JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF GRANDE INSTANCE DE MARSEILLE

On the request for a stay of proceedings

The lawyers of Unedic and Assedic had asked the Court to rule until the decision of the Council of State seized in April 2003 by associations of the unemployed against the ministerial approval of February 5, 2003 of the rider to the Unédic convention reducing the duration of compensation.

The Tribunal considered that 

” the courts of the judicial order have sole competence to rule on the qualification of private law contract and on the execution of this contract. There is therefore no need to stay the decision until the decision of the Council of State. “

On the qualification of PARE

The Tribunal de Grande Instance of Marseille analyzed the PARE membership forms and the stipulations which refer for Assédic to ” our commitments ” and for the beneficiary to ” your commitments “. 

The Court considered that the PARE “fits” in the logic of individualization of the relationship between the Assédic and the unemployed. In addition to the reminder of legal and regulatory obligations, it includes a double reciprocal commitment “, noting the synallagmatic aspect characteristic of a contract by its bilateral  aspect ( article 1102 of the Civil Code

The Tribunal therefore decides that

 ” the interdependence of these two reciprocal obligations subscribed by two persons of private law characterizes the formation of a synallagmatic contract , each of the commitments being the cause of the other “

The contractual nature thus conferred by the parties to the relationship entails the application of the binding force of contracts ( article 1134 Civil Code)

” Thus the notification by Assedic to each of the beneficiaries of unemployment insurance and of the duration of his rights specifies the extent of his obligation and the latter is therefore required to pay the compensation thus defined insofar as the beneficiary has respected his obligations “

The condemnation of the Assedic

Assedic is doomed 

” as part of its contractual commitments, to maintain (to the applicants) the payment of their compensation as fixed on the date on which they signed the return to work assistance plan (PARE) with a reminder of the backlog from January 1, 2004 “.