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MISE
A JOUR LEGIFRANCE
21 February 2004
Dernier texte modificateur :
ordonnance
n° 2004-164 du 20 Feb. 2004
Translated by Georges Rouhette,
Professor of Law, with the assistance of Anne Berton,
Research Assistant in English.
CIVIL CODE
PRELIMINARY TITLE OF THE
PUBLICATION, OPERATION AND APPLICATION OF STATUTES IN GENERAL
Art. 1
Statutes become in force
throughout the French territory by virtue of their being promulgated
by the President of the Republic [Constitution of 4 Oct. 1958,
art. 10].
They shall be enforced in every part of the Republic from the moment
their promulgation can be known.
The promulgation made by the President of the Republic shall be
deemed known in the département where the Government is
sitting one day after the day of promulgation; and in all the other
départements, after the expiry of the same period, increased
by one day per ten myriameters (about twenty ancient leagues)
between the city where the promulgation is made and the chief town
of each département 1.
1
Shall continue in force until 31 May 2004
Art. 1
(Ord. n° 2004-164 of
20 Feb. 20041).- Statutes and, when they are
published in the Journal Officiel de la République Française,
administrative acts shall come into force on the date specified in
them or, in the absence thereof, on the day after their publication.
However, the commencement of those of their provisions whose
enforcement requires implementing measures shall be postponed to the
date of commencement of said measures.
In case of
emergency, statutes whose decree of promulgation so prescribes and
administrative acts as to which the Government so orders by a
special provision shall come into force as soon as they are
published.
The provisions of
this Article shall not apply to acts of individual application.
1
Shall come into force
on 1 June 2004
Art. 2
Legislation provides only
for the future; it has no retrospective operation.
Art. 3
Statutes relating to
public policy and safety are binding on all those living on the
territory.
Immovables are governed by French law even when owned by aliens.
Statutes relating to the status and capacity of persons govern
French persons, even those residing in foreign countries.
Art. 4
A judge who refuses to
give judgment on the pretext of legislation being silent, obscure or
insufficient, may be prosecuted for being guilty of a denial of
justice.
Art. 5
Judges are forbidden to
decide cases submitted to them by way of general and regulatory
provisions .
Art. 6
Statutes relating to
public policy and morals may not be derogated from by private
agreements .
BOOK ONE OF PERSONS
TITLE
ONE OF CIVIL RIGHTS
CHAPTER I -
OF ENJOYMENT OF CIVIL RIGHTS
Art. 7
(Act of
26 June 1889)
The exercise of civil
rights is unrelated to the exercise of political rights which are
acquired and kept in accordance with constitutional and electoral
statutes.
Art. 8
(Act of
26 June 1889)
Every French person enjoys
civil rights.
Art. 9
(Act n°
70-643 of 17 July 1970)
Everyone has the right to
respect for his private life.
Without prejudice to compensation for injury suffered, the court may
prescribe any measures, such as sequestration, seizure and others,
appropriate to prevent or put an end to an invasion of personal
privacy; in case of emergency those measures may be provided for by
interim order.
Art. 9-1
(Act n°
93-2 of 4 Jan. 1993)
Everyone has the right to
respect of the presumption of innocence.
(Act n° 2000-516 of 15 June 2000) Where, before any
sentence, a person is publicly shown as being guilty of facts under
inquiries or preliminary investigation, the court, even by interim
order and without prejudice to compensation for injury suffered, may
prescribe any measures, such as the insertion of a rectification or
the circulation of a communiqué, in order to put an end to the
infringement of the presumption of innocence, at the expenses of the
natural or juridical person liable for that infringement.
Art. 10
(Act n°
72-626 of 5 July 1972)
Everyone is bound to
collaborate with the court so that truth may come out.
He who, without legitimate reason, eludes that obligation when it
has been legally prescribed to him, may be compelled to comply with
it, if need be on pain of periodic penalty payment or of a civil
fine, without prejudice to damages.
Art. 11
An alien enjoys in France
the same civil rights as those that are or will be granted to French
persons by the treaties of the nation to which that alien belongs.
Art. 12
and 13 [repealed]
Art.
14
An alien, even if not
residing in France, may be cited before French courts for the
performance of obligations contracted by him in France with a French
person; he may be called before the courts of France for
obligations contracted by him in a foreign country towards French
persons.
Art. 15
French persons may be
called before a court of France for obligations contracted by them
in a foreign country, even with an alien.
CHAPTER II –
THE OF RESPECT OF THE HUMAN BODY
(Act n°
94-653 of 29 July 1994)
Art. 16
Legislation ensures the
primacy of the person, prohibits any infringement of the latter's
dignity and safeguards the respect of the human being from the
outset of life.
Art.
16-1
Everyone has the right to
respect for his body.
The human body is inviolable.
The human body, its elements and its products may not form the
subject of a patrimonial right.
Art.
16-2
The court may prescribe
any measures appropriate to prevent or put an end to an unlawful
invasion of the human body or to unlawful dealings relating to its
elements or products.
Art.
16-3
There shall be no invasion
of the integrity of the human body except in case of "medical" (Act
n° 99-641 of 27 July 1999) necessity for the person.
The consent of the person concerned must be obtained previously
except when his state necessitates a therapeutic intervention to
which he is not able to assent.
Art.
16-4
Nobody may invade the
integrity of mankind.
Any eugenic practice which aims at organizing the selection of
persons is forbidden.
Without prejudice to researches aiming at preventing and treating
genetic diseases, there may be no alteration of the genetic
characters with a view to changing the descent of a person.
Art.
16-5
Agreements that have the
effect of bestowing a patrimonial value to the human body, its
elements or products are void.
Art.
16-6
No remuneration may be
granted to a person who consents to an experimentation on himself,
to the taking of elements off his body or to the collection of
products thereof.
Art.
16-7
All agreements relating to
procreation or gestation on account of a third party are void.
Art.
16-8
No information enabling
the identification of both the person that donates an element or a
product of his body and the person that receives it may be
disclosed. The donor may not be acquainted with the identity of the
receiver and the receiver may not be acquainted with that of the
donor.
In case of therapeutic necessity, only the physicians of the donor
and receiver may have access to the information enabling the
identification of the two persons concerned.
Art.
16-9
The provisions in this
chapter are mandatory.
CHAPTER III - OF THE
GENETIC STUDY OF THE PARTICULARS OF A PERSON AND OF THE
IDENTIFICATION OF A PERSON OWING TO HIS GENETIC PRINTS
(Act n°
94-653 of 29 July 1994)
Art.
16-10
A genetic study of the
particulars of a person may be undertaken only for medical purposes
or in the interest of scientific research .
The consent of the person must be obtained before the carrying out
of the study.
Art.
16-11
The identification of a
person owing to his genetic prints may only be searched for within
the framework of inquiries or investigations pending judicial
proceedings or for medical purposes or in the interest of scientific
research .
In civil matters, that identification may be sought only in
implementation of proof proceedings directed by the court seized of
an action aiming either at establishing or at contesting a parental
bond, or for getting or discontinuing subsidies. The consent of the
person must be obtained previously and expressly.
Where the identification is made for medical purposes or in the
interest of scientific research, the consent of the person must be
obtained previously.
Art.
16-12
Only persons whom have
been authorized in such a way as prescribed by a decree in
Conseil d'État are entitled to undertake identifications owing
to genetic prints. In the framework of judicial proceedings, those
persons must besides be registered in a list of judicial experts.
Art. 16-13
(Act n° 2002-303 of 4 March 2002).- No one may be
discriminated against on the basis of his genetic features.
TITLE
ONE bis
OF
FRENCH NATIONALITY
(Act n°
93-33 of 22 July 1993)
CHAPTER I - GENERAL
PROVISIONS
Art. 17
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
French nationality is
granted, acquired or lost according to the provisions laid down in
this Title, subject to any treaties and other international
commitments of France which may apply.
Art.
17-1
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
New statutes related to
the granting of nationality by birth shall apply to persons who are
minors at the time of their entry into force, without prejudice to
the vested rights of third parties and without their being allowed
to challenge the validity of transactions previously concluded on
ground of nationality.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply for purposes
of interpretation to the statutes related to nationality by birth
that have come into force after the promulgation of Title I of this
Code.
Art.
17-2
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Acquisition and loss of
French nationality are governed by the law that is in force at the
time of the act or fact to which legislation attributes those
effects.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall govern for purposes
of interpretation the commencement of the Nationality Acts that were
in force before 19 October 1945.
Art.
17-3
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
Applications in view to
acquiring, losing French nationality or being reinstated in that
nationality, as well as declarations of nationality, may, in the way
provided for by law, be made without authorization from the age of
sixteen.
A minor under sixteen must be represented by the person or persons
who exercise parental authority over him.
(Act n° 95-125 of 8 Feb. 1995) A minor between sixteen and
eighteen who is prevented from expressing his intention by an
impairing of his mental or bodily faculties must be likewise
represented. The impediment shall be established by the judge of
guardianships of his own motion, on application of a member of the
family of the minor or of the Government procurator's office, upon
presentation of a certificate issued by a specialist selected on a
list drawn out by the Government procurator.
(Act n° 95-125 of 8 Feb. 1995) Where the minor mentioned in
the preceding paragraph is placed under guardianship, he is
represented by the guardian authorized to this end by the family
council .
Art.
17-4
(Act n° 2003-1119 of 26 Nov. 2003).-
Falling within the terms of this Title, the phrase "in
France" means the metropolitan territory, overseas
départements and territories as well as New Caledonia and the
French Southern and Antartic Lands.
Art.
17-5
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
In this Title, majority
and minority shall be understood according to the meaning they have
in French law.
Art.
17-6
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
In order to determine the
French territory at any time, account shall be taken of
modifications resulting from enactments of the French Government
under the Constitution and statutes, as well as under international
treaties previously concluded.
Art.
17-7
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
In the absence of
conventional stipulations, the effects upon French nationality of
annexations and cessions of territories are governed by the
following provisions.
Art.
17-8
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Nationals of the ceding
State domiciled in the annexed territories on the day of the
transfer of sovereignty acquire French nationality, unless they
actually establish their domiciles outside those territories. Under
the same reservation, French nationals domiciled in the ceded
territories on the day of the transfer of sovereignty lose that
nationality.
Art.
17-9
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
The effects upon French
nationality of the accession to independence of former overseas
départements or territories of the Republic are determined in
Chapter VII of this Title.
Art.
17-10
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
The provisions of Article
17-8 shall apply for purposes of interpretation to changes of
nationality following upon annexations and cessions of territories
resulting from treaties concluded before 19
October 1945.
However, aliens who had their domiciles in territories retroceded by
France under the Treaty of Paris of 30
May 1814 and who transferred their domiciles in France later
than this Treaty, were not allowed to acquire French nationality on
this ground unless they complied with the provisions of the Act of
14 October
1814. French persons who were born outside the retroceded
territories and have kept their domiciles on those territories have
not lost French nationality under the terms of the aforementioned
Treaty.
Art.
17-11
(Ord. n°
45-2441 of 19 Oct. 1945)
Provided that there is no
infringement of the interpretation given to former agreements, a
change of nationality may not, in any case, follow from an
international convention, unless the convention so provides
expressly.
Art.
17-12 (Act n° 73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Where, under the terms of
an international convention, a change of nationality is subject to
the performing of an act of option, that act shall be determined as
to its form by the law of the contracting country in which it is
performed.
CHAPTER II
- OF FRENCH NATIONALITY BY BIRTH
Section I - Of
French Persons by Parentage
Art.
18
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Is French a child,
legitimate or illegitimate, of whom at least one parent is French.
Art.
18-1
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
If however only one of the
parents is French, the child who was not born in France has the
power to repudiate the status of French within six months preceding
and twelve months following his majority.
(Act n° 73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973) That power is lost if the alien
or stateless parent acquires French nationality during the minority
of the child.
Section II - Of
French Persons by Birth in France
Art.
19
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Is French a child born in
France of unknown parents.
He shall however be deemed to have never been French if, during his
minority, his parentage is established as regards an alien and if,
under the national law of his parent, he has the nationality of the
latter.
Art.
19-1
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Is French:
1° A child born in France of stateless parents;
2° A child born in France of alien parents and
to whom the transmission of the nationality of either parent is not
by any means allowed by foreign Nationality Acts.(Act
n° 2003-1119 of 26 Nov. 2003).
(Act n° 98-170 of 16 March 1998) He shall however be deemed
to have never been French if, during his minority, the foreign
nationality acquired or possessed by one of his parents happens to
pass to him.
Art.
19-2
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Shall be presumed born in
France a child whose record of birth was drawn up in accordance with
Article 58 of this Code.
Art.
19-3
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Is French a child,
legitimate or illegitimate, born in France where one at least of his
parents was himself born there.
Art.
19-4
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Where however only one
parent was born in France, a child who is French under the terms of
Article 19-3 has the power to repudiate this status within six
months preceding and twelve months following his majority.
That power is lost where one of the parents acquires French
nationality during the minority of the child.
Section III - Common
Provisions
Art.
20
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
A child who is French
under this Chapter shall be deemed to have been French as from his
birth, even where the statutory requirements for the granting of
French nationality were fulfilled only at a later date.
(Act n° 76-1179 of 22 Dec. 1976) The nationality of a child
who was the subject of a plenary adoption is determined according to
the distinctions set out in Articles 18 and 18-1, 19-1, 19-3 and
19-4 above.
(Act n° 73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973) The establishing of the
status of French later than birth may not however affect the
validity of transactions previously concluded by the party concerned
nor the rights previously acquired by third parties on the ground of
the apparent nationality of the child.
Art.
20-1
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
The parentage of a child
has effect on his nationality only where it is established during
his minority.
Art.
20-2
(Act n°
93-993 of 22 July 1993)
A French person who has
the power to repudiate French nationality where this Title so
provides may exercise that power by way of a declaration uttered in
accordance with Articles 26 and following.
He may divest himself of that power from the age of sixteen in the
same way.
Art.
20-3
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
In the circumstances
referred to in the preceding Article, nobody may repudiate French
nationality unless he proves that he has by birth the nationality of
a foreign country.
Art.
20-4
(Act n°
98-170 of 16 March 1998)
A French person who
enlists in French forces loses the power to repudiate.
Art.
20-5
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
The provisions of Articles
19-3 and 19-4 shall not apply to children born in France of
diplomatic agents or of regular consuls of foreign nationalities.
(Act n° 93-993 of 22 July 1993) Those children have however
the power to acquire voluntarily French nationality as provided for
"in Article 21-11 below." ( Act n° 98-170 of 16 March 1998)
CHAPTER III
- OF THE ACQUISITION OF FRENCH NATIONALITY
Section
I - Of the Modes of Acquiring French Nationality
§ 1 - Of the Acquisition of French Nationality by Reason of
Parentage
Art. 21
(Act n°
73-4 of, 9 Jan. 1973)
As of right, ordinary
adoption has no effect on the nationality of an adopted child.
§ 2 - Of the Acquisition of French Nationality by Reason of Marriage
Art.
21-1
(Act n°
73-4 of, 9 Jan. 1973)
As of right, marriage has
no effect on nationality.
Art.
21-2
(Act
n° 2003-1119 of 26 Nov. 2003)
An alien or stateless person who marries and
whose spouse is of French nationality may, after a period of two
years from the marriage, acquire French nationality by way of
declaration provided that, at the time of the declaration, the
community of living both affective and physical has not come to an
end and the French spouse has kept his or her nationality. The
foreign spouse must also prove a sufficient knowledge of the French
language, according to his or her condition.
The duration of the community of living shall
be raised to three years where the alien, at the time of the
declaration, does not prove that he has resided in France
uninterruptedly for at least one year from the marriage.
The declaration shall be made as provided for
in Articles 26 and following. Notwithstanding the provisions of
Article 26-1, it shall be registered by the Minister in charge of
naturalisations.
Art.
21-3
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Subject to the provisions
of Articles 21-4 and 26-3, the party concerned acquires French
nationality at the date when the declaration is uttered.
Art.
21-4
(Act n°
93-993 of 22 July 1993)
By a decree in
Conseil d'État, the Government may, on grounds of indignity or
lack of assimilation other than linguistic (Act n° 2003-1119 of
26 Nov. 2003),
oppose the acquisition of French nationality by the foreign spouse
within a period of one year after the date of the acknowledgement of
receipt provided for in Article 26, paragraph 2, or, where the
registration was refused, after the day when the judgment which
admits the lawfulness of the declaration has entered into force.
(Act n° 73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973) If there is an
opposition by the Government, the party concerned shall be deemed to
have never acquired French nationality.
However, the validity of transactions concluded between the
declaration and the decree that challenges it may not be objected to
on the ground that the maker was not allowed to acquire French
nationality.
Art.
21-5
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Where a marriage is
declared to be void by a judgment of a French court, or of a foreign
court whose authority is acknowledged in France, the declaration
laid down in Article 21-2 may not lapse with regard to the spouse
who married in good faith.
Art.
21-6
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
The annulment of a
marriage may not have any effect on the nationality of the children
born thereof .
§ 3 - Of the Acquisition of French Nationality by Reason of Birth
and Residence in France
Art.
21-7
(Act n°
98-170 of 16 March 1998)
Every child born in France
of foreign parents acquires French nationality on his coming of age
where, at that time, he has his residence in France and has had his
usual residence in France for a continuous or discontinuous period
of at least five years, from the age of eleven.
The tribunaux d'instance, local authorities, public bodies
and services and especially educational establishments are obliged
to inform the public, and in particular those persons to whom
paragraph 1 applies, of the provisions in force in matters of
nationality. The requirements as to that information shall be
prescribed by a decree in Conseil d'État.
Art.
21-8
(Act n°
98-170 of 16 March 1998)
The party concerned has
the power to declare, in the way laid down in Article 26 and subject
to his proving that he has the nationality of a foreign State, that
he disclaims the status of French within six months before or twelve
months after his majority .
In this event, he shall be deemed to have never been French.
Art.
21-9
(Act n°
98-170 of 16 March 1998)
Any person who fulfils the
requirements laid down in Article 21-7 in order to acquire French
nationality loses the power to disclaim it where he enlists in
French forces.
Any minor born in France of foreign parents who is regularly
recruited as a volunteer acquires French nationality at the date of
his recruitment.
Art.
21-10
(Act n°
98-170 of 16 March 1998)
The provisions of Articles
21-7 to 21-9 may not apply to children born in France of diplomatic
agents and of regular consuls of foreign nationality. Those children
have however the power to acquire voluntarily French nationality as
provided for in Article 21-11 below.
Art.
21-11
(Act n°
98-170 of 16 March 1998)
A minor child born in
France of foreign parents may from the age of sixteen claim French
nationality by declaration, in the way laid down in Articles 26 and
following where, at the time of his declaration, he has in France
his residence and has had his usual residence in France for a
continuous or discontinuous period of at least five years, from the
age of eleven.
Under the same terms, French nationality may be claimed, on behalf
of the minor child born in France of foreign parents, from the age
of thirteen and with his personal consent, in which event the
requirement of usual residence in France should be fulfilled from
the age of eight.
§ 4 - Of the Acquisition of French Nationality by Declaration of
Nationality
Art.
