Article 683
(Decree nº 76-1236 of December 28, 1976 art. 14 Official Journal of December 30, 1976) (Decree n ° 2004-836 of August 20, 2004 art. 19 Official Journal of August 22, 2004 in force on January 1, 2005) (Decree n ° 2005-1678 of December 28, 2005 art. 66 Official Journal of December 29, 2005 in force on March 1, 2006) Subject to the application of community regulations and international treaties, the transmission of judicial and extrajudicial documents abroad is made by international notification or service under the conditions provided for in this subsection.
Article 684
(Decree n ° 2005-1678 of December 28, 2005 art. 66 Official Journal of December 29, 2005 in force on March 1, 2006) The document intended to be notified to a person having his habitual residence abroad is delivered to the public prosecutor’s office, except in cases where a community regulation or an international treaty authorizes the judicial officer or the registry to send this document directly to its addressee or to a competent authority in the State of destination.
The document intended to be notified to a foreign State, to a foreign diplomatic agent in France or to any other beneficiary of jurisdictional immunity is delivered to the prosecution and transmitted through the Minister of Justice for service by diplomatic channel, unless by virtue of a Community regulation or
The prosecution to which the surrender must be made is, as the case may be, that of the court before which the request is brought, that of the court which ruled or that of the court in which the applicant resides. If there is no public prosecutor’s office near the jurisdiction, the document is handed over to the public prosecutor’s office of the tribunal de grande instance in whose jurisdiction this jurisdiction has its seat.
Article 685
(Decree n ° 2005-1678 of December 28, 2005 art. 66 Official Journal of December 29, 2005 in force on March 1, 2006 The authority in charge of the notification gives two copies of the document to the public prosecutor who endorses the original.
The public prosecutor immediately sends copies of the document to the Minister of Justice for transmission or to the authority designated by virtue of community regulations or the applicable international treaty.
He attaches to it an order of the judge prescribing the transmission of the document when the intervention of the judge is required by the recipient country.
Article 686
(Decree nº 85-1330 of December 17, 1985 art. 4 Official Journal of December 18, 1985 in force on January 1, 1986)(Decree n ° 2005-1678 of December 28, 2005 art. 66 Official Journal of December 29, 2005 in force on March 1, 2006)
Unless the notification could be made by post, the authority responsible for the notification must, on the same day or, at the latest, the first following working day, send to the addressee, by registered letter with request for advice of receipt, a certified true copy of the notified document indicating very clearly that it constitutes a simple copy.
Article 687
(Decree n ° 2005-1678 of December 28, 2005 art. 66 Official Journal of December 29, 2005 in force on March 1, 2006)The public prosecutor informs the requesting authority of the diligence carried out; he sends it, where applicable, any report or receipt attesting to the delivery of the copy of the deed, to be annexed to the first original. If the notification has been requested by a bailiff, the latter keeps these documents at the disposal of the court.
Article 688
(Decree nº 76-1236 of December 28, 1976 art. 15 Official Journal of December 30, 1976)(Decree n ° 2005-1678 of December 28, 2005 art. 66 Official Journal of December 29, 2005 in force on March 1, 2006)If it is not established that the addressee of a document had knowledge of it in good time, the judge seized of the case can only rule on the merits if the following conditions are met:
1 ° The document has been transmitted according to the methods provided for by Community regulations or applicable international treaties or, failing these, according to the requirements of Articles 684 to 687;
2 ° A period of at least six months has elapsed since the sending of the document;
3 ° No proof of delivery of the document could be obtained notwithstanding the procedures carried out with the competent authorities of the State where the document is to be delivered.
The judge may prescribe any additional diligence ex officio, in particular issuing letters rogatory to any competent authority for the purpose of ensuring that the addressee is aware of the act and of informing him of the consequences of his abstention.
However, the judge can immediately order the provisional or conservatory measures necessary to protect the rights of the applicant.
