Originally from Enforcement of Money Judgments

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I. PRESENT ATTITUDE TOWARD ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN MONEY JUDGMENTS

A. Describe the receptiveness of your government (including courts) toward enforcement of foreign money judgments.

The recognition and enforcement of foreign decisions in France affect the sovereignty of the States. Historically, France frowned upon all foreign judgments. An ordinance dating back to 1629 declared that “foreign judgments will not be enforced in France, and French nationals shall be able to litigate their rights before French courts notwith¬standing any foreign judgment.”  This rule remained the foundation of France’s approach to foreign judgments until the beginning of the 19th century. However, the principle of sovereignty and the initial reluctance towards enforcement of foreign judgments faced the acceleration of cross-border movements of people, goods, and services, which eventually erased the concept of borders and imposed recognition of foreign judgments in the French legal order.

From the adoption of the Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedure,  the French legal system has evolved to become much more receptive towards enforcement of foreign judgments. As explained below, enforcing a foreign money judgment in France is now relatively straightforward.

Enforcement procedure of a foreign judgment in France is regulated by several legal instruments that either have a domestic dimension (1) or an international one (2). 

1. Domestic Legal Instruments

When no applicable treaty provides for enforcement of foreign judgments, the legal framework is set forth by (a) the general provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure and (b) case law of the Cour de Cassation