L’un des traits marquants de l’évolution de ces dernières années est la préférence accordée aux procédures préventives par rapport aux procédures collectives intervenant à titre curatif et pouvant mener, le cas échéant, à un échec économique. Parce qu’elle permet d’anticiper les difficultés économiques, la procédure de conciliation se présente comme un outil de sauvetage privilégié pour les startups.
Un article à retrouver en intégralité sur le site de Maddyness en cliquant ici.
It’s a brutal decision. It falls on Sunday, March 15: the courts close. The only hearings allowed are for criminal cases.
The Commercial Court of Paris and its 180 volunteer judges are concerned and the clerk’s office can no longer provide any reception, except digital.
Paradoxical situation, because at a time when the economic consequences of an unprecedented situation are looming and which has never, as a whole, been seriously thought out, our court would withdraw from the scene?
Our reaction will therefore be built in stages, with one objective: to enable companies to be able to count on the presence of the Paris commercial court.
It doesn’t all go away, of course.
Very quickly, opportunities to carry out various procedures or acts in a dematerialized way are made available to the litigants: registration or modifications to the Trade and Companies Registry (nearly 25,000 will have been processed by May 7), registration of cases, filing of requests and payment orders. This is the application of the “digital court” initiated by the National Council of Commercial Court Clerks and gradually being implemented.
At the same time, we have decided to use audio means to handle urgent requests and preventive procedures.
With regard to the latter, we consider it essential to maintain this service, which enables companies that have recourse to it to face unexpected difficulties with the assistance of a court officer (appointed as a conciliator or ad hoc representative) who has in-depth experience of this type of situation.
In addition, from the second week on wards, with the valuable assistance of the Registry, and via a secure videoconferencing software (indispensable in this area), we organised the resumption of our hearings to deal with the difficulties of companies, in order to protect the employees concerned.
The first took place on April 1st and since then, our judges – whose availability and dedication are exemplary – have been able to sit by video conference and in the continuous presence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, two or three days during each of the weeks that followed.
As of May 7, we had examined 42 prevention cases concerning companies with a total turnover of more than 6 billion euros and more than 27,000 employees.
In addition, we had handled 211 insolvency cases involving companies with more than 9,000 employees.
In the field of “classic” litigation, we resumed processing of the Payment Orders on April 14 and, again with the assistance of the Registry, we relaunched the convening of the hearings of the judge in charge of hearing the case in the form of videoconferencing, while proposing, when the case lends itself to it, the formula of judgments without a hearing authorized by an order of March 25, 2020.
At the same time, we will have made available, at the announced end of the confinement, all judgments corresponding to cases whose hearings were held before 16 March.
Our aim, of course, is to be able to deal with future cases without delay. Moreover, a significant proportion of our judges have volunteered to resume hearings, “physically”, as of 11 May.
This will depend, however, on the means that will be allocated to us by the Chancellery and then the heads of court in terms of health protection.
While most business continuation plans were built with a view to grouping together in a computer-equipped location, it is clear that we have experienced the opposite: a dispersal of people with their own equipment as their tool.
It was in this context that we organized and held our first hearings by videoconference.
In just a few short weeks, we have gained real experience of this way of working. As, I imagine, did a very large number of economic players.
There is no doubt that many companies will tomorrow incorporate into their organisation the possibility of using teleworking, which will undoubtedly be a much more frequently used option.
For our jurisdiction, of course, I see advantages in this. The use of videoconferencing for certain types of quick hearings or during certain periods (judicial vacations) could prove useful and effective. However, I do not see it going beyond that.
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The act of judging rests first and foremost on the adversarial process; that is, the expression of the point of view of each of the parties involved.
For this purpose, the “physical” hearing, where the lawyers plead, confront each other and the judge’s questions, seems to me to be indispensable.
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Judging without a hearing or at a distance can only be an adaptation to exceptional circumstances or limited to particular procedures.
