FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Thierry Marembert, Cécile Labarbe and Céline Serpagli, Kiejman & Marembert
standard and fast tracks, the time limits may be reduced or extended by the presiding judge on a case-by-case basis. Under the same conditions as for the notice of appeal, the time limit is extended when the noti- fied party is domiciled in the French overseas territories or abroad. The judge in charge of managing the case on either track can order further rounds of submis- sions. In cases of extreme urgency where parties’ rights are “at risk”, parties can petition the high- est ranking judge of the court to have their case heard on a fixed date. A systematic invitation for the parties to enter into a participatory procedure agreement for hearing preparation has been introduced by the 2023 Decree ( Convention de procédure partici- pative aux fins de mise en état ). To encourage its use, resorting to these agreements allows for priority scheduling of hearings. 10.4 Issues Considered by the Appeal Court at an Appeal The scope of the dispute before the appeal court is limited by the notice of appeal and the parties’ initial submissions. In their first submissions, the parties must spec- ify all their claims on the merits. In principle, new claims made in subsequent submissions may be held inadmissible, except for claims specifically intended to respond to the party’s submissions and exhibits or dealing with new issues raised after the filing of the first submissions. This restriction only applies to claims; new fac- tual or legal arguments may still be raised in sub-
sequent submissions if they relate to the parties’ claims. 10.5 Court-Imposed Conditions on Granting an Appeal An appeal court cannot dismiss an appeal that complies with the rules mentioned in 10.4 Issues Considered by the Appeal Court at an Appeal . However, a party can petition the appeal judge to strike out the appeal of the other party when it does not comply with the appealed judgment requirements (for instance, to pay the damages awarded). The judge also declines to strike out the appeal when the party is unable – for objec- tive reasons – to comply with the decision or when enforcing the decision could entail mani- festly excessive consequences. 10.6 Powers of the Appellate Court After an Appeal Hearing When the appeal aims to cancel the first- instance decision, the appeal court is apprised of the full scope of the dispute. This means that the court must hear the entire case and cannot refer it back to the lower courts when ruling that the deferred decision shall be cancelled. In the other hypothesis, the appeal court can only rule on the merits that are challenged. In all cases, the court shall ground its decision on the written submissions of the parties and their exhibits. In rare circumstances, it can reopen the debates after the appeal has been heard. 11. Costs 11.1 Responsibility for Paying the Costs of Litigation A distinction is made between expenses consid- ered by French law as being directly related to the conduct of a trial (called dépens ) and other
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