Calculation of procedural time limits

The rules for calculating procedural time limits are given in the articles 640 to 647-1 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

The concept of procedural time limits

The text does not provide a precise definition of the notion of procedural time limit. Article 640 of the Code of Civil Procedure simply states that :

"Where an act or formality must be completed before the expiry of a time limit, the time limit shall run from the date of the act, event, decision or notification that causes it to run.

The concept of a procedural time limit is therefore linked to an event that triggers a time limit, before the expiry of which a formality must be completed.

The day of the departure event is called the dies a quo. The last day of the period is called the dies ad quem.

The Court of Cassation states that the following rules apply to all legal and judicial acts, regardless of how the period is classified (Civ. 3^eDec. 21, 1987, n^o 85-10.794).

This case law concerned the limitation period. The Court then confirmed that these rules applied to rescission for lesion (Civ. 3^eDec. 8, 1993, n^o 90-22.070), the time limit for a civil appeal (Civ. 2^eOctober 12, 1994, n^o 92-19.332), foreclosure on consumer credit (Civ. 1^reMarch 17, 1998, n^o 96-15.567), the notice to attend the interview prior to dismissal (Soc. 9 June 1999, n^o 97-41.349), land registration (Civ. 3^eNovember 29, 2000, n^o 99-11.022), etc.

Only the limitation period is treated differently.

The difference between the limitation period and the procedural period

When a procedural time limit expires on a non-business day, the last day of the time limit is extended to the next business day. The second paragraph of article 645 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides that :

"The period that would normally expire on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday is extended until the next working day.

Limitation periods, on the other hand, are subject to the provisions of Article 2229 of the Civil Code, which states that extinctive limitation "is acquired when the last day of the term has elapsed.

The Court of Cassation clarified its position on this issue in two successive decisions:

• " And whereas, having stated, on its own and adopted grounds, that the rules governing the computation of limitation periods must be distinguished from those governing procedural time limits and that it follows from article 2229 of the Civil Code that limitation is acquired when the last day of the term has elapsed, the Court of Appeal correctly deduced, without disregarding Article 6 § 1 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, that the limitation period applicable to the bank did not have to be extended to the first working day following its expiry; "(Cass. 2e civ., 7 Apr. 2016, no. 15-12.960, Bull. d'information 2016 no. 849, II, no. 1221).
• "Whereas, according to the last of these texts, prescription is acquired when the last day of the term has elapsed; whereas the rules of computation of the procedural time limits set out in articles 641 and 642 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which provides that the time limit expires at the end of the day bearing the same number as the starting date, do not apply to limitation periods;". (Cass. 1st civ., 12 Dec. 2018, n° 17-25.697, Published in the bulletin).
  

Calculating procedural time limits in terms of days, months or years

The way in which procedural time limits are calculated depends on the nature of the time limit.

The period expressed in days

If the period is counted in days, then the day of the starting point does not count. For example, if a period of 15 days runs from 1 January, then it expires on 16 January at midnight.

The first paragraph of Article 641 of the Code of Civil Procedure states that "When a period is expressed in days, the day of the act, event, decision or notification that causes it to run shall not count.

The period expressed in months or years

If a period is counted in months or years, it runs from the starting date and ends on the same date in the last month or year. For example, if a period of 1 month or 1 year runs from 1 January, then it expires on 1 February or 1 January of the following year.

Things get more complicated if the period expires on a day that does not exist. For example, a 1-month period begins on 31 January. When does this period end?

Article 641 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides a solution to this problem in its second paragraph. It states that "Where a period is expressed in months or years, the period expires on the day of the last month or year which bears the same date as the day of the act, event, decision or notification which causes the period to run. In the absence of an identical date, the period expires on the last day of the month.

The mixed period in days and months or years

Sometimes we are faced with mixed time limits. Take, for example, the time limit for payment of the auction price in property seizures. The text specifies that the payment period is 2 months from the date of the final auction (article R. 322-56 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures). However, the sale only becomes final once the higher bidding period has expired, which is 10 days (article R. 322-51 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures). We are therefore dealing with a mixed period, counted in days and months (10 days and 2 months).

In this case, the calculation of procedural time limits is subject to the third paragraph of Article 641 of the Code of Civil Procedure:

"When a period is expressed in months and days, the months are counted first, then the days.

In our example, if the auction takes place on 1 January, the deadlines are calculated as follows:

• Firstly, the 2-month period, from 1 January to 1 March,
• Then the 10-day period, from 2 March to 12 March.
  

Things get more complicated if the date on which the first deadline expires does not exist:

• If the 2-month period begins on 31 December, it ends on 28 February,
• The 10-day period then begins on 1 March and ends on 10 March.
  

In all cases, the end of the

With regard to the end of the procedural period, article 642 provides that :

"All deadlines expire at midnight on the last day.
The period that would normally expire on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday is extended until the next working day.

The Court of Cassation has added that the provisions of this text only apply when an act or formality must be completed before the expiry of a time limit (Civ. 2^eFebruary 4, 1998, n^o 96-13.391).

Interestingly, it also stated that the rule set out in paragraph 2 of article 642, relating to the extension of the time limit to the next working day, is imposed by article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Civ. 3^eDec. 10, 1985, n^o 84-15.690: Bull. civ. III, n^o 165).

Where there is a mixed time limit, the rule set out in the second paragraph must be applied to each time limit individually. For example :

• The 2-month period begins on 31 December and ends on 28 February. As 28 February is a Sunday, the end of the period is postponed to 1 March.
• The following 10-day period therefore begins on 2 March and expires on 12 March.
  

The rules applicable to the computation of procedural time limits are therefore straightforward, although they can be tricky in the case of a mixed time limit or a limitation period.