Book I: Provisions common to all courts

If the judgment cannot be delivered forthwith, delivery shall be postponed, for further deliberation, to a date to be indicated by the president unless the third paragraph of article 781 has been applied. He may, however, notify the parties, at the end of the hearing, that the judgment will be delivered by its being made available at the court registry, on the date he indicates unless the third paragraph of…

Litigation decisions are handed down in a public hearing and non-contentious decisions are handed down without the public being present, all subject to the provisions specific to certain matters. Availability at the registry is subject to the same publicity rules.

The judgment pronounced at a hearing is delivered by one of the judges who deliberated on it, even in the absence of the others and the public prosecutor. The pronouncement may be limited to the operative part.

The date of the judgment is the date on which it is pronounced, in a hearing or by being made available at the registry.

The judgment is rendered in the name of the French people. It contains the indication: -of the court from which it emanates; -of the names of the judges who deliberated on it; -of its date; -of the name of the representative of the public prosecutor’s office if he attended the debates; -of the name of the court clerk ; -of the surnames, forenames or names of the parties as well…

The judgment must succinctly set out the respective claims of the parties and their pleas in law. This statement may take the form of a citation of the parties’ submissions with an indication of their date. The judgment must state the reasons on which it is based. It sets out the decision in the form of an operative part.

The judgment may be drawn up on paper or electronically. It shall be signed by the President and by the Registrar. If the president is unable to attend, this is noted on the minutes, which are signed by one of the judges who deliberated. When the judgment is drawn up on an electronic medium, the procedures used must guarantee its integrity and preservation. The judgment drawn up on an electronic…

The judgment shall have the probative force of an authentic instrument, subject to the provisions of Article 459.

What is prescribed by articles 447,451,454, as regards the mention of the names of judges, 455 (paragraph 1) and 456 (paragraphs 1 and 2) must be observed on pain of nullity. However, no nullity may subsequently be raised or raised ex officio for failure to observe the forms prescribed in articles 451 and 452 if it has not been raised at the time of delivery of the judgment by simple…