French Code of civil procedure

The entry of forgery shall be made by deed delivered to the court registry by the party or his agent with a special power of attorney. The deed, drawn up in duplicate, must, on pain of inadmissibility, set out precisely the grounds on which the party relies to establish the forgery. One of the copies is immediately placed in the case file and the other, dated and stamped by the…

The judge shall rule on the forgery unless he can rule without taking into account the document alleged to be forged. If the document alleged to be false relates to only one of the counts of the claim, a ruling may be given on the others.

It is up to the judge to admit or reject the disputed deed in the light of the evidence available to him. If necessary the judge orders, on the forgery, all necessary investigative measures and is proceeded with as in matters of verification of handwriting.

The judge shall rule on the basis of the pleas put forward by the parties or on any pleas he or she may raise of his or her own motion.

The judgment declaring the forgery is mentioned in the margin of the deed recognised as forged. It specifies whether the minutes of the authentic instruments will be restored to the depository from which they had been extracted or will be kept at the registry. The execution of these prescriptions is deferred until the judgment has become res judicata, or until the acquiescence of the convicted party.

In the event of a waiver or settlement of the forgery registration, the Public Prosecutor’s Office may request all appropriate measures to reserve the institution of criminal proceedings.

If criminal proceedings are instituted against the perpetrators or accomplices of the forgery, the civil judgment shall be stayed until the criminal proceedings have been decided, unless the main case can be tried without taking into account the document alleged to be forged or there has been a waiver or settlement of the forgery.