Cabinet CHAVERON

A juror is a French citizen who is called for service on a jury alongside professional judges, for a short period of time. Prior to the Act of 6th August 2011, jurors were only used in the Crown Court (cour d'assises), but since 1st January 2012, they can also now sit in the magistrates' court (tribunal correctionnel).

The Crown Court has the power to try more serious criminal cases such as armed robbery, rape, murder, etc. There are 9 jurors in a Crown Court (or 12 if it is a Court of Appeal) and they judge the case alongside three professional judges. The Crown Court does not sit permanently, but rather holds sessions lasting two weeks on average, that are repeated more or less frequently during the year depending on the number of cases to be tried.

To be eligible for jury duty, you must have French nationality, be a registered voter, be over 23 years old, have the ability to read and write French and have all your civil rights (i.e. you must not be under a supervision order and must not have previously been sentenced to more than six months in prison). Jurors are selected at random from the electoral roll by the Mayor. They are compensated by the State for carrying out these functions if they so request.

The presence of jurors in magistrates' courts (which hear less severe cases than those of the Crown Court) was introduced on an experimental basis on 1st January 2012 for a trial period of two years at the courts of Dijon and Toulouse.

This reform has been widely criticized by legal professionals who believe that its cost will be very high and that the judicial process will be considerably slowed, due to the need for professional judges to instruct the jurors in increasingly complex matters of law.

la cour de cassation vient de décider que l'état de santé d'un locataire ne lui donnait pas des droits supplémentaires dans ses rapports avec son propriétaire. Un locataire refusait que son propriétaire lui remplace son chauffage au gaz par un chauffage électrique. il fournissait pour cela un certificat médical indiquant que le chauffage électrique risquait d'aggraver son asthme. la cour a refusé de prendre cet argument en compte et a considéré que le propriétaire avait rempli ses obligations en fournissant un logement en état de servir à l'habitation. le propriétaire pouvait remplacer l'actuel système de chauffage par un système équivalent sans être obligé de faire un installer un système de chauffage adapté à l'état de santé du locataire. (cass civ 3ème, 13 septembre 2011)

- Un devis est obligatoire dans le secteur du batiment et de l'électroménager pour les travaux de dépannage, de réparation ou d'entretien dont le montant dépasse 150 € TTC

- Un devis est généralement gratuit mais la loi permet aussi qu'il soit facturé. Dans ce cas le professionnel doit avoir préalablement informé le client du coût du devis.

- Le devis doit comporter un certain nombre de mentions obligatoires : la date d'établissement du devis, nom et adresse du professionnel, nom et adresse du client, lieu d'exécution des travaux, décompté détaillé des prestations proposées et des produits nécessaires pour ces prestations, somme à payer TTC (en détaillant sommes HT et taux de TVA)

- Un devis peut être valable seulement pendant une certaine durée ce qui signifie que l'offre proposée (prestation et prix) n'est plus valable au-delà de cette durée. Si la durée a expiré il faut demander un nouveau devis.

- Le devis s'il est signé par le client est un véritable engagement. C'est un accord des deux parties sur les travaux à effectuer et sur le prix à payer. En conséquence le client qui ultérieurement refuse que les travaux continuent s'expose à ce que le professionnel lui demande de le dédommager. Si le professionnel de son côté demande un supplément de prix sans avoir de devis signé par son client il s'expose à ce que ce dernier refuse de payer.

- Si en cours de travaux le professionnel se rend compte que les prestations ou les prix vont varier (par exemple en matière de travaux de rénovation si les murs s'avèrent être plus dégradés que prévu après avoir enlevé le lambris qui les recouvraient) il doit en informer son client et obtenir son accord. De même si en cours de travaux le client demande des travaux supplémentaires, non prévus dans le premier devis, il est préférable de signer alors un second devis.

French cheques are set out slightly differently to English ones. The main difference when writing out a French cheque is that the amount that the cheque is for goes at the top where in an English cheque you would normally put the name of the person that you are making the cheque payable to.

