Bring a civil dispute before the court
Verified 18 August 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)
You have a dispute with another person or business and you want to go to court to obtain a judgment? We present you the information to know.
The court has jurisdiction to try all civil cases between private persons unless the case falls within the jurisdiction of a specialized court such as the labor court, the commercial court, the joint tribunal for rural leases...
For example, it is competent for the following disputes:
- Family disputes (divorce, children's residence, rights of access and accommodation, alimony, inheritance....))
- Disputes concerning immovable property (dispute between an owner and his tenant, action for liability related to a building construction, challenge of decisions at a general meeting, right of way....))
- Disputes related to the person (protection of an adult, establishment of filiation...).)
- Disputes concerning obligations between several persons (unsettled debt, contract incorrectly executed, accident whose consequences must be repaired ...).)
Some courts are specialized and have sole jurisdiction over certain matters (e.g. social security litigation).
Any natural person may bring an action before the court against another individual, a professional (e.g. a trader, a craftsman) or a legal person (SA, SARL, EURL...))
A professional or a legal person may also refer a dispute with an individual to the court.
The competent judicial tribunal shall be that of opponent's home, called defendant. If there are several opponents, the plaintiff seizes at his choice the court of the domicile of one of them.
In some areas, one other court of justice is competent :
- If the case concerns a building, the place where the building is located must be referred to the court.
- If the case concerns a succession, the court of competent jurisdiction shall be the court of the last domicile of the deceased person.
Where the dispute relates to the performance of a contract, the court of the place of delivery or the of the place of performance the provision of the service may be seized.
In the field of compensation for damage (e.g. compensation for bodily injury or damage to property), it is possible to apply to the court of the place where the damage has been sustained.
Who shall I contact
The activity of the court is shared between different services depending on the type of dispute. There are judges specialized in certain subjects.
Where the nature of the case is within the competence of a specialized judge such as the family judge, the protection litigation judge, the enforcement judge, the request shall be addressed to him.
Type of business | Competent department or judge |
|---|---|
Guardianship, residential lease, consumer credit, over-indebtedness | |
Divorce, parental authority | Family affairs judge |
Seizures, seizure of remuneration, difficulties in enforcing a court decision | |
Social security and disability litigation | Court of Justice, social pole |
Personal law (civil status, filiation, adoption...)) | Court of Justice |
Estates | Court of Justice |
Real estate | Court of Justice |
Other civil cases | Court of Justice |
Where the subject matter of the dispute is not assigned to a specialized judge, applications shall be made to the court. They are then assigned to the graft of the competent judge according to the dispute.
Requests for a interim relief or a order on application must be addressed to the president of the judicial tribunal.
FYI
Litigation for the protection of adults and disputes whose amount does not exceed €10,000 (excluding specialized subjects) are judged at local court.
The matter is referred to the court by assignment or by query, depending on the nature of the case or value of the dispute.
Where the parties agree to have their dispute adjudicated by the court, they may use a joint request.
FYI
In determining the value of the dispute, the total amount of requests. When the litigation value cannot be encrypted, the court shall be seised by subpoena.
The recourse to a lawyer may be mandatory depending on the type of procedure or the amount of the dispute.
FYI
In case of emergency it is possible to obtain interim measures using a interlocutory proceedings.
Query
The request is possible when the amount of requests does not exceed €5,000 and in certain matters (e.g. guardianship or parental authority).
For claims for payment of an amount less than or equal to €5,000 and for certain specific disputes (e.g. abnormal neighborhood disturbances, bornage actions...),) attempt to conciliation, mediation or participatory procedure prerequisite is mandatory.
The request can be written on free paper or using a form:
Application for referral to the court or local court
The request must include the following:
- Full identity of the parties
- Court seised
- Subject matter of the claim (damages, delivery of goods, cancelation of a contract...))
- Reasons for the dispute
- Company steps towards an amicable resolution of the dispute or justification for waiving such an attempt
- List of parts.
You need to encrypt your requests (€100 damages, for example).
The request must be dated and signed.
FYI
It is possible to request a sum corresponding to the costs you had to incur for the procedure (travel expenses, stamps...).)
The completed request must be filed or transmitted by post (simple or registered letter) graft of the competent court.
Warning
You must attach a tax stamp of 50 €, unless you are a beneficiary of legal aid.
The request is registered by the graft. It shall inform the parties of the place, day and time of the hearing. The defendant shall be convened by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
It is possible to request in the application that the proceedings proceed without a hearing. To do this, a form must be completed:
This request can be made at any time during the procedure.
FYI
A lawyer may be called upon to apply to the court. The part who has low resources can apply for legal aid.
Joint request
When the parties to the dispute agree to have their dispute tried, they may bring an action before the court by a joint request.
This request must indicate the points of agreement and disagreement between the parties.
It is possible to call on a lawyer to bring the case before the court by joint application and to benefit from thelegal aid.
The request must include the following:
- Full identity of the parties
- Court seised
- Subject of the request (damages and interest, delivery of goods, cancelation of a contract...).
- Reasons for the dispute
- List of parts.
All requests must be numerical.
The request must be dated and signed.
Warning
You must attach a tax stamp of 50 €, unless you are a beneficiary of legal aid.
The request is registered by the graft. It shall notify the parties of the place, day and time of the hearing.
Assignment
When the value of the dispute is greater than €5,000 or where the lawyer is compulsory, the court right be entered by assignment.
The summons shall be issued to defendant by one commissioner of justice.
Who shall I contact
Mandatory particulars
The summons must contain mandatory particulars:
- Designation of the competent court
- Place, day and time of the hearing (information obtained from the court)
- Subject of the request (damages, delivery of goods, cancelation of a contract...).
- Full identity of the parties
- Reasons for the dispute
- Parts List
- Steps taken towards an amicable resolution of the dispute or justification for waiving such an attempt
- Method of appearance of the opposing party before the court, i.e. whether and within what period of time a lawyer is to be appointed
- Consequences in case of non-appearance of the opposing party.
Warning
You must attach to your court summons a tax stamp of 50 €, unless you are a beneficiary of legal aid.
The summons constitutes the conclusions from applicant, i.e. its requests and arguments.
All requests must be encrypted (e.g €100 from damages).
FYI
It is possible to request an amount corresponding to the costs incurred for the procedure (travel expenses, stamps...).
The request for the the procedure shall take place without a hearing shall be indicated in the summons.
If the dispute concerns a proceeding where representation by lawyer is mandatory, it is the lawyer who drafts the summons.
Who shall I contact
Where representation by counsel is mandatory, the opposing party has 15 days from the issuance of the summons to choose a lawyer.
The chosen lawyer shall transmit to the court act of constitution to inform the court that it is intervening in the proceedings.
The assignment must be filed with the court at least 15 days before the hearing date.
Failure to meet deadlines leads to lapse of the assignment, that is to say that the assignment is null and that it must be redone.
You have to pay a tax stamp from €50 to bring your claim to court, unless you are a beneficiary of legal aid.
The fees of lawyers and the commissioner of justice responsible for issuing the assignment shall be the responsibility of the parties.
Other costs may be added during the procedure, such as expert appraisal costs.
The applicant and the defendant may benefit from legal aid to cover all or part of the costs if their resources are insufficient.
Please note
The party who loses the case is in principle ordered to pay the costs, i.e. costs of the trial.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
For further information
For more information on this subject, you can contact Allô Service Public.
Please note: the service does not have access to users' personal files and cannot therefore provide information on their progress.
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