FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Barbara Levy, Paul Talbourdet and Alison Vogt, De Pardieu Brocas Maffei
January 2020. These new provisions entail very impor - tant changes, so it is advisable not to take any pro - cedural steps without carefully checking the possible impact of the reform on such steps. French law provides various options for enforcing a domestic judgment. The rules set out here aim to give an overview of the way judgments can be enforced in France. They do not deal with special regimes, such as rehabilitation ( redressement judiciaire ) and liquidation proceedings ( liquidation judidiciaire ) or household over-indebtedness ( surendettement des particuliers ) proceedings, which trigger an automatic stay of enforcement against the debtor (subject to few exceptions). At the outset, it should be underlined that – in prin - ciple – the enforcement judge ( juge de l’exécution ) has specific jurisdiction to deal with disputes arising between debtors and creditors on the basis of a final judgment only if and when enforcement has actually been launched, as recalled by the French Supreme Court ( Cour de cassation ) in a judgment rendered on 8 February 2024. Representation by a lawyer before the enforcement judge is required as a matter of principle, except for claims “originating from a debt not exceed - ing EUR10,000” as stated by Decree No 2019-1333 of 11 December 2019. That being said, a distinction must be drawn between: • the protective measures ( mesures conservatoires ) that are available to a creditor who has not yet obtained an enforceable judgment; and • those measures that constitute actual enforcement of a judgment ( mesures d’exécution forcée ). Protective Measures The various types of protective measures differ according to the nature of the assets to be attached. However, the general circumstances in which any pro - tective measure is granted are very similar. Application is made to the enforcement judge, who in practice will be the president of the judicial court ( tribunal judici- aire ) in which the debtor is located. Application may also be made to the president of the commercial court ( tribunal de commerce ) if the application deals with
commercial matters and if proceedings have not yet commenced on the substance of the case. Application to the enforcement judge will normally be made ex parte. The creditor must simply demon - strate the existence of their claim and the threat of non-recovery of said claim. In a simple debt collection situation, it is usual to present copies of all relevant invoices – together with a copy of a formal demand letter before action ( mise en demeure ) – by recorded delivery post. If the application is successful, the creditor must ensure that the bailiff serves notice of the protec - tive measure on the debtor within three months of the judge’s order – failing which, it is no longer effec - tive. The creditor will be obliged to start proceedings to obtain an enforceable judgment within one month from the date of enforcement of the protective meas - ure; failure to do so results in the automatic lapse of the measure. The low standard of proof required to obtain a protective measure and the nature of ex par - te proceedings put the creditor in a strong position. Therefore, if the creditor fails to obtain an enforceable judgment, they may be liable for any damage suffered by the debtor. The appropriate protective measure requested from the enforcement judge will depend on the nature of the debtor’s asset to be frozen. If the debtor is a company, every asset is at risk – whether movable or immovable, tangible ( corporels ) or intangible ( incor- porels ). The position is very similar for an individual debtor, apart from movable property that is necessary for general living or employment, which is not subject to attachment. Protective measures can be divided into two catego - ries, as follows. • A provisional attachment order ( saisie conserva- toire ) can be granted by the enforcement judge to attach movable property belonging to the debtor, whether it is in the actual possession of the debtor or not. When the debtor or the relevant third party is duly notified, the property in question becomes provisionally non-transferable. One of the most effective measures a creditor can take is to seek
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