The rules for enforcing non-EU court judgments in France

The case of a plumber who opened a firm in France, leaving behind a £6,000 UK county court order brought against him by an unhappy client, has raised the issue of whether non-EU court orders can be enforced here.

Within the EU, court decisions in one country are enforceable in another in certain cases, such as relating to divorce and child custody and visiting rights.

There is also a fast-track EU process to have cross-border debts recognised and enforced with minimal formalities and without the need of an avocat (lawyer) for decisions related to goods and money.

This is not the case for both of the above with decisions from outside the EU but options exist, notably a procédure d’exequatur.

What is a procédure d’exequatur?

For this, the victim would need to pay lawyers’ fees and the person with the court order against them must have the funds to pay the debt.

It involves going in front of a judge in a tribunal judiciaire court to request a force exécutoire over a foreign court decision.

The expression refers to a legal decision which may be enforced by the forces of law and order.

The judge cannot change the content of the UK court order but checks that it can be applied in France. It must be established that the foreign court was competent to deal with the matter, that the judgment does not contravene international law, and that the person asking for the order to be applied did not deliberately seek a foreign ruling to bypass French law.

To bring the case, it is obligatory to use an avocat and the application must be made in the tribunal closest to the home of the person you are trying to have the order enforced against.

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Is a written judgment required?

Where a foreign court decision involves French property, the case can also be heard in the tribunal judiciaire closest to where it is situated. Only court orders with a written judgment can be subject to procédure d’exequatur.

The written judgment will have to be translated into French by a court-certified translator.

If the person being chased up does not agree with the tribunal decision, they can appeal.

If there is no appeal, or one is rejected, and the person does not comply, the plaintiff can apply via an avocat, for a procédure d’execution forcée.

This can be taken to a commissaire de justice (formerly known as huissiers) to enforce it. 

The commissaire must in this case be paid upfront for their service.

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