French Civil Code

When the body of a deceased person is found and can be identified, a death record must be drawn up by the civil registrar of the presumed place of death, regardless of the time elapsed between the death and the discovery of the body. If the deceased cannot be identified, the death record must include his or her fullest description; in the event of subsequent identification, the record is rectified…

A judicial declaration may be made, at the request of the public prosecutor or the parties concerned, of the death of any French national who has disappeared in France or outside France, in circumstances likely to endanger his or her life, when his or her body has not been found. Under the same conditions, the death of any foreigner or stateless person who disappeared either in a territory under the…

The application is presented to the judicial court of the place of death or disappearance, if this occurred in a territory under the authority of France, otherwise to the court of the domicile or last residence of the deceased or disappeared person or, failing this, to the court of the place of the home port of the aircraft or vessel that was transporting him or her. Failing any other, the…

If it does not originate from the public prosecutor, the request is forwarded to the court through his intermediary. The case is heard and decided in chambers. The assistance of a lawyer is not compulsory and all procedural documents, as well as copies and extracts of said documents, are exempt from stamp duty and registered free of charge. If the court considers that the death has not been sufficiently established,…

The operative part of the declaratory judgment of death is transcribed in the civil status registers of the actual or presumed place of death and, where applicable, in those of the place of the deceased’s last domicile. A mention of the transcription is made in the margin of the registers on the date of death. In the case of a collective judgment, individual extracts of the operative part are sent…

If the person whose death has been judicially declared reappears after the declaratory judgment, the Public Prosecutor or any interested party may prosecute, in the forms provided for in Articles 89 et seq, for the judgment to be set aside. The provisions of articles 130, 131 and 132 shall apply, as appropriate. Mention of the annulment of the declaratory judgment will be made in the margin of its transcription.