After “payez contre ce chèque “ This is where you write the amount in words. You can write the cents in letters or numbers. You will find useful information to help you to convert French numbers on www.euro-cheque.com/EC-fr.htm

From a legal point of view the amount in words is more important than the amount in numbers.

After “ à “ the name of the person or company you want to pay ( e.g. Mme Brown - Mrs Brown)

After “ €” you need to fill in this box with the amount in numbers. Do not forget that in French comma is used instead of a decimal point (e.g. in English 30.20 € = in French 30,20 €)

After “A” Under the box with the amount in numbers there is a line after “A”. Here you write the name of the place where the cheque is being written (e.g. Guéret)

After “Le” : this is where the date goes (e.g. 20 juin 2009)

Signature : Finally, you need to sign the cheque in the space under the place and date.

WARNING

Once an account is opened, you can order a chequebook, which is sent to you or held at the branch for collection. The bank may refuse to give you a chequebook but you must know the reason why.

In France there is no equivalent to the UK cheque guarantee card system. Your cheque is considered to be as good as cash. It is common to be asked for proof of identity when paying by cheque.

If you find yourself in the situation where you have written a cheque that your account cannot cover, this can result in a ban on writting cheques or opening a new bank account for up to five years.

It is a criminal offence to write a cheque that your account cannot cover.

Banks in France cannot issue a chequebook to a person listed on the Banque de France unpaid cheque database.

Cheques cannot be stopped (except for loss, theft, suspected fraudulent use or receivership and liquidation) an unauthorised overdrafts are not permitted.

You can obtain a short-term overdraft facility for a small monthly fee, this might prove to be a wise move if you are in the habit of writing cheques and worrying about the monthly balance afterwards.

The role of Solicitors and Barristers in the UK

The UK has two types of practicing lawyers: solicitors and barristers. A solicitor is a type of practicing lawyer who primarily handles office work, while barristers plead cases in court. Barristers depend on solicitors to provide them with trial work because

they are not allowed to accept work on their own. The distinction between solicitors

and barristers was originally based on their roles in the English court system. Solicitors were lawyers who were admitted to practice in Equity courts, whereas barristers were lawyers who practiced in Common Law courts. The modern English

judicial system has abolished this distinction. Nowadays, barristers may appear in

legal and equitable court proceedings and solicitors handle out-of-court lawyering.

The role of the solicitor in the UK is similar to that of a lawyer in the United States

who does not appear in court. The solicitor meets prospective clients, hears the client's problems, gives legal advice, drafts letters and documents, negotiates

on the client's behalf, and prepares the client's case for trial. When a court appearance appears inevitable, the solicitor retains a barrister on the client's behalf. The solicitor instructs the barrister on how the client wishes to proceed in court.

The role of Avocat in France

France is a civil law country, as opposed to common law countries such as the UK and USA. The French legal system is based on the civil law tradition and France has a monist civil code legal tradition with a Latin notarial system. This system was initially introduced under Napoleon following the French Revolution. A French avocat, compared to his UK counterpart, meets clients, gives legal advice,

drafts letters and contracts, prepares the clients's case for trial but is also allowed to appear before a judge.

On January 1st 2009 there were 50,134 avocats registered in France (50.5 % are women and the average age is 42.8 years). Almost half of all avocats practise in the Paris region.The number of avocats has increased by 38 % in the past ten years and the average age of becoming an avocat is 27.7 years. An avocat must be registered before a local bar association; registration is mandatory to be able to practise. There were 179 local bar associations on January 1st 2009.

The difference between the French Avocat and Notaire

French notaires (notaries) are lawyers of voluntary private civil law who draft, take and record legal instruments for private parties. They also provide legal advice and give attendance in person, and are vested as public officers with the authentication

power of the State. They are mainly involved in property issues and succession law. Unlike avocats, they have no authority to appear in court on their client's behalf.