Service of Court Documents between Lawyers: Strict Compliance with Articles 672 and 673 of the French Code of Civil Procedure

This decision provides important insight into your family and property rights. Here is what it changes for you.

The background

Under Article 672 of the code de procédure civile (French Code of Civil Procedure), the service of court documents between lawyers is evidenced by the affixing of the seal and signature of the judicial officer (huissier de justice) on the document and its copy, together with an indication of the date and the name of the receiving lawyer. Under Article 673 of the same code, direct notification of court documents between lawyers is effected by delivery of the document in duplicate to the receiving lawyer, who immediately returns one of the copies to their fellow counsel after dating and endorsing it. A court of appeal violates these provisions where it rules without any debate on the basis of pleadings bearing a printed statement that they had been served on the lawyer instructed by the opposing party (judgment No. 1, appeal No. 19-12.752), or on which a stamp of the bar association of a local bar attesting to their service had been affixed and which bore the signature of the lawyer who filed the pleadings (judgment No. 2, appeal No. 19-12.753), without verifying that those pleadings had been served in the required form and that the opposing party had been given the opportunity to respond

What the law says

This decision reaffirms the fundamental principles of property law.

Key points to remember

• Strictly observe the statutory time limits for appeals
• Keep all your supporting documents (title deeds, legal instruments, correspondence)
• Plan ahead: preventive legal advice is always less costly than litigation

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