We can draw a parallel between human health and the health of economic actors. The most vulnerable are those who already have a history.
Thus, we see the arrival of societies that we already knew from dealing with their difficulties. The containment following the demonstrations of 2018 and the strikes at the end of 2019 acts as a heavy factor in the deterioration of a previously fragile situation.
To date, we are not registering statements from companies that were victims of covid-19 alone. Firstly, because they are trying to take advantage of the wide range of measures adopted by the government. Second, because the scenario for deconfinement has not yet been written, and with it the possibilities and time frames for “recovery”.
Unfortunately, it is likely that we, like individuals, will face economic excess mortality.
The crisis that we – that is to say, a group of generations that has not known war – are facing is unprecedented in that it presents us with a considerable and unforeseen event. As far as the difficulties of societies are concerned, we can only note that there will not be the good guys on one side and the bad guys on the other who deliberately do not pay the agreed price or do not respect the provisions of a contract.
What we want to avoid is, of course, a chain reaction, with the failure of one company leading to the failure of the supplier or customer companies.
From this perspective we believe that solutions negotiated with the help of the court will have two major advantages: speed and efficiency.
Prevention is one of the little-known missions of commercial courts. Yet the earlier difficulties are caught, the greater the chances of recovery. We should not be afraid of the word court. It can be an actor of survival. I would like to take advantage of this publication to really get this message across to companies, small, medium and large ; We are here to help them. Our ambition is to try to save businesses as much as possible and to enable them to face and, above all, get through these difficult times.
Finally, I would like to underline the indispensable support we have from our judicial system. I refer to the Registry, of course, but also to the Prosecutor’s Office, the lawyers, the judicial agents and administrators and other court officers, who together constitute an exceptional environment of dedication and professionalism.
Beyond, however, the observation of a perfectly adapted eco-system, we obviously have lessons to learn from this crisis. A more global reflection is already taking shape to improve the functioning of our court. It must be noted that the circumstances which led us to deal for a few weeks only with the most urgent cases invite us to maintain and above all to strengthen these modern means of communication which can, in such exceptional cases, provide a rapid operational response in the interest of the litigants.
The conduct of litigation is also at the heart of our thinking. We have already initiated an in-depth reform of the preparation of cases in order to control the stages and speed up the processing time. The interest of this approach has been reinforced by this crisis, which has, among other things, revealed the need to assess the relevance of each interaction between litigants and their judges, but also to extend it, perhaps, to collective proceedings.
In any case, the Commercial Court of Paris intends to take part in the work to be pursued by players in the judicial world such as Paris City of Law and the General Conference of Consular Judges and, under their aegis, to formulate proposals for improving the procedural functioning of justice consular in particular.
Face à l’ampleur des conséquences économiques de la crise sanitaire, la famille du droit se mobilise gracieusement dans toute sa diversité en soutient aux entreprises.
Afin de répondre aux besoins des acteurs de l’économie, Paris Place de Droit lance la Tierce-Conciliation. Un dispositif extra-judiciaire d’urgence et de conciliation exclusivement dédiée aux entreprises exposées à des difficultés générées par les effets du Covid-19.
Issus de toutes les professions juridiques, (juristes d’entreprise, avocats, juges consulaires, universitaires…) les tiers-conciliateurs interviendront bénévolement pour accompagner les entreprises dans la recherche de solutions adaptées pour préserver leurs relations commerciales.
« Grâce à l’énergie et à la mobilisation solidaire de femmes et d’hommes, la filière juridique prend toute sa place pour agir en accélérateur de sortie de crise pour les entreprises », indique Frank Gentin, Président de Paris Place de Droit.
Grâce à la mise à disposition d’une plateforme digitale collaborative, les entreprises pourront bénéficier gratuitement de la mise en place d’espaces temporaires de négociation. L’initiative a pour objectif d’éviter de se retrouver devant des tribunaux pour des litiges liés aux difficultés survenues dans l’exécution de contrat du fait de la crise liée au Covid-19.