21-12
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
A child who was the
subject of an ordinary adoption by a person of French nationality
may, up to his majority, declare, in the way provided for in
Articles 26 and following, that he claims the status of French, if
he resides in France at the time of his declaration.
"However, the obligation of residing is dispensed with where the
child was adopted by a person of French nationality who does not
have his usual residence in France" (Act n° 98-170, 16 March
1998).
May, in the same way, claim French nationality:
1°
A child, who, for at least five years, has been sheltered and
brought up by a person of French nationality or who, for at least
three years, has been entrusted to the Children's aid service
(Act n° 2003-1119 of
26 Nov. 2003).;
2° A child sheltered in France and brought up in conditions that
allowed him to receive, during five years at least, a French
education "from either a public body, or a private body offering the
features determined by a decree in Conseil d'État" (Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993).
Art.
21-13
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
May claim French
nationality "by declaration uttered as provided for in Articles 26
and following" (Act n° 93-933 of 22 July 1993), persons who
have enjoyed in a constant way the apparent status of French for the
ten years prior to the declaration.
Where the validity of the transactions concluded before the
declaration was made conditional on the entitlement of French
nationality, that validity may not be objected to on the sole ground
that the declarant had not that nationality.
Art.
21-14
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
Persons who have lost
French nationality under Article 23-6 or against whom was raised the
peremptory exception laid down by Article 30-3 may claim French
nationality by declaration uttered as provided for in Articles 26
and following.
They must have kept or acquired patent cultural, professional,
economic or family bonds with France, or actually performed military
services in a unit of the French army or fought in French or allied
armies in time of war.
The surviving spouses of the persons who actually performed military
services in a unit of the French army or fought in French or allied
armies in time of war may likewise benefit from the provisions of
this Article, paragraph 1.
§ 5 - Of the Acquisition of French Nationality by a Decision of the
Government
Art.
21-14-1
(Act n°
99-1141 of 29 Dec. 1999)
French nationality may be
conferred by decree, on a proposal from the Minister of Defence, to
an alien recruited in French armies who was wounded on duty during
or on the occasion of an operational action and who makes a request
herefor.
Where the party concerned is dead, the same procedure is open to
his minor children who, at the day of the death, fulfilled the
requirement of residence laid down in Article 22-1, subject to the
conditions laid down in paragraph 1.
Art.
21-15
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
"Except in the
circumstances referred to in Article 21-14-1" (Act n° 99-1141 of
29 Dec. 1999), the acquisition of French nationality by a
decision of the Government results from a naturalisation granted by
decree at the request of the alien.
Art.
21-16
(Ord. n°
45-2441 of 19 Oct. 1945)
Nobody may be naturalised
unless he has his residence in France at the time of the signature
of the decree of naturalisation.
Art.
21-17
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
Subject to the exceptions
laid down in Articles 21-18, 21-19 and 21-20, naturalisation may be
granted only to an alien who proves an usual residence in France for
five years before the submission of the request.
Art.
21-18
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
The probationary period
referred to in Article 21-17 shall be reduced to two years:
1° As regards the alien who has successfully completed two years of
university education in view of getting a diploma conferred by a
French university or establishment of higher education;
2° As regards the alien who gave or can give significant services to
France owing to his competences and talents.
Art.
21-19
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
May be naturalised without
the requirement of a probationary period:
"1° A minor child who remained an alien although one of his parents
acquired French nationality;
2° The spouse and child of age of a person who acquires or
acquired French nationality" (Act n° 93-933 of 22 July 1993);
3° [repealed]
4° An alien who actually performed military services in a unit of
the French army or who, in time of war, enlisted voluntarily in
French or allied armies;
5° A national or former national of territories and States on which
France exercised sovereignty, or a protectorate, a mandate or a
trusteeship;
6° An alien who gave exceptional services to France or one whose
naturalisation is of exceptional interest for France. In this event,
the decree of naturalisation may be granted only after taking
Conseil d'État's opinion and on the basis of a reasoned report
from the competent Minister;
7° (Act 98-170 of 16 March 1998) An alien who obtained the
status of refugee in accordance with the Act n° 52-893 of 25 July
1952 establishing a French Office for the protection of refugees and
stateless persons.
Art.
21-20
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
May be naturalised without
any requirement as to a probationary period a person who belongs to
the French cultural and linguistic unit, where he is a national of
territories or States whose official language or one of the official
languages is French, either if French is his mother tongue or if he
proves school attendance of at least five years at an institution
teaching in French.
Art.
21-21
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
French nationality may be
conferred by naturalisation on a proposal from the Minister of
Foreign Affairs to any French-speaking alien who makes the request
thereof and who contributes by his eminent deeds to the influence of
France and to the prosperity of its international economic
relations.
Art.
21-22
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
With the exception of a
minor who may avail himself of the privilege of Article 21-19,
paragraph 2 (1°), nobody may be naturalised unless he has reached
the age of eighteen.
Art.
21-23
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Nobody may be naturalised
where he is not of good character or has incurred one of the
sentences referred to in Article 21-27 of this Code.
However, sentences delivered abroad may be overlooked; in this event
the decree that pronounces naturalisation may be enacted only after
assent of the Conseil d'État.
Art.
21-24
(Ord. n°
45-2441 of 19 Oct. 1945)
Nobody may be naturalised unless he proves his assimilation into the
French community, and specially owing to a sufficient knowledge of
the French language, according to his condition
and of the rights and duties conferred by French nationality" (Act
n° 2003-1119 of
26 Nov. 2003).
Art. 21-24-1
(Act n°
2003-1119 of 26 Nov. 2003)
The requirement of knowledge of the French
language shall not apply to political refugees and stateless persons
who have resided in France regularly and usually for at least
fifteen years and who are over seventy.
Art.
21-25
(Ord. n°
45-2441 of 19 Oct. 1945)
The way of carrying out
the checking of assimilation and state of health of an alien
awaiting his naturalisation shall be prescribed by decree in
Conseil d'État.
Art.
21-25-1
(Act n°
98-170 of 16 March 1998)
The reply of the
Government to a request for acquisition of French nationality by
naturalisation must be made at the latest within eighteen months
after the date when the acknowledgement of receipt that establishes
the delivery of all the documents needed for the completion of a
comprehensive file is issued to the applicant.
That period may be extended only once for three months by a reasoned
decision.
§ 6 - Provisions Common to some Modes of Acquiring French
Nationality
Art.
21-26
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Is equivalent to a
residence in France where that residence is a requirement for the
acquiring of French nationality:
1° The residing abroad of an alien who exercises a private or
public professional activity on behalf of the French state or of a
body whose activity is of special interest for French economy or
culture;
2° A residing in those countries in customs union with France which
are named by a decree;
3° (Act 98-170 of 16 March 1998) A presence outside France,
in time of peace as in time of war, in a regular unit of the French
army or for the duties laid down in Book II of the Code of National
Service;
4° (Act 98-170 of 16 March 1998) A residing outside France as
a volunteer for national service.
The equivalence as to residence which benefits one spouse shall be
extended to the other where they actually live together.
Art.
21-27
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993; Act 98-170 of 16 March 1998) )
Nobody may acquire French
nationality or be reinstated in that nationality where he has been
sentenced either for ordinary or serious offences that constitute a
damage to the fundamental interests of the nation or an act of
terrorism or, whatever the offence concerned may be, to a penalty of
six months' imprisonment or more without suspension.
(Act n° 93-1417 of 30 Dec. 1993) It shall be likewise for the
person who has been subject either to an exclusion order not
expressly revoked or repealed or to a banishment of the French
territory not fully enforced.
(Act 93-1027 of 24 August 1993) It shall be likewise for the
person whose residence in France is irregular with respect to the
statutes and conventions concerning the residence of aliens in
France .
(Act n° 98-170 of 16 March 1998) The provisions of this
Article shall not apply to a minor child who may acquire French
nationality under Articles 21-7, 21-11, 21-12 and 22-1,nor
to a condemned person who has benefited from a rehabilitation by
operation of law or by a judicial rehabilitation in accordance with
Article 133-12 of the Penal Code, or the entry of whose sentence has
been excluded from the certificate n° 2 of the police record, in
accordance with Articles 775-1 and 775-2 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure" (Act n° 2003-1119 of 26 Nov. 2003).
Section II - Of the Effects of Acquiring French Nationality
Art.
22
(Act n°
83-1046 of 8 Dec. 1983)
A person who has acquired
French nationality enjoys all the rights and is bound to all the
duties attached to the status of French, from the day of that
acquisition.
Art.
22-1
(Act n°
98-170 of 16 March 1998; Act n° 99-1141 of 29 Dec. 1999)
A minor child, legitimate,
illegitimate or who has been the subject of a plenary adoption, one
of the parents of whom acquires French nationality, becomes French
as of right where he has the same usual residence as that parent, or
resides in turn with that parent in the event of separation or
divorce.
The provisions of this Article shall not apply to the child of a
person who acquires French nationality by a decision of the French
government or by declaration of nationality unless his name is
mentioned in the decree or the declaration.
Art.
22-2
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
The provisions of the
preceding Article shall not apply to a married child.
Art.
22-3
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
However, a child who is
French under Article 22-1 and who was not born in France has the
power to repudiate that status within six months preceding and
twelve months following his coming of age.
He must exercise that power by declaration uttered as provided for
in Articles 26 and following.
He may
divest himself of that power from the age of sixteen in the same
way.
CHAPTER IV
- OF LOSS AND FORFEITURE Of, AND OF REINSTATEMENT IN FRENCH
NATIONALITY
Section I - Of Loss of
French Nationality
Art.
23
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
An adult of French
nationality residing usually abroad, who acquires voluntarily a
foreign nationality, loses French nationality only where he so
declares expressly, in the way provided for in Articles 26 and
following of this Title.
Art.
23-1
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
The declaration in view to
losing French nationality may be subscribed from the filing of the
request for acquiring the foreign nationality and, at the latest,
within a period of one year after the date of that acquiring.
Art.
23-2
(Act n°
98-170 of 16 March 1998)
French persons who are
under the age of thirty-five years may not subscribe the declaration
provided for in Articles 23 and 23-1 above unless they have complied
with the duties under Book II of the Code of National Service.
Art.
23-3
(Act n°
98-170 of 16 March 1998)
Loses French nationality a
French person who exercises the power to repudiate that status in
the circumstances referred to in Articles 18-1, 19-4 and 22-3.
Art.
23-4
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Loses French nationality a
French person, even being a minor, who, having a foreign
nationality, is, on his request, authorized by the French Government
to lose the status of French.
That authorization shall be granted by decree.
Art.
23-5
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
In the event of a marriage
with an alien, the French spouse may repudiate French nationality in
accordance with Articles 26 and following, if he or she has acquired
the foreign nationality of her or his spouse and the usual residence
of the couple is established abroad.
(Act n° 98-170 of 16 March 1998) However, French persons who
are under the age of thirty-five may not exercise that power of
repudiation unless they have complied with the duties under Book II
of the Code of National Service.
Art.
23-6
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
The loss of French
nationality may be recorded by judgment where the party concerned,
French by parentage, has not the apparent status thereof and never
had his usual residence in France, if the ancestors from whom he
held French nationality have not had themselves the apparent status
of French or residence in France for half a century.
The judgment shall determine the date when French nationality was
lost. It may decide that that nationality was lost by the
predecessors of the party concerned and that the latter never was
French.
Art.
23-7
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
A French person who
actually behaves as a national of a foreign country may, where he
has the nationality of that country, be declared to have lost
French nationality by decree with assent of the Conseil d'Etat.
Art.
23-8
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Loses French nationality a
French person who, filling an employment in a foreign army or public
service or in an international organization of which France is not a
member, or more generally providing his assistance to it, did not
relinquish his employment or stop his assistance notwithstanding the
order of the Government.
The party concerned shall be declared, by decree in Conseil
d'État, to have lost French nationality unless, within the
period prescribed by the order and which may not be shorter than
fifteen days or longer than two months, he stops his occupation.
Where the opinion of the Conseil d'État is adverse, the
measure provided for in the preceding paragraph may be adopted only
by a decree in Council of Ministers.
Art.
23-9
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Loss of French nationality
takes effect:
1° Where Article 23 so provides from the date of acquisition of the
foreign nationality;
2° Where Articles 23-3 and 23-5 so provide from the date of the
declaration;
3° Where Articles 23-4, 23-7 and 23-8 so provide from the date of
the decree;
4° Where Article 23-6 so provides from the day named in the
judgment.
Section II - Of Reinstatement in French Nationality
Art.
24
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Reinstatement in French
nationality of persons who prove to have had the status of French
shall result from a decree or a declaration in accordance with the
distinctions provided for in the Articles below.
Art.
24-1
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Reinstatement by decree
may be obtained at any age and without any requirement as to a
probationary period. As to other issues, it shall be subject to the
requirements and rules of naturalisation.
Art.
24-2
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Persons who "have lost
French nationality" (Act. n° 98-170 of 16 March 1998) by
reason of a marriage with an alien or acquisition of a foreign
nationality by an individual decision may, subject to the provisions
"of Article 21-27" (Act n° 93-933 of 22 July 1993), be
reinstated by a declaration subscribed in France or abroad as
provided for in Articles 26 and following.
They must have kept or acquired patent bonds with France, especially
of cultural, professional, economic or family nature.
Art.
24-3
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
Reinstatement by decree or
declaration is effective with regard to children under eighteen,
subject to the conditions under Articles 22-1 and 22-2 of this
Title.
Section III - Of Forfeiture of French Nationality
Art. 25
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
An individual who acquired
the status of French may be declared by decree adopted after assent
of the Conseil d'État to have forfeited French nationality,
"save where forfeiture has the effect of making him stateless" (Act
n° 98-170 of 16 March 1998):
1° Where he is sentenced for an act characterized as "ordinary or
serious offence which constitutes an injury to the fundamental
interests of the Nation" (Act n° 93-933 of 22 July 1993) "or
for an ordinary or serious offence which constitutes an act of
terrorism" (Act n° 96-647 of 22 July 1996);
2° Where he is sentenced for an act characterized as "ordinary or
serious offence provided for and punished by Chapter II of Title III
of Book IV of the Penal Code" (Act n° 93-933 of 22 July 1993);
3° Where he is sentenced for evading the duties under the Code of
National Service;
4° Where he committed acts incompatible with the status of French
and detrimental to the interests of France for the benefit of a
foreign State;
5 ° [repealed].
Art.
25-1
(Act
n° 2003-1119 of 26 Nov. 2003)
Forfeiture shall be incurred
only where the facts of which the person concerned is accused and
which are referred to in Article 25 occurred before the acquiring of
French nationality or within ten years from the date of that
acquiring. Act n° 73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973
It may be pronounced only within ten years after the perpetration of
those facts.
CHAPTER V -
OF ACTS RELATED TO ACQUISITION OR LOSS OF FRENCH NATIONALITY
Section I - Of
Declarations of Nationality
Art. 26
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993; Act 98-170 of 16 March 1998)
Declarations of
nationality shall be received by the juge d'instance or by
consuls in the form prescribed by decree in Conseil d'État.
An acknowledgment of receipt must be issued after the filing of the
documents necessary for proving their admissibility.
Art.
26-1
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
A declaration of
nationality must, on pain of nullity, be registered either by the
juge d'instance as regards declarations subscribed in France, or
by the Minister of Justice as regards declarations subscribed
abroad.
Art.
26-2
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
The seats and territorial
jurisdiction of the tribunaux d'instance which are empowered
to receive and register declarations of French nationality shall be
established by decree.
Art.
26-3
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1933; Act n° 98-170 of 16 March 1998)
The Minister or the judge
shall refuse to register declarations which do not comply with the
statutory requirements.
His reasoned decision shall be notified to the declarant, who may
challenge it before the tribunal de grande instance within
six months. The claim may be brought personally by a minor from the
age of sixteen.
The decision of refusal to register must be taken within six months
at the latest after the date when the acknowledgment of receipt
which establishes the filing of all the documents necessary for
proving the admissibility of the declaration is issued to the
declarant.
The period shall be extended to one year as regards declarations
subscribed under Article 21-2.
Art.
26-4
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993; Act n° 98-170 of 16 March 1998)
Within one year following the date when it was
made, registration may be challenged by the Government procurator's
office*, where the statutory requirements are not met.
In the absence of a
refusal to register within the statutory period, a copy of the
declaration shall be given to the declarant bearing the mention of
the registration.
The registration may still be opposed by the Government procurator's
office in the event of lie or fraud within two years after their
being detected. The stopping of the community of living between
spouses within twelve months after registration of the declaration
under Article 21-2 shall constitute a presumption of fraud.
Art.
26-5
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
Subject to the provisions
of Article 23-9, paragraph 2 (1°), declarations of nationality, from
the moment that they have been registered, take effect as from the
date when they are subscribed.
Section II
- Of Administrative Decisions
Art.
27
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
A decision declaring
inadmissible, or adjourning or refusing a request for naturalisation
or reinstatement by decree, as well as an authorization to lose
French nationality must set out its reasons.
Art.
27-1
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
A decree deciding
naturalisation or reinstatement, authorization to lose French
nationality, loss or forfeiture of that nationality shall be adopted
and published in forms prescribed by decree. It may not have any
retrospective operation.
Art.
27-2
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
A decree deciding
naturalisation or reinstatement may be withdrawn with assent of the
Conseil d'État within one year after its publication in the
Journal Officiel where the person making the request does not
comply with the statutory requirements; where the decision was
obtained by lie or fraud, the decree may be withdrawn within two
years the detection of fraud.
Art.
27-3
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
A decree deciding loss on
one of the grounds provided for in Articles 23-7 and 23-8 or
forfeiture of French nationality shall be adopted after the person
concerned has been heard or summoned to bring forward his comments.
Section III - Of Mentions on the Registers of Civil Registry
Art.
28
(Act n°
78-731 of 12 July 1978)
A mention of administrative acts and declarations
causing acquisition or loss of French nationality or reinstatement
therein shall be made in the margin of the record of birth.
(Act n° 98-170 of 16 March 1998)
A mention of a first issue of a certificate of French nationality
and of adjudicatory decisions of a court relating to that
nationality shall likewise be made.
Art.
28-1
(Act n°
98-170 of 16 March 1998)
Mentions relating to
nationality provided for in the preceding Article shall be made on
copies of records of birth or instruments drawn up as substitutes
for them.
Those mentions shall also be made on certificates of birth or on a
livret de famille at the request of the parties concerned.
However, the mentions of loss, disclaimer, forfeiture of, opposition
to the acquisition of French nationality, withdrawal of the decree
of naturalisation or reinstatement, or of the judicial decision
which has established the alien status, shall be made as of right on
certificates of birth and on a livret de famille where a
person who previously acquired or was judicially adjudged that
nationality, or obtained a certificate of French nationality, has
requested their being mentioned on those documents.
CHAPTER VI
- OF DISPUTES IN MATTERS OF NATIONALITY
Section I - Of the
Jurisdiction of Judicial Courts and the Proceedings therein
Art.
29
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
The civil courts of
general jurisdiction shall exercise exclusive jurisdiction over
disputes relating to French or foreign nationality of natural
persons.
Issues of nationality shall be preliminary before any other
administrative or judicial court except criminal courts with a
criminal jury.
Art.
29-1
(Act
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
The seats and territorial
jurisdiction of the tribunaux de grande instance which are
empowered to try controversies relating to French or foreign
nationality of natural persons are established by decree.
