Conduct of a civil trial before the judicial tribunal

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

Wondering how to present your defense in a civil trial before the court? The rules differ depending on the type of proceedings initiated: written or oral proceedings. We present you the information to know.

Before the judicial tribunal, the parties at trial must be represented by a lawyer except in certain cases.

In written proceedings, the lawyer is compulsory, while in oral proceedings it is optional.

Written procedure

Whether you are applicant or defendant, you must be assisted from the beginning to the end of the procedure by a lawyer.

If you want to enter the court of law, you are the applicant. To bring the case before the court, you must first call a lawyer to write your assignment in court. The summons is then issued to your opponent by a commissioner of justice (formerly judicial officer).

If you are the addressee of a summons, you are the defendant in the proceedings. You must take a lawyer within 15 days if you wish to be represented in the proceedings.

FYI  

There may be multiple claimants and multiple defendants in a proceeding.

You and your opponent need to prepare your case for trial. When preparing the file, it is only your lawyer who must ensure communication with the court and your opponent.

The period of preparation of the file is called preconditioning.

During this period, lawyers must present their requests and their arguments (called means) in a named writing conclusions. The conclusions must be accompanied by supporting documents.

Refurbishment

In principle, preconditioning is conventional, i.e. organized by the parties together.

By exception, preconditioning is judicial, i.e. under the supervision of the judge.

FYI  

Conventionally prepared cases are prioritized in the court's hearing schedule.

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Conventional Refurbishment

In conventional prep, you must agree with your opponent on how to prepare your case for trial.

Drafting an agreement

The agreement with your opponent must be recorded in an agreement.

In this convention, you can include the following:

  • Points of law to which you limit the debate
  • Deadlines for communication of your findings and documents
  • Agreement on the use of a technician (expert)
  • Findings and opinions provided by a technician
  • Your hearings conducted in the presence of your lawyers
  • Testimonies.

The agreement is signed by your lawyers.

Role of the judge

You must inform the judge that an agreement has been concluded.

Once informed, the judge sets a distant hearing date (6 months or 1 year for example) for which the parties must have made their conclusions. In setting that date, the judge must take into account the content of the agreement and the complexity of the case.

At this hearing, if your case is ready for trial, the judge closes trade and sets the date for the hearing of oral arguments.

On the other hand, if the judge finds that the case is not in a position to be tried (for example, if a party has not made its finding), it may order a judicial readiness.

FYI  

At any time during the proceedings, you can decide to prepare your case without the intervention of a judge by entering into an agreement with your opponent participatory procedure for the purposes of rehabilitation. This agreement includes reciprocal commitments and guarantees and is intended to put the case in a state to be argued. In particular, it must set a term, i.e. the time limit for which it is valid.

Your lawyer (or that of the opponent) must inform the judge of the signing of an agreement and send him a copy. Once informed, the judge sets the closing date of the investigation and the date of the hearing.

Judicial rehabilitation

Communication of conclusions

The subpoena is the plaintiff's first finding. Then, the conclusions are prepared in turn by your opponent and you.

At the beginning of the pretrial stage, it is up to the defendant to respond to the summons by preparing his first conclusions.

You and your opponent must exchange all your documents and forward them to the court: it's the adversarial principle. All the documents and conclusions are communicated electronically, by the lawyers, at the Court Registry.

Role of the pretrial judge

A judge, called prep judge, shall have the role of ensuring that the procedure runs smoothly. It checks the file during the pre-trial hearings.

Pre-trial hearings are held regularly until the case is ready for trial. They take place virtually : you do not have to go to court.

During pre-trial hearings, the judge checks that the exchange of findings and exhibits between you and your opponent is taking place within the time limits set by it. It may, for example, require a party to provide its submissions within a set time limit, close the case without a party's submissions, or strike the case in the event of non-compliance with its requests.

Please note

You have the opportunity to make certain requests to the pre-trial judge. You can, for example, request an expert opinion or request that the judge require the opposing party to provide documents.

The length of pretrial proceedings depends on the number of submissions you make to your opponent, the timeline set by the pretrial judge, and the nature and difficulty of your case.

Once the file is complete, the pretrial judge closes trade and sets the hearing date of your case.

The hearing at which your case is tried is called oral hearing.

You cannot provide new findings or exhibits after the precondition close date.

In case of agreement with your opponent, you can ask the judge that the proceedings take place without a hearing.

Amicable settlement

At any time during the pre-trial stage, the judge may, at your request or ex officio, after obtaining your opinion, order that you be called to a settlement hearing (ARB). You are being called to this hearing by any means.