La mise à disposition de cette plateforme permettra aux entreprises de gérer les difficultés dans les relations commerciales consécutives à la crise du COVID-19 en évitant de porter leur situation sur le terrain judiciaire ou arbitral, tout en s’assurant de la préservation de leurs droits (aménagement conventionnel délais de prescription, confidentialité́ des réunions de négociations, …).
La plateforme de conciliation devra être saisie sur requête conjointe des parties, sans limitation de compétence territoriale. Les parties devront alors indiquer la nature de leurs difficultés en s’acquittant uniquement des frais de fonctionnement.
La recevabilité de la demande est subordonnée à deux conditions :
Les parties seront alors convoquées pour des réunions de négociations sous forme de vidéo-conférence ou en présentiel si la complexité́ du dossier l’impose. Un tiers conciliateur désigné tentera de trouver un accord en fonction de l’analyse de la situation juridique des parties et, le cas échéant, identifiera une voie de facilitation sous la forme d’un avenant contractuel ou d’une transaction susceptible d’homologation.
A défaut d’accord, les parties seront orientées vers les voies habituelles de règlement des conflits. Ainsi, se fera naturellement un premier tri de l’urgence entre les affaires susceptibles de se régler rapidement, par la voie de cette tierce-conciliation, et celles qui, à défaut d’accord, retrouveront les voies classiques de résolution des contentieux.
Découvrez dès à présent la plateforme digitale collaborative :
https://tiers-conciliateurs.fr
Découvrez notre vidéo :
https://tiers-conciliateurs.fr/video/Tiersconciliateurs-Motion.mp4
In order to meet the needs of economic players, Paris City of Law is launching the Tierce-Conciliation platform. An extra-judicial emergency and conciliation mechanism exclusively dedicated to companies exposed to difficulties generated by the effects of Covid-19.
Coming from all legal professions, (company lawyers, lawyers, consular judges, academics…) the third-party conciliators will intervene on a voluntary basis to assist companies in the search for appropriate solutions to preserve their commercial relations.
“Thanks to the energy and solidarity of men and women, the legal sector is taking its rightful place in accelerating the way out of the crisis for companies,” says Frank Gentin, President of Paris City of Law.
The creation of a new process for resolving difficulties in commercial relations
Thanks to the provision of a collaborative digital platform, companies will be able to benefit free of charge from the setting up of temporary trading spaces. The aim of the initiative is to avoid having to go before the courts for disputes related to difficulties in the execution of contracts as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.
The provision of this platform will enable companies to manage difficulties in commercial relations resulting from the Covid-19 crisis by avoiding taking their situation to court or arbitration, while ensuring that their rights are preserved (conventional adjustment of limitation periods, confidentiality of negotiation meetings, etc.).
The functioning of the Tierce-Conciliation
The conciliation platform shall be seized upon the joint request of the parties, without limitation of territorial jurisdiction. The parties will then have to indicate the nature of their difficulties by paying only the operating costs.
The admissibility of the request is subject to two conditions:
– Benefit from the status of trader
– Commercial difficulties must be due to a breach of contract by Covid-19
The parties will then be called for negotiation meetings in the form of a video conference or face-to-face if the complexity of the file so requires. A designated third-party conciliator will attempt to reach an agreement based on an analysis of the legal situation of the parties and, if necessary, will identify a facilitation route in the form of a contractual amendment or a transaction likely to be approved.
If no agreement is reached, the parties will be directed to the usual channels for settling disputes. This will naturally lead to an initial sorting of the urgency between cases likely to be settled quickly, through this third-party conciliation, and those which, in the absence of agreement, will return to the traditional channels for dispute resolution.
https://tiers-conciliateurs.fr
https://tiers-conciliateurs.fr/video/Tiersconciliateurs-Motion.mp4
A l’heure de l’attractivité française et de la reprise des investissements étrangers, cette ambition légitime ne surprendra pas quand sur le Brexit est susceptible de remettre en question le marché, estimé à 25 milliards de livres sterling, des litiges transnationaux qui opposent des parties étrangères devant la Cour commerciale de Londres à raison de 500 nouveaux dossiers par an.
