FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Samuel Sauphanor, Alexandra Szekely, Timothée de Saint Viance and Benoît Barré, Le 16 Law
or notification in civil and commercial matters, with the exception of tax, customs or adminis - trative matters and regarding state liability. The document is transmitted directly from the originating entity to the requested entity, which must carry out or arrange for the service as soon as possible, and in any case, within one month of receipt by the requested entity. The Regulation also provides other means of service to speed up the process, such as service by diplomatic or consular agents, through postal services, electronically or by direct service (Arti - cles 16 et seq). In other foreign countries The 1965 Hague Convention (the “Convention de la Haye” ) provides for the service of documents in civil and commercial matters through the cen - tral authority of the requested state, which deliv - ers the document according to its own national rules or in the particular form requested by the applicant. The Convention de la Haye also provides, under certain conditions, alternatives such as service via diplomatic or consular channels (Article 8), postal notification (Article 10), service by a local bailiff or competent authority or agreements between states to use other methods of trans- mission. In criminal matters In the same way, the service of decisions in crim - inal matters is governed by judicial co-operation conventions in criminal matters (1959) and the Articles of the French Criminal Procedure Code, which provide for the transmission of the act or decision to the recipient through the public prosecutor.
For non-EU countries, this service occurs in line with the bilateral agreements concluded with each country.
5. Enforcement 5.1 Methods of Enforcement
Judgments rendered by French courts become enforceable once they acquire the force of res judicata, that is, when they are no longer subject to any suspensive appeal. If not voluntarily com - plied with, they may be executed through formal enforcement proceedings. Execution is carried out by a bailiff ( commissaire de justice ), who is empowered to implement a wide range of enforcement measures. These include: • seizure of bank accounts ( saisie-attribution ); • seizure of movable assets ( saisie-vente ); • attachment of wages ( saisie des rémunéra- tions ); and • seizure and judicial sale of real estate ( saisie immobilière ). Enforcement may only proceed once the deci - sion has been formally served with the enforce - ment formula ( formule exécutoire ). A valid enforcement title ( titre exécutoire ) is required, such as a final judgment or an order with provi - sional enforcement. Where assets are located abroad, enforcement will depend on the existence of a bilateral or multilateral treaty allowing for recognition and execution of the French decision in the foreign jurisdiction.
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