A judge, other than the judge hearing the case, acts as conciliator in the proceedings.

You must appear in person and be assisted by a lawyer.

Unless you agree, anything that is said, written or done during the hearing is confidential.

You can ask the ARA judge to confirm your agreement (partial or total). The minutes of agreement shall be sent to the judge hearing the dispute at the end of the ARA.

FYI  

At any time during pretrial, the judge may order you to meet with a conciliator of justice or a mediator.

On the day of the hearing, you must be represented by your lawyer. This is also the case for your opponent.

The procedure being written, your lawyer can plead or simply file his case without pleading.

You have the right to attend the hearing but your attendance is not mandatory.

At the end of the hearing, the judge shall date of deliberation, i.e. the date on which the judgment is delivered.

If the judge decides to give the judgment on a date other than the one originally announced, he must send a notice to your lawyer indicating the new date and the reasons for the postponement.

While awaiting deliberation, you can no longer table a memo to support your comments. You can only file a new note if the judge has invited you to do so in order to clarify a point in the case or if the proceedings are reopened.

The court makes its decision in the form of a judgment.

On the day of deliberation, the judgment is made available at the Registry, that is, the parties can consult it in court with ID. More rarely, the judgment is pronounced orally at the hearing on the day of deliberation.

The judgment must meet all the demands: yours and those of your opponent.

The device of the judgment shall indicate, for each application, whether it is granted or not. The part patterns of the court decision sets out the reasoning of the court.

FYI  

Sometimes, the court cannot rule on the dispute. This is, for example, the case if the applicant has taken the wrong court. In this case, the court makes a decision of incompetence. This is still the case if the court makes a stay of proceedings. It is a measure pronounced by the judge that causes a pause in the trial until a given date or the arrival of an event.

The judgment is enforceable by provision (i.e. it applies even if a party exercises a remedy), unless otherwise specified in the decision.

You can challenge the judgment by appealing within the time limit specified in the meaning.

If you notice a hardware error in your court decision, you can file a request for rectification.

If the judge has forgotten to rule on a request from one of the parties to the dispute, you can also refer the matter to the judge for a decision on the forgotten request.

FYI  

If a point of judgment is equivocal, that is, it can be interpreted in several ways, you can ask the judge to interpret its own decision by filing a query. You can make this request only if the decision is not challenged in call. The judge decides after seeking the opinion of the parties.

Oral procedure

You can act alone before the court or be assisted by a lawyer.

If you want to enter the court of law or the local court, you are the applicant.

Depending on the dispute, you must either have a assignment, or fill in a query.

Warning  

You must apply to the court in accordance with the rules of procedure. For example, if you send a motion when a subpoena is required, your case cannot be tried.

If you receive a summons from graft by registered letter or if you are the recipient of a summons, you are the defendant to the procedure.

As the proceedings are oral, the trial is structured around an audience.

If the court is seized by motion, you are summoned for this hearing, as is your opponent. Otherwise, the date of the hearing is included in the subpoena.

Communication of documents and requests

In order to respect the adversarial principle, you must communicate your coins and requests to your opponent. If your opponent takes a lawyer, you should send them to him.

Your opponent must do the same.

Warning  

You do not communicate your coins to your opponent at the last minute. If your documents are communicated too late to your opponent, the judge may refuse to take them into account.

The parts you want to use must also be forwarded to the court before the hearing. You can also file them in court on the day of the hearing.

You can try to agree with your opponent even if the court is seized. One amicable agreement may intervene at any time and thus terminate the procedure.

Assistance or representation

You can present in person at the hearing, possibly assisted by a lawyer.

If you are absent, you can be represented by a lawyer.

Who shall I contact

You can also make yourself represented by a person other than a lawyer.

If you wish to be represented at the hearing by another person, you can give them a power.

Power is a written document that allows the designated person to appear at the hearing and speak for and on your behalf.

The designated representative must be major. He must appear at the hearing with the power and one identity document.

You can use the following template to write your power:

Model of legal representation

In your authority, you must designate one of the following:

  • Person with whom you live as a couple
  • Your father or mother
  • Your child
  • Your brother or sister
  • Your nephew or niece
  • Your aunt or your uncle
  • Person attached to your personal service or company (e.g. company lawyer or domestic worker).

If you go to the hearing, these same people are allowed to assist you in place of a lawyer.

Proceedings without hearing

The hearing is not mandatory if you give your consent so that the proceedings proceed without a hearing. Your opponent must do the same.

The following form is used to give consent for proceedings without a hearing:

Consent to conduct proceedings without a hearing - Oral proceedings before the judicial tribunal or the protection litigation judge

However, the judge may decide to hold a hearing if he or she considers it necessary or if one of the parties so requests.

