Amicable agreement to avoid a civil trial

Verified 01 September 2025 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of Justice

In order to avoid a trial, people who have a dispute can try to resolve it amicably with the help of a judge, a court conciliator, a mediator or lawyers in a participatory procedure.

Before going to court, it is possible to reach an amicable agreement regardless of the dispute between the parties.

An amicable solution can be found for example in the following situations:

  • Dispute between landlord and tenant
  • Dispute with a trader
  • Abnormal neighborhood disorder
  • Construction problems
  • Dispute between employee and employer
  • Family conflicts
  • Dispute between the syndicate of co-owners and the trustee or between co-owners.

Warning  

An amicable agreement cannot take place in matters concerning civil status (name, parentage...).

An attempt to conciliation, mediation or participatory procedure is mandatory before bring disputes before the courts, including do not exceed €5,000.

It is also mandatory for the following disputes:

Warning  

The legal claim is declared inadmissible if this obligation is not respected.

The parties are exempted from the obligation attempt conciliation, mediation or participatory proceedings before any legal claim in the following cases:

  • One of the parties asks the approval of an agreement, i.e. its validation by a judge.
  • One legitimate reason prevents it from doing so (for example, the conciliator is unavailable and can only organize conciliation within a period of more than 3 months).
  • The judge or the administrative authority must itself make an attempt at prior conciliation. For example, the obligation to refer the matter to the amicable appeal board Caf: titleContent before any trial.
  • One creditor hired a simplified small claims recovery procedure which did not produce results.
  • One prior appeal mandatory is already provided for in the procedure. For example, for a dispute with social security, the medical committee of amicable appeal must be seized of an ex gratia appeal.

FYI  

In case of emergency, parties are exempted from reaching an amicable agreement before a trial if they prove that it is impossible to reach an agreement (for example, water leakage, lack of heating).

An amicable agreement is only possible if all parties agree to find an arrangement to avoid a trial.

The agreement may relate to compensation, work to be done, goods to be delivered...

To reach this agreement, it is possible to call on a conciliator of justice, a mediator, a lawyer or a judge.

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Conciliator of Justice

The conciliator of justice is a volunteer justice assistant which guides the parties in their search for an amicable agreement.

It allows for a renewed dialog with the parties and helps them to find a solution to the dispute between them.

The conciliator can be contacted by any means (phone, email, mail...)

Who shall I contact

He convene the parties and shall indicate the place, day and time of the conciliation.

The parties may be accompanied by:

  • a lawyer,
  • their spouse, common-law partner or Civil partnership partner,
  • a parent (father, mother, in-laws, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother, sister, nephew, niece...).

It can propose a solution to the dispute, but in no case can it impose a solution.

He cannot at any time give legal advice or defend one of the parties against another.

With the agreement of the parties, it may hear any person useful to the conciliation, visit the place of the dispute or appoint another conciliator.

In the event of conciliation, even partial, a finding of agreement is signed by the parties and the conciliator of justice.

One copy is given to each party and a copy shall be deposited at the registry of the judicial tribunal.

The parties or one of them, with the express agreement of the other parties, may make a request for approval of agreement to the competent court.

The parties may request the affixing of the enforceable form to the instrument establishing the agreement reached at conciliation. The application shall be made in writing in duplicate and shall be sent to the registry of the court having jurisdiction at the applicant's domicile.

If the conciliation fails, the conciliator shall provide the parties with a certificate indicating that the parties have attempted a conciliation that has failed. The parties may seize a judicial jurisdiction to settle their dispute.

FYI  

Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, anything said, written or done during conciliation is confidential.

Judge

An application may be made to the court for the sole purpose of conciliation.

The judge may decide to conduct the conciliation himself or delegate it to a conciliator.

The parties are notified by the registry that they must attend a conciliation hearing or that they must contact the conciliator appointed by the judge.

If the parties reach a conciliation, they may ask a judge to approve the statement of agreement.

The parties or one of them, with the express agreement of the other parties, submit a request for approval to the competent judge.

If the conciliation fails, the clerk or conciliator shall provide the parties with a certificate indicating that the parties have attempted a conciliation that has failed.

The parties may seize a judicial jurisdiction to settle their dispute.

