Section 2: Superior Court of Arbitration

Appeals to the Superior Court of Arbitration shall be made in writing and signed by the parties or a representative. The latter must provide proof of a special written power of attorney if he or she is not a lawyer at the Conseil d’Etat or the Cour de Cassation, or a lawyer duly registered at a bar. The application is sent to the president of the court by registered letter…

The application shall be accompanied by: 1° Copies, in duplicate, of the application and of the contested award; 2° A note specifying the parties concerned and giving their full addresses; 3° Copies of the application in a number equal to that of the parties concerned; 4° Documents which the applicant intends to use.

Applications are registered with the secretariat of the Superior Court of Arbitration in the order in which they are received.

Each case is heard by a member of the Superior Court of Arbitration or by one of the Court’s assistant rapporteurs appointed by the President. As soon as the application is received, the rapporteur notifies the Minister for Employment. He asks him to produce the file sent by the arbitrator and to make any observations he deems useful. He notifies each interested party by sending one of the copies attached…

The roles of each session are prepared by the Government Commissioner and approved by the President of the Superior Court of Arbitration. They are communicated to the Minister of Labour and, if applicable, to the Minister of Agriculture. The parties are notified of the date of the hearing.

The rapporteur reads his report at the hearing. Before the Government commissioner delivers his conclusions, the president may authorise either the parties or the lawyers at the Conseil d’Etat and the Cour de cassation, the lawyers duly registered at the bar or the parties’ representatives to make brief oral observations.

The decisions of the Superior Court of Arbitration are rendered on behalf of the French people. They contain a summary analysis of the pleas in law and the conclusions of the appeal. They refer to the documents submitted to the court and the laws that are applied. They are signed by the chairman, the rapporteur and the secretary or deputy secretary. They are read out in open court. They are…

Copies of decisions issued by the Secretary or Deputy Secretary of the Superior Court of Arbitration shall bear the following enforcement formula: “The Republic hereby directs and orders the Minister (insert the ministerial department designated by the decision), insofar as he is concerned, and any bailiff required, insofar as the remedies at common law against private parties are concerned, to provide for the enforcement of this decision.

Copies of the decisions of the Superior Court of Arbitration and all procedural acts to which the application of this section gives rise shall bear the mention that they are made in execution of Chapter IV of Title II of Book V of Part II of the Labour Code.The secretariat of the Court shall communicate the judgments and awards rendered to the Minister responsible for Labour or to the Minister…

The hearings of the Superior Court of Arbitration are public. The provisions of articles 438 and 439 of the Code of Civil Procedure on the policing of hearings apply to the Court.