Art.
29-2
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
The procedure to be
followed in matters of nationality and in particular the
communication to the Government procurator's office of summons,
pleadings and methods of review, is established by the Code of Civil
Procedure.
Art.
29-3
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Everyone is entitled to
bring an action for the determination of his having or not the
status of French.
The Government procurator's office is likewise entitled with respect
to any person. It shall be a necessary defendant in all declaratory
actions on nationality. It must be joined to the action whenever an
issue of nationality is raised as an interlocutory matter before a
court empowered to try it.
Art.
29-4
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
The Government
procurator's office shall have to sue where it is requested by a
public service or a third party who raised the plea of national
status before a court which stayed judgment under Article 29. The
third party plaintiff shall be joined to the action.
Art.
29-5
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Judgments handed down in
matters of French nationality by a court of general jurisdiction
have effect even against persons who were not parties nor
represented .
However, a party concerned is competent to attack them by means of a
third party application for rehearing provided that he joins
the Government procurator's office to the action.
Section II - Of the Proof of
Nationality before Judicial Courts
Art. 30
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
The burden of proof in
matters of French nationality lies on the person whose nationality
is in dispute.
However, this burden lies on him who challenges the status of French
of a person who holds a certificate of French nationality issued as
provided for in Articles 31 and following.
Art.
30-1
(Ord. n°
45-2441 of 19 Oct. 1945)
Where French nationality
is granted or acquired in another way than declaration,
naturalisation, reinstatement or annexation of territories, proof of
it may be made only by establishing the existence of all the
statutory requirements.
Art.
30-2
(Act n°
61-1408 of 22 Dec. 1961)
However, where French
nationality may flow only from parentage, it shall be deemed
established, saving proof to the contrary, if the person concerned
and the parent who was likely to transmit it to him have in a
constant way enjoyed the apparent status of French.
(Act n° 93-933 of 22 July 1993) French nationality of persons
born in Mayotte, of age on 1 January 1994, shall be alternatively
deemed established if those persons have in a constant way enjoyed
the apparent status of French.
Art.
30-3
(Act n°
61-1408 of 22 Dec. 1961)
Where a person usually
resides or resided in a foreign country, in which the ancestors from
whom he holds nationality by parentage have settled for more than
half a century, that person shall not be allowed to prove that he
has French nationality by parentage if himself or the parent who was
likely to transmit it to him have not enjoyed the apparent status of
French.
In that event, the court shall have to record the loss of French
nationality under Article 23-6.
Art.
30-4
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Apart from loss or
forfeiture of French nationality, proof of the alien status of a
person may only be established by evidencing that the party
concerned does not fulfil any of the statutory requirements for
having the status of French.
Section III - Of
Certificates of French Nationality
Art.
31
(Act n°
95-125 of 8 Feb. 1995)
The chief clerk of a
tribunal d'instance shall alone have the capacity to issue a
certificate of French nationality to a person who establishes that
he has that nationality.
Art.
31-1
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
The seats and territorial
jurisdiction of the tribunaux d'instance which are empowered
to issue certificates of nationality shall be established by decree.
Art.
31-2
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
A certificate of
nationality shall point out with reference to Chapters II, III, IV
and VII of this Title the statutory provision under which the party
concerned has the status of French as well as the documents which
allowed its being drawn up. It shall prevail until evidence contrary
to it.
(Act n° 95-125 of 8 Feb. 1995) For the issuing of a
certificate of nationality, the chief clerk of a tribunal
d'instance may, failing other elements, presume that the records
of civil status drawn up abroad and presented to him produce the
effects that French law would have attributed to them.
Art.
31-3
(Act n°
95-125 of 8 Feb. 1995)
Where the chief clerk of a
tribunal d'instance refuses to issue a certificate of
nationality, the party concerned may refer the matter to the
Minister of Justice who shall decide whether there is a case for the
performance of that issuing.
CHAPTER VII - OF THE EFFECTS
ON FRENCH NATIONALITY OF TRANSFERS OF SOVEREIGNTY RELATING TO
CERTAIN TERRITORIES
Art. 32
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
French persons natives
of the territory of the French Republic, as it was constituted on
the 28 July
1960, and who were domiciled on the day of its accession to
independence on the territory of a State that had previously the
status of an overseas territory of the French Republic, have kept
French nationality.
It shall be the same as to the spouses, widows and widowers and
descendants of the said persons.
Art.
32-1
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
French persons of
civil status of general law who were domiciled in Algeria on the
date of the official announcement of the results of the poll for
self- determination keep French nationality whatever their situation
with respect to Algerian nationality may be.
Art.
32-2
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
The French nationality
of persons of civil status of general law who were born in Algeria
before the 22
July 1962 shall be deemed established, on the terms of Article 30-2,
where those persons have enjoyed in a constant way the apparent
status of French.
Art.
32-3
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Every French person
who, at the date of its independence, was domiciled on the territory
of a State that had previously the status of overseas département
or territory of the Republic keeps his nationality as of right
where no other nationality was granted to him by the law of that
State.
Likewise, the children of persons who benefit from the provisions of
the preceding paragraph, minors under eighteen at the date of the
accession to independence of the territory where their parents were
domiciled, keep French nationality as of right.
Art.
32-4
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
Former members of the
Parliament of the Republic, of the Assembly of the French Union and
of the Economic Council who have lost French nationality and
acquired a foreign nationality under a general provision may be
reinstated in French nationality by a mere declaration where they
have established their domiciles in France.
The same power is granted to their spouse, widower or widow and
their children.
Art.
32-5
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
The declaration of
reinstatement provided for in the preceding article may be
subscribed by the parties concerned, in accordance with Article 26
and following, from the moment they have reached the age of
eighteen; it may not be made through an agent. It has effect with
regard to minor children on the terms of Articles 22-1 and 22-2.
CHAPTER VIII - SPECIAL
PROVISIONS REGARDING OVERSEAS TERRITORIES
Art. 33
(Act n°
73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)
For the implementation
of this Code [Title] in overseas territories:
1° The words "tribunal de grande instance" shall each time be
replaced by the words "tribunal de première instance";
2° [repealed].
Art.
33-1
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
Notwithstanding Article
26, the declaration shall be received by the president of the
tribunal de première instance or by the judge in charge of the
section on detachment.
Art.
33-2
(Act n°
93-933 of 22 July 1993)
Notwithstanding Article
31, the president of the tribunal de première instance or
the judge in charge of the section on detachment has alone the
capacity to issue a certificate of French nationality to a person
who establishes that he has that nationality.
TITLE II
OF
RECORDS OF CIVIL STATUS
CHAPTER I - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Art. 34
(Act of
22 Oct. 1922)
Records of civil status
shall state the year, day and time when they were received, the
first names and name of the officer of civil status, the first
names, names, occupations and domiciles of all persons named
therein.
The dates and places of birth:
a) Of the father and mother in the records of birth and of
acknowledgement;
b) Of the child in the records of acknowledgement;
c) Of the spouses in the records of marriage; and
d) Of the deceased in the records of death,
shall be
indicated when known. Otherwise the age of those persons shall be
designated by their number of years as must be, in all cases, the
ages of the declarants. As to the witnesses, only their status of
adult shall be indicated.
Art. 35
Officers of civil status
may insert nothing in the records they receive, by way of a note or
of whatever wording, beyond what must be declared by the declarants.
Art. 36
Where the parties
concerned are not obliged to appear in person, they may be
represented by an agent with a special and authentic power.
Art. 37
(Act of
7 Dec. 1897)
Witnesses appearing in
connection with records of civil status shall be at least of
eighteen years of age, relatives or not, without distinction of sex;
they shall be selected by the parties concerned.
[repealed]
Art. 38
(Ord. n°
58-779 of 23 august 1958)
The officer of civil
status shall read the records to the appearing parties or their
agents, and to the witnesses; he shall invite them to take direct
cognisance of them before signing them.
It shall be mentioned on the records that these formalities have
been complied with.
Art. 39
Those records shall be
signed by the officer of civil status, the appearing parties and
witnesses; or mention shall be made of the cause preventing the
appearing parties or witnesses from signing.
Art. 40
to 45 [repealed]
Art. 46
Where no registers have
existed or where they have been lost, proof of them may be received
by documents as well as by witnesses; and in that event, marriages,
births and deaths may be proved by books and papers emanating from
deceased fathers and mothers as well as by witnesses.
Art. 47
(Act
n° 2003-1119 of 26 Nov. 2003)
Faith must be given to records of civil
status of French persons and aliens made in a foreign country and
drawn up in the forms in use in that country, unless other records
or documents possessed, external data or elements drawn from the
record itself establish that the record is irregular, forged or that
the facts declared therein do not square with truth.
In case of doubt, the service before which a
request for the drawing up, registration or issuing of a record or
of a document is brought, shall delay the request and give notice to
the person concerned that he may, within two months, refer the
matter to the Government procurator in Nantes in order that the
authenticity of the record be checked.
Where he considers groundless the request
for checking made to him, the Government procurator shall give
notice of it to the person concerned and the service within one
month.
Where he shares the doubts of the service,
the Government procurator in Nantes shall initiate any useful
investigation, especially by referring the matter to the proper
consular authorities, within a period which may not exceed six
months, renewable one month for the requirements of the inquiry. He
shall inform the person concerned and the service as soon as
possible of the results of the inquiry.
Upon presentation of the results of the
investigations carried out, the Government procurator may refer the
matter to the tribunal de grande instance in Nantes in order
that it give judgment about the validity of the record after having
ordered, where appropriate, any examination proceedings it deems
advisable.
Art. 48
(Act n°
93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
A record of civil status
of French persons in a foreign State is valid where it was
received, in accordance with French law, by diplomatic or consular
agents.
(Act of 8 June 1893) A duplicate of the registers of civil
status held by these agents shall be sent at the end of each year to
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which shall keep them and may
deliver certificates from them.
Art. 49
(Act of
17 Aug. 1897; Act of 10 March 1932)
Whenever the mention of a
record relating to civil status must be made in the margin of a
record already drawn up or registered, it shall be made by the
officer of his own motion.
The officer of civil status who has drawn up or registered the
record that occasions the mention shall effect that mention within
three days on the registers he keeps and, if the duplicate of the
register on which the mention is to be effected is at the court
registrar's office, he shall send a notice to the Government
procurator of his arrondissement.
Where the record in the margin of which the mention is to be
effected was drawn up or registered in another commune, the
notice shall be sent, within three days, to the officer of civil
status of that commune and the latter shall notify at once
the Government procurator of his arrondissement if the
duplicate of the register is at the court registrar's office.
(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) Where the record in the margin
of which a mention is to be effected was drawn up or registered
abroad, the officer of civil status who drew up or registered the
record that occasions the mention shall give notice of it, within
three days, to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Art. 50
(Act n°
46-2154 of 7 Oct. 1946; Act n° 56-780 of 4 Aug. 1956)
An infringement of the
preceding Articles on the part of the officials therein named shall
be prosecuted before the tribunal de grande instance and
punished with a fine of 20 to 200 francs (3 to 30 €).
Art. 51
A custodian of registers
shall be civilly liable for the alterations that occur in them,
subject to his remedy, if there is occasion, against the authors of
those alterations.
Art. 52
An alteration, a forgery
in records of civil status, an inscription of those records on a
loose leaf and otherwise than on the registers designed for that
purpose, shall give rise to damages to the parties, without
prejudice to penalties provided for in the Penal Code.
Art. 53
The Government procurator
at the tribunal de grande instance shall verify the state of
the registers when they are deposited at the court registrar's
office; he shall draw up a memorandum of verification, denounce
minor and ordinary offences committed by officers of civil status
and call for their being sentenced to fines.
Art. 54
Whenever a tribunal de
grande instance has jurisdiction over records of civil status,
the parties concerned may attack the judgment.
CHAPTER II
- OF RECORDS OF BIRTH
Section I - Of Declarations of
Birth
(Act n°
93-22, 8 Jan. 1993)
Art. 55
(Act of
20 Nov. 1919)
Declarations of birth
shall be made within three days of the delivery, to the local
officer of civil status.
Where a birth has not been declared within the statutory period, the
officer of civil status may only record it in his registers under a
judgment rendered by the court of the arrondissement in which
the child was born, and a summary mention shall be made in the
margin at the date of the birth. Where the place of birth is
unknown, the court having jurisdiction shall be the one of the
residence of the applicant.
(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) In foreign countries,
declarations to diplomatic or consular agents must be made within
fifteen days of the delivery. That period may however be extended by
decree in some consular districts.
Art. 56
The birth of a child shall
be declared by the father, or, in absence of the father, by the
doctors of medicine or surgery, midwives, health officials or other
persons present at the delivery; and, where the mother has given
birth outside her domicile, by the person at whose place she has
given birth.
(Act of 7 Feb. 1924) Records of birth shall be drawn up at
once.
Art. 57
(Act
of 7 Feb. 1924)
A record of birth shall indicate the day, the
time and the place of birth, the sex of the child ["the
first names given to him, the family name followed if there is
occasion by the mention of the joint declaration of his parents as
regards the choice made,"
(Act n° 2002-304 of
4 March 2002, Act n° 2003-516 of 18 June 20031]
and, the first names, names, ages, occupations and domiciles of the
father and mother, and if there is occasion, those of the applicant.
If the father and mother of an illegitimate child, or one of them,
are not indicated to the officer of civil status, nothing may be
mentioned on the registers on this subject.
(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
The first names of the child shall be chosen by his father and
mother. "A woman who asked to keep her identity secret at the
time of the delivery may make known the first names she desires to
be given to the child. Otherwise, or where his parents are unknown,
the officer of civil status chooses three first names the last of
which shall take the place of a patronymic [replaced
by "family
name" (Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March 20021]
to the child " (Act n° 96-604 of
5 July 1996). The
officer of civil status shall write down at once the chosen first
names on the record of birth. Any first name entered on the record
of birth may be chosen as the usual first name.
Where these first names or one of them,
alone or combined with the other first names or the name, appear to
him to be contrary to the welfare of the child or to the rights of
third parties to the protection of their patronymics [replaced
by "family
names" (Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March 20021)],
the officer of civil status shall give notice thereof to the
Government procurator* without delay. The latter may refer the
matter to the family causes judge*.
Where the judge considers that the first
name is not consonant with the welfare of the child or interferes
with the rights of third parties to the protection of their
patronymics [replaced
by "family names" (Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March 20011],
he shall order its removal from the registers of civil status. Where
appropriate, he shall give the child another first name which he
himself fixes in the absence of a new choice by the parents that be
consonant with the interests aforesaid. A mention of the judgment
shall be entered in the margin of the records of civil status of the
child.
1
Shall come into force on 1 Jan. 2005
Art.
57-1
(Act n°
96-604 of 5 July 1996)
Where the officer of civil
status of the place of birth of an illegitimate child enters a
mention of the acknowledgement of that child in the margin of his
record of birth, he shall give notice to the other parent by a
registered letter with request for advice of delivery.
If that parent cannot be informed, the officer of civil status shall
give notice to the Government procurator who shall have all the
necessary steps taken.
Art. 58
(Ord. n°
58-779 of 23 Aug. 1958)
A person who may have
found a new-born child is required to make declaration of it to the
officer of civil status of the place of discovery. Where he does not
consent to take charge of the child, he shall hand him, with the
clothing and other effects found with him, to the officer of civil
status.
A detailed memorandum shall be drawn up which, besides the
indications provided for by Article 34 of this Code, shall state the
date, time, place and circumstances of the discovery, the apparent
age and the sex of the child, any peculiarities which may contribute
to his identification as well as the authority or person to whom he
is entrusted. That memorandum shall be entered as of its date on the
registers of civil status.
Following and separately from this memorandum, the officer of civil
status shall draw up a record that shall take the place of a record
of birth. Besides the indications provided for by Article 34, that
record shall state the sex of the child as well as the first names
and name that are given to him; it shall fix a date of birth that
may tally with his apparent age and designate as place of birth the
commune where the child was discovered.
Similar records shall be drawn up, on declaration of the Children's
aid services, for children placed under their guardianship and
deprived of a known record of birth or for whom the secret as to
birth has been claimed.
Copies and certificates of the memorandum of discovery or of the
interim record of birth shall be issued on the terms and in
accordance with the distinctions under Article 57 of this Code.
Where the record of birth of the child is found or the birth is
judicially declared, the memorandum of discovery and the interim
record of birth shall be nullified at the request of the Government
procurator or of the parties concerned.
Art. 59
(Act of
7 Feb. 1924)
In case of birth during a
sea voyage, a record shall be drawn up within three days of the
delivery, upon declaration of the father if he is on board.
(Act of 8 June 1893) Where the birth takes place during a
break in port, a record shall be drawn up under the same terms if
there is an impossibility to communicate with the shore or, if in a
foreign country, there is no French diplomatic or consular agent
vested with the functions of an officer of civil status.
That record shall be drawn up, to wit: on vessels of the State, by
the officer of the Navy commissariat or, in his absence, by the
captain or one who fulfils his functions; and on other ships by the
captain, master or skipper, or one who fulfils his functions.
Mention shall be made of the circumstances among the ones above
provided in which the record was drawn up.
The record shall be entered at the end of the list of the crew.
Section II
- Of Changes of First Names and Name
(Act n°
93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
Art. 60
A person who establishes a
lawful interest may apply for a change of his first name. The
application is brought before the family causes judge on request of
the party concerned or, where the latter is a person under a
disability, on request of his statutory representative. An
adjunction or suppression of first names may be likewise decided.
Where the child is over thirteen his personal consent is required.
Art. 61
A person who establishes a
lawful interest may apply for a change of his name.
The application for a change of name may be made for the purpose of
preventing the extinguishment of the name borne by an ancestor or a
collateral of the applicant up to the fourth degree.
The change of name shall be authorized by decree.
Art.
61-1
A person concerned may
challenge before the Conseil d'État the decree establishing a
change of name within two months after its publication in the
Journal Officiel.
A decree establishing a
change of name takes effect, where there is no challenge, at the end
of the period within which the challenge is admissible or, where
there is a challenge, after its dismissal.
Art.
61-2
A change of name extends
as of right to the children of the beneficiary where they are under
thirteen.
Art.
61-3
A change of name of a
child over thirteen requires his personal consent where this change
does not result from the establishing or modifying a parental bond..
However, the establishing or modifying a parental bond
implies the change of adult children's patronymic [replaced by
"family name" (Act n° 2002-304 of 4
March 20021)]
only subject to their consent.
1 Shall
come into force on
1 Jan. 2005
Art.
61-4
Mentions of the judgments
of changes of first names and name shall be entered in the margin of
the records of civil status of the party concerned and, where
appropriate, of those of his or her spouse and his or her children.
The provisions of Articles 100 and 101 shall apply to modifications
of first names and name.
Section III -
Of Record of Acknowledgement of an Illegitimate Child
(Act n°
93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
Art. 62
A record of
acknowledgement of an illegitimate child shall indicate the first
names, name, date of birth or, failing which, age, place of birth
and domicile of the maker of the acknowledgement
It shall
indicate the date and place of birth, the sex and first names of the
child or, failing which, all appropriate information concerning the
birth, subject to the provisions of Article 341-1.
A record of acknowledgement shall be entered at its date on the
registers of civil status.
