FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Elodie Mulon, Emmanuelle Bonboire-Barthélémy and Louise Astruc Baciotti, Chauveau Mulon & Associés
Non-payment of the compensatory allowance In the event of non-payment of the compen - satory allowance, it is possible to request the involvement of a bailiff to initiate recovery pro - cedures. The bailiff can carry out one of the fol - lowing procedures: • direct payment (except for the compensatory allowance paid as a lump sum); • bank account seizure; • wage garnishment; • attachment of assets; and • forced sale. The non-payment of the compensatory allow - ance also constitutes a criminal offence of family abandonment (see “Non-payment of alimony” in the foregoing). Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Financial Orders in France The procedure for enforcing foreign court deci - sions in France varies depending on whether the judgment originates within the EU or from a non-EU country. Recognition and enforcement of EU judgments For rulings issued within the EU, the enforcement of maintenance claims is simplified. A judgment from one EU member state is automatically rec - ognised and enforceable in another, requiring only a European Enforcement Order certificate (issued by the original court). Exequatur for non-EU judgments Judgments issued outside the EU require a for - mal exequatur process to be recognised and enforced in France. The French court will grant exequatur if the following conditions are met: • the foreign court had appropriate jurisdiction;
• the judgment complies with international public policy; and • no evidence of fraud exists. 2.8 Media Access and Transparency Debates regarding the grounds and conse - quences of divorce and provisional measures are not public (Article 248 of the Civil Code). Thus, the media cannot attend the proceedings. If the judgment is made available to the public, the parties must be anonymised (Article L 111- 13 of the Judicial Organisation Code). 2.9 Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Alternative dispute resolution methods hold an increasingly prominent role in family matters, particularly with the introduction of mutual con - sent divorce ( divorce par consentement mutuel ) and the advancement of mediation and arbitra - tion. Mutual Consent Divorce In France, spouses can divorce by mutual con - sent without appearing before a judge (see 1.1 Grounds, Timeline, Service and Process – Out- of-court divorce). In this divorce agreement, spouses agree on the principle of divorce and all its consequences, including financial ones (asset division, compensatory allowance, etc). Mediation Family mediation can be initiated by the parties, and the judge may also compel them to meet with a mediator for an initial information meeting. However, the judge cannot compel the parties to follow a mediation process. Mediation unfolds in three stages. • There is an initial information session during which the family mediator outlines the objec -
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