Provisional enforcement
Provisional enforcement: definition, basis and distinction from final enforcement
By Raphaël MORENON23 March 2025In a legal environment where procedural deadlines are getting longer and longer, provisional enforcement is a decisive tool for litigants. This option allows creditors to obtain satisfaction without waiting for the final outcome of a dispute. What is provisional enforcement? Provisional enforcement is defined as "the right granted to the successful party - or creditor - to pursue, at his or her own risk, the immediate enforcement of the judicial decision to which it is attached, despite the suspensive effect attached to the time limit of the legal remedy available or to its exercise" (article 514 of the Code of Civil Procedure). In practice, this neutralises the suspensive effect normally granted to ordinary legal remedies (appeal and opposition). Without this option, lodging an appeal would block all enforcement until the final decision. The very existence of this option meets two major objectives: to protect the interests of the creditor who has won the case and to reduce dilatory appeals aimed at...
The effects of provisional enforcement during appeal or opposition proceedings
Law of guarantees, securities and enforcement measures, Provisional enforcementProvisional execution, a derogation from the principle of the suspensive effect of ordinary legal remedies, allows a creditor to pursue the immediate enforcement of a court decision despite an appeal or opposition. But what are its practical effects? When do they take effect? How do they affect the parties to the dispute? When does provisional enforcement take effect?Stopping and adjusting provisional enforcement: protecting the debtor
Law of guarantees, securities and enforcement measures, Provisional enforcementProvisional execution is formidable for the convicted debtor. It neutralises the suspensive effect of the appeal or opposition. The creditor can therefore obtain payment even though the decision is not final. But there are safeguards. The law offers two protective mechanisms for the debtor: the complete cessation of provisional enforcement...The two faces of provisional enforcement: de jure and optional
Law of guarantees, securities and enforcement measures, Provisional enforcementThe principle of the suspensive effect of ordinary remedies is one of the pillars of French private judicial law. However, provisional execution is an exception to this principle, allowing a decision to be enforced immediately despite an appeal or opposition. This derogation is not insignificant: it considerably alters the balance of power between the parties...
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