FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Thierry Marembert, Cécile Labarbe and Céline Serpagli, Kiejman & Marembert
trial judge ( juge de la mise en état ) has exclusive jurisdiction to rule on interim applications for case management issues and interim remedies. The judge delivers rulings called jugements avant dire droit (judgments before stating law), which do not take the matter out of the judge’s hands nor have the force of res judicata on the merits of the proceedings. There are two types: • pre-trial rulings handling temporary situations during the proceedings, such as: (a) obtaining the sequestration of a property until the outcome; (b) setting visiting rights and custody during divorce proceedings; or (c) ordering the payment of a provision to the creditor when the existence of the obliga- tion is not seriously disputable; and • pre-trial rulings ordering any preparatory inquiries or investigative measures, such as: (a) an order for a party or a third party to provide certain documents requested by the other party (the pre-trial judge has full discretion to assess whether such a document is necessary for the resolution of the dispute); or (b) technical expertise or a civil investigation (including witness hearings, which are rare in practice). 4.2 Early Judgment Applications Under French law, there is generally no proce- dural mechanism to apply for early judgment on the merits. 4.3 Dispositive Motions The pre-trial judge has exclusive jurisdiction over procedural motions that are likely to bring the case to an end without review of the merits, including exceptions de procédure such as lack of jurisdiction or fin de non-recevoir such as stat-
utes of limitations or the absence of legal interest in bringing proceedings. Exceptions de procédure must be raised at the same time and in limine litis, before any substan - tive defence on the merits or fin de non-recevoir . 4.4 Requirements for Interested Parties to Join a Lawsuit Interested parties not named as a claimant/ plaintiff or defendant may join a lawsuit through a voluntary action ( intervention volontaire ). These interested parties may either bring claims of their own or support another party’s claim or position. The intervention is admissible if the party has a legitimate interest and proves the existence of sufficient connections with the original claim. 4.5 Applications for Security for Defendant’s Costs Before tribunaux judiciaires , the pre-trial judge may in some instances order a party to pay a sum of money as security for the other party’s legal costs. For instance, the family court can issue an interim order so that a spouse pays a sum to help the other spouse pay legal fees. However, the French Supreme Court has ruled that the party asking for a provision for costs must prove that the obligation is not seriously disputable on its merits. 4.6 Costs of Interim Applications/ Motions When an early judgment is issued on a procedur- al issue, the pre-trial judge often orders the los- ing party to pay a certain amount for legal fees. If an expert is appointed, they generally order the parties to pay a provision for the expert’s fees.
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