Only the mentions provided for in the first paragraph may be entered
in the margin of the record of birth, if there is one.
In the circumstances referred to in Article 59, the declaration of
acknowledgement may be received by the instrumentary officers named
in that Article and in the forms therein indicated.
(Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002) When a record of
acknowledgement is established, Articles 371-1 and 371-2 must be
read to his or her maker.
Art.
62-1
(Act n°
2002-93 of 22 Jan. 2002)
Where the registration of
a paternal acknowledgement proves impossible because of secret as to
her identity put forward by the mother, the father may give notice
of it to the Government procurator. The latter shall undertake the
search of the date and place of establishment of the child's record
of birth.
CHAPTER III - OF
RECORDS OF MARRIAGE
Art. 63
(Act of
8 April 1927)
Before the celebration of
a marriage, an officer of civil status shall give public notice of
it by way of a bill stuck up on the door of the town hall. That
notice shall state the first names, names, occupations, domiciles
and residences of the future spouses, as well as the place where the
marriage is to be celebrated.
Irrespective of the application of the provisions
of Article 170, an officer of civil status may proceed to the public
notice provided for in paragraph 1, or, in case of an exemption from
public notice, to the celebration of the marriage, only after:
- the handing over by each of the future
spouses of a medical certificate dating from less than two months,
that attests that the person concerned was examined for purposes of
marriage, to the exclusion of any other indication;
- hearing the future spouses jointly, except
in case of impossibility or where it appears, upon examination of the
file, that said hearing is not necessary with respect to Article 146.
If he deems it necessary, the officer of civil status may also require
to have a separate talk with one or the other of the future spouses.
An officer of civil status who does not comply with the
prescriptions of the preceding paragraphs shall be prosecuted before
the tribunal de grande instance and punished by a fine "from
20 to 200 francs" (3 to 30 €) (Act n° 56-780 of 4 Aug. 1956).
Art. 64
(Act of
8 April 1927)
The bill provided for in
the preceding Article shall remain stuck up at the door of the town
hall for ten days.
The marriage may not be celebrated before the tenth day after and
exclusive of that of notice.
Where the bill-sticking is interrupted before the expiration of that
period, a mention of it shall be made on the bill that has ceased to
be stuck up at the door of the town hall.
Art. 65
(Act of
21 June 1907)
Where the marriage has not
been celebrated within one year after the expiry of the period of
notice, it may no longer be celebrated until a new public notice has
been given in the form provided above.
Art 66
Instruments of formal
objection to the marriage must be signed on the original and a copy
by the opposing parties or their agents with special and authentic
powers; they must be served, with a copy of the power, on the
persons or at the domiciles of the parties and on the officer of
civil status, who shall stamp the original.
Art. 67
(Act of
8 April 1927)
The officer of civil
status shall make, without delay, a summary mention of the formal
objections in the register of marriages; he shall also make, in the
margin of the entry of those formal objections, a mention of
judgments or instruments of withdrawals of which office copies have
been delivered to him.
Art. 68
(Act. n°
46-2154 of 7 Oct. 1946)
In the event of a formal
objection, the officer of civil status may not celebrate the
marriage before a withdrawal has been delivered to him, on pain of
fine of 30 francs (4,5 €) and subject to all damages.
Art. 69
(Act of
9 Aug. 1919)
Where public notice has
been given in several communes, the officer of civil status
of each commune shall forward without delay to the one who is
to celebrate the marriage a certificate stating that there is no
formal objection.
Art. 70
(Act of
2 Feb. 1933)
The office copy of the
record of birth delivered by each one of the future spouses to the
officer of civil status who is to celebrate their marriage shall
comply with Article 57, last paragraph, of the Civil Code with, if
there is occasion, indication of the married status of his father
and mother or, where the future spouse is a minor, indication of the
acknowledgement of which he or she was the subject.
(Act of 11 July 1929) That instrument must not have been
issued more than three months before where it was issued in France,
and more than six months before where it was issued in a colony or
a consulate.
Art. 71
(Act of
11 July 1929)
A future spouse who would
be unable to obtain that instrument may replace it by producing an
affidavit issued by the judge of the tribunal d'instance of
the place of his birth or of his domicile.
An affidavit shall contain a declaration made by three witnesses, of
either sex, relatives or not, of the first names, name, occupation
and domicile of the future spouse and of those of his father and
mother, when known; the place and, as far as possible, the period of
his birth and the causes that prevent the intrument from being
produced. The witnesses shall sign the affidavit with the judge of
the tribunal d'instance; and if any of them cannot or does
not know how to sign, mention shall be made of it.
Art. 72
(Act n°
72-3 of 3 Jan. 1972)
Neither an affidavit nor a
refusal to issue it may be subject to review.
Art. 73
(Act of
9 Aug. 1919)
An authentic instrument of
consent of the father and mother, or grandfathers and grandmothers
or, failing them, of the family council shall contain the first
names, names, occupation and domiciles of the future spouses and of
all those who concurred in the instrument, as well as their degree
of consanguinity.
(Act of 28 Feb. 1922) Except in the case provided for in
Article 159 of the Civil Code, that instrument of consent shall be
drawn up either by a notaire or by the officer of civil
status of the domicile or residence of the ascendant and, abroad, by
French diplomatic or consular agents. Where it is drawn up by an
officer of civil status, it must be legalized only when it is to be
produced before foreign authorities, save as otherwise provided in
international conventions.
Art. 74
(Act of
21 June 1907)
A marriage must be
celebrated in the commune where one of the spouses has his or
her domicile or residence established by a continuous habitation of
at least one month at the date of the public notice provided for by
law.
Art. 75
(Act n°
66-359 of 9 June 1966)
On the day
specified by the parties, after the period of public notice, the
officer of civil status, at the town hall, in the presence of two
witnesses at least or four at the most, relative or not of the
parties, shall read Articles 212, 213 (paragraphs 1 and 2), 214
(paragraph 1) and 315 (paragraph 1) of this Code to the future
spouses. "Article 371-1 must also be read" (Act n° 2002-305 of 4
March 2002).
(Act of 9 Aug. 1919) However, in case of serious impediment,
the Government procurator of the place of marriage may require the
officer of civil status to betake himself to the domicile or
residence of one of the parties to celebrate the marriage. In case
of imminent danger of death of one of the future spouses, the
officer of civil status may betake himself there before any
requirement or authorization of the Government procurator, to whom
he shall then notify as soon as possible of the necessity of that
celebration outside the town hall.
Mention shall be made of this in the record of marriage.
The officer of civil status shall ask the future spouses and, if
they are minors, their ascendants present at the celebration and
authorizing the marriage, to declare whether an ante-nuptial
agreement has been made and, in the affirmative, the date of that
contract and the name and place of residence of the notaire
who received it.
(Act of 2 Feb. 1933) Where the documents produced by one of
the future spouses do not accord with one another as to the first
names or the spelling of the names, he shall ask the one whom they
concern and, if the latter is a minor, his closest ascendants
present at the celebration, to declare that the variance results
from an omission or a mistake.
He shall receive from each party, one after the other, the
declaration that they wish to take each other as husband and wife;
he shall pronounce, in the name of the law, that they are united by
marriage, and he shall draw up a record of it at once.
Art. 76
(Act of
4 Feb. 1928)
A record of marriage shall
state:
1° The first names, names, occupations, ages, dates and places of
birth, domiciles and residences of the spouses;
2° The first names, names, occupations and domiciles of the fathers
and mothers;
3° The consent of the fathers and mothers, grandfathers and
grandmothers and that of the family council where, they are
required;
4° The first names and name of the previous spouse of each
spouse;
5° [repealed]
6° The declaration of the contracting parties that they take each
other for spouse, and the pronouncement of their being united by the
officer of civil status;
7° The first names, names, occupations, domiciles of the witnesses
and their capacity as adults;
8° (Act of 10 July 1850) The declaration, made upon the
question prescribed by the preceding Article, that an ante-nuptial
agreement was made or not and, as far as possible, the date of the
agreement if any, as well as the name and place of residence of the
notaire who received it; the whole on pain against the
officer of civil status of the fine specified in Article 50;
Where the declaration was omitted or erroneous, the correction of
the record, as to the omission or mistake, may be requested by the
Government procurator, without prejudice to the rights of the
parties concerned, under Article 99.
9° (Act n° 97-987 of 28 Oct. 1997) If there is occasion, the
declaration that an instrument of choice of the applicable law was
made in accordance with The Hague Convention of 14 March 1978 on the
law applicable to matrimonial regimes, as well as the date and place
of signature of that instrument and, where appropriate, the name and
capacity of the person who drew it.
(Ord. n° 59-71 of 7 Jan. 1959) In the margin of the record of
birth of each spouse, mention shall be made of the celebration of
the marriage and of the name of the spouse.
CHAPTER IV - OF RECORDS
OF DEATH
Art. 77
[repealed]
Art.
78
(Act of
7 Feb. 1924)
A record of death must be
drawn up by the officer of civil status of the commune where
the death took place, upon the declaration of a relative of the
deceased or of a person possessing the most reliable and complete
information that is possible as to the civil status of the deceased.
Art. 79
(Act of
7 Feb. 1924)
A record of death shall
state:
1° The day, time and place of the death;
2° The first names, name, date and place of birth, occupation and
domicile of the deceased person;
3° The first names, names, professions and domiciles of his father
and mother;
4° The first names and name of the other spouse, where the deceased
person was married, widowed or divorced;
5° The first names, name, age, occupation and domicile of the
declarant and, if there is occasion, his degree of consanguinity to
the deceased person.
All of which in so far as may be known.
(Ord. of 29 March 1945) Mention of the death must be made in
the margin of the record of birth of the deceased person.
Art.
79-1
(Act n°
93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
Where a child is dead
before his birth was declared to the civil registry, the officer of
civil status shall draw up a record of birth and a record of death
upon exhibition of a medical certificate stating that the child was
born alive and viable and specifying the days and times of his birth
and death.
In the absence of the medical certificate provided for in the
preceding paragraph, the officer of civil status shall draw up a
record of a lifeless child. That record shall be entered at its date
in the registers of death and shall state the day, time, and place
of the delivery, the first names and names, dates and places of
birth, occupations and domiciles of the father and mother and, if
there is occasion, those of the declarant. The record drawn up shall
be without prejudice to knowing whether the child has lived or not;
any party concerned may refer the matter
to
the judgment of
the
tribunal de grande instance.
Art. 80
(Act of 20 Nov. 1919)
Where the death occurred
elsewhere than in the commune where the deceased was
domiciled, the officer of civil status shall, within the shortest
possible time, send to the officer of civil status of the deceased's
last domicile, an office copy of that record which shall be
immediately entered in the registers. "This provision shall not
apply to cities divided into arrondissements, when the death
occurred in an arrondissement other than the one where the
deceased was domiciled" (Ord. n° 58-779 of 23 Aug. 1958).
"In case of death in hospitals or health units, naval or civil
hospitals or other public bodies" (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993),
the directors, managers or heads of those hospitals or bodies shall
give notice of it to the officer of civil status or to the person
who fulfils his duties, within twenty-four hours.
The latter shall call there to ascertain the death and draw up a
record of it, in accordance with the preceding Article, upon the
declarations made to him and according to the information obtained
by him.
There shall be kept in said hospitals, units and bodies, a register
in which those declarations and information shall be entered.
Art. 81
Where there are marks or
indications of violent death, or other circumstances which give
rise to suspicion thereof, the burial may not take place until a
police officer has, with the assistance of a doctor in medicine or
surgery, drawn up a memorandum of the condition of the corpse and of
the circumstances relating to it, as well as of the information he
could collect as to the first names, name, age, occupation, place of
birth and domicile of the deceased person.
Art. 82
The police officer shall
forward at once, to the officer of civil status of the place where
the person died, all the information stated in his memorandum,
according to which the record of death shall be drawn up.
The officer of civil status shall send an office copy of it to the
officer of the domicile of the deceased person, if it is known: that
office copy shall be entered in the registers.
Art. 83
[repealed by implication by Act n° 81-908 of 9 Oct. 1981,
which has abolished the death penalty]
Art. 84
In case of death in a
prison or centre of confinement or detention, a notice of it shall
be given at once by the keepers or warders to the officer of civil
status who shall betake himself thereto as provided for in Article
80 and shall draw up the record of death.
Art. 85
In all cases of violent
death or death in prisons and centres of confinement [repealed by
implication], those circumstances shall not be mentioned in the
registers and the records of death shall simply be drawn up in the
form prescribed by Article 79.
Art. 86
(Act of
7 Feb. 1924)
In case of death during a
sea voyage and under the circumstances provided for in Article 59, a
record must be drawn up within twenty-four hours by the
instrumentary officers named in that Article and in the forms
therein indicated.
[repealed]
[repealed]
Art. 87
(Ord. n°
58-779 of 23 Aug. 1958)
Where the body of a
deceased person is found and can be identified, a record of death
shall be drawn up by the officer of civil status of the presumed
place of death, whatever the time elapsed between the death and the
discovery of the body may be.
`
Where the deceased cannot be identified, the record of death shall
include the most complete description of him; in the event of later
identification, the record shall be rectified in the way provided
for in Article 99 of this Code.
Art. 88
(Ord. n°
58-779 of 23 Aug. 1958)
May be judicially
declared, on application of the Government procurator or the parties
concerned, the death of a French person who has disappeared in or
outside France, in circumstances likely to imperil his life, where
his body could not be found.
On the same terms, may be judicially declared the death of an alien
or stateless person who disappeared either on a territory under the
authority of France or aboard a French ship or aircraft, or even
abroad where he had his domicile or usual residence in France.
The procedure of judicial declaration of death shall likewise apply
where the death is certain but the body could not be found.
Art. 89
(Ord. n°
58-779 of 23 Aug. 1958)
The application must be
lodged at the tribunal de grande instance of the place of
death or disappearance where it occurred on a territory under the
authority of France, otherwise at the court of the domicile or last
residence of the deceased or disappeared person or, failing which,
at the court of the port of registry of the aircraft or the ship
that carried him. In default of any other, the tribunal de grande
instance of Paris shall have jurisdiction.
Where several persons disappeared in the course of the same event, a
joint application may be lodged at the court of the place of the
disappearance, at that of the port of registry or, failing them, at
the tribunal de grande instance of Paris.
Art. 90
(Ord. n°
58-779 of 23 Aug. 1958)
Where it is not made by
the Government procurator, the application must be forwarded through
the latter to the court. The case shall be investigated and
adjudged in chambers. The assistance of a counsel is not required
and all proceedings as well as the office copies and certificates
thereof, shall be exempt of stamp duties and registered gratis.
Where the court is of opinion that the death is not
adequately proved, it may order any step in view to further
information and request in particular an administrative enquiry on
the circumstances of the disappearance.
Where the death is declared, its date shall be fixed by taking into
account the presumptions drawn from the circumstances of the case
and, failing them, on the day of the disappearance. That date may
never be undetermined.
Art. 91
(Ord. n°
58-779 of 23 Aug. 1958)
The operative part of a
declaratory judgment of death must be recorded on the registers of
civil status of the actual or presumed place of death and, where
appropriate, on those of the last domicile of the deceased.
Mention of the recording shall be made in the margin of the
registers at the date of the death. In case of a joint judgment,
individual certificates shall be forwarded to the officers of civil
status of the last domiciles of the persons who have disappeared,
for purpose of their being entered.
Declaratory judgments of death shall take the place of records of
death and are enforceable against third parties who may only have
them rectified in accordance with Article 99 of this Code.
Art. 92
(Ord. n°
58-779 of 23 Aug. 1958)
Where the person whose
death was judicially declared reappears after a declaratory
judgment, the Government procurator or any party concerned may apply
for the annulment of the judgment in the forms provided for in
Articles 89 and following.
(Act n° 77-1447 of 28 Dec. 1977) The provisions of Articles
130, 131 and 132 shall apply where required.
Mention of the annulment of the declaratory judgment shall be made
in the margin of its recording.
CHAPTER V - OF
RECORDS OF CIVIL STATUS CONCERNING SOLDIERS AND MARINERS IN SOME
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
Art. 93
(Ord. n°
58-779 of 23 Aug. 1958)
Records of civil status
concerning soldiers and mariners of the State shall be drawn up as
specified in the preceding Chapters.
However, outside France and in case of war, expedition, operation
for the keeping of order and pacification or quartering of French
troops in foreign territories, for occupation or under
intergovernmental agreements, those records may be received likewise
by military officers of civil status, named by an order of the
Minister of the Armed Forces. Those officers of civil status are
also competent with regard to non-military persons where the
provisions of the preceding Chapters cannot be applied.
In metropolitan France, the officers of civil status referred to
above may receive records concerning soldiers and non-military
persons in the parts of the territory where, by reason of
mobilization or siege, the municipal civil registry is no longer
regularly ensured.
Declarations of birth in the armed forces shall be made within ten
days following the delivery.
Records of death may be drawn up in the armed forces notwithstanding
Article 77 above [deleted] although the officer of civil
status could not betake himself to the deceased person and,
notwithstanding Article 78, they may be drawn up only on the
attestation of two declarants.
Art 94
[deleted]
Art. 95
(Act n°
57-1232 of 28 Nov. 1957)
Where Article 93,
paragraphs 2 and 3, so provides, records of civil status shall be
drawn up on a special register, the keeping and preservation of
which shall be regulated by a joint order of the Minister of
National Defence and Armed Forces and the Minister of Ex-Servicemen
and Victims of War.
Art. 96
(Act n°
57-1232 of 28 Nov. 1957)
Where a marriage is
celebrated in one of the cases provided for in Article 93,
paragraphs 2 and 3, public notice shall be given, to the extent that
circumstances so permit, at the place of the last domicile of the
future husband; they shall also be made in the unit to which the
party concerned belongs, in the way provided for in an order of the
Minister of National Defence and Armed Forces .
Art. 97
(Act n°
57-1232 of 28 Nov. 1957)
Records of death received
by military authorities in all cases provided for in Article 93
above, or by civilian authorities as regards members of the armed
forces, civilians participating in their action, in duty covered by
orders, or persons employed in the armies' train, may be subject to
administrative rectification in the way provided for in a
decree, within periods and in territories where the military
authority is entitled, by said Article 93, to receive those records
should the occasion arise.
CHAPTER
VI – OF THE CIVIL STATUS OF PERSONS BORN ABROAD WHO ACQUIRE OR
RECOVER FRENCH NATIONALITY
(Act n°
78-731 of 12 July 1978)
Art. 98
A record taking the place
of a record of birth shall be drawn up for any person born abroad
who acquires or recovers French nationality unless the record drawn
up at his birth was already entered on a register kept by a French
authority.
That record shall state the name, first names and sex of the party
concerned and indicate the place and date of his birth, his
parentage, his residence at the date of his acquiring French
nationality.
Art.
98-1
A record taking the place
of a record of marriage shall likewise be drawn up where the person
who acquires or recovers French nationality got previously married
abroad, unless the celebration of the marriage was already taken
note of by a record entered on a register kept by a French
authority.
The record shall state:
- the date and place of the celebration;
- indication of the performing authority;
- the names, first names, dates and places of birth of each one of
the spouses;
- the parentage of the spouses; and
- if there is occasion, the name, capacity and residence of the
authority who received the ante-nuptial agreement.