If the proceeding is without a hearing, you must set out in writing your requests and arguments to your opponent and to the court.

Communication between you and your opponent must be done by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt unless you have taken a lawyer.

If your case is not referred to a future hearing, it is dealt with at a adversarial debate.

The court must sometimes rule on its substantive or territorial jurisdiction before dealing with the dispute.

Consequences of an absence from the hearing

Your absence from the hearing has different consequences if you are the plaintiff or the defendant.

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You are the applicant

If you are absent and unrepresented, the judge may sunset of the case. This decision has the consequence of terminate the procedure.

If you are excused from appearing, the case may be postponed to another date or tried in your absence.

You are the defendant

The trial can be held if you do represented by a lawyer or a third party with power of attorney.

The trial can also take place if you are absent and unrepresented but provided that your summons is regular. In this case, the judge must be able to verify that you have been informed of the existence of the trial (summons by LRAR or by commissioner of justice).

The judge may postpone the trial to another date if you file a postponement request that the judge considers legitimate. He or she may also postpone the hearing if he or she considers that your attendance is necessary.

Request for referral

You can request the referral. of your case. If the application is granted, the judge sets the date for the next hearing at which the case will be heard.

This request must be justified (too short a time to prepare your defense, legal aid application being processed ...).

The judge can accept your request if he or she considers that the reason is legitimate (it must be serious and justified). In this case, the judge sets the date for the next hearing. They can also refuse your request: in this case, the case is examined on the same day.

In the event of a referral, especially if your opponent has requested it, you can ask the judge to be excused from attending the next hearing.

Territorial and material jurisdiction of the court

Before mentioning the dispute itself, you may refer to the question of the substantive or territorial jurisdiction of the court which has been entrusted with the case. The judge may also raise this issue.

The court may declare itself incompetent to adjudicate the case in the following cases:

  • Litigation under the jurisdiction of another judge (for example, a family judge litigation)
  • Litigation under the jurisdiction of another court (e.g. labor court)
  • Litigation under a court located in another city.

Conduct of the debates

The debates allow you and your opponent to to present your requests and arguments orally concerning the dispute between you.

The the judge presiding at the hearing organizes the proceedings.

He shall give the floor, first of all to applicant, then in a second step to defendant.

If you wish to provide additional explanations after your turn, you can ask the judge to speak again.

The judge may ask either party for clarification.

It can also hearing witnesses.

Exchanges during debates shall be recorded by the Clerk in a hearing note searchable from graft.

If the judge considers that the case requires further discussion or further information (e.g. an expert opinion or a visit to the premises), he or she may postpone the case to another date.

Please note

At any time, if the judge finds that an agreement can be reached, he may designate a conciliator of justice or a civil ombudsman. If this amicable way fails, the debates can resume.

Once the parties have spoken, the judge closes the proceedings.

It gives the date of deliberate, i.e. the date on which the judgment will be delivered.

No request or argument can be taken into account after the closing of the proceedings, unless the judge expressly authorizes it.

On the day of deliberation, the judgment is made available at the Registry, that is, you can go to the court with your ID.

More rarely, the judgment can be pronounced orally during a hearing.

In any case, a copy of the judgment is sent to you.

The decision may be yours notified by the graft by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.

If not, the decision must be served by a commissioner of justice . This service is usually made by the party who has an interest in enforcing the decision (the one who won the case).

FYI  

The judgment is enforceable by provision (i.e. it applies even if a party exercises a remedy), unless otherwise specified in the decision.

The recourse you can make is indicated in the notification of the Registry or the Commissioner of Justice.

You can also deduce the possible recourse by looking at the drafting of the judgment. In the device from the decision, you can read that your judgment is either made in first instance, or made in last instance, or made in default.

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Judgment delivered at first instance

You can challenge by appealing.

Judgment rendered as a last resort

You can challenge by filing a appeal in cassation.

Default Judgment

You can challenge the decision by training opposition.

The default judgment is the judgment rendered in last resort and for which the citation was not issued to the defendant in the proceedings.

Warning  

The time limit to challenge starts from the meaningthe notification by the court registry or the reading of the decision in open court.

If you notice a hardware error in your court decision, you can file a request for rectification. You can consider the same approach if the judge forgot to rule on a request from one of the parties to the dispute.

FYI  

If a point of judgment is equivocal, that is, if it can be interpreted in several ways, you can ask the judge to interpret its own decision by filing a query. You can make this request only if the decision is not challenged in call. The judge decides after seeking the opinion of the parties.

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