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Protecting your personal property assets: the guide to unseizability for sole traders
If you are a sole trader, your business creditors can seize your personal assets: your principal residence, savings account and vehicle. French law has put in place two mechanisms to protect your private assets from the vagaries of business. Understanding their conditions and limits is essential before it's too late.
Methods of executionImmunities from execution: when recovery comes up against the wall of sovereignty
You have a writ of execution, but your debtor has immunity from execution: seizure is impossible. This mechanism, which protects States, local authorities and certain international organisations, is a formidable obstacle for creditors. There are ways around it, but they require a precise understanding of the scope of these immunities.
Seizure of the boat: enforcement measures and protection of the creditor
Your debtor owns an inland waterway vessel and is no longer making payments: this asset may be subject to seizure, but the procedure differs depending on whether you simply wish to immobilise it or obtain its forced sale. French law, supplemented by international conventions, provides for two distinct procedures - seizure for safekeeping and seizure for sale - with strict rules to protect creditors and owners. Here is a detailed presentation of these mechanisms.
Methods of executionCross-border enforcement and exequatur of foreign judgments
Your debtor sentenced in France has his assets abroad - or conversely, you have a foreign judgment that you want to enforce in France. Exequatur is the procedure that confers enforceability on a foreign decision, subject to three strict conditions laid down by the Cour de cassation. European regulations have simplified this procedure, but have not abolished it.
Methods of executionThe right to enforcement of judgments and deeds: foundations and limits
Obtaining a favourable judgment is only one step: without effective enforcement, the victory remains a dead letter. The right to enforcement of judgments is a fundamental right recognised by the ECHR since the Hornsby ruling in 1997 and enshrined by the French Constitutional Council - but its conditions and practical limits are often ignored by creditors.
Methods of executionEnforceability formula and conditions for enforcing judgments
Winning a case is not enough: a judgement without an executory clause remains a dead letter because it cannot be enforced. This compulsory endorsement, which has remained unchanged since 1947, conditions both the enforcement of court decisions and that of notarial deeds. Understanding the conditions under which it is required helps to avoid the irregularities that block all enforcement proceedings.
Seizure by declaration: procedure and legal effects
Is your debtor's vehicle out of reach but his vehicle registration document is in his name? Seizure by declaration blocks the transfer of the registration certificate without the need to immobilise the vehicle. This measure, inherited from tax practice, has the same effect as a seizure as soon as it is served on the authorities.
Exequatur: how can a foreign judgment be enforced in France?
You have obtained a foreign judgment against your debtor, but he lives in France. Without the exequatur procedure, this decision remains unenforceable on French territory. Find out how to obtain the judicial authorisation that transforms your foreign judgment into a fully effective enforcement instrument.
Receivership: conventional and judicial receivership, the complete guide
An asset or sum of money is at the heart of a dispute and you wish to freeze the situation during the proceedings. A receivership - conventional if the parties agree, judicial if the judge orders it - entrusts this property to a neutral third party until the dispute is settled. Here are the conditions, effects and differences between the two systems.
The basics of seizing land motor vehicles
Your creditor is threatening to seize your car, or you wish to recover a debt by this means: the CPCE provides for two distinct procedures, declaration to the prefecture and material immobilisation, with very different regimes. Mastering their respective formalities, on pain of nullity, determines the effectiveness of the seizure.
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