FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Thierry Marembert, Cécile Labarbe and Céline Serpagli, Kiejman & Marembert
13. Arbitration 13.1 Laws Regarding the Conduct of Arbitration France is a major centre of arbitration, with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the International Court of Arbitration being locat- ed in Paris. The latest version of the ICC Arbitra- tion Rules was published in 2021. The arbitration process can be conducted either on an ad hoc basis or under the auspices of an arbitral institution (such as the ICC). Arbitration procedures are greatly influenced by the will of the parties, as specified in arbitration clauses (before a dispute arises) or compromis- es (after a dispute has arisen). There is often a purely residual nature to the sets of laws governing arbitration procedures. The applicable body of rules may depend on the purpose of the arbitration. There are international arbitrations “involving the interest of international trade”, as well as domes- tic arbitrations. In any event, the due process of law, adversarial principle, rights of defence and equality of arms must govern the arbitration process. 13.2 Subject Matters Not Referred to Arbitration Disputes relating to persons’ capacity and sta- tus, divorce, judicial separation and any litiga- tion involving public institutions or public order issues cannot be settled through arbitration. 13.3 Circumstances to Challenge an Arbitral Award There are several judicial remedies available to challenge an arbitration award. Appeals on the
merits are restricted to domestic awards if such an appeal has been specified by the parties. Annulment appeals are available in any case when: • the arbitral tribunal wrongly upheld or declined jurisdiction; • the arbitral tribunal was not properly consti- tuted; • the arbitral tribunal ruled without complying with the mandate conferred upon it; • the adversarial principle was violated; • recognition or enforcement of the award vio- lates domestic or international public order; or • (for domestic arbitration only) the reasons for the decision are not stated, or the award date or the name and signature of the arbitrators are not written, or the majority of the arbitra- tors have not endorsed the decision. Appeal proceedings should be brought before the court of appeal that has jurisdiction over the award. The award can be appealed as soon as it is released and up to one month following its notification. Despite the reform of the appeal procedure, the suspensive effect of the appeal continues to be applicable to domestic awards, notwithstanding the ability of the arbitration tribunal to order pro- visional enforcement (Article 1496 of the FCCP). If granted, provisional enforcement can be chal- lenged by the parties through a specific appli- cation before the president of the appeal court. An appeal against the arbitration award also trig- gers an appeal against the subsequent enforce- ment order.
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