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Commercial litigation: conduct of a case before the commercial court

Verified 25 May 2021 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of Justice

The Commercial Court shall adjudicate on disputes between traders or between traders and private individuals and disputes concerning commercial acts. The commercial court shall be seised either by subpoena either by request joint. The parties must have a lawyer unless otherwise provided. In the departments of Alsace-Moselle (Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin and Moselle), the commercial chamber of the judicial court has jurisdiction.

General case

The Commercial Court is responsible for adjudicating disputes between traders or between individuals and traders. It shall also adjudicate all disputes concerning commercial acts and collective proceedings.

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General case

The parties shall appoint a lawyer, unless otherwise provided (for example, if the claim is for an amount less than or equal to €10,000).

Safeguard, recovery and winding-up proceedings

The parties shall be exempt from legal representation where the claim is for an amount equal to or less than €10,000 in the context of safeguard, recovery and winding-up proceedings.

The parties may appear in person or be represented by any person of their choice. This representative must have a special power, i.e. a written order instructing him or her to act in his or her place before the court.

Trade and businesses Register (SCR) dispute

The parties are exempt from legal representation for disputes relating to the keeping of the Commercial and business Register (RCS)

The parties may appear in person or be represented by any person of their choice. This representative must have a special power, i.e. a letter instructing him or her to act in his or her place.

Pledge

The parties shall be exempt from legal representation in respect of pledge stocks and pledges without dispossession (the debtor retains the pledged item).

The parties may appear in person or be represented by any person of their choice. This representative must have a special power, i.e. a letter instructing him or her to act in his or her place.

The procedure for appealing to the commercial court depends on whether or not you want to reach an amicable agreement with your opponent.

If the parties agree on the solution of the dispute they have found and ask the judge to validate it, they may initiate a mutual agreement procedure.

If the parties agree to go before the judge to decide the dispute, they make a decision request joint.

If the parties do not agree on the solution of the dispute or if only one of them wants to go before the judge, the procedure is carried out by subpoena in court.

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Mutual agreement

If you want to negotiate, you and your opponent must go to court together.

This is a joint motion in which you indicate to the judge your dispute, your points of disagreement and the reasons.

The court of jurisdiction is that of your domicile or that of your opponent.

If the dispute concerns a contract, you have the choice between the court of your opponent's domicile or the head office of the establishment. You can also file a complaint with the court of the place where the contract was performed (for example, for a delivery, the place where the dispute occurred).

Who shall I contact

Assignment

If negotiation is not possible, the commercial court must be seised by filing a subpoena to graft.

The competent court is the court of your opponent's domicile. If the dispute concerns a contract, you have the choice between the court of your opponent's domicile or the head office of the establishment. You can also file a complaint with the court of the place where the contract was performed (for example, for a delivery, the place where the dispute occurred).

Who shall I contact

Where representation by counsel is mandatory, the summons shall be issued by counsel.

In proceedings where a lawyer is not required, the summons is drafted by the plaintiff himself.

To be admissible, it must contain the following elements:

  • Identification of the parties: name, contact details, legal form (SA, SARL ...), registered office and body legally representing it (CEO, director ...)
  • Court concerned
  • Purpose of the request with a statement of the reasons for your dispute
  • Indication of the mode of appearance of the defendant
  • Enumeration of the documents on which the application is based, accompanied by a list of documents
  • Surname, forename, domicile, and signature of the Commissioner of Justice (former bailiff and judicial auctioneer)
  • Place, day and time of the hearing. You will obtain this information from the Commercial Court Registry.

The summons is filed by a commissioner of justice. He will indicate in the summons the date and time of the hearing. These dates are usually indicated on the website of the commercial court concerned. The summons must be issued to the opposing party at least 15 days before the date of the hearing. The Commercial Court shall be validly seised when a copy of the summons is submitted to the Registry, no later than 8 days before the date of the hearing. After this period, the summons is no longer valid.

Who shall I contact

Warning  

the rules of procedure must be respected in order for the commercial court to be properly seised. The case may not be heard if the court has not been properly seized.

Joint Query

Joint motion is possible when the parties agree to have their dispute adjudicated before the commercial court.

The parties must file a joint motion setting out the dispute, their respective applications and their points of disagreement.

The matter shall be referred to the court by the delivery of the application.

Who shall I contact

A judge is appointed within the court to hear the case and prepare for the hearing. It organizes exchanges between the parties to the dispute on the one hand, and between the parties and the court on the other. The judge hearing the case may find that there is a compromise between the parties, he may even appoint a conciliator of justice to promote this solution. In the absence of conciliation between the parties, the case is referred to a hearing for trial after the investigation has been completed.

At trial, lawyers represent the parties.

Where counsel is not required, the parties may appear in person or designate any person of their choice. This representative must have a special power, i.e. a letter instructing him or her to act in his or her place.

The cost of the proceedings varies depending on the method chosen to bring the case before the court and the type of dispute. You can find out more on the website of the court concerned.

If you don't have enough resources, you can legal aid to cover all or part of these costs.

For a dispute whose value does not exceed €5,000, you may appeal to the Court of Cassation.

For a dispute whose value exceeds €5,000, you can appeal against the decision of the Commercial Court.

Who shall I contact

Alsace-Moselle

There is no commercial court in Alsace-Moselle (Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin and Moselle). The Commercial Chamber of the court of law (Colmar, Mulhouse, Strasbourg, Sarreguemines, Metz, Thionville and Saverne) exercises the powers of the Commercial Court in these 3 departments.

The Chamber of Commerce is responsible for adjudicating disputes between traders and those concerning commercial acts. It is also responsible for disputes between partners and collective proceedings (safeguard, recovery and liquidation).

The parties shall appoint a lawyer, unless otherwise provided (for example, if the claim is for an amount less than or equal to €10,000 or a bankruptcy).

If counsel is not required, the parties may appear in person or be represented by a third party designated by them.

The commercial chamber may be seized by the filing of a subpoena at the Registry or byrequest joint.

Who shall I contact

The summons shall be filed by the Commissioner of Justice. In the summons, he will indicate the date and time of the hearing.

Who shall I contact

The trial is between the parties: the applicant (initiating the procedure) and the defendant (the one under attack).

The court with jurisdiction shall be that of the defendant's domicile. If the dispute concerns a contract, the court of competent jurisdiction may be either the place of domicile of the defendant or the place of performance (e.g. the place of delivery).

Who shall I contact

The procedure is free of charge.

Other costs may be added: lawyer, commissioner of justice, ...

If you don't have enough resources, you can legal aid to cover all or part of these costs.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service

    For more information on this topic, you can contact Allô Service Public.

    Cost: free service

    The informants who answer you belong to the Ministry of the Interior.

    Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and cannot therefore provide information on their status.

    The service is available at the following times:

    • Monday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
    • Tuesday: 8:30 to 12:15
    • Wednesday: 8:30 to 12:15
    • Thursday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
    • Friday: 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m

  • To bring the matter before the court

    Registry of the Commercial Court

  • For information

    House of Justice and the Law

  • Institute of Local Law

    Local Law Institute