French Code of civil procedure

In disputes governed by the ordinary written procedure, the president of the court may, in urgent cases, authorise the plaintiff, at his request, to summon the defendant on a fixed date. Where appropriate, he shall designate the chamber to which the case is to be assigned. The application must set out the reasons for the urgency, contain the claimant’s submissions and refer to the supporting documents. A copy of the…

The summons shall indicate, under penalty of nullity, the day and time set by the president on which the case will be called and the chamber to which it is distributed. A copy of the application shall be attached to the summons. The summons shall inform the defendant that he may inspect at the court registry the copy of the documents referred to in the application and shall summon him…

The defendant is required to constitute a lawyer before the date of the hearing.

The court is seised by delivering a copy of the summons to the court registry. This delivery must be made before the date set for the hearing or the summons will lapse. Lapse is established ex officio by order of the president of the chamber to which the case is distributed. At any time during the proceedings, the parties may expressly agree to the proceedings being conducted without a hearing…

On the day of the hearing, the chairman ensures that sufficient time has elapsed since the summons was issued to allow the party summoned to prepare its defence. If the defendant has instructed a lawyer, the case is pleaded immediately as it stands, even if no submissions have been made by the defendant or only verbal submissions have been made. If necessary, the President of the Chamber may use the…