Dispute resolution

The protracted length of proceedings before traditional courts, heavily impacted by a chronic shortage of resources and judges allocated by the State, the rapid expansion of digital tools and the digitalization of exchanges, and the impact of the health crisis with its restrictions on movement, have all combined to encourage a growing number of French businesses to turn to arbitration, mediation, or conciliation.

Parties may resort to what are now commonly referred to as amicable dispute resolution methods (modes amiables de résolution des différends or MARD in French), either prior to the initiation of court proceedings or at any time thereafter.

Decree No.2020-356 of March 27, 2020 provides for the implementation of an algorithm called DataJust for a period of two years. This algorithm aims in particular at developing an indicative baseline of compensation for personal injurie.

This baseline system will be made available not only to judges, but also to lawyers, insurers and, above all, victims, in order to assess the amount of compensation to which the latter may be entitled, with the aim of encouraging out-of-court settlements.

In order to deny the jurisdiction of the Commercial Court of Saint-Malo before which proceedings had been initiated against one of our clients, a Swedish company, the Court of Appeals of Rennes, with which we filed a jurisdictional objection, ruled that an arbitration clause was enforceable against our opponent event though it had not signed […]

In a judgment dated February 16, 2018, the Paris Court of Appeals recalled that the party which suffers from a significant imbalance in the rights and obligations of the contractual parties, within the meaning of Article L. 442-6, I, 2° of the French Commercial Code, must be able to demonstrate that it had no real […]

On March 6, 2018, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a judgment stating that the UNCITRAL arbitration clause included in a Bilateral Investment Treaty that establishes a mechanism for settling disputes between an investor and an EU Member State is incompatible with EU law.

On February 7, 2018, a new Chamber dedicated to international commercial disputes was created within the Paris Court of Appeals. With the prospects of Brexit and as part of a strategy aimed at re-positioning France on the international economic scene, Paris is increasing its attractiveness for foreign investors. Article authored in collaboration with Marie Stervinou, […]