How to correct an error in a civil court decision?
Verified 24 January 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
If you find an error or an oversight in a civil court decision, you can ask for it to be corrected. It is therefore necessary to submit a request for correction of a material error or omission. In general, the correction must be made by the court that made the mistake. We present you with the information you need to know.
The error or omission must be purely material. It must result from an unintentional act of the judge (inadvertence, clumsiness of expression or drafting).
The error or omission must come from the court or tribunal that made the decision.
An error or omission arising from the statement of claims of the parties (plaintiff or defendant), and then repeated by the judge, can sometimes also be rectified. For example, the judge reproduces an erroneous conversion of currency foreign currency in euro contained in conclusions of a game.
The correctable error is essentially the error found in the device of the court decision.
Hardware Error Examples
- Not typing the name of a part or changing the meaning of a sentence
- Miscalculation
- Forgetting or adding a word by mistake
- Date Error
Examples of material omissions
- Forgotten words or a sentence in the original version of the judgment (also called minute) as long as there is a drafting defect
- Overlooked part of the decision in the device whereas the application was examined by the judge in the motives of the judgment
- Missed in calculation of damages of a provision already paid
- Missing the name of a judge who participated in the proceedings
- Forgotten indexing of support or maintenance compensatory benefit
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In the absence of appeal
You must submit your application to the court that made the decision even if it is which has become final.
In the event of an appeal
If a call is in progress, you must file the application before the court of appeal from the moment the case was put on the roll (entered by the registrar in the register of pending cases).
If the appeal decision is rendered, the Court of Appeal remains competent to receive your request for rectification.
In the event of an appeal on points of law
The court which gave the decision to be rectified remains competent.
Exceptionally, the Court of Cassation has jurisdiction to rectify a contradiction between the motives and the device of a decision where that contradiction is due to a material error.
Who can go to court?
You can request the correction of a hardware error if you are a party (plaintiff or defendant) in the decision to be corrected.
The judge may also take the rectification itself without a request from you or your opponent.
Do you need a lawyer?
You must take a lawyer if the lawyer was already obligatory in the procedure that gave rise to the decision to be corrected. If it wasn't mandatory, you can take one.
Who shall I contact
How to go to court?
You can refer the matter to the judge by means of a request single or joint.
The application can be dematerialized when the initial procedure was opened to the online application (e.g. an application before the family court).
There's no no time limit. You can go to court at any time.
The judge decides after having called the parties (plaintiffs and defendants) to a hearing so that everyone can make their comments on the error or omission.
Where an application is made, the judge shall decide without a hearing unless he considers it necessary to hear the parties.
One new decision that corrects the error is returned.
This amending decision is mentioned in the margin of the original decision (or minute).
Please note
From that point on, if you have to use your court decision, you have to present the initial decision with the amending decision.
You must pay any fees of your lawyer.
However, costs of the procedure such that the costs are generally borne by the court or tribunal.
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Rectification rejected
You can do call or form a appeal in cassation.
Correction accepted
You can appeal of the amending decision if an appeal against the amended decision is still possible.
Alternatively, you can appeal if you feel that the judge has exceeded his or her authority (where the judge has breached the authority of res judicata correcting the decision).
You can appeal to the court of cassation whether an appeal against the corrected decision is possible or where the judge has acted in an excess of power.
If the corrected decision has become final, the amending decision may be challenged only by an appeal to the Court of Cassation.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service
The informants who answer you are from the Department of Justice.
Cost: free service
Service 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
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