The execution judge (JEX)

He is the appointed judge for seizures and precautionary measures.

Whenever a bailiff enter your bank account, your movable and immovable property and in general executes a court decision which condemns you to pay a sum of money to a creditor (order to pay…), you can contact the JEX to suspend the procedure and obtain payment deadlines.

Even if its control remains very limited on certain seizures such as attribution seizures, or certain debts (tax or maintenance), he remains the only competent judge in the face of forced recovery.

The functions of the execution judge belong to the president of the TGI who will delegate this function to one or more judges of his court who will exercise the functions of the execution judge.

The JEX can only be seized if proceedings are about to be initiated, (service of an order to pay before the effective seizure), or that the compulsory execution is already in progress (deed of seizure, sale, etc.) .

Procedural clarifications

As a reminder, enforcement proceedings can only be exercised if the creditor is in possession of a enforceable title covered with the executory formula.

A court decision granting deadlines is not enforceable as long as these deadlines are respected and no formal notice has been sent.

Before the forced execution, the decision must have been duly served on the debtor by the judicial officer or by the registry (JEX, JAF, Conseil des Prud'hommes, etc.).

Except in the case of orders issued on requests or in summary proceedings which are enforceable on the minute (and therefore, as soon as they are pronounced), do not have to be served.

The judge of first instance can add to his decision the provisional execution: This means that it will have to apply even if you appeal.

However, the First President of the Court of Appeal may lift the provisional execution and therefore suspend the effects of the judgment if it is demonstrated that there has been a clear violation of the adversarial principle or that the execution would clearly entail consequences. excessive (article 524 paragraph 6 of the code of civil procedure).

In this case, the acts passed will not be annulled (the sums recovered will not be reimbursed), but the enforcement procedure will be suspended until a final decision is rendered.

Note: If a first decision granted you payment deadlines, the JEX cannot grant you a new deadline.

Thus, when a judgment condemns you to pay arrears of rent and grants you payment periods that you are no longer able to honor (and this, even for legitimate reasons such as the loss of a employment…), the JEX will no longer be able to grant you new deadlines. This is the adage of the JEX according to which "moratorium on moratorium is not valid".

The skills of JEX

• The JEX is responsible for:
• Difficulties relating to forced execution
• Authorize provisional measures and settle the disputes they raise
• Real estate foreclosures
• Requests for reparations following damage related to forced execution or precautionary measures
• The procedure for over-indebtedness of individuals and procedure for personal recovery (it depends on the organization of the Court, because this dispute can be devolved to the Magistrate who is according to the texts the natural judge of the over-indebtedness)

Please note, this competence will be transferred to the administration of the Banque de France during 2017.

• On-call penalties
• Grant grace periods after service of the order to pay or deed of seizure (article 1244-1 of the civil code)

It is up to him to check:

• The validity of the title

A judgment rendered by default not served within 6 months lapses and can no longer be executed by force (Article 478 of the Code of Civil Procedure).

• The validity of the claim

He checks that the claim falls within his area of ​​competence (he is incompetent for maintenance, tax claims, etc.), and that it is not tainted with prescription ...

• The validity of the seizure

In cases where the seized property belonged to a third party (distraction of property), or a seized sum was by nature elusive ...

The competent JEX is that:

• the place of domicile of the debtor (seizure, attribution, precautionary measures, penalty payment)
• of the place of execution of the seizure (sale seizure)
• the location of the building (foreclosure)

Referral to JEX

The JEX can be entered by:

• Assignment
• Registered letter or by declaration to the registry for requests for suspension of deportation or payment deadlines

With the exception of property foreclosures where the presence of a lawyer is mandatory (due to the technical nature of this dispute), the procedure before the JEX is oral, so representation by a lawyer is not mandatory.

The parties can be assisted or represented at the hearing by a spouse, a cohabiting partner or a PACS partner.

They can validly send requests in writing (in the event that they cannot travel on the day of the hearing), but they will only be taken into account if they have been brought to the attention of the opposing party before the hearing. hearing in strict compliance with the adversarial principle.

A bailiff cannot represent the creditor who mandated him during the hearing.

Note: It is customary (this is not a legal obligation) that, once informed of the referral to the JEX, the bailiff suspends his proceedings pending the decision and this, to prevent the channels execution do not take place at its own risk.

The limits of JEX

The JEX cannot to grant payment terms for:

- Tax debts (it is necessary to make a gracious or hierarchical appeal directly with the tax administration)

- Criminal fines (it's a conviction)

- Social debts (R 243.21 of the Social Security Code)

- Alimony debts (alimony, compensatory benefits, etc.). For these debts, in the event of impossibility of payment following a change of situation, only the JAF is competent.

Just as the JEX cannot to go back on a court decision, or modify it (cancel or reduce the amount of a debt).

Note: Certain matters are exempt by law from the competence of the JEX.

The District Court has sole jurisdiction for:

• The entry of remuneration (article L.145-5 of the labor code)
• Disputes of direct payment of alimony
• Preservation seizures in customs matters

The Tribunal de Grande Instance has sole jurisdiction over:

• Exequatur of a foreign judgment
• Exequatur of arbitral awards
• Expropriation

Once the decisions of the JEX have been rendered are notified by the registry to the parties and to the prosecuting bailiff (a copy) by registered mail and ordinary letter.

All JEX decisions are automatically enforceable (they apply even if the decision is appealed). Only the first president of the court of appeal can suspend the provisional execution.

The appeal deadlines are 15 days and legal representation is compulsory.