International Arbitration in France

The main piece of legislation regulating arbitration in France is the CCP. The exclusive jurisdiction to deliver awards in domestic disputes lies with arbitration courts. Courts can assist parties to arbitration by appointing an adjudicator responsible for collecting evidence & taking interim measures. Confidentiality provisions only apply to settlement of commercial disputes by arbitration in France.

An appeal for reversal of an award must be filed with a court of appeal. Appeals must be submitted within thirty days. Those interested in settling an international dispute through arbitration in the Republic of France should keep in mind that awards may be reversed if:

• a tribunal erroneously confirmed or rejected jurisdiction;
• a tribunal wasn’t properly formed;
• a tribunal made a decision without observing the powers vested in it;
• an award delivered by a tribunal contradicts public policy.

Parties may require arbitration tribunals to make an interpretation of awards, fix typographical mistakes or issue additional awards if no decisions were rendered on their claims. Enforcing international awards requires providing originals or copies of an award & arbitration agreement (along with their translations). As regards international awards delivered in France, requests for their enforcement must be filed with the TGI.

Labor Disputes

Resolution of labor disputes in France falls is regulated by a special regime. According to French legislation, arbitration agreements included in international labor contracts may not be deemed a basis for filing claims by employers. Initiating labor arbitration in the Republic of France is the exclusive privilege of employees. If they file a claim, an  employer’s claim for enforcement of an arbitration agreement is going to be dismissed.

Initiating International Arbitration in the Republic of France

There’s no provisions on expedited or simplified arbitration procedures in French legislation. The only way parties can speed up the procedure is by referring their dispute to the ICC & CAIP. Being eligible for the procedure requires:

• signing an arbitration agreement after March 2017;
• including the possibility of resorting to an expedited procedure in an arbitration agreement;
• the amount in dispute not to exceed two million dollars.

The final decision on expedited procedure is made within 180 days. There’s two other expedited procedures called PAR & PARAD. Initiating PAR arbitration is permissible if the amount of a claim doesn’t exceed one hundred thousand euros. Initiating PARAD arbitration requires an arbitration amount not to exceed one hundred fifty thousand euros. Last March saw the adoption of a law aimed at developing a procedure for online resolution of international disputes in France.