FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Barbara Levy, Paul Talbourdet and Alison Vogt, De Pardieu Brocas Maffei
cally provides that it shall not apply when the legisla - tion of the state where the recognition or enforcement of the award is sought is more favourable to recogni - tion and enforcement than the New York Convention, which is the case under French law. As will be seen hereinafter, the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards may be refused on only a few grounds, making it typically far easier to enforce an arbitral award than a non-EU court judgment. It is important to note that French arbitration law appears to be on the verge of being reformed to be modernised. On 20 March 2025, a working group on arbitration submitted its report to the Minister of Jus - tice, who made numerous recommendations, includ - ing the following. • The judge responsible for annulling the award will have the power to refer the parties back to the arbitral tribunal to “resume the arbitration proceed - ings and rule on the issues it determines.” • An appeal for unenforceability ( recours en inop- posabilité ) will be available against foreign awards. • There would be a distinction between exequatur and recognition. Recognition of the award would not have enforceable force. • The process that allows third parties to challenge an arbitral award would be revised. 4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards The enforcement of arbitral awards involves the very important preliminary question of whether an arbitral award should be characterised as an international or a domestic award. Articles 1487 et seq of the French Code of Civil Procedure apply to the enforcement of domestic (ie, French) arbitral awards, whereas Arti - cles 1514 et seq apply to the enforcement of inter - national arbitral awards, covering foreign awards and awards rendered in international matters in France and abroad. As French law makes a distinction between a con - tract and the arbitration convention it holds, French jurisdictions used to apply its substantive rules to appreciate the validity of an arbitration convention. A recent judgment ruled by the Cour de cassation on
28 September 2022 stated that French substantive rules now apply to arbitration conventions “unless the parties have expressly submitted the validity and effects of the arbitration agreement itself to another law”. Thus, the parties can choose the law applicable to their arbitration convention and avoid the system - atic application of French substantive rules by judges reviewing an award. However, the choice of applicable law to the arbitration convention cannot be inferred from the law applicable to the contract itself, as it must expressly relate to the clause. Despite the slight differences of regime between inter - national and domestic awards, French law and French courts are generally considered as pro-arbitration, and decisions denying the enforcement of awards are quite rare. 4.3 Categories of Arbitral Awards Not Enforced As previously stated in 4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards , French arbitra - tion law takes a pro-enforcement position regarding the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards. Therefore, it is possible to obtain recognition and enforcement in France of interim or partial awards, for instance. It may also be possible to obtain the rec - ognition and enforcement in France of foreign awards granting non-monetary relief (eg, an order requiring a party to produce documents). An international award rendered outside France (whether international or domestic) that is set aside in the place of arbitration may also be recognised and enforced in France. Finally, the main limit on the recognition or enforce - ment of arbitral awards is that the award must not be manifestly contrary to public policy considerations. 4.4 Process of Enforcing Arbitral Awards Under the Code of Civil Procedure, an arbitral award must be followed by an enforcement decision (exe - quatur) obtained through ex parte proceedings in order to be enforceable or recognised in France. French arbitration law does not expressly provide for a limitation period applicable to the commence - ment of legal proceedings for the enforcement of awards. However, the French Civil Code provides a
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