FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Barbara Levy, Paul Talbourdet and Alison Vogt, De Pardieu Brocas Maffei
• unless the judge decides to set aside provisional enforcement by law in whole or in part (either sua sponte or at the request of the parties) by a specially reasoned decision (Article 514-1 of the French Code of Civil Procedure), if they consider that it is incompatible with the nature of the matter or that it is likely to entail manifestly excessive con - sequences – although it is specified that the judge may not set aside provisional enforcement by law for summary orders ( ordonnances de référé ), decisions containing provisional orders ( mesures provisoires ) governing the course of a proceeding, orders providing for protective measures ( mesures conservatoires ), and directions of the pre-trial judge ( juge de la mise en état ) granting an interim payment (provision) to a creditor (in this respect, the new provisions of Decree No 2019-1333 of 11 December 2019 leave things unchanged); or • unless, in the event of an appeal, the first presi - dent of the court of appeal dismisses provisional enforcement by law where there is a serious ground for annulment or reversal of the first- instance judgment and enforcement is likely to lead to manifestly excessive consequences, and only if the appealing party has put forward its observa - tions on provisional enforcement at first instance – if the appealing party has not requested provi - sional enforcement to be set aside at first instance, its demand is admissible only where (in addition to the existence of a serious ground for annulment or reversal) the provisional enforcement is likely to lead to manifestly excessive consequences that became apparent after the judgment of first instance (Article 514-3 of the French Code of Civil Procedure) and the first president’s order cannot be appealed except in the case of an “excess of power” ( excès de pouvoir ) (Cass Civ 2nd, 18 Janu - ary 2024, Ruling No 21-17.475). Appeal In the event of an appeal, and if the judge of first instance has rejected the provisional enforcement by law of their judgment, a request may be made before the first president of the court of appeal – or, when the matter is referred to them, the pre-trial judge of the court of appeal ( conseiller de la mise en etat ) – to ask for the reinstatement of the provisional enforce - ment by law (Article 514-4 of the French Code of Civil
Procedure). The following three conditions must then be met: • there must be an emergency; • the reinstatement must be compatible with the nature of the matter; and • it must not be likely to lead to manifestly excessive consequences. Titres Exécutoires An “enforceable judgment” is referred to in French legislation as a titre exécutoire. The wording is not lim - ited to enforceable judgments resulting from judicial proceedings. The following are considered the main titres exécutoires : • judgments of the judicial order or administrative order that are immediately enforceable; • foreign acts and judgments and arbitral awards declared enforceable by a decision that is not sus - ceptible to being suspended pending appeal; • settlements made between a judge and the parties, or settlements made between the parties that the judge has made enforceable; • notarial acts endorsed as being enforceable; and • certificates provided by bailiffs following non-pay - ment of a cheque. The enforcement of titres exécutoires is subject to a ten-year statute of limitations, starting from the date it has been served on the debtor – unless actions for recovery of the claims set out by other laws are sub - ject to a longer statute of limitations. For the sake of simplicity, the concept of “enforceable judgment” set out hereafter will refer to enforceable judgments resulting from judicial proceedings. 2.2 Enforcement of Domestic Judgments A lawyer is generally instructed to organise and co- ordinate the enforcement process, and to represent the client during the enforcement proceedings, if there are any. Act No 2019-222 of 23 March 2019 (on the 2018–22 Programming and Reform of the Justice System) and Decree No 2019-1333 of 11 December 2019, which reformed French civil procedure, came into force on 1
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