Publications

Expiry date, Civil procedure

Every 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?

In the French financial world, not all activities are open to all players. The legal system puts in place strict safeguards to protect the public and financial stability. The banking monopoly is one of the pillars of this protective architecture. Supervision of banking activities The legislator...

Credit and consumer law, Over-indebtedness

The spiral of debt can quickly spiral out of control. Unpaid bills, accumulating credit, overdrafts... When it becomes impossible to pay off non-business debts, the over-indebtedness procedure offers a legal way out. This procedure, codified in articles L.711-1 et seq. of the French Consumer Code, enables people who...

Injunction to do, Civil procedure

When you are faced with a contractor who refuses to fulfil an obligation to do something (deliver a good, carry out work, provide a service), the injunction to do something procedure offers an alternative to the traditional channels. This procedure, which is less well known than its cousin the injunction to pay, nevertheless deserves the attention of all creditors...

Acquiescence, Civil procedure

Acquiescence is a legal act by which a party to a lawsuit waives the right to contest his opponent's claims or submits to a court ruling. Far from being a simple posture of submission, it is a strategic move, with often irreversible consequences, that deserves to be understood in all its aspects...

Commissioner of Justice, Guarantees, securities and enforcement law

The judicial commissioner carries out many more tasks than those for which he is usually known. To gain a better understanding of the wide range of their duties, we need to look back at the creation of this profession, which resulted from the merger of bailiffs and auctioneers. Behind the image of the...

Guarantees, securities and enforcement law, Enforcement judge

When an enforcement procedure goes wrong, the enforcement judge (JEX) can order the offending party to pay compensation for the damage caused. These prerogatives, set out in article L.213-6 of the Code of Judicial Organisation, provide an effective remedy for victims of abusive or damaging enforcement. Wrongful execution: a costly risk A...

Mortgage loan, Credit and consumer law

Financial difficulties can strike anyone. An accident, redundancy or divorce can make it impossible to repay a mortgage. Fortunately, the law provides a number of mechanisms to help borrowers in difficulty. These schemes help to avoid spiralling debt and give borrowers a second chance...

Credit insurance, Credit and consumer law

International transactions expose companies to particular risks. Between the time goods leave the country and the time payment is received, a number of events can jeopardise the commercial transaction. Political risk or "country risk" Political risk, now commonly referred to as "country risk", is one of the most common types of...

Guarantees, securities and enforcement law, Seizure of property

The First Civil Chamber of the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) has just clarified the scope of the obligations of the court commissioner when drawing up a description report in the context of a property seizure. In a judgment handed down on 26 June 2024 (Cass. 1re civ., 26 June 2024, no. 23-13.236, published in the Bulletin), the Court...