In this column, Jacques Perotto offers an interpretation of this ruling, the first to date.
👉 To read the full article: https://lnkd.in/efSkuzbA
Category: Press
Climate trials: Legal challenges of a new era – view from France
Jacques Bouyssou explains the challenges of climate litigation from a French perspective in an article for the International Bar Association’s newsletter.
Judicial Review of Commercial Contracts – A Comparative Handbook
Friedrich Niggemann, lawyer to the Paris and Düsseldorf Bars, has written a chapter in the book Judicial Review of Commercial Contracts entitled « Country report – France » dedicated to commercial law in France. The book will be released on January 27th 2022. This chapter will focus on France’s position at the international level in the field of commercial law. It mainly underlines the fact that the clauses that frame trade in France result from a strong imbalance, especially with foreign countries. However, France during these last years fights to make reign the equality for the trade, Friedrich Niggemann states in the chapter the means implemented by France during the last years to try to resolve this inequality of the commercial law.
Access to justice: pandemic forces courts to incorporate remote technology
Jacques Bouyssou was interviewed as the Vice-Chair of the IBA Litigation Committee for his opinion on courts remote hearings becoming the norm since the coronavirus pandemic hit the world.
Privilege and professional confidences: An international review
Jaques Bouyssou and Claire Teillard d’Eyry contributed to the book “Privilege and professional confidences: An international review” published in September 2020 by Bloomberg Law. This book, written by lawyers from different jurisdistions, review the different rules for professionnal confidentiality in 17 countries and the European Union. The purpose of this book is to help international litigations in which several jurisdictions are at stake especially regarding materials subject to discovery.
Jacques Bouyssou and Claire Teillard d’Eyry wrote the chapter about professionnal confidentiality in France.
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Nicola Kömpf wrote an article about diversity in law firms
The IBA (International Bar Association) published a diversity in law firms’ series in its May issue of the Internatinal Litigation News. Several partners from european law firms participated in this diversity series among which, Nicola Kömpf, as a newly appointed Board member of our firm, wrote a piece. This article shows the different measures implemented to make sure we bring diversity into the law firm.
Friedrich Niggemann publishes an analysis of the new article 1171 of the French Civil Code
Close to the date of entering into force of the ratification law of the ordinance 2016-131 of 20 February 2016, reforming the
essential part of the contract law of the French Civil Code, the author examines the application of article 1171 Civil Code in commercial matters. This provision provides that in standard contrats (“contrat d’adhésion”) sich clauses shall be invalid, which create a significant disequilibrium between the rights and obligations of the parties.
This analysis is done for German lawyers which are interested in this subject because of German exports to France.
The author examines the discussions of the ratification law in the various French parliamentary bodies, during which the opinion of a non-application of article 1171 to commercial matters was dominantly expressed. According to this position the application of art. 111 Civil code would conflict with article L.442-6 I No. 2 of the French Commercial Code. According to this legal provision a person which tends to submit or submits its commercial partner to obligations which create a significant disequilibrium between the rights and obligations of the parties is liable for damages. The author further devellops the opinions in French legal doctrine, where the preponderant opinion is the an application of Art. 1171 Civil code in commercial matters as well. He then examines Art. L 442-6 I Nr. 2 Commercial code and stresses its character as a tort provision and its specific sanctions. The author further analyses whether the application falls under article 1105, 3rd para. Civil Code, by which special rules prevail over general ones (in this context : the “special” Art/ L 442-6 I Nr. 2 might prevail over the “general” Art. 1171 Code Civil), but comes to the conclusion that both provisions have different spheres of application. He hence arrives at his conclusion that article 1171 Civil Code has to be applied in commercial matters.
Thus, French law has made a (too ?) great step towards more contractual justice. The details of this reform have, however, to be defined by the French courts. There will necessarily be a period of contractual insecurity.
Download the analysis
Arbitration and administrative law in France by Friedrich Niggemann
Many national and international contracts between French administrative and commercial entities contain arbitration agreements. Since several years there was a conflict of jurisdiction between the administrative or civil courts in case of litigation about recognition, enforcement, and annulment of awards in this field of administrative contracts. Through a number of decisions of the highest French civil and administrative courts, as well as the Conflict’s Tribunal, it is now established that the administrative courts have jurisdiction. However, via a very wide interpretation of the notion of « ordre public », and in stark contrast to the civil courts, the administrative courts scrutinise the awards as well on the merits. This applies to recognition and enforcement (« exequatur ») as well as to annulment procedures. Whereas the issue of jurisdiction between these two branches is thus settled, the difference of the degree of review by the two branches of the French court system is regrettable and raises problems for the partners of the French administration.