In
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
prior to 2020, the ''Tribunal d'instance'' (literally "Court of First Instance") was a judicial lower court of record of first instance for general civil suits and included a criminal division, the Police Court (''tribunal de police''), which heard cases of misdemeanors or summary offences (''contraventions''). Since it had
original jurisdiction
In common law legal systems, original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision.
India
In India, the S ...
, the Court's rulings could be appealed to a French
appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appel ...
or
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. Prior to 1958, the court was known as a Justice of the Peace Court (''justice de paix'') until the judicial restructuring of 1958.
In the Court, proceedings were conducted based on oral testimony and arguments, and, unlike in higher courts, legal counsel is not mandatory.
Other judicial courts of original jurisdiction were:
*Magistrate courts (''juge de proximité'') - for small claims and petty misdemeanors (since 1 July 2017 these claims now fall under the jurisdiction of the tribunal d'instance)
*High courts (''tribunal de grande instance'') - handled complex suits and had a criminal section, the Criminal Court (''tribunal correctionnel''), that hears cases involving lesser felonies (''délits'').
*Commercial court (''
Tribunal de commerce'')
*Employment Tribunal (''
Conseil des prud'hommes'')
*
Agricultural Land Tribunal (''tribunal paritaire des baux ruraux'')
*
Social security tribunal (''tribunal des affaires de sécurité sociale''). These were eliminated in 2020.
Degrees of jurisdiction
As a general rule, the French court system is divided into three degrees of jurisdiction:
*
Original or general jurisdiction for the first hearing of cases;
* Appellate jurisdiction for appeals from lower courts;
* Courts of last resort for appeals from appellate courts on the interpretation of law.
Duties
The Court has civil jurisdiction over personal property claims, monetary claims not exceeding 10,000
euros
The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
, and other civil actions for which the court has exclusive jurisdiction, those being:
[See: Serge Guinchard, André Varinard and Thierry Debard, "Institutions juriidctionnelles" (judicial institutions), Dalloz editor, 2011.]
* Private property leases
* Disputes relating to the elections of personnel delegates.
* the distance questions and height of the plantations.
* the movable credit to the consumption up to €21,500.
* Asset seizure
* Defamation suits
* Guardianship of
minors and disabled persons
* Voter registration
Claims over 10,000 euros, unless in the above exclusive areas of law, fall under the civil jurisdiction of superior courts.{{Citation needed, date=February 2007
See also
*
Justice in France
Status and organisation
France's independent court system enjoys special statutory protection from the executive branch. Procedures for the appointment, promotion, and removal of judges vary depending on whether it is for the ordinary ("") or th ...
*
Court of Cassation (France)
The Court of Cassation (, ) is the supreme court for civil and criminal cases in France. It is France's highest court. It is one of the country's four superior courts, along with the Conseil d'État (France), Council of State, the Constitutiona ...
*
Cour d'assises
In France, a ''cour d'assises'', or Court of Assizes or Assize Court, is a Criminal law, criminal trial court with original jurisdiction, original and Appellate jurisdiction, appellate limited jurisdiction to hear cases involving defendants accu ...
*
Juge d'instruction
In French criminal law, the investigation phase (') in a Criminal proceeding in French law, criminal proceeding is the procedure during which an investigating judge () gathers evidence on the commission of an offense and decides whether to refer ...
References
External links
Competences of the TI, proximity jurisdiction and TGI, national Assembly (February 24 2005)Guide practices procedure in front of the tribunal d'instancepartie 2partie 3
Judiciary of France
Courts by type
Tribunals