Section 2: Status of commercial court judges

The decision to cover the costs of functional protection shall state the facts in respect of which protection is granted. It shall specify the arrangements for organising the protection, in particular its duration, which may be that of the proceedings or the procedure.

The judge shall inform the Keeper of the Seals, Minister for Justice, of the name of the lawyer he has freely chosen and the agreement entered into with him under the article 10 of loi n° 71-1130 du 31 décembre 1971 portant réforme de certaines professions judiciaires et juridiques.

Without prejudice to the agreement concluded between the lawyer and the judge under Article 10 of Law no. 71-1130 of 31 December 1971 reforming certain judicial and legal professions, the State may enter into an agreement with the lawyer appointed or accepted by the claimant and, where applicable, with the claimant. The agreement determines the amount of fees to be paid according to an hourly rate or a fixed fee,…

In the event that the agreement provided for in article R. 722-31 of this code has not been concluded, the costs incurred shall be paid directly to the judge on presentation of the invoices paid by him. The amount of fees covered by the State is limited by hourly ceilings set by joint order of the Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice and the Minister for the Budget.

If the agreement provided for in article R. 722-31 of this code contains a clause to this effect or in the absence of an agreement, the State may only cover part of the fees when the number of hours invoiced or already paid appears to be manifestly excessive. The fact that the fees are manifestly excessive is assessed in the light of the services actually provided by the adviser on…

For each case or procedure, the judge may request reimbursement of travel or accommodation expenses related to the case or procedure, based on supporting documents, in accordance with the conditions and procedures for the payment of travel expenses set out in the provisions applicable to civil servants of the State for the Ministry of Justice. The State is not obliged to reimburse expenses incurred by the judge for travel or…