Art.
98-2
One and the same record
may be drawn up containing the statements as to birth and marriage,
unless birth and marriage were already taken note of by records
entered on a register kept by a French authority.
It shall be used as both a record of birth and a record of marriage.
Art.
98-3
The records referred to in
Articles 98 to 98-2 shall state besides:
- the date on which they were drawn up;
- the name and signature of the officer of civil status;
- the mentions entered in the margin of the record of which they
take the place;
- indication of instruments and
judgments relating to the
nationality of the person.
Mention shall be made later in the margin:
- of the indications required for each category of record by the law
in force.
Art.
98-4
The persons for whom
records were drawn up under Articles 98 to 98-2 lose the power of
requiring the entry of their record of birth or marriage received by
a foreign authority.
In the case of conflict between the statements in a foreign record
of civil status or a record of French consular civil status and
those in a record drawn up under said Articles, the latter shall
prevail until a
judgment of rectification.
CHAPTER VII - OF THE
RECTIFICATION OF RECORDS OF CIVIL STATUS
Art. 99
(Ord. n°
58-779 of 23 Aug. 1958; D. n° 81-500 of 12 May 1981)
A rectification of records
of civil status shall be ordered by the president of the court.
The rectification of judgments which are declaratory of or supply
for records of civil status shall be ordered by the president of the
court.
The application for rectification may be lodged by any party
concerned or by the Government procurator ; the latter shall act of
his own motion where the mistake or omission bears on an essential
indication of the record or of the judgment which takes its place.
The Government procurator who has territorial jurisdiction may
undertake administrative rectification of merely clerical mistakes
and omissions in the record of civil status: for this purpose he
shall give all necessary instructions directly to the depositaries
of registers.
Art.
99-1
(Act n°
78-731 of 12 July 1978)
Persons entitled to
perform the duties of an officer of civil status in order to draw up
the records referred to in Articles 98 to 98-2 may undertake
administrative rectification of merely clerical mistakes and
omissions contained in those records "or in the mentions inserted in
the margins, save those that are entered after the making of the
records" (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993).
Art. 100
(0rd. n° 58-779 of 23 Aug. 1958)
A judicial or
administrative rectification of a record or judgment relating to
civil status has effect vis-à-vis any party.
Art. 101
(0rd. n° 58-779 of 23 Aug. 1958; D. n° 81-500 of 12 May 1981)
An office copy of the
record may be issued only with the rectifications ordered, on pain
of the fine prescribed by Article 50 of the Civil Code and subject
to all damages against the depositaries of registers.
TITRE III
OF DOMICILE
Art. 102
(Ord. n°
58-923 of 7 Oct. 1958)
The domicile of a French
person, as to the exercise of his civil rights, is at the place
where he has his main establishment.
Boatmen and other persons living on a boat of inland navigation
registered in France, who do not have the domicile provided for by
the preceding paragraph or a statutory domicile, must elect a
domicile in one of the communes the names of which appear on
a list established by an order of the Minister of Justice, the
Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Public Works,
Transport and Tourism. However, wage-earning boatmen and persons
living on board with them may domicile themselves in another
commune provided that the concern that operates the boat has its
headquarters or an establishment there; in this event, the domicile
is fixed in the offices of the concern; failing an election by them,
those boatmen and persons have their domiciles at the headquarters
of the concern which operates the boat and, where those headquarters
are abroad, at the chartering office in Paris.
[deleted]
Art. 103
A change of domicile takes
place in consequence of an actual residence in another place, in
addition to the intention to fix one's main establishment there.
Art. 104
Proof of that intention
shall result from an express declaration made both to the
municipality of the place which one leaves and to that of the place
where the domicile is transferred.
Art. 105
Failing an express
declaration, proof of intention shall depend on circumstances.
Art. 106
A citizen called to a
temporary or revocable public office keeps the domicile he had
previously, unless he has manifested an intention to the contrary.
Art. 107
Acceptance of an office
conferred for life involves an immediate transfer of the domicile of
the officer to the place where he is to fulfil his duties.
Art. 108
(Act n°
75-617 of 11 July 1975)
A husband and a wife may
have distinct domiciles without conflicting thereby with the rules
concerning the community of living.
A notice served upon one spouse, even judicially separated, in
matters of status and capacity of persons, must also be served upon
his or her spouse, under pain of invalidity.
Art.
108-1
(Act n°
75-617 of 11 July 1975)
Separate residence of the
spouses, during proceedings for divorce or judicial separation,
involves as of right separate domiciles.
Art.
108-2
(Act n°
75-617 of 11 July 1975)
A minor when not
emancipated is domiciled at his father and mother's home.
Where the father and mother have separate domiciles, he is domiciled
at the home of the parent with whom he resides.
Art.
108-3
(Act n°
75-617 of 11 July 1975)
An adult in guardianship
shall be domiciled at his guardian's home.
Art. 109
Adults who usually serve
or work at someone else's place, have the same domicile as the
person they serve or at whose place they work where they live in the
same house .
Art. 110
[deleted]
Art. 111
Where an instrument
contains, on the part of the parties or of one of them, an election
of domicile for the implementation of that instrument in a place
other than that of the actual domicile; the services of notices,
complaints and proceedings related to that instrument may be done at
the elected domicile "and, subject to the provisions of Article 48
of the new Code of Civil Procedure, before the judge of that
domicile" (D. n° 75-1122 of 5 Dec. 1975).
TITLE IV
OF
ABSENTEES
(Act n°
77-1447 of 28 Dec. 1977)
CHAPTER I -
OF PRESUMPTION OF ABSENCE
Art. 112
Where a person has ceased
to appear at the place of his domicile or residence and has not been
heard from, the judge of guardianships may, on the application of
the parties concerned or of the Government procurator, establish
that there is presumption of absence.
Art. 113
The judge may designate
one or several relations by blood or marriage or, where appropriate,
any other persons to represent the person presumed absentee in the
exercise of his rights or in any act which would be his concern, as
well as to administer all or part of his property ; the
representation of the presumed absentee and the administration of
his property shall then be subject to the rules which apply to
statutory administration under judicial supervision such as it is
provided for minors and, in addition, under the following
amendments.
Art. 114
Without prejudice to
specific jurisdiction conferred upon other courts, for the same
purposes, the judge shall fix, where appropriate, according to the
extent of the property, the sums that should be allocated yearly to
the maintenance of the family or the household expenses.
He shall determine how to provide for the settling of children.
He shall also specify how the expenses of administration as well as,
if necessary, the fees that may be granted to the person responsible
for the representation of the presumed absentee and the
administration of his property should be settled.
Art. 115
The judge may, at any time
and even of his own motion, put an end to the task of the person
thus designed; he may also replace him .
Art. 116
Where a presumed absentee
is called to a partition, Article 838, paragraph 1, of the Civil
Code shall apply.
However, the judge of guardianships may authorize a partition, even
partial, and designate a notaire to undertake it, in the
presence of the representative of the presumed absentee or of his
substitute designated as provided for in Article 115, where the
original representative is himself concerned in the partition. The
statement of liquidation is subject to the approval of the
tribunal de grande instance .
Art.
117
The Government
procurator's office shall be specially responsible for watching over
the interests of presumed absentees; it shall be heard on all claims
which concern them; it may of its own motion request the
implementation or amendment of the measures provided for in this
Title.
Art. 118
Where a presumed absentee
reappears or is heard from, on his application, the judge shall
put an end to the measures taken for representing him and
administering his property; he shall then recover the property
managed or acquired on his behalf during the period of absence.
Art. 119
Rights acquired
without fraud on the basis of the presumption of absence, may not be
called in question again where the death of the absentee is
established or judicially declared, whatever the date fixed for the
death may be.
Art. 120
The preceding provisions
concerning the representation of presumed absentees and the
administration of their property shall also apply to persons who,
because of remoteness, are not, against their wish, in a position to
express their intention.
Art. 121
These same provisions
shall not apply to presumed absentees or to persons named in Article
120 where they left a power of attorney adequate for the purpose of
representing them or administering their property.
It shall be the same where a spouse may provide sufficiently for the
interests concerned through application of the matrimonial regime
and particularly as a result of an order obtained under Articles 217
and 219, 1426 and 1429.
CHAPTER II - OF
DECLARATION OF ABSENCE
Art. 122
When ten years have
elapsed since the judgment that established the presumption of
absence, either in the manner prescribed in Article 112, or on the
occasion of one of the judicial proceedings provided for in Articles
217 and 219, 1426 and 1429, absence may be declared by the
tribunal de grande instance, on the application of any person
concerned or of the Government procurator's office.
It shall be the same where, failing that establishment, the person
will have ceased to appear at the place of his domicile or
residence, without having been heard from for more than twenty
years.
Art. 123
Extracts of the
application seeking declaration of absence, after being stamped by
the Government procurator's office, shall be published in two
newspapers circulating in the département or, where
appropriate, in the country of the domicile or last residence of the
person who remains unheard froim.
The court to which the application is referred may in addition order
any other measure giving notice thereof in any place where it deems
it proper.
Those measures must be carried out by the party who lodges the
application.
Art. 124
As soon as the extracts
have been published, the application must be forwarded, via the
Government procurator, to the court which shall decide
according to the exhibits and documents filed and in consideration
of the conditions of the disappearance as well as of the
circumstances that can explain the lack of news.
The court may order any complementary measure of
investigation and prescribe, if there is occasion, that an
examination of witnesses be made adversarily with the Government
procurator, where the latter is not an applicant, in any place which
it deems proper, and particularly in the arrondissement of
the domicile, or those of the last residences, where they are
different.
Art. 125
An originating motion may
be lodged as early as the year preceding the expiry of the period
provided for in Article 122, paragraphs 1 and 2. A declaratory
judgment of absence shall be handed down at least one year after the
publication of the extracts of that petition. It shall establish
that the person presumed absentee has not reappeared during the
periods referred to in Article 122.
Art. 126
A motion seeking
declaration of absence shall be deemed void where the absentee
reappears or the date of his death happens to be declared, before
the handing down of the judgment.
Art. 127
Where a declaratory
judgment of absence is handed down, extracts thereof shall be
published in accordance with the detailed rules provided for in
Article 123, within the period fixed by the court. The
judgment
shall be deemed void where it is not published within that period.
Where the judgment becomes res judicata, its operative part shall be
recorded on request of the Government procurator on the registers of
death of the place of domicile of the absentee or of his last
residence. Mention of that recording shall be made in the margin of
the registers at the date of the judgment declaring the absence; it
shall also be made in the margin of the record of birth of the
person declared absentee.
Following registration, the judgment is enforceable vis-à-vis third
parties who may only obtain rectification in accordance with Article
99.
Art. 128
A declaratory judgment of
absence involves, from the recording, all the effects that an
established death of the absentee would have had .
The measures taken for the administration of the property of the
absentee in accordance with Chapter I of this Title come to an end,
save as otherwise decided by the court or, failing which, by the
judge who ordered them.
The spouse of the absentee may marry again.
Art. 129
Where an absentee
reappears or his existence is proved after the declaratory judgment
of absence, annulment of that judgment may be sought, on application
of the Government procurator or of any party concerned.
However, where a party concerned wishes to be represented, he may do
so only through a counsel regularly entitled to practise.
The operative part of the judgment of annulment shall be published
forthwith in accordance with the detailed rules provided for in
Article 123. Mention of the
judgment shall be made, from the time of
its publication, in the margin of the declaratory judgment of
absence and on any register which refers to it.
Art. 130
An absentee whose
existence is judicially established recovers his property and that
he should have received during his absence in the condition in which
it may be, the proceeds of that which has been transferred or the
property acquired by way of investment out of the capital or incomes
fallen due to him.
Art. 131
A party concerned who has
induced a declaration of absence by fraud is liable to restore to
the absentee whose existence has been judicially established the
incomes of the property which he would have enjoyed and to remit him
the legal interests from the day of receipt, without prejudice,
where appropriate, to complementary damages.
Where fraud falls on the spouse of the person declared absentee, the
latter is entitled to contest the liquidation of the matrimonial
regime to which the declaratory judgment of absence has put an end.
Art. 132
Marriage of an absentee
remains dissolved, even where a declaratory judgment of absence is
annulled.
Art. 133
to 143 [repealed]
TITRE IV
OF MARRIAGE
CHAPTER I - OF THE
QUALIFICATIONS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED FOR CONTRACTING A
MARRIAGE
Art. 144
A male, until the
completion of eighteen years, a female until the completion of
fifteen years, may not contract marriage.
Art. 145
(Act n°
70-1266 of 23 Dec. 1970)
Nevertheless, the
Government procurator of the place where a marriage is to be
celebrated may grant dispensations as to age for serious reasons.
Art. 146
There is no marriage where
there is no consent.
Art.
146-1
(Act n°
93-1027 of 24 Aug. 1993)
The marriage of a French
person, even where contracted in a foreign country, requires his
being present.
Art. 147
No one may contract a
second marriage before the dissolution of the first.
Art. 148
(Act of
17 July 1927)
Minors may not contract
marriage without the consent of their father and mother; in case of
disagreement between the father and mother, that division implies
consent.
[repealed]
[repealed]
Art. 149
(Act of
7 Feb. 1924)
Where one of the two is
dead or is unable to express his or her intention, the consent of
the other suffices.
It is not necessary to produce the records of death of the father or
mother of one of the future spouses where the spouse or the father
and mother of the deceased certify the death under oath.
Where the present residence of the father or mother is unknown, and
where he or she has not been heard from for one year, the marriage
may be celebrated if the child and the parent who consents make
declaration of this under oath.
All of which shall be mentioned on the record of marriage.
A false oath taken in the cases specified in this Article and the
following Articles of this Chapter shall be punished by the
penalties enacted by Article 363 [ Article 434-13] of the Penal
Code.
Art. 150
(Act of
17 July 1927)
Where the father and
mother are dead or are unable to express their intention, the
grandfathers and grandmothers take their place; where there is
disagreement between a grandfather and a grandmother in the same
lineage, or where there is disagreement between the two lineages,
that division implies consent.
(Act of 7 Feb. 1924) Where the present residence of the
father and mother is unknown and where they have not been heard from
for one year, the marriage may be celebrated if the grandfathers and
grandmothers, together with the child himself, make declaration of
this under oath. It shall be likewise where, if one or several
grandfathers or grandmothers give their consent to the marriage, the
present residence of the other grandfathers or grandmothers is
unknown and they have not been heard from for one year.
Art. 151
(Act of
2 Feb. 1933)
The
production of an office copy, reduced to the operative part, of the
judgment that declared the absence or ordered an examination of
witnesses as to the absence of the father and mother, grandfathers
or grandmothers of one of the future spouses, is equivalent to the
production of their records of death in the cases specified in
Articles 149, 150, 158 and 159 of this Code.
Art. 152
[repealed]
Art. 153
[repealed by implication]
Art. 154
(Act of
2 Feb. 1933)
The disagreement between
the father and mother, between the grandfather and grandmother of
the same lineage, or between ancestors of the two lineages may be
established by a notaire, requested by the future spouse and
acting without the intervention of a second notaire or of
witnesses, who will give notice of the planned union to the one or
those of the father, mother or ancestors whose consent has not yet
been gained .
The instrument containing the notice shall state the first names,
names, occupations, domiciles and residences of the future spouses,
of their fathers and mothers or, where appropriate, of their
grandparents, as well as the place where the marriage is to be
celebrated .
It shall also state a declaration that this notice is given for
purpose of gaining the consent not yet granted and that, failing
which, the celebration of the marriage shall be proceeded with.
Art. 155
(Act of
4 Feb. 1934)
The disagreement of the
ascendants may also be established, either by a letter bearing an
authenticated signature and addressed to the officer of civil status
who is to celebrate the marriage, or by an instrument drawn up in
the form provided for by Article 73, paragraph 2.
The instruments listed in this Article and the preceding Article
shall be stamped and registered gratis.
Art. 156
(Act of
21 June 1907)
An officer of civil status
who celebrates marriages contracted by sons or daughters who have
not reached the full age of eighteen years, without the consent of
the fathers and mothers, that of the grandfathers or grandmothers
and that of the family council, when it is required, being mentioned
in the record of marriage, shall be sentenced to the fine specified
in Article 192 of the Civil Code, at the suit of the parties
concerned or of the Government procurator of the tribunal de
grande instance of the arrondissement where the marriage
was celebrated.
Art. 157
(Act of
4 Feb. 1934)
An officer of civil status
who has not required proof of the notice prescribed by Article 154
shall be sentenced to the fine provided for in the preceding
Article.
Art. 158
(Act of
10 March 1913)
An illegitimate child
lawfully acknowledged who has not reached the full age of eighteen
may not contract a marriage without having gained consent of the one
of his father and mother who acknowledged him, or of the two if he
was acknowledged by both.
(Act of 17 July 1927) In case of disagreement between the
father and mother, that division implies consent.
(Act of 7 Feb. 1924) Where one of them is dead or unable to
express his intention, the consent of the other suffices.
[repealed]
Art. 159
(Act n°
64-1230 of 14 Dec. 1964)
Where there are no father,
or mother, or grandfathers, or grandmothers, or where all are unable
to express their intention, minors under eighteen years may not
contract marriage without the consent of the family council.
An illegitimate child who was not acknowledged, and one who, after
being so, lost his father and mother or whose father and mother
cannot express their intention, may marry before the age of eighteen
years only after gaining the consent of the family council.
Art. 160
(Act n°
64-1230 of 14 Dec. 1964)
Where the present
residence of those of the ascendants of a minor under eighteen of
whom the death is not established is unknown and where the
ascendants have not been heard from for one year, the minor shall
make a declaration of it under oath before the judge of
guardianships of his residence, with the assistance of his clerk, in
his chambers, and the judge of guardianships shall place it on
record.
The judge of guardianships shall give notice of that oath to the
family council which shall rule on the application for authorization
to marry. However, the minor may give the oath directly in the
presence of the members of the family council.
Art. 161
In direct lineage,
marriage is prohibited between all ascendants and descendants,
legitimate or illegitimate, and the relatives by marriage in the
same lineage.
Art. 162
(Act of
1 July 1914)
In collateral lineage,
marriage is prohibited between legitimate or illegitimate brother
and sister. [repealed]
Art. 163
(Act n°
72-3 of 3 Jan. 1972)
Marriage is further
prohibited between uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, whether the
relationship be legitimate or illegitimate.
Art. 164
(Act of
10 March 1938)
Nevertheless, the
President of the Republic may for serious reasons remove the
prohibitions entered:
1° in Article 161 as to marriages between relatives by marriage in
direct lineage where the person who created the relationship is
dead;
2° [repealed]
3° in Article 163 as to marriages between uncle and niece, aunt and
nephew.
CHAPTER II - OF THE
FORMALITIES RELATING TO THE CELEBRATION OF MARRIAGE
Art. 165
(Act of
21 June 1907)
Marriage shall be
celebrated publicly before the officer of civil status of the
commune where one of the spouses has his domicile or his
residence at the date of the public notice provided for by Article
63 and, in the event of dispensation of public notice, at the date
of the dispensation provided for by Article 169 below.
Art. 166
(Ord. n°
58-779 of 23 Aug. 1958)
The public notice required
by Article 63 shall be made at the town hall of the place of
celebration and at that of the place where each one of the future
spouses has his domicile or, in the absence of domicile, his
residence.
