The Cour de cassation refuses to grant an option of jurisdiction to the director of a commercial company
Among other things, commercial courts hear disputes relating to commercial companies. The only exception to this principle is where these disputes involve a non-merchant (non-commerçant) who (i) is not a party to the partnership agreement and (ii) does not belong to the company’s governing bodies. Such a person may, at his or her discretion, refer […]
Jurisdictional immunity for international organizations is subject to an effective remedy
In a ruling handed down on January 16, 2024, the Paris Court of Appeal rejected the European Space Agency’s defence based on jurisdictional immunity in proceedings before French courts. In this case, following the suicide of an Agency engineer, the Agency’s Appeals Board ordered the Agency to pay a certain amount to the victim’s parents, […]
The Sultan of Sulu Case (continued)
On 9 January 2024, the Paris Court of Appeal handed down a new decision in the Sultan of Sulu case, which we commented on previously here. As a reminder, this saga has its origins in a nearly 150-year old agreement , concluded in 1878 between the Sultan of Sulu and two European explorers, which provided […]
The High Court of Justice holds that immunity from jurisdiction cannot be invoked at the stage of registration of an ICSID award
On 19 January 2024, the High Court of Justice of England and Wales (the “High Court”) dismissed Zimbabwe’s application to set aside an order enforcing an arbitral award, holding that immunity from jurisdiction could not be claimed at that stage of the proceedings. The award in question, issued under the auspices of the International Centre […]
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The Cour de cassation rules unfair evidence admissible in civil proceedings
In two rulings dated December 22, 2023, the Cour de cassation abandoned the principle that evidence obtained unfairly is inadmissible in civil proceedings. In both cases, an employee contested his dismissal for misconduct and the evidence presented by his employer to justify it: a transcript, made without the employee’s knowledge, of a meeting during which […]
Change in case law concerning the taking over of pre-incorporation contracts
In three rulings dated November 29, 2023, the Cour de cassation expressly abandoned the principle that a pre-incorporation contract, to be binding upon the company once registered, had to mention that it had been concluded “on behalf of” the company being formed. From now on, the judge will make a “sovereign assessment, based on an […]
UK Arbitration Bill
The UK government introduced an Arbitration Bill (the “Bill”) in the House of Lords on 21 November 2023. The Bill aims to modernise arbitration law for the first time in 27 years by amending the English Arbitration Act 1996. The Bill implements all the recommendations made last year by the Law Commission of England and […]
The Conseil d’État upholds the refusal to enforce the Ryanair vs. Syndicat mixte des aéroports de Charente awards due to the prohibition on French public legal entities to enter into arbitration agreements, unless specifically authorised by law or treaty.
In its ruling dated 17 October 2023, the Conseil d’État dismissed the appeal lodged by Ryanair and Airport Marketing Services (the “Appellants”) against the decision of the Bordeaux Administrative Court of Appeal of 29 March 20221. The Appellants were seeking the annulment of the Poitiers Administrative Court’s ruling of 15 December 2020, which had rejected […]
France is no longer a party to the Energy Charter Treaty
On 8 December 2023, France ceased to be a party to the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”), an international investment agreement specific to the energy sector. As a reminder, France notified its withdrawal from the ECT on 7 December 2022. This withdrawal was motivated by two criticisms: On the one hand, the ECT hinders the transition […]