Expiry date
Conditions under which proceedings lapse: the three-step test
By Raphaël MORENON28 March 2025You think your case is progressing normally before the court... and suddenly your opponent invokes the lapse of proceedings. This radical procedural sanction extinguishes the proceedings in progress because of prolonged inactivity. How do you know whether your proceedings are likely to be affected by this sanction, which can wipe out two years of waiting? The trio fatal to the survival of your proceedings Stoppage of proceedings rests on three pillars. Article 386 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) lays down this simple but formidable rule: "Proceedings lapse when none of the parties takes any action for two years". These three conditions are cumulative: let's examine them in detail. The existence of an action: the scope One action, no more, no less Expiry applies only to proceedings constituting an action. According to the case law, an action is "a series of procedural acts from the application to the court to the judgment". Certain proceedings do not fall within this definition: on the other hand, proceedings...
Invoking the lapse of proceedings: procedures and strategies
Limitation period, Civil procedureLapse of proceedings, a little-known procedural sanction, is a formidable weapon in the legal arsenal. It allows proceedings to be terminated when the parties remain inactive for two years. But who can invoke it, and how can it be used effectively? Who can invoke lapse and how? Article 387 of the Code of Civil Procedure...The effects of the lapse of proceedings: practical consequences
Limitation period, Civil procedureA lawsuit drags on, the parties forget to move it forward, and then suddenly the penalty falls: the lapse of proceedings. This mechanism, provided for in the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), puts an end to proceedings that have been abandoned for two years. Far from being a mere formality, the lapse of proceedings entails...Lapse of proceedings: definition and legal basis
Limitation period, Civil procedureEvery year, thousands of legal proceedings get bogged down in the French courts. Some get bogged down by deliberate strategy, others by simple negligence. The legislator has provided a mechanism to penalise this procedural inertia: the lapse of proceedings. This mechanism, which is often overlooked, is a powerful tool for regulating judicial time. What is it?
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