Art. 167
and 168 [repealed]
Art. 169
(Act of
8 April 1927)
The Government procurator
of the arrondissement in which the marriage is to be
celebrated may, for serious reasons, dispense with public notice and
with any period or only with the bill-sticking of the notice.
(Ord. n° 45-2720 of 2 Nov. 1945) He may also, in exceptional
cases, dispense the future spouses, or one of them only, with the
handing over of the medical certificate required by Article 63,
paragraph 2.
The medical certificate may not be demanded to any of the future
spouses in case of imminent danger of death of one of them, as
provided for in Article 75, paragraph 3, of this Code.
Art. 170
(Act of
21 June 1907)
A marriage contracted in a
foreign country between French persons and between a French person
and an alien is valid where it is celebrated in the forms in use in
that country, provided it was preceded by the public notice
prescribed by Article 63, in the Title Of Records of Civil Status,
and the French person did not commit a breach of the provisions
contained in the preceding Chapter.
(Act of 29 Nov. 1901) It shall be likewise as regards a
marriage contracted in a foreign country between a Frenchman and an
alien
(Act n° 2003-1119 of
26 Nov. 2003), where it was celebrated by diplomatic agents or by
consuls of France, in accordance with French legislation.
Nevertheless, diplomatic agents or consuls may only proceed to the
celebration of the marriage between a Frenchman and an alien woman
in the countries designated by decrees of the President of the
Republic.(Act
n° 2003-1119 of
26 Nov. 2003)Except
in case of impossibility or where it appears, upon examination of
the file, that said hearing is not necessary with respect to Article
146, diplomatic or consular agents shall, for the implementation of
paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, proceed to hearing jointly the
future spouses or spouses, according to the circumstances, either at
the time of the request for public notice under Article 63, or at
the time of the issuing of the certificate of marriage, or in case
of a request for registration of the marriage by a French national.
Diplomatic or consular agents may, if necessary, require to have a
talk with either one of the spouses or future spouses. They may also
demand that the spouses or future spouses be present on the occasion
of each one of the above mentioned formalities.
Art.
170-1
(Act n°
93-1027 of 24 Aug. 1993)
Where there is serious
circumstantial evidence giving rise to the presumption that a
marriage celebrated abroad incurs annulment under Articles 184,
[deleted, Act n° 2003-1119 of
26 Nov. 2003] or 191, the diplomatic or consular agent in charge of the
registration of the record shall immediately inform the Government
procurator's office and defer the registration.
The Government procurator shall rule upon the registration. Where he
claims annulment of the marriage, he shall order that the
registration be limited to the only purpose of referring the matter
to the court; until the judgement of the latter, an office copy of
the registered record may be issued only to judicial authorities or
with the authorization of the Government procurator
Where the Government procurator did not come to a decision within a
period of six months after the reference, the diplomatic or consular
agent shall register the record..
Art. 171
(Act n°
59-1583 of 31 Dec. 1959)
The President of the
Republic may, for grave reasons, authorize the celebration of the
marriage where one of the future spouses is dead after the
completion of the official formalities indicating unequivocally his
or her consent.
In this case, the effects of the marriage date back to the day
preceding that of the death of the spouse.
However, this marriage may not involve any right of intestate
succession to the benefit of the survivor and no matrimonial regime
is considered to have existed between the spouses
CHAPTER III - OF FORMAL
OBJECTIONS TO MARRIAGE
Art. 172
The right to interpose an
objection to the celebration of a marriage belongs to the person
united by marriage with one of the two contracting parties.
Art. 173
(Act of
9 Aug. 1919)
The father, the mother
and, in the absence of the father and the mother, the grandfathers
and grandmothers may interpose an objection to the marriage of their
children and descendants, even of full age.
After a judicial withdrawal of an objection to a marriage interposed
by an ascendant, no new objection interposed by an ascendant is
admissible and may delay the celebration.
Art. 174
In the absence of any
ascendant, the brother or sister, the uncle or aunt, a
cousin-german, of full age, may interpose an objection only in the
following two instances :
1° (Act of 2 Feb. 1933) Where the consent of the family
council, required by Article 159, was not gained;
2° Where the objection is based upon the state of insanity of the
future spouse; that objection, the withdrawal of which may be
unconditionally decided by the court, may be accepted only on
condition for the objecting party to induce a guardianship of adults
and gain a decision thereupon within the period fixed by judgment.
Art. 175
In the two cases provided
for by the preceding Article, the guardian or curator may not,
during the continuance of the guardianship or curatorship, interpose
an objection, unless he is so authorized by the family council,
which he may convene.
Art.
175-1
(Act n°
93-1027 of 24 Aug. 1993)
The Government procurator
may interpose an objection in the cases in which he might apply for
annulment of a marriage.
Art.
175-2
(Act
n° 2003-1119 of 26 Nov. 2003)
Where there is serious circumstantial evidence
giving rise, possibly after holding the hearings provided for in
Article 63, to the presumption that the contemplated marriage may be
annulled under Article 146, the officer of civil status may refer
the matter to the Government procurator. He shall inform of it the
persons concerned.
The Government procurator shall, within
fifteen days after the matter has been brought before him, either let
the marriage proceed, or interpose an objection to it, or decide that
the celebration must be stayed, pending the inquiry he initiates. He
shall make his reasoned decision known to the officer of civil status
and to the persons concerned.
The duration of the stay decided by the
Government procurator may not exceed one month renewable once by a
specially reasoned decision.
After expiry of the stay, the Government
procurator shall make known to the officer of civil status by a
reasoned decision whether he allows the celebration of the marriage or
objects to it.
Either of the future spouses, even minor, may
challenge the decision to stay or its renewal before the president of
the tribunal de grande instance who shall give judgment within
ten days. The judgment of the president of the tribunal de grande
instance may be referred to the court of appeal* which shall
decide within the same period.
Art. 176
(Act of
8 April 1927)
An instrument of objection
shall state the capacity in which the party objecting is entitled to
do so; it shall contain an election of domicile at the place where
the marriage is to be celebrated ; it shall also contain the reasons
of the objection and reproduce the text of law on which the
objection is based; the whole on pain of nullity and of
disqualification of the ministerial officer who has signed the
instrument containing the objection.
(Act of 15 March 1933) After one full year, the instrument of
opposition ceases to be effective. It may be renewed, except in the
case referred to in Article 173, paragraph 2, above.
Art. 177
(Act of
15 March 1933)
The tribunal de grande
instance shall decide within ten days on an application for
withdrawal filed by the future spouses, even minors.
Art. 178
(Act of
15 March 1933)
If there is an appeal it
shall be disposed of within ten days, and, where the judgment under
appeal has granted the withdrawal of the objection, the court shall
decide even of its own motion.
Art. 179
Where an objection is set
aside, the parties objecting may be ordered to pay damages, with the
exception however of the ascendants.
(Act of 20 June 1896) An application for retrial does not lie
against a default judgment which sets aside an objection to
marriage.
CHAPTER IV - OF APPLICATIONS FOR THE ANNULMENT OF A MARRIAGE
Art. 180
A marriage contracted
without the free consent of the two spouses, or of one of them, may
be attacked only by the spouses or by the one whose consent was not
free.
(Act n° 75-617 of 11 July 1975) Where there was a mistake as
to the person, or as to essential capacities of the person, the
other spouse may apply for annulment of the marriage.
Art. 181
In the case of the
preceding Article, the application for annulment may no longer be
admissible whenever there has been continuous cohabitation for six
months since the spouse acquired his or her full freedom or the
mistake was discovered by him or her.
Art. 182
A marriage contracted
without the consent of the father and mother, of the ascendants or
of the family council, where this consent was necessary, may be
attacked only by those whose consent was required, or by the one of
the spouses who needed that consent .
Art. 183
An application for
annulment may no longer be instituted by the spouses or the parents
whose consent was required, whenever the marriage was expressly or
tacitly approved by those whose consent was necessary, or where one
year has elapsed without claim on their part since they have had
knowledge of the marriage. Nor may it be instituted by the spouse
where one year has elapsed without claim on his or her part, since
he or she has reached the competent age to consent to the marriage
by himself or herself.
Art. 184
(Act of
19 Feb. 1933)
A marriage contracted in
violation of the provisions contained in Articles 144, 146, "146-1,"
(Act n° 93-1027 of 24 Aug. 1993) 147, 161, 162 and 163 may be
attacked either by the spouses themselves, or by all those who have
an interest therein, or by the Government procurator.
Art. 185
However, a marriage
contracted by spouses who did not yet have the required age, or of
whom one of the two had not reached that age, may no longer be
attacked :
1° where six months have elapsed since that spouse or the spouses
have reached the competent age;
2° where the wife, who did not have that age, has conceived before
six months elapsed .
Art. 186
The father, the mother,
the ascendants and the family when they have consented to the
marriage contracted in the circumstances referred to in the
preceding Article, may not be admitted to apply for its annulment.
Art. 187
In all cases in which an
application for annulment may be instituted, in accordance with
Article 184, by all those who have an interest therein, it may not
be instituted by collateral relatives, or by the children born of
another marriage, in the lifetime of the spouses, unless they have a
vested and present interest.
Art. 188
A spouse to whose
detriment a second marriage was contracted, may apply for its
annulment even during the lifetime of the spouse who was bound to
him or her.
Art. 189
Where the new spouses
raise the invalidity of the first marriage, the validity or
invalidity of that marriage must be judged beforehand.
Art. 190
In all cases to which
Article 184 applies and under the modifications contained in Article
185, the Government procurator may and shall apply for annulment of
the marriage, during the lifetime of the spouses, and have them
ordered to separate.
Art.
190-1
[repealed]
Art. 191
A marriage which was not
publicly contracted and which was not celebrated before the
competent public officer, may be attacked by the spouses themselves,
by the father and mother, by the ascendants and by all those having
a vested and present interest, as well as by the Government
procurator.
Art. 192
(Act of
21 June 1907)
Where a marriage was not
preceded by the public notice required or where the dispensations
allowed by law were not gained, or where the intervals prescribed
between the public notice and the celebration were not observed, the
Government procurator shall have the public officer fined an amount
not exceeding "30 francs" (4,5 € ) (Act n° 46-2154 of 7 Oct. 1946)
and shall have the contracting parties, or those under whose
authority they acted, fined in proportion to their wealth.
Art. 193
The penalties stated in
the preceding Article are incurred by the persons therein named for
any infringement of the rules prescribed by Article 165, even if
those infringements are not held to be sufficient to involve
annulment of the marriage.
Art. 194
No one may claim the
quality of spouse and the civil effects of marriage unless he or
she produces a record of celebration entered on the register of
civil status; except in the cases provided for by Article 46, in the
Title Of Records of Civil Status .
Art.
195
Apparent status may not
exempt the alleged spouses who respectively avail themselves of it
from producing the record of celebration of the marriage before the
officer of civil status.
Art. 196
Where there is an apparent
status and the record of celebration of the marriage before the
officer of civil status is produced, the spouses have respectively
no standing to sue for the annulment of that record.
Art.197
Where, however, in the
case of Articles 194 and 195, there are children born of two persons
who have openly lived as husband and wife and who are both dead, the
legitimacy of the children may not be contested on the sole pretext
of failure to produce the record of celebration, whenever legitimacy
is proved by an apparent status which is not contradicted by the
record of birth.
Art. 198
Where the proof of the
lawful celebration of a marriage is established by the outcome of a
criminal procedure, the entry of the judgment on the registers of
civil status secures for the marriage, from the day of its
celebration, all civil effects, both as regards the spouses and the
children born of that marriage.
Art. 199
Where the spouses or one
of them have died without having discovered fraud, a criminal action
may be brought by all those who have an interest in having the
marriage declared valid, and by the Government procurator.
Art. 200
Where a public officer is
dead when fraud is discovered, a civil action may be instituted
against his heirs, by the Government procurator, in the presence of
the interested parties and upon their accusation.
Art. 201
(Act n°
72-3 of 3 Jan. 1972)
A marriage which has been
declared void produces, nevertheless, its effects with regard to
the spouses, where it was contracted in good faith.
Where good faith exists only on the part of one spouse, the marriage
produces its effects only in favour of that spouse.
Art. 202
(Act n°
72-3 of 3 Jan. 1972)
It also produces its
effects with regard to the children, even though none of the spouses
was in good faith.
(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) The judge shall rule on the
exercise of parental authority as in matters of divorce.
CHAPTER V - OF THE
OBLIGATIONS ARISING FROM MARRIAGE
Art. 203
The spouses contract
together, by the sole fact of marriage, the obligation of feeding,
supporting and educating their children.
Art. 204
A child has no claim
against his father and mother for a settlement in view of marriage
or otherwise.
Art. 205
(Act n°
72-3 of 3 Jan. 1972)
Children owe
maintenance to their father and mother or other ascendants who are
in need.
Art. 206
(Act of
9 Aug. 1919)
Sons- and daughters-in-law
owe likewise and under the same circumstances, maintenance to their
father- and mother-in-law, but this obligation ceases where the
spouse owing to whom the affinity existed and the children born of
his or her union with the other spouse are dead.
Art. 207
(Act n°
72-3 of 3 Jan. 1972)
The obligations resulting
from these provisions are reciprocal.
Nevertheless, where the creditor has failed seriously to fulfil his
obligations towards the debtor, the judge may discharge the latter
from all or part of the maintenance obligations.
Art.
207-1 [repealed]
Art. 208
(Act n°
73-2 of 3 Jan. 1972)
Maintenance shall be
granted only in proportion to the needs of the one who claims it,
and to the wealth of the one who owes it.
The judge may, even of his own motion and according to the
circumstances of the case, couple the periodical payments with a
revision clause permitted by the law in force.
Art. 209
Where the one who provides
or the one who receives maintenance is placed again in such a
condition that the one can no longer give it, or the other is no
longer in need of it, a discharge or reduction of it may be applied
for.
Art. 210
Where the person who must
provide maintenance establishes that he cannot make periodical
payments, the "family causes judge"(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
may, with full knowledge of the facts, order that he shall receive
in his home, feed and maintain the one to whom he owes maintenance.
Art. 211
The "family causes judge"
(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) may also decide whether the
father or mother who will offer to receive, feed and maintain in his
or her home the child to which he or she owes maintenance should in
that case be exempted from periodical payments.
CHAPTER VI - OF THE
RESPECTIVE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE SPOUSES
Art. 212
(Act of
22 Sept. 1942)
Spouses mutually owe each
other fidelity, support and assistance.
Art. 213
(Act n°
70-459 of 4 June 1970)
Spouses are responsible
together for the material and moral guidance of the family. They
shall provide for the education of the children and shall prepare
their future.
Art. 214
(Act n°
65-570 of 13 July 1965)
Where an ante-nuptial
agreement does not regulate the contributions of the spouses to the
marriage expenses, they shall contribute to them in proportion to
their respective means .
[repealed]
[repealed]
Where one of the spouses does not fulfil his or her obligations, he
or she may be compelled by the other to do so in the manner provided
for in the Code of Civil Procedure.
Art. 215
(Act n°
70-459 of 4 June 1970)
Spouses mutually oblige
themselves to a community of living.
(Act n° 75-617 of 11 July 1975) The residence of the family
is at the place which they choose by common consent.
(Act n° 65-570 of 13 July 1965) The spouses may not,
separately, dispose of the rights whereby the lodging of the family
is ensured, or of the pieces of furniture with which it is
garnished. The one of the two who did not give his or her consent to
the transaction may claim the annulment of it: the action for
annulment is open to him or her within the year after the day when
he or she had knowledge of the transaction, without possibility of
its ever being instituted more than one year after the matrimonial
regime was dissolved.
Art. 216
(Act n°
65-570 of 13 July 1965)
Each spouse has full legal
capacity; but his or her rights and powers may be restricted as a
consequence of the matrimonial regime and of the provisions of this
Chapter.
Art. 217
(Act n°
65-570 of 13 July 1965)
A spouse may be authorized
by a court to enter alone into a transaction for which the
assistance or the consent of the other spouse would be necessary,
where the latter is not able to express his or her intention or
where his or her refusal is not justified by the interest of the
family.
The transaction entered into under the terms of a judicial
authorization is effective against the spouse whose assistance or
consent was lacking, without any personal obligation incumbent on
him or her resulting from it
Art. 218
(Act n°
65-570 of 13 July 1965)
A spouse may give the
other a written authorization to represent him or her in the
exercise of the powers that the matrimonial regime confers to him or
her.
(Act n° 85-1372 of 23 Dec. 1985) He or she may, in all cases,
freely revoke that authorization.
Art. 219
(Act n°
65-570 of 13 July 1965)
Where one of the spouses
is unable to express his or her intention, the other may be
judicially entitled to represent him or her, in a general manner or
for some particular transactions, in the exercise of the powers
resulting from the matrimonial regime, the terms and extent of that
representation being fixed by the judge.
Failing a legal power, power of attorney or judicial entitlement,
the transactions entered into by a spouse in representation of the
other are effective with regard to the latter according to the rules
of management of another's business.
Art. 220
(Act n°
65-570 of 13 July 1965)
Each one of the spouses
has the power to make alone contracts which relate to the support of
the household or the education of children: any debt thus contracted
by the one binds the other jointly and severally.
Nevertheless, joint and several obligations do not arise as regards
expenditures that are manifestly excessive with reference to the way
of living of the household, to the usefulness or uselessness of the
transaction, to the good or bad faith of the contracting third
party.
(Act n° 85-1372 of 23 Dec. 1985) They do not arise either,
where they were not concluded with the consent of the two spouses,
as regards instalment purchases or loans unless those relate to
reasonable sums needed for the wants of everyday life.
Art.
220-1
(Act n°
65-570 of 13 July 1965)
Where one of the spouses
fails seriously in his or her duties and thus imperils the interests
of the family, the "family causes judge" (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan.
1993) may prescribe any urgent measure which those interests
require.
He may in particular forbid that spouse to make, without the consent
of the other, grants of his or her own property and of that of the
community, movable or immovable. He may also forbid the displacing
of movables, subject to the specifying of those which he attributes
to the personal use of the one or the other of the spouses.
The duration of the measures provided for in this Article must be
determined. It may not exceed three years, including a possible
extension;
Art.
220-2
(Act n°
65-570 of 13 July 1965)
Where an injunction
prohibits the making of grants of property the conveyance of which
is subject to registration, it must be registered at the suit of the
applicant spouse. That registration ceases to be effective upon the
expiry of the period determined by the injunction, subject for the
party concerned to obtain in the interval a varying order, xhich
shall be given notice of in the same manner .
Where an injunction prohibits the granting of movables, or the
displacing them, it shall be served by the applicant on his or her
spouse and involves the effect of rendering the latter a responsible
custodian of the movables in the same manner as a person whose
property is seized. Where served on a third party, the latter shall
be deemed in bad faith.
Art.
220-3
(Act n°
65-570 of 13 July 1965)
May be annulled, on claim
of the applicant spouse, all transactions entered into in violation
of the injunction, where they were made with a third party in bad
faith, or even with regard to a property the conveyance of which is
subject to registration, where they are simply subsequent to the
registration provided for by the preceding Article.