FYI  

The limitation period and the time limits for bringing proceedings are interrupted by the registration of the application in court.

Mediator

The mediator is a professional responsible for find an amicable solution in a dispute between the parties.

They must have training or experience in the practice of mediation in relation to the nature of the dispute.

There are different mediators.

The civil ombudsman allows to find a solution for civil disputes of daily life such as neighborhood conflicts, unpaid rent.

For certain disputes, the mediators are more specialized as:

The mediator is chosen by the parties.

He or she may visit the premises and hear any person useful to the mediation with the agreement of the parties.

With the agreement of the parties, the mediator may be assisted by another mediator within the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal.

The mediator receives the parties together or separately.

They can be assisted by a lawyer if they wish.

If the parties fail to reach an agreement the mediator may propose a solution to settle the dispute.

If no agreement is reached, the parties may judicial jurisdiction to settle their dispute.

FYI  

Findings and statements collected by the mediator may not be produced during the proceedings unless the parties agree, or in any other proceeding.

Participatory procedure with lawyer

The the parties undertake to find jointly an amicable solution to their dispute.

The parties must be assisted by one lawyer.

Who shall I contact

The parties conclude a participatory procedure agreement.

This Convention must be written and mention the following:

  • Date on which it is concluded
  • Identity of the parties: in the case of natural personstheir surnames, first names, occupation, domicile, nationality, date and place of birth. If it is a question of legal persons, their form, name, registered office and the body legally representing them.
  • Identity of lawyers
  • End date of the agreement
  • Subject matter of the dispute
  • Documents and information necessary for the resolution of the dispute countersigned by the lawyers
  • Procedures for communicating requests, documents and information between the parties
  • Apportionment of costs between the parties.

During the proceedings, the parties may by mutual agreement use expertise or a technician. They can also call on a conciliator or a mediator.

The recourse to a judge is not possible as long as the participatory procedure concluded is ongoing, except in the event of non-execution thereof.

In case of insufficient resources of the parties, legal aid may be granted for the participatory procedure. The request must be made before the commencement of the proceeding.

If the parties manage to an agreement on all or part of the dispute who opposes them, they must formalize it in writing.

The parties may request to approve their agreement. They address a query to the judge accompanied by the participatory procedure agreement and the written agreement. The approved agreement has enforceability and allows forced execution.

The parties, or one of them, may also request that the agreement they have signed with their lawyers be endorsed with the enforceable formula.

The application shall be made in writing, in duplicate, to the registry of the court of the applicant's domicile competent to hear the dispute in the matter to which the agreement relates.

The Registrar shall affix the enforceable form only after having verified his competence and the nature of the act.

If the parties fail to reach an agreement, the matter may be referred to the judge by either party or by joint request the parties to settle the dispute.

The parties are then exempt from conciliation or prior mediation.

Warning  

Where a proceeding is pending and the parties have recourse to conciliation, mediation or participatory proceedings, the limitation period is suspended. The limitation period shall start running again from the end of the mediation, conciliation or participatory procedure for a period of not less than six months.

The purpose of the mutual agreement procedure is to reach an agreement between the parties.

This agreement may be formalized in writing.

The parties may ask the judge to approve the finding of agreement. The parties or one of them with the express agreement of the other parties, submit a request for approval to the competent judge.

The parties may also request the affixing of the enforceable form to the document establishing the agreement signed by the parties and their lawyers. The application shall be made in writing in duplicate and shall be sent to the registry of the court having jurisdiction at the applicant's domicile.

In the event of failure of the amicable procedure, the parties may refer their dispute to the court.

The court having jurisdiction depends on the sums at stake in the dispute.

  • For a dispute less than or equal to €10,000, it is the local court or the judicial court.
  • For a dispute greater than €10,000, it's the court of law.
Who shall I contact

Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, findings and statements gathered by the conciliator or mediator during conciliation or mediation may not be produced during a proceeding.

The cost depends on the intervention of the third party:

  • Conciliation is free of charge.
  • The mediation of consumption is completely free for the consumer, the cost of it is at the expense of the professional.
  • Mediation in civil or family disputes is paid. The mediator shall be remunerated by the payment of fees.
  • The participatory procedure is fee-based (lawyers' fees).

FYI  

THElegal aid may be granted for a participatory procedure.

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