Joint motion before a civil court

Verified 20 January 2023 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of Justice

You and your opponent have a dispute (for example, in matters of parental authority or neighborhood conflicts) and you both agree that a judge should decide it or solve your problem? You can make an application to the judge together through a joint request.

The joint query can be used when the parties agree for to seize together the court and ask it to settle their dispute or to validate their agreement.

It's not one part suing the other.

You can make a joint request in certain cases of a private nature, such as:

Please note

the parties must sometimes justify, before bringing a case before the court, a attempt at conciliation, mediation or a convention on participatory procedures.

The request is a simple letter.

One letter must be written regardless of the number of games.

This letter shall contain the following:

  • Names, forenames, profession, domicile, nationality, date and place of birth of the parties
  • Subject matter of the request
  • Court hearing the application

The parties must specify the points on which they disagree, give their explanations and attach the relevant supporting documents.

The request is signed by all parties. It must be filed or sent to the graft of the court of justice.

Who shall I contact

Before the court, each party may be assisted or represented by a lawyer.

Who shall I contact

Warning  

in certain cases, such as divorce, the lawyer is obligatory.

The procedure itself is free.

However, other costs may be added, such as attorney's fees, Commissioner of Justice (former judicial bailiff and auctioneer).

If you are under-resourced, you can request legal aid to cover all or part of these costs.

Who can help me?

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