Title IV: Citations and meanings

Subpoenas and service, unless otherwise provided by laws and regulations, shall be made by writ of bailiff. Notifications shall be made by administrative means. The bailiff may not instrument for himself, for his spouse, for his parents and relatives and those of his spouse, in the direct line ad infinitum, or for his relatives and relatives in the collateral line, up to and including the degree of cousin descending from…

The summons is issued at the request of the public prosecutor, the civil party, and any administration that is legally empowered to do so. The bailiff must comply with their request without delay. The summons states the act being prosecuted and refers to the text of the law that punishes it. It indicates the court seised, the place, time and date of the hearing, and specifies the status of the…

The period between the day on which the summons is issued and the day set for the appearance before the criminal or police court is at least ten days, if the party summoned resides in a department of metropolitan France or if, residing in an overseas department, he or she is summoned before a court in that department. This period is increased by one month if the party summoned before…

If the time limits prescribed in the preceding article have not been observed, the following rules shall apply: 1° In the event that the party summoned does not appear, the summons must be declared null by the court; 2° In the event that the party summoned does appear, the summons is not null but the court must, at the request of the party summoned, order referral to a subsequent hearing….

Service of decisions, where necessary, shall be effected at the request of the public prosecutor or the civil party.

The bailiff must take all necessary steps to ensure that his writ is delivered to the addressee himself or, if the addressee is a legal person, to its legal representative, to an authorised representative of the latter or to any person authorised for that purpose; he shall give the addressee a copy thereof. Where service is made on a legal person, the bailiff must, in addition and without delay, inform…

Service of a decision on a person by bailiff is equivalent to personal service, if the person is detained, by the head of the prison or, if the person is on the premises of a criminal court, by a court clerk or magistrate.

If the person to whom the summons is addressed is absent from his or her home, the copy shall be delivered to an allied relative, servant or a person residing at that home. The bailiff shall indicate in the summons the capacity declared by the person to whom this delivery is made.

If the copy has been delivered to a person residing at the domicile of the person to whom the writ relates, the bailiff shall inform the interested party of this delivery without delay, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. Where it is clear from the notice of receipt, signed by the person concerned, that the latter has received the registered letter from the bailiff, the writ delivered to the…

If the bailiff does not find anyone at the domicile of the person to whom the writ relates, he shall immediately verify the accuracy of that domicile. When the address indicated is indeed that of the interested party, the bailiff mentions in the writ his diligence and findings, then he informs the interested party without delay, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, informing him that he must collect as…