Beyond whether an established commercial relationship was terminated abruptly, a fundamental question must be resolved before proceedings begin: which court has jurisdiction over the claim?
Identifying the specialised court
A claim based on abrupt termination of an established commercial relationship is subject to a specific jurisdiction rule.
Article L. 442-4 of the French Commercial Code allocates disputes concerning Article L. 442-1 to specialised courts. For commercial disputes, Article D. 442-2 refers to a closed list of courts set out in Regulatory Annex 4-2-1.
Eight commercial courts are specially designated in mainland France and the overseas departments.
For example, for the jurisdictions of the Courts of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence, Bastia, Montpellier and Nîmes, the designated commercial court is the Marseille Economic Activities Court.
Coordinating claims and legal grounds
Appeals in these proceedings are heard by the Paris Court of Appeal.
Where a dispute combines an ordinary-law claim, such as breach of contract, unfair competition or payment, with an abrupt-termination claim, the position depends on their interdependence. Depending on the circumstances, the court may decline jurisdiction over the claim under Article L. 442-1 and stay the remaining proceedings, or refer the entire dispute to the specialised court where the claims are interdependent. The French Court of Cassation adopted this approach in its judgment of 18 October 2023.
This rule should therefore be checked before issuing proceedings, particularly where several legal grounds are relied on.
The first step is to identify the precise legal basis of each claim and determine whether the dispute falls within the rules on restrictive trade practices.
A sound litigation strategy can begin with a simple question: which court should actually hear the case?
If your matter concerns the competent court in a matter involving abrupt termination of commercial relations, contact the firm, which will get back to you to discuss your situation.