An action for annulment may be brought by the applicant spouse
within two years after the day when he or she had knowledge of the
transaction, without possibility of its ever being instituted, where
that transaction is subject to registration, more than two years
after its registration .
Art. 221
(Act n°
65-570 of 13 July 1965)
Each one of the spouses
may open, without the consent of the other, a deposit account and a
securities account in his or her personal name.
(Act 85-1372 of 23 Dec. 1985) With regard to the depositary,
the depositor is always considered, even after dissolution of the
marriage, to have free disposal of the funds and of the securities
on deposit.
Art. 222
(Act n°
65-570 of 13 July 1965)
Where one of the spouses
appears alone to do an act of administration or enjoyment or a grant
on a movable which he or she holds individually, he or she is
considered, with regard to the third party in good faith, to have
the power to do that act alone.
This provision shall not apply to pieces of furniture referred to in
Article 215, paragraph 3, or to movable tangible property the nature
of which gives rise to a presumption of ownership of the other
spouse in accordance with Article 1404 .
Art. 223
(Act
85-1372 of 23 Dec. 1985)
Each spouse may freely
follow a trade, collect his or her earnings and salaries and dispose
of them after discharging marriage expenses .
Art. 224
[repealed]
Art. 225
(Act
85-1372 of 23 Dec. 1985)
Each of the spouses shall
administer, bind and transfer alone his or her personal property .
Art. 226
(Act n°
65-570 of 13 July 1965)
The provisions of this
Chapter, on all questions where they do not save the application of
ante-nuptial agreements, apply by the sole effect of marriage,
whatever the matrimonial regime of the spouses may be.
CHAPTER VII - OF THE
DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE
Art. 227
A marriage is dissolved:
1° By the death of one of the spouses;
2° By divorce lawfully pronounced;
3° [repealed]
CHAPTER VIII - OF SECOND
MARRIAGES
Art. 228
(Act of
9 Aug. 1919)
A wife may contract a
second marriage only three hundred full days after the dissolution
of a preceding marriage.
(Act n° 75-617 of 11 Jul. 1975) That period comes to an end
in case of delivery after the death of the husband. It also comes to
an end where the wife produces a medical certificate attesting that
she is not in a state of pregnancy.
(Act n° 75-617 of 11 Jul. 1975) The president of the
tribunal de grande instance in whose jurisdiction the marriage
is to be celebrated may, by interim ex parte order, shorten
the period provided for by the preceding Article, where it obviously
results from the circumstances that, for three hundred days, the
former husband has not cohabitated with his wife. The petition is
subject to transmission to the Government procurator's office. In
the event of a dismissal of the petition, an appeal may be lodged.
TITLE
VI
OF
DIVORCE
(Act n°
75-617 of 11 July 1975)
CHAPTER I -
OF CASES FOR DIVORCE
Art. 229
Divorce may be decreed in
cases:
- either of mutual consent; or
- of breakdown of community life; or
- of fault.
Section
I - Of Divorce by Mutual Consent
§1 - Of
Divorce on Joint Petition by the Spouses
Art.
230
Where the spouses petition
together for divorce, they are not required to make the reason for
it known; they must only submit for the approval of the judge a
draft convention which regulates the consequences of it .
The petition may be filed either by the respective counsels of the
parties, or by one counsel chosen by common consent .
A divorce by mutual consent may not be petitioned during the first
six months of marriage.
Art. 231
The judge shall consider
the petition with each one of the spouses, then shall call them
together. He shall then call the counsel or counsels .
Where the spouses maintain their intention to divorce, the judge
shall indicate to them that their petition must be renewed after a
three months period for consideration.
Failing a renewal within six months following the expiry of the
period, the joint petition lapses.
Art. 232
The judge shall decree a
divorce where he has acquired the conviction that the intention of
the spouses is actual and that each one of them gave consent freely.
He shall approve, through the same
judgment, the agreement which
regulates the consequences of the divorce.
He may refuse approval and not decree a divorce where he finds that
the agreement insufficiently protects the interests of the children
or of one of the spouses.
§2 - Of
Divorce Petitioned by one Spouse and Accepted by the Other
Art. 233
One of the spouses may
petition for divorce by taking into account a set of facts
originating from both of them, that render intolerable the
continuance of community life.
Art. 234
Where the other spouse
acknowledges the facts before the judge, the latter decrees divorce
without having to rule on the allocation of wrongs. A divorce thus
decreed produces the effects of a divorce decreed against both
spouses.
Art. 235
Where the other spouse
does not acknowledge the facts, the judge may not decree divorce.
Art. 236
The declarations made by
the spouses may not be used as evidence in any other action at law.
Section
II - Of Divorce for Breakdown of Community Life
Art.
237
A spouse may petition for
divorce by reason of an extended breakdown of community life, where
the spouses have lived apart in fact for six years.
Art. 238
It shall be likewise where
the mental faculties of the spouse have, for six years, been so
seriously altered that community of life no longer exists between
the spouses and cannot be restored in the future, according to the
most reasonable anticipations.
The judge may dismiss the application of his own motion, subject to
Article 240, where divorce may have too serious consequences for the
illness of the spouse.
Art. 239
A spouse who petitions for
divorce on grounds of breakdown of community life shall bear all the
expenditures thereof. In his or her petition, he or she must specify
the means by which the obligations towards the other spouse and the
children will be fulfilled.
Art. 240
Where the other spouse
establishes that the divorce would result, either for him or her,
account being taken in particular of his or her age and of the
duration of the marriage, or for the children, in exceptional
material or moral hardship, the judge shall dismiss the petition.
He may even dismiss it of his own motion in the circumstances
referred to in Article 238.
Art. 241
Breakdown of community
life may be invoked as a ground for divorce only by the spouse who
brings the originating petition, called principal petition.
The other spouse may then bring a petition, called counter-petition,
by invoking the wrongs of the one who took the initiative. The
counter-petition may seek only divorce and not judicial separation.
Where the judge admits it, he dismisses the principal petition and
decrees divorce against the spouse who took the initiative thereof.
Section
III - Of Divorce for Fault
Art.
242
Divorce may be petitioned
by a spouse for facts ascribable to the other where those facts
constitute a serious or renewed violation of the duties and
obligations of marriage and render unendurable the continuance of
community life.
Art. 243
It may be petitioned by a
spouse where the other has been sentenced to one of the penalties
"provided for by Article 131-1 of the Penal Code" (Act n° 92-133
of 16 Dec. 1992).
Art. 244
Reconciliation of the
spouses occurred after the facts alleged prevents their being
invoked as a ground for divorce.
The judge shall then declare the petition inadmissible. A new
petition may however be filed by reason of facts occurred or
discovered after the reconciliation, the former facts being then
recallable in support of that new petition.
Temporary continuance or renewal of community life must not be
considered as a reconciliation where they result only from necessity
or from an endeavour to conciliation or from the needs of the
education of the children.
Art. 245
Faults of the spouse who
took the initiative of the divorce do not prevent from considering
his or her petition; they may, however, deprive the facts which the
other spouse is reproached with of the seriousness that would make
them a ground for divorce.
Those faults may be also invoked by the other spouse in support of a
counter-petition in divorce . Where both petitions are granted,
divorce is decreed against both spouses.
Even failing a counter-petition, divorce may be decreed against both
spouses where wrongs against both appear in the hearings.
Art. 246
Where divorce is sought
under Articles 233 to 245, the spouses may, as long as no
judgment
on the merits has been handed down, request the "family causes
judge" (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993 ) to establish their
agreement and approve the draft convention which regulates the
consequences of the divorce.
The provisions of Articles 231 and 232 shall then apply.
CHAPTER II
- OF DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS
Section
I - General Provisions
Art.
247.
The
tribunal de grande instance exercising civil jurisdiction has
exclusive jurisdiction to rule on divorce and its consequences.
(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) One judge of this court shall
be assigned family causes. [deleted]
This judge has jurisdiction to decree a divorce, whatever the ground
for it may be. He may transfer a case as it stands for hearings
before a division of the court. That transfer is as of right when
requested by a party .
(Act n° 87-570 of 22 July 1987) He shall also have exclusive
jurisdiction, after the decree of divorce, whatever the ground for
it may be, to rule on the details of the exercise of parental
authority, "on changes as to periodical payments and on revision of
the compensatory allowance or its terms of payment" (Act n°
2000-596 of 30 June 2000), as well as to decide to entrust the
children to a third party. He shall then rule informally and may be
seized by the parties concerned even by a mere petition.
Art. 248
Hearings on the case, the
consequences of divorce and interim orders may not be public.
Art.
248-1
In case of a divorce for
fault, and on request of the spouses, the "family causes judge" (Act
n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) may restrict himself to establish that
there are facts constituting a cause of divorce in the grounds of
the judgment, without having to state the wrongs and complaints of
the parties.
Art. 249
Where a petition for
divorce must be brought in the name of an adult in guardianship, it
shall be filed by the guardian with the authorization of the family
council, after advice of the attending physician.
An adult in curatorship shall bring the action himself with the
assistance of the curator.
Art.
249-1
Where the spouse against
whom a petition is filed is in guardianship, the action shall be
brought against the guardian; where he or she is in curatorship, he
or she is the defendant, with the assistance of the curator.
Art.
249-2
A special guardian or
curator shall be appointed where the guardianship or curatorship was
entrusted to the spouse of the person under a disability.
Art.
249-3
Where one of the spouses
is placed under judicial supervision, a petition for divorce may be
tried only after organization of a guardianship or curatorship.
Art.
249-4
Where one of the spouses
is placed under one of the protective systems provided for in
Article 490 below, no petition for divorce by mutual consent may be
filed.
Art. 250
In case of statutory
interdiction resulting from a sentence, a petition for divorce may
be brought by the guardian only with the authorization of the person
under disability.
Section
II - Of Conciliation
Art.
251
Where divorce is sought
for breakdown of community life or for fault, an attempt at
conciliation is compulsory before judicial processions. It may be
renewed during the proceedings.
Where divorce is sought by mutual consent of the spouses, a
conciliation may be attempted pending the lawsuit according to the
rules of procedure appropriate to that case for divorce.
Art. 252
Where the judge seeks to
conciliate the spouses, he must personally have a talk with each of
them separately before bringing them together in his presence .
The counsels must then, where the spouses so request, be called to
be present and participate in the talk .
In the case of Article 238 and in that where the spouse against whom
the petition is brought does not appear before the judge, the latter
shall nevertheless have a talk with the other spouse and urge him or
her to consideration.
Art.
252-1
An attempt at conciliation
may be suspended and resumed without any formality, with the
arranging of times for consideration for the spouses within a limit
of eight days .
Where a longer period is deemed advisable, the judge may decide to
suspend the proceedings and resort to a new attempt at conciliation
within six months at most. He may, if there is occasion, make the
requisite interim orders.
Art.
252-2
Where he does not succeed
in having them renounce divorce, the judge shall try to induce the
spouses to regulate amicably its consequences, in particular as
regards the children, by agreements " which may be taken into
account by the forthcoming judgment" (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993).
Art.
252-3
Anything that was said or
written on the occasion of an attempt at conciliation, whatever the
form it occurred, may not be invoked for or against a spouse or a
third party in the further proceedings.
Section
III - Of Interim Orders
Art.
253
In case of divorce on
joint petition, the spouses themselves regulate interim measures in
a provisional agreement which must be annexed to their originating
petition .
The judge however may have the terms of that agreement deleted or
amended which appear to him to be contrary to the welfare of the
children.
Art. 254
At the time of the
appearance of the spouses in the circumstances referred to in
Article 233, or of the decree of non-conciliation in the other
circumstances, the judge shall prescribe the measures which are
required in order to ensure the living of the spouses and the
children until the date on which the judgment becomes res judicata.
Art. 255
The judge may in
particular:
1° Authorize the spouses to reside apart;
2° Allocate to one of them the enjoyment of the lodging and
furniture of the household, or divide that enjoyment between them;
3° Order the delivery of clothes and personal belongings;
4° Order periodical payments and allowance for costs to be paid by
one spouse to the other;
5° Grant to one of the spouses advance payments as to his or her
part in the community property, where circumstances so dictate .
Art. 256
(Act n°
2002-305 of 4 March 2002)
Consequences of a
separation for the children shall be settled in accordance with the
provisions of Chapter I of Title IX of this Book.
Art. 257
From the originating
petition, the judge may take emergency measures.
He may, on this ground, authorize the petitioning spouse to reside
apart, if occasion be with his or her minor children.
He may also, as a safeguard of the rights of a spouse, order any
protective measures such as the affixing of seals on community
property. The provisions of Article 220-1 and the other safeguards
provided for by the matrimonial regime remain nevertheless
applicable.
Art. 258
Where he definitively
dismisses a petition for divorce, the judge may rule on the
contributions to the marriage expenses, the residence of the family
and "the details of the exercise of parental authority" (Act n°
87-570, 22 Jul. 1987).
Section
IV - Of Evidence
Art. 259
Facts invoked as grounds
for divorce or as a defence to a petition may be established by any
evidence, including admissions.
Art.
259-1
A spouse may not produce
in court letters exchanged between his or her spouse and a third
party which he or she obtained by duress or fraud.
Art.
259-2
The certificates drawn up
on request of a party are set aside from the hearing where there was
illegal entry into the domicile or unlawful invasion of intimacy of
private life.
Art.
259-3
The spouses must
communicate to each other and communicate to the judge as well as to
experts designated by him, any information and documents appropriate
for fixing allowances and payments and liquidating the matrimonial
regime.
The judge may cause any proper inquiry to be instigated of debtors
or of all those who hold assets on behalf of the spouses without
professional secrecy being allowed to be raised.
CHAPTER III
- OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF DIVORCE
Section
I - Of the Date at which Divorce Takes Effect
Art. 260
A
judgment granting
divorce dissolves the marriage at the date at which it acquires
force of res judicata.
Art. 261
To contract a new
marriage, the wife must comply with the period of three hundred days
provided for in Article 228.
Art.
261-1
Where the spouses were
authorized to reside apart pending the lawsuit, that period starts
running from the day of the judgment authorizing the separate
residence or, in case of joint petition, approving the provisional
agreement relating to this subject.
The wife may remarry without delay where divorce was granted in the
circumstances provided for in Articles 237 and 238.
Art.
261-2
The period comes to an end
where the birth of a child occurs after the decision authorizing or
approving the separate residence or, failing which, after the date
at which the divorce judgment acquired force of res judicata .
Where the husband dies before the divorce judgment acquired force of
res judicata, the period runs from the decision authorizing or
approving the separate residence .
Art. 262
A divorce judgment is
effective against third parties, as regards the property of the
spouses, from the day when the formalities of mention in the margin
prescribed by the rules which apply to civil status have been
performed .
Art.
262-1
A divorce judgment takes
effect in the relations between spouses, as regards their property,
as from the date of summons.
(Act n° 85-1372 of 23 Dec. 1985) The spouses may, one or the
other, petition, if there is occasion, that the effect of the
judgment be carried back to the date when they ceased to live
together and collaborate. The one upon whom the wrongs of separation
fall chiefly may not obtain that carrying back .
Art.
262-2
Any obligation contracted
by one of the spouses on the responsibility of the community, any
transfer of community property made by one of them within the limit
of his or her power, after the originating petition, shall be
declared void, where there is evidence that there was fraud of the
rights of the other spouse .
.
Section
II - Of the Consequences of Divorce for the Spouses
§1 -
General Provisions
Art. 263
Where divorced spouses
wish to contract another union between themselves, a new celebration
of marriage is required.
Art. 264
Following divorce, each of
the spouses shall resume the use of his or her name.
However, in the circumstances provided for in Articles 237 and 238,
the wife is entitled to keep the use of the husband's name when the
divorce has been petitioned by him.
In the other circumstances, the wife may keep the use of the
husband's name either with his consent, or with the authorization of
the judge, where she proves that a particular interest lies therein
for herself or for the children.
Art.
264-1
(Act n°
85-1372 of 23 Dec. 1985)
When he grants divorce,
the "matrimonial causes judge" (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
shall order the liquidation and partition of the patrimonial
interests of the spouses and rule, if there is occasion, on requests
for continuation of undivided ownership or preferential allotments.
§ 2 - Of
the Consequences Peculiar to the Various Cases for Divorce
Art. 265
Divorce is deemed granted
against one spouse where it occurs on his or her exclusive wrongs.
It is also deemed granted against the spouse who took the initiative
of the divorce where it is obtained by reason of breakdown of
community life.
The spouse against whom divorce is granted loses the rights which
legislation or agreement made with third parties confer upon a
divorced spouse.
Those rights are not lost in case of mutual wrongs or of divorce by
mutual consent.
Art. 266
Where divorce is granted
on the exclusive wrongs of one of the spouses, this one may be
ordered to pay damages for material and moral harm which his or her
spouse suffers because of the dissolution of the marriage.
The latter may seek damages only in the occasion of an action for
divorce .
Art. 267
Where divorce is granted
on the exclusive wrongs of one of the spouses, this one loses by
operation of law any gifts and matrimonial advantages which his or
her spouse had granted to her or him, whether at the time of the
marriage, or after.
The other spouse keeps the gifts and advantages which had been
granted to him or her, even though they were stipulated to be
reciprocal and reciprocity did not occur.
Art.
267-1
Where divorce is granted
on mutual wrongs, each one of the spouses may revoke all or part of
the gifts and advantages which he or she granted to the other.
Art. 268
Where divorce is granted
on joint petition, the spouses themselves shall decide on the
condition of the gifts and advantages which they granted to each
other; where they decided nothing in this regard, they are deemed to
have kept them .
Art.
268-1
Where divorce is granted
on petition accepted by the other spouse, each one of the spouses
may revoke all or part of the gifts and advantages which he or she
granted to the other.
Art. 269
Where divorce is granted
on the ground of breakdown of community life, the spouse who took
the initiative for divorce loses by operation of law the gift and
advantages which the other spouse granted to him or her.
The other spouse keeps his or hers.
§ 3 - Of
Compensatory Benefit
Art. 270
Except where it is granted
on the ground of breakdown of community life, divorce puts an end to
the duty of support provided for by Article 212 of the Civil Code ;
but one of the spouses may be compelled to pay the other a benefit
intended to compensate, as far as possible, for the disparity that
breakdown of the marriage creates in the respective ways of living.
Art. 271
A compensatory
benefit shall be fixed according to the needs of the spouse to whom
it is paid and to the means of the other, account being taken of the
situation at the time of divorce and of its evolution in a
foreseeable future.
(Act n° 2000-596 of 30 June 2000) In the context of the
fixing of a compensatory benefit, by the judge or by the parties in
the agreement referred to in Article 278, or on the occasion of a
petition for revision, the parties shall provide the judge with
declarations certifying on their honour the accuracy of their means,
incomes, patrimonies and ways of living.
Art. 272
In determining the needs
and means, the judge shall have regard, in particular, to/
- the ages and states of health of the spouses;
- (Act n° 2000-596 of 30 June 2000) the duration of the
marriage;
- the time already devoted or that must be devoted to the education
of children;
- their professional qualifications "and positions with regard to
the labour market" (Act n° 2000-596 of 30 June 2000);
- their existing and foreseeable rights;
- "their respective situation as to retirement pensions" (Act n°
2000-596 of 30 June 2000);
- their patrimony, both in capital and income, after the liquidation
of the matrimonial regime .
Art. 273
Compensatory benefit shall
be in the nature of a lump sum. [repealed]
Art. 274
(Act n°
2000-596 of 30 June 2000)
Compensatory benefit shall
take the form of a capital the amount of which shall be fixed by the
judge .
Art. 275
The judge shall
decide the details according to which the allotment or appropriation
of property in capital will be made:
1° Payment of a sum of money;
2° Surrender of property in kind, movables or immovables, "for
ownership or usufruct, for use or dwelling" (Act n° 2000-596 of
30 June 2000), the judgment operating a forced transfer in
favour of the creditor;
3° Depositing securities which produce income in the hands of a
third party in charge of paying the income to the spouse creditor of
the benefit until the time limit fixed.
The divorce judgment may be made subject to actual payment of the
capital or establishment of the guarantees provided for in Article
277.
Art.
275-1
(Act n°
2000-596 of 30 June 2000)
Where a debtor is not able
to pay the capital under the terms of Article 275, the judge shall
fix the arrangements for payment of the capital, within the limit of
height years, in the form of monthly or annual payments linked to an
index in accordance with the rules applicable to periodical
payments.
A debtor may request revision of those arrangements for payment in
case of a considerable change in his or her situation. By way of
exception the judge may then, by a special and reasoned decision,
authorize the payment of the capital on a total period of more than
eight years.
On a debtor spouse's death, the responsibility for the balance of
the capital passes to his or her heirs. Heirs may request revision
of the arrangements for payment under the terms of the preceding
paragraph.
A debtor or his or her heirs may at any time redeem the balance of
the capital.
After liquidation of the matrimonial regime, the creditor of a
compensatory benefit may refer to the judge a claim for payment of
the balance of the capital.
Art. 276
(Act n°
2000-596 of 30 June 2000)
By way of exception, the
judge may, by a specially reasoned decision, by reason of the age or
state of health of the creditor which does not allow him or her to
supply to his or her needs, fix the compensatory benefit in the form
of a life annuity. He shall have regard to the factors laid down in
Article 272 .
Art.
276-1
"An annuity shall be
linked to an index; the index shall be determined as in periodical
payments matters" (Act n° 2000-596 of 30 June 2000).
The amount of an annuity before index-liking shall be fixed in a
uniform fashion for its entire duration or may vary by successive
periods following the likely evolution of needs and means.
Art.
276-2
(Act n°
2000-596 of 30 June 2000)
On a debtor spouse's
death, the responsibility for the life annuity passes to his or her
heirs. Survivor's pensions possibly paid in the deceased spouse's
right are deducted as of right from the annuity paid to the
creditor. Unless otherwise decided by the judge to whom the creditor
referred the matter, a deduction of the same amount shall still be
granted where the creditor loses his or her right to a survivor's
pension .
Art.
276-3
(Act n°
2000-596 of 30 June 2000)
A compensatory benefit
fixed in the form of a life annuity may be revised, postponed or
suppressed in case of an important change in the means or needs of
the parties .
Revision may not lead to increase the annuity up to an amount above
the one initially fixed by the judge .
An action for revision lies with the debtor and his or her heirs .
Art.
276-4
(Act n°
2000-596 of 30 June 2000)
The debtor of a
compensatory benefit in the form of a life annuity may at any time
refer the matter to the judge for the purpose of ruling on the
replacement of the annuity by a capital determined under the terms
of Articles 275 and 275-1.
That application may be made by the debtor's heirs .
The creditor of a compensatory benefit may make the same application
where he or she establishes that a modification in the situation of
the debtor allows that replacement, in particular at the time of
liquidation of the matrimonial regime.
Art. 277
Irrespective of a
statutory or judicial mortgage, the judge may order the debtor
spouse to establish a pledge, to give security "or to enter
into a contract that guarantees the payment of the annuity or
capital" (Act n° 2000-596 of 30 June 2000).
Art. 278
In case of joint petition,
the spouses shall fix the amount and terms of compensatory benefit
in the agreement which they submit to the judge for approval . "They
may lay down that the payment of the benefit will come to an end
from the occurrence of a specific event. The benefit may be in the
form of an annuity granted for a limited period" (Act n° 2000-596
of 30 June 2000).
The judge, however, shall refuse to approve the agreement where it
fixes unfairly the rights and obligations of the spouses.
Art. 279
An approved agreement is
enforceable at law as is a judicial decision.
It may be modified only by a new agreement between spouses, likewise
submitted to approval .
Spouses have nevertheless the power to provide in their agreement
that each of them may, in case of "important change in the means and
needs of the parties" (Act n° 2000-596 of 30 June 2000),
request the judge to revise the compensatory benefit.
Art. 280
The transfers and
surrenders provided for in this Subsection shall be deemed dependent
on the matrimonial regime. They may not be treated in the same ways
as gifts.
Art.
280-1
The spouse on whose
exclusive wrongs divorce was granted is not entitled to any
compensatory benefit.
He or she may, however, obtain an indemnity by way of exception
where, account being taken of the duration of community life and of
the cooperation brought to the occupation of the other spouse, it
appears obviously contrary to equity to refuse him or her any
pecuniary compensation following divorce.
§ 4 - Of
the Duty of Support after Divorce
Art. 281
Where divorce is granted
for breakdown of community life, the spouse who took the initiative
for divorce remains entirely bound by the duty of support .
In the case of Article 238, the duty of support shall cover all that
is needed for the medical treatment of the sick spouse .
Art. 282
The fulfilling of the duty
of support shall take the form of periodical payments. The latter
may always be revised according to the means and needs of each one
of the spouses .
Art. 283
Periodical payments cease
to be owed by operation of law where the spouse who is the creditor
of them contracts a new marriage .
An end shall be put to them where the creditor lives in a state of
notorious concubinage.
Art. 284
On the death of the debtor
spouse, the liability as to payments passes to his or her heirs.
Art. 285
Where the consistence of
the debtor spouse's property so permits, periodical payments must
be replaced, in whole or part, by the settling of a capital,
according to the rules of Articles 274 to 275-1, "277" (Act n°
2000-596 of 30 June 2000) and 280.
Where that capital becomes inadequate to cover the needs of the
creditor spouse, the latter may request a complement under the form
of periodical payments.
§ 5 - Of
Lodging
Art.
285-1
Where the premises serving as lodging for the family are the
separate or personal property of one spouse, the judge may grant it
on lease to the other spouse:
1° (Act n° 87-570 of 22 July 1987) Where parental authority
is exercised by the latter over one or several children or, in case
of exercise in common of parental authority, where one or several
children have their usual residence in these lodgings;
2° Where divorce was granted on petition of the owner spouse, for
breakdown of community life.
In the case provided for in 1° above, the judge shall fix the
duration of the lease and may renew it until the coming of age of
the youngest of the children.
In the case
provided for in 2° above, the lease may not be granted for a
duration exceeding nine years, but may be lengthened by a new
judgment. It comes to an end by operation of law in case of
remarriage of the one to whom it was granted. It shall be brought to
an end where the latter lives in a state of notorious concubinage.
In all cases, the judge may terminate the lease where new
circumstances so justify.
Section
III - Of the Consequences of Divorce for the Children
Art.
286
(Act n°
2002-305 of 4 March 2002)
Consequences of divorce
for the children shall be settled in accordance with the provisions
of Chapter I of Title IX of this Book.
Art. 287
to 295 [repealed]
CHAPTER IV
- OF JUDICIAL SEPARATION
Section
I - Of Cases and Proceedings for Judicial Separation
Art.
296
Judicial separation may be
granted on application of one of the spouses in the same cases and
subject to the same conditions as divorce.
Art. 297
A spouse against whom a
petition for divorce is filed may make a counterclaim for judicial
separation. A spouse against whom a petition for judicial separation
is filed may make a counterclaim for divorce.
Where a petition for divorce and a petition for judicial separation
are simultaneously entertained, the judge shall grant a divorce on
divided wrongs with regard to both spouses.
Art. 298
In addition, the rules
contained in Chapter II above shall apply to the proceedings for
judicial separation.
Section
II - Of the Consequences of Judicial Separation
Art.
299
Judicial separation does
not dissolve marriage but it puts an end to the duty of
cohabitation.
Art. 300
A separated wife keeps the
use of the husband's name. Nevertheless, the judgment of separation
or a further judgment may forbid it to her. Where a husband has
joined her wife's name to his name, she may also request that the
husband be forbidden to bear it.
Art. 301
In case of death of one of
the judicially separated spouses, the other spouse keeps the rights
which legislation grants to a surviving spouse. He or she, however,
is deprived of them where judicial separation was granted against
him or her, according to the distinctions made in Article 265. Where
judicial separation is granted on joint petition, the spouses may
include in their agreement a renunciation of the rights of
succession conferred upon them by Articles "756 to 757-3 and 764 to
766" (Act n° 2001-1135 of 3 Dec. 2001).
Art. 302
Judicial separation always
involves separation of property.
Concerning property, the date at which judicial separation takes
effect is determined as provided for in Articles 262 to 262-2.
Art. 303
Judicial separation leaves
subsisting the duty of support; the judgment which grants it or a
further judgment shall fix the periodical payments owed to the
spouse in need.
Those payments shall be allotted irrespective of wrongs. The debtor
spouse may nevertheless invoke, if there is occasion, the provisions
of Article 207, paragraph 2.
Those payments are subject to the rules of maintenance obligations;
nevertheless, the provisions of Article 285 shall apply to them.
Art. 304
Subject to the provisions
of this Section, the consequences of judicial separation shall obey
the same rules as the consequences of divorce stated in Chapter III
above.
Section
III - Of the End of Judicial Separation
Art.
305
Voluntary resumption of
community life puts an end to judicial separation.
In order to be effective against third parties, it must either be
established by a notarial instrument, or be the subject of a
declaration to an officer of civil status. Mention of it shall be
made in the margin of the record of marriage "of the spouses, as
well as in the margins of their records of birth" (Act n° 85-1372
of 13 Dec. 1985).
Separation of property
subsists unless the spouses adopt a new matrimonial regime as
provided for in Article 1397.
Art. 306
On request of one of the
spouses, a judgment of judicial separation shall be converted as of
right into a judgment of divorce where judicial separation has
lasted three years.
Art. 307
In all cases of judicial
separation, it may be converted into divorce by joint petition.
Where judicial separation was granted on joint petition, it may be
converted into divorce only by a new joint petition .
Art. 308
Because of a conversion,
the cause for judicial separation becomes the cause for divorce; the
allocation of wrongs is not changed.
The judge shall fix the consequences of divorce. The benefits and
payments between spouses shall be determined according to the rules
appropriate for divorce.
Art. 309
A wife may contract a new
marriage as soon as the judgment of conversion has force of res
judicata .
CHAPTER V -
OF THE CONFLICT OF LAWS IN MATTERS OF DIVORCE AND OF JUDICIAL
SEPARATION
Art. 310
Divorce and judicial
separation are governed by French law :
- where both spouses are of French nationality;
- where both spouses have their domicile on French territory;
- where no foreign law considers it should govern whereas French
courts have jurisdiction over a divorce or judicial separation case
.
TITLE
VII
OF
PARENT AND CHILD (I)
(Act n°
72-3 of 3 Jan. 1972)
CHAPTER I -
PROVISIONS COMMON TO LEGITIMATE AND ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN
Art.
310-1
(Act n°
2002-305 of 4 March 2002)
All children whose
parentage is lawfully established have the same rights and the same
duties in their relations with their father and mother. They enter
into the family of each of them.
Section
I - Of Presumptions Regarding Parentage
Art.
311
Legislation presumes that
a child was conceived during the period that extends from the
three-hundredth to the one-hundred and eightieth day, inclusive,
before the date of birth.
Conception is presumed to have taken place at any time during that
period, depending of what the welfare of the child requires.
Contrary evidence may be adduced to rebut those presumptions.
Art.
311-1
Apparent status shall
result from a sufficient collection of facts showing a bond of
parentage and relationship between an individual and the family to
which he is said to belong.
Apparent status must be continuous.
Art.
311-2
The main ones of those
facts shall be:
That the individual has always borne the name of those from whom he
is said to descend;
That the latter have treated him as their child, and that he has
treated them as his father and mother;
That they have, in that capacity, provided for his education,
support and settling;
That he is so recognized in society and by the family;
That public authorities consider him as such .
Art.
311-3
Subject to the conditions
provided for in Articles 71 and 72 of this Code he parents or the
child may apply to the judge of guardianships for an affidavit
proving until proof to the contrary the apparent status, without
prejudice to any other evidence to which they may resort to
establish its existence in court, should it be contested.
(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) The parental bonds established
by an apparent status recorded in an affidavit shall be mentioned in
the margin of the record of birth of the child.
Section
II - Of Actions Regarding Parentage
Art.
311-4
No action is admissible as
to the parentage of a child who was not born viable.
Art.
311-5
The tribunal de grande
instance exercising civil jurisdiction shall have exclusive
jurisdiction to have cognisance of actions regarding parentage.
Art.
311-6
In case of an offence
interfering with the parentage of an individual, a criminal action
may be ruled upon only after the judgment on the question of
parentage has become res judicata.
Art.
311-7
Whenever they are not
confined by statute within shorter periods, actions regarding
parentage are time-barred after thirty years from the day when the
individual was deprived of the status that he claims, or began to
enjoin the status that is contested against him.
Art.
311-8
An action who belonged to
an individual as to his parentage may be brought by his heirs only
when he died as a minor or within five years after his coming of age
or his emancipation.
His heirs may also pursue an action which he had already initiated,
unless there was a withdrawal or non-suit.
Art.
311-9
An action regarding
parentage may not be the subject of a waiver.
Art.
311-10
Judgments handed down in
matters of parentage are enforceable even against persons who were
not parties thereto; but the latter are entitled to file third party
applications for rehearing.
Judges may of their own motion require that all the parties
concerned against whom they consider judgment should be given be
joined in the action.
Art.
311-11
Likewise, where in one of
the actions granted by Articles 340 and 342 below, a defence [repealed]
is raised, based on the fact that the mother had, during the legal
period of conception, intercourse with a third party, the judge may
order that the latter be joined in the action.
Art.
311-12
The courts shall rule on
conflicts of parentages for which legislation did not lay down other
guidelines by establishing the most probable parentage through any
evidence.
Failing adequate means of conviction, they shall have regard to the
apparent status.
Art.
311-13
In the case where they are
constrained to dismiss the claim of a party who actually educated a
minor child, the courts may nevertheless, account being taken of the
welfare of the child, grant to that party a right of access.
Section
III - Of the Conflict of Laws Relating to the Establishing of
Parentage
Art.
311-14
Parentage is governed by
the personal law of the mother on the day of birth of the child;
where the mother is unknown, by the child's personal law.
Art.
311-15
However, where a
legitimate child and his father and mother, or an illegitimate child
and one of his father and mother have in France their usual common
or separate residence, the apparent status has all the consequences
it produces according to French law, even when the other elements of
the parentage may depend upon a foreign law.
Art.
311-16
Marriage involves
legitimation where, on the day when the union is celebrated, that
consequence is admitted either by the law governing the effects of
marriage, or by the personal law of one of the spouses, or by the
child's personal law.
Legitimation on the authority of the court is governed, at the
choice of the petitioner, either by the personal law of the latter,
or by the child's personal law.
Art.
311-17
A voluntary
acknowledgement of paternity or maternity is valid where it was made
in accordance with either the personal law of his doer, or the
child's personal law.
Art.
311-18
An action for purposes of
subsidies is governed, at the choice of the child, by the law of its
usual residence or the law of the usual residence of the debtor.
Section
IV – Of Medically Assisted Procreation
Art.
311-19
(Act n°
94-653 of 29 July 1994)
In case of a medically
assisted procreation with a third party donor, no parental bonds may
be established between the donor and the child born out of the
procreation.
No action in tort may lie against a donor.
Art.
311-20
(Act n°
94-653 of 29 July 1994)
Spouses or unmarried
partners who, in order to procreate, resort to a medical assistance
requiring the intervention of a third party donor, must, subject to
conditions that ensure secrecy, give first their consents to a judge
or a notaire who shall inform them of the consequences of
their act as regards parentage.
Consent given to a medically assisted procreation prohibits any
action for challenging parentage or claiming a status unless it is
argued that the child was not born out of the medically assisted
procreation or that the consent was deprived of effect.
Consent is deprived of effect in case of death, of the filing of a
petition for divorce or judicial separation or of discontinuance of
community life, occurred before the realisation of the medically
assisted procreation. It is also deprived of effect where the male
or the female revokes it in writing and before the realisation of
the medically assisted procreation, in the hands of the physician in
charge of the implementation of that assistance.
He who, after consenting to medical assistance to procreation, does
not acknowledge the child born out of it renders himself liable
vis-à-vis the mother and child
Furthermore, may be judicially declared the paternity outside of
marriage of him who, after consenting to a medical assistance to
procreation, does not acknowledge the child born out of it. The
action shall comply with the provisions of Article 340-2 to 340-6.
Section
V - Of the Rules of Devolution of Family Name
(2002;
Act n° 2003-516 of 18 June 20031)
1
Shall come into force on 1 Jan. 2005
Art.
311-21
Where the parentage of a child has been
established with regard to his two parents at the latest on the day
of declaration of his birth or afterwards but simultaneously, the
parents shall choose the family name which devolves upon him: either
the father's name, or the mother's name, or both names coupled in
the order they choose within the limit of one family name for each
of them. Failing a joint declaration to the officer of civil status
mentioning the choice of the name of the child, the latter shall
take the name of the parent with regard to whom his parentage has
first been established and the father's name where his parentage has
been established simultaneously with regard to both.
Where a child of whom one parent at least is
French is born abroad, parents who have not availed themselves of the
power to choose the name in the way provided for in the preceding
paragraph may make such a declaration at the time of the registration
of the record, at the latest within three years of the birth of the
child.
A name devolving on a first child has effect
as to the other common children.
Where the parents or one of them bear a double
family name, they may, by a joint written declaration, transmit only
one name to their children.
Art.
311-22
The provisions of Article 311-21 shall apply to
the child who becomes French in compliance with Article 22-1, in the
way provided for by a decree in Conseil d'État.
Art. 311-23
The power to choose provided for in Articles 311-21 and 334-2 may be
exercised only once.
CHAPTER II
- OF LEGITIMATE CHILDREN
Section
I - Of the Presumption of Paternity
Art. 312
A child conceived in
wedlock has the husband as his father.
However, the latter may disavow the child in court, where he proves
facts fitted to demonstrate that he cannot be the father.
Art. 313
In case of judgment or
even of petition, either for divorce or for judicial separation, the
presumption of paternity shall not apply to a child born more than
three hundred days after the order authorizing the spouses to live
apart, and less than one hundred and eighty days following either
the final dismissal of the petition or a reconciliation.
The presumption of paternity regains however its full force, by
operation of law, where the child has the apparent status of a
legitimate child with regard to the spouses.
Art.
313-1
The presumption of
paternity shall be set aside where a child, recorded without
indication of the husband's name, has an apparent status only with
regard to the mother.
Art.
313-2
Where the presumption of
paternity is set aside in the circumstances provided for in the
preceding Articles, the parentage of a child is established with
regard to the mother as if there was a disavowal admitted in court.
Each one of