Civil litigation begins when the plaintiff files the statement of claim at court. Legal representation is not mandatory, either in the courts of first instance or on appeal.
Generally, the jurisdiction of the courts is determined by the domicile of the defendant, although there are other relevant criteria for certain types of disputes.
The proceedings are usually divided into three main phases:
- the written phase;
- the evidence and discovery phase; and
- the final pleadings phase.
The written phase
During the written phase, the plaintiff’s statement of claim is randomly assigned to a judge for a prima facie examination. If the judge finds the statement to be lacking any essential formal elements (such as the full names and addresses of the parties, or the signature, etc.), the court will notify the plaintiff who will have ten days to amend the statement of claim. Should the plaintiff fail to do so, the claim will be dismissed. The purpose of this procedure is to prevent incomplete claims from being brought before the courts. The annulment decision does not have a res judicata effect - a new statement of claim can be brought forward, if the limitation period has not expired.
If the judge is satisfied that the statement of claim meets all the necessary formal requirements, the defendant will be served with the statement of claim by the court. The defendant is then required to submit its statement of defense and (if applicable) a counterclaim within 25 days. This deadline cannot be extended, even in complex cases. However, in urgent cases, the court may shorten the time limit for the statement of defense. The claimant may file an answer to the statement of defence within ten days of the latter being filed at court and served on the defendant.
After the written pleadings have been exchanged, the judge sets the date for the first hearing, the recommended time for which is 60 days from this date. However, depending on the workload of the court and/or the urgency of the matter, the first hearing may be set outside of the recommended period.
The evidence and discovery phase
At the evidence and discovery phase, the judge decides which of the pieces of evidence proposed by the parties is relevant and pertinent to the dispute and proceeds to its management. The judge may, ex officio, order the parties to the dispute, third parties or other public authorities and institutions to submit any other evidence that the court deems necessary, even if these parties do not agree with the court's assessment.
The final pleadings phase
Once the evidence and discovery phase is complete, the parties orally present the final pleadings at the hearing on the merits of the case. Written notes may be submitted and exchanged between the parties during trial and notes may also be filed at the court before a judgment is rendered.
The judge may give judgment at the end of the final session or he may reserve judgment to a later date. The detailed reasons for the judgment will be drafted and served on the parties later (it is recommended that the detailed judgment be served within 30 days from the date of the decision but, in practice, this delay is not always observed).
Timeframes for each phase of the proceedings vary considerably depending on several factors, including the complexity of the case, the evidence to be produced, the workload of the court, the conduct of the parties etc. Typically, the written phase takes between 6 and 12 weeks. Upon completion of the written phase, a first hearing is listed to take place within two to six months. One can expect it to take a further 6 to 12 months for judgment to be given by the court of first instance depending on the complexity of the evidence which will be administered. In total, the estimated timeframe between the service of the claim and the first instance judgment for simple civil law claims is between 12 and 18 months.