Pour Londres les motifs d’inquiétude ne manquent pas. La sortie de l’Union européenne prive les jugements anglais de la reconnaissance mutuelle et de l’exécution simplifiée, les exposant aux aléas d’une procédure d’exequatur longue et coûteuse.
Les opérateurs internationaux hésitent à Londres dans les clauses attributives de compétence. Si la pratique rédactionnelle des contrats est d’inspiration anglo-américaine, le droit applicable est très souvent de tradition civiliste. La langue anglaise n’est paradoxalement plus un avantage déterminant : l’anglais international de la communauté d’affaires globalisée a marginalisé le Queen’s English, marqueur social plus qu’atout concurrentiel.
Le battage promotionnel censé rassurer sur la pérennité du hub juridictionnel londonien ne trompera pas. La crise de confiance est là et d’une ampleur telle que nombre de juridictions étatiques ont, en Europe, au Moyen-Orient et en Asie, pris des initiatives en faveur de la création de juridictions internationales.
Paris n’est pas en reste. Un an après que le Haut Comité juridique de la place financière de Paris a préconisé des « chambres spécialisées pour le traitement du contentieux international des affaires », la juridiction commerciale internationale de Paris est devenue réalité.
Des protocoles en place entre le barreau, le tribunal de commerce et la cour d’appel de Paris entérinent ses modalités de fonctionnement et permettent d’aménager la phase orale des débats au plus près des meilleures pratiques internationales.
L’efficacité du dispositif est assurée au tribunal de commerce où depuis dix ans une chambre internationale est composée de juges consulaires rompus à la pratique des affaires internationales. La chambre internationale de la Cour d’appel (CICAP) est également composée en conséquence.
Pour convaincre les opérateurs internationaux de soumettre leurs litiges à la juridiction commerciale internationale de Paris, les arguments ne manquent pas. Le système français de règlement des différends est fiable, fort d’une tradition de droit international et de droit processuel incontestable et respectée dans le monde entier.
La communauté juridique parisienne, moderne et énergique, est unique au monde dans sa diversité et constitue le vivier de talent nécessaire. C’est à la présence à Paris de la Chambre de commerce internationale (CCI) que l’on doit cette unique concentration d’experts en arbitrage et en contentieux international, anglophones et formés au droit civil comme au common law. Avec plus de 800 nouveaux dossiers par an, la CCI est synonyme d’arbitrage commercial international institutionnel dans le monde entier.
Si la concurrence entre places internationales d’arbitrage est vive, Paris est en tête grâce à la stabilité et la prévisibilité d’une réglementation et d’un environnement judiciaire. Ils assurent l’efficacité du recours à l’arbitrage et sont le meilleur argument pour qu’un arbitrage ait son siège à Paris. Le juge peut être conduit à se prononcer sur la régularité de la procédure une fois la sentence rendue, mais il ne rejuge pas l’affaire.
Il ne s’immisce pas non plus dans la procédure. La jurisprudence française affirme avec constance sa faveur envers l’arbitrage, tout en veillant – qui aime bien châtie bien – à sanctionner les rares dérives. L’arbitrage commercial international est ainsi chez lui à Paris.
Il est donc naturel et cohérent, tant leurs synergies sont évidentes, que l’arbitrage et le contentieux international unissent leurs forces à Paris, centre mondial du règlement des litiges transnationaux. La France is back !
Cette chronique vous est proposée dans le cadre d’une série d’été.
Par Elie Kleiman, avocat associé du cabinet Jones Day, président de Paris, Place d’Arbitrage, membre de Paris Place de Droit et expert au Club des Juristes.