FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Thierry Marembert, Cécile Labarbe and Céline Serpagli, Kiejman & Marembert
tion from the judges, while in other courts (such as tribunaux de commerce ) the oral argument is more interactive, with the judge(s) asking for clarifications on certain points. 7.2 Case Management Hearings After the filing of the initial writ of summons, most courts hold case management hearings every four weeks or so to prepare the case file for the oral arguments and to rule over any inter- locutory motions (lack of jurisdiction, dispute over evidence, etc). Certain proceedings may be conducted without any hearing before tribunaux judiciaires , when the parties expressly agree to such. In this case, the factual and legal reasoning, as well as the claims, shall be submitted exclusively in writing. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases Under French law, jury trials only exist for the most serious criminal matters before the Cour d’assises (which has jurisdiction to judge crimi- nal acts punishable with over 20 years of impris- onment) and are excluded in all civil, commer- cial, labour and administrative disputes. 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence The types of evidence that are admissible depend on the jurisdiction. For civil matters, there are certain rules (not applicable before commercial courts) that restrict admissible evi- dence, depending on the nature and gravity of the dispute. Evidence generally consists of documentary evi- dence, testimonies and investigative measures decided by the court during case management hearings.
Usually, at least in civil and commercial trials, evidence must be brought to the court by the parties. Contrary to criminal proceedings, civil and com- mercial courts used to reject evidence obtained by unlawful or disloyal means, but the Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that unlawfully obtained evi- dence could be admissible provided it is strictly necessary and proportionate to prove the claim. 7.5 Expert Testimony Although parties can file experts’ written reports as evidence or ask the court to appoint an expert to make an assessment on a specific issue, it is rare that experts provide testimony at trial, even those experts appointed by the court. This is because the trial hearing is mostly limited to an oral presentation of the parties’ arguments where the parties’ attorneys summarise the evi- dence of their clients, rather than cross-examine the evidence with witnesses or experts being present (except before the ICCP – see 1.2 Court System ). 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public In principle, closing argument hearings are public (with limitations in certain matters; see 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings ). Transcripts are very limited, even in criminal matters, and the dia- logue of the persons present is never recorded verbatim, except before Cours d’assises under certain circumstances. Except in simple disputes and before Cours d’assises , judgments are issued weeks or months after the closing argument hearing (typi- cally four to eight weeks). Parties have access to the full judgment of their case. Under certain conditions, third parties may
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