FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Elodie Mulon, Emmanuelle Bonboire-Barthélémy and Louise Astruc Baciotti, Chauveau Mulon & Associés
tives, content and topics to be addressed during the mediation. • Subsequent successive family mediation ses - sions span a period of three to six months. • At the end of mediation, if an agreement is reached, it is binding on the parties like any contract. It is possible to have it ratified by a judge to give it enforceability, meaning it will be applied to the parties as any court judg - ment. If no agreement or a partial agreement is reached, the parties must seek the inter - vention of a judge to settle the dispute. Arbitration Family arbitration is gaining traction in France, notably marked by the establishment of the Arbitration Centre for Family Disputes ( Centre d’Arbitrage des Litiges Familiaux CALIF) in 2019. Certain rights, where parties lack full autonomy, cannot be subject to arbitration. Specifically, extrapatrimonial rights – concerning an indi - vidual’s status and capacity and issues related to divorce and legal separation – are excluded from arbitration (Articles 2059 and 2060 of the Civil Procedure Code). Nevertheless, patrimonial matters are arbitrable and encompass various aspects, such as: • the settlement of matrimonial regimes or joint ownership; • the resolution of a société civile immobilière (SCI) at the time of divorce; and • the determination of the quantum and modali- ties of the compensatory allowance, etc. An arbitration clause is essential to arbitrate family law issues. Arbitration can be implement - ed from the outset in marriage, cohabitation or civil union contracts to address potential future disputes. The compromissory clause can out - line the procedures for selecting the arbitrator or arbitration centre, specify the location of arbitra -
tion, and define the applicable procedures. In the event that parties have not initially included such a clause, they still have the option to convene, once a dispute arises, and voluntarily agree to arbitration by signing an arbitration compromise. 3. Child Law 3.1 Choice of Jurisdiction Parental Responsibility: Residence and Visitation Rights To determine jurisdiction in matters of parental responsibility, French courts apply the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 2019/1111 (“Brussels IIb Regulation (recast)”) for proceedings initiated from 1 August 2022, and Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 (“Brussels IIb”) for proceedings initi - ated before that date. Article 7 of the Brussels IIb Regulation (recast) states that the court having jurisdiction for issues related to parental responsibility for a child under 18 is the court of the member state of the habitual residence of the child at the time the court is seised. The Brussels IIb Regulation (recast) introduced the possibility for parents of designating the courts of a member state that shall have jurisdic - tion over matters relating to parental responsibil - ity (Article 10), provided that the following apply. • The child has a close connection with that member state, including: (a) at least one holder of parental responsi - bility has habitual residence there; (b) that member state is the former habitual residence of the child; or (c) the child is a national of that member state.
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