FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Elodie Mulon, Emmanuelle Bonboire-Barthélémy and Louise Astruc Baciotti, Chauveau Mulon & Associés
Arbitration Unavailable rights cannot be arbitrated. Thus, extrapatrimonial issues involving the legal state and capacity of a person, such as filiation or child custody arrangements, are excluded from arbitration (see 2.9 Alternative Dispute Resolu- tion (ADR) – Arbitration). Nevertheless, financial issues concerning children, such as child main - tenance, can be submitted to arbitration. It is important to note that these principles do not extend to international arbitration. Conse - quently, non-financial matters can be arbitrated in cases involving “international trade interests” (Article 1504 of the Civil Procedure Code). 3.5 Media Access and Transparency In France, civil hearings related to children (parental responsibility, child support) are held in private, without the presence of the public or media. Consequently, the media cannot attend the proceedings. If the judgment is published, the names of the parties and the child(ren) will be anonymised.
the proceedings, and therefore cannot submit evidence. 3.4 ADR Agreement The family court judge can approve the par - ties’ agreement regarding both living arrange - ments and child maintenance during or out - side a divorce process (see 3.2 Living/Contact Arrangements and Child Maintenance ). Mediation The judge must attempt to reconcile the parties in case of disagreements regarding the exercise of parental authority (Article 373-2-10 of the Civil Code). Family mediation can be led regarding children’s issues (see 2.9 Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) – Mediation). Nevertheless, it has to be noted that if one par - ent alleges violence against the other or the chil - dren, it is impossible for the family court judge to compel the parties to meet with a mediator (Article 373-2-10 of the Civil Code).
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