FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Samuel Sauphanor, Alexandra Szekely, Timothée de Saint Viance and Benoît Barré, Le 16 Law
Where a shareholder suffers direct personal harm, such as by being misled into investing by fraudulent statements, an individual tort claim may also be brought under Article 1240 of the French Civil Code. Finally, where the facts amount to a criminal offence (eg, misuse of corporate assets), share - holders may act as civil parties ( parties civiles ) in criminal proceedings to seek compensation before the competent criminal court. 4. Overseas Parties in Fraud Claims 4.1 Joining Overseas Parties to Fraud Claims French courts may assert jurisdiction over for - eign defendants in fraud-related claims under clearly established legal bases, whether in crimi - French criminal courts have wide jurisdictional reach. Under Article 113-2 of the French Criminal Code, French criminal law applies to all offenc - es committed on French territory, or where a constituent element of the offence occurred in France. This includes acts preparatory to fraud, such as conspiracy or the receipt of illicit pro - ceeds. Jurisdiction is also extended in cases where the nal or civil proceedings. Criminal Proceedings offence was committed abroad as follows. • Article 113-6 allows prosecution of offences committed abroad by French nationals. • Article 113-7 applies to offences committed abroad against French nationals.
• Article 113-10 allows jurisdiction where the offence threatens the fundamental interests of the French Republic. • Under Article 689-1 of the French Criminal Procedure Code, French courts may exer - cise universal jurisdiction over certain grave offences, provided the suspect is present in France. Civil and Commercial Proceedings In civil and commercial fraud claims, French courts may assert jurisdiction over multiple par - ties, including those based abroad, where the conditions for connection between claims ( con- nexité ) are met. This includes cases where: • one or more fraudulent acts took place in France; • the economic harm was suffered in France; and • one of the co-defendants is domiciled in France and the claims against foreign parties are sufficiently connected to be tried together (to avoid contradictory decisions). Additional mechanisms are available for foreign investors or third parties seeking damages after a conviction or regulatory sanction for fraud. Vic - tims may initiate civil proceedings in France, par - ticularly in the context of follow-on actions (nota - bly in securities or consumer protection cases). Group actions may also be brought, although these are limited to specific areas and subject to strict procedural conditions. 4.2 Service of Proceedings out of the Jurisdiction In Civil and Commercial Matters Within the EU EU Regulation 2020/1784 of 25 November 2020 applies when a document needs to be transmit - ted from one member state to another for service
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