitral awards may be the sub - ject of such proceedings – namely acts of the arbitra - tors that finally resolve, in whole or in part, the dispute submitted to them, whether on the merits, on jurisdic - tion or on a procedural issue leading them to bring the proceedings to an end (Paris Court of Appeal, 14 April 2026, RG n° 25/00795). 11.2 Excluding/Expanding the Scope of Appeal Under French law, the parties may not derogate from the provisions governing arbitration appeals ( Cour de cassation , First Civil Chamber, 13 March 2007, No 04-10.970). The parties cannot create a merits appeal against an international award where French law provides only a set-aside remedy. A contractual clause purporting to create such an appeal is therefore ineffective ( Cour de cassation , First Civil Chamber, 13 March 2007, No 04-10.970). However, Article 1522 of the French Civil Procedure Code expressly allows the parties, by special agree - ment, to waive the right to seek set-aside at any time. They may still appeal the exequatur order on the grounds listed in Article 1520. 11.3 Standard of Judicial Review International arbitral awards are not subject to review on the merits by French courts. The standard of judicial review in set-aside proceed - ings has recently been reinforced by the Cour de cas- sation , which stated that, within the limits of a ground listed in Article 1520 of the French Civil Procedure Code, the reviewing court may investigate all relevant matters of law and fact ( Cour de cassation , First Civil Chamber, 7 September 2022, No 20-22.118).
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