The recognition and enforcement of african judgments in France is set out in the French Code of civil procedure and in bilateral treaties.
Indeed, France has concluded a number of treaties with african countries regarding the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments as well as mutual legal assistance. Some of those treaties also deal with conflicts of law and conflicts of jurisdiction. Each treaty is available for download by clicking the associated link.
Algeria
- Treaty between the French Republic and the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria regarding the recognition and enforcement procedure and extradition of August 27th, 1964 (link)
- Exchange of official letters regarding mutual legal assistance and child custody of September 18th, 1980 (link)
- Treaty relative to French/Algerian children from separated mixed couples of June 21st, 1988 (link)
Benin (formerly « Dahomey Republic»)
- Cooperation treaty on justice matters between the French Republic government and the Dahomey Republic government of February 27th, 1975 (link)
Burkina-Faso (formerly « Upper-Volta Republic»)
- Cooperation treaty on justice matters between the French Republic and the Upper-Volta Republic of April 24th, 1961 (link)
Cameroon
- Cooperation treaty on justice matters between the French Republic government and the government of the United-Republic of Cameroon of February 21st,1974 (link)
Central Africa
- Cooperation treaty on justice matters between the French Republic and the Central African Republic of January 18th, 1965 (link)
Chad
- Cooperation treaty on judicial matters between the government of the French Republic and the government of the Chad Republic of March 6th, 1976 (link)
Congo
- Cooperation treaty on judicial matters between the French Republic and the People’s Republic of Congo of January 1st, 1974 (link)
Côte d’Ivoire / Ivory Coast
- Cooperation treaty on justice matters between the French Republic and the Côte d’Ivoire Republic of April 24th, 1961 (link)
- Interpretative treaty of April 11th 1986 and July 13th, 1989 (link)
Djibouti
- Cooperation treaty on commercial, social, administrative and civil matters including personal status, between the government of the French Republic and the government of the Djibouti Republic of September 27th 1986 (link)
Egypt
- Cooperation treaty regarding judicial matters including commercial, social, administrative and civil matters including personnal status between the French Republic and the Arabic Republic of Egypt of March 15th, 1982 (link)
Gabon
- Treaty on mutual legal assistance, judgments recognition and extradition between the French Republic and the Gabon Republic of July 23rd, 1963 (link)
Madagascar
- Treaty on judicial matters between the French Republic and the Madagascar Republic of June 4th, 1973 (link)
Mali
- Treaty on justice matters between the French Republic and the Mali Republic of March 9th, 1962 (link)
Mauritania
- Treaty on justice matters between the French Republic and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania of June 19th, 1981 (link)
Morocco
- Judicial treaty between France and Morocco of October 5th, 1957 (link)
- Additional protocol of August 10th, 1981 (link)
- Cooperation treaty on personal status, judicial and family matters between the French Republic and Kingdom of Morocco of August 10th, 1981 (link)
Niger
- Cooperation treaty on judicial matters between the French Republic and the Republic of Niger of February 19th, 1977 (link)
Senegal
- Cooperation treaty on judicial matters between the government of the French Republic and the government of the Senegal Republic of March 29th, 1974 (link)
Togo
- Judicial treaty between the government of the French Republic and the governement of the Togolese Republic of March 23rd, 1976 (link)
Tunisia
- Judicial cooperation treaty on civil and commercial matters and the recognition and enforcement of judicial decisions of June 28th, 1972 (link)
- Treaty between the French Republic and the Tunisian Republic on mutual judicial assistance in child custody and visitation matters and maintenance obligations of March 18th, 1982 (link)
As for countries without a bilateral treaty , the recognition and enforcement of most judgments will follow the rules laid down by the famous 2007 French Supreme Court case (Cour de cassation February 20th, 2007 n°05-14082). The French judge will check:
- the indirect jurisdiction of the foreign judge, based on the connection between the dispute and the judge,
- the conformity to the procedural and substantial French international public policy,
- the absence of fraudulent forum shopping (evasion of the law),
The enforcement of an african judgment on French territory is possible as long as the conditions laid down by French law and international treaties are met. You can visit this page to learn more about the recognition process and this page to learn more about how to seize the assets of the debtor once the judgment is recognized.
Terence RICHOUX is a French-American attorney with extensive experience in the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and therefore, has the necessary skills to optimize the chances of success of his clients. You can use the Contact form to request assistance in the recognition and enforcement of any foreign judgment and receive and response in 24 hours.