French Legislation In English

Search, Read and Apply French Law. In English.

20+ full codes, 2,400+ articles translated and updated. Case law linked to every article. Read the actual text before you ask a lawyer about it — free, no login required.

Try: L.227-1 SAS governance, L.145-9 bail commercial renewal, L.223-18 gérant removal SARL

20+

french codes

Fully translated

2,400+

articles in English

Updated regularly

480+

court rulings linked

Per article

Free

full access

No login required

Showing 431440 of 17962 articles for Art. 5 avr. 2011

French Code of civil procedureIn force
Chapter III: The Grace Period.

Article 511

The time limit runs from the day of the judgment when it is adversarial; in other cases it runs only from the day of notification of the judgment.

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of civil procedureIn force
Section III: Common provisions

Article 521

The party ordered to pay sums other than maintenance, compensation or provisions may prevent provisional enforcement from being continued by depositing, with the judge's authorisation, cash or securit…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of civil procedureIn force
Sub-title II: Ordinary remedies.

Article 540

If the judgment was rendered by default or if it is deemed to be contradictory, the judge has the option of relieving the defendant of the foreclosure resulting from the expiry of the time limit if th…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of civil procedureIn force
Sub-title II: Ordinary remedies.

Article 541

When an interested party has been unable, through no fault of his own, to lodge an appeal against a non-contentious decision within the prescribed time limit, he may be relieved of the time limit unde…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of civil procedureIn force
Chapter III: The Grace Period.

Article 512

The period of grace may not be granted to a debtor whose property is seized by other creditors or to a debtor who has, by his own act, diminished the guarantees which he had given by contract to his c…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of civil procedureIn force
Sub-section I: Appealable judgments.

Article 544

Partial judgments, judgments which rule in their operative part on part of the main proceedings and order an investigative measure or a provisional measure may be immediately appealed against in the s…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of civil procedureIn force
Sub-title II: Ordinary remedies.

Article 538

The time limit for lodging an ordinary appeal is one month in contentious matters; it is fifteen days in non-contentious matters.

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of civil procedureIn force
Subsection II: The parties.

Article 554

Persons who were neither parties nor represented at first instance or who appeared in another capacity may intervene on appeal if they have an interest in doing so.

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of civil procedureIn force
Subsection I: Devolutive effect.

Article 562

An appeal refers to the court the knowledge of the heads of judgment which it expressly criticises and of those which depend on them.Devolution occurs for the whole only when the appeal seeks to set a…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of civil procedureIn force
Sub-section II: Evocation.

Article 568

…e appropriate, an investigative measure. The evocation does not prevent the application of articles 554,555 and 563 to 567.

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
Common Questions

French legislation in English — Q&A

Our translations are produced and reviewed for accuracy, but the only legally binding version of French law is the French original. For court, registry or contractual use we offer lawyer-reviewed or sworn certified translations on request.

Articles are synced with Légifrance and updated as soon as a reform is published in the Journal Officiel, so you always read the version in force — and can see when each article was last amended.

Each article is linked to the key court decisions (Cour de cassation, Conseil d'État, courts of appeal) that interpret it, so you can read the text and its case-law application side by side.

Yes — every article has an AI plain-English summary, and you can order a lawyer-reviewed explanation of how it applies to your specific situation, with next steps.

No. Reading and searching the codes is free with no login. Paid services — certified translation and the legal application report — are entirely optional.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In French Corporate Practice

English · French · Russian

Ready When You Are

Talk To A Lawyer
In France.

A 20–30 minute call, in English, to scope the engagement. No obligation, no preliminary fee. You will leave the call with a clear view of what the work will cover and what it will cost.

First EngagementFixed Fee

Talk to a French lawyer.

Reply within 24 hours.

Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

Continue

Related legal services

01 / Read

Browse the French codes

20+ full codes and 2,400+ articles in English, with the key court rulings linked to every article — free to read.

Read More
02 / Apply

Legal application report

A lawyer-reviewed report explaining how the relevant articles apply to your situation, with case-law analysis and next steps.

Read More
03 / Act

Talk to a French lawyer

Scope your matter with a Paris-Bar avocate — incorporation, contracts, disputes — handled bilingually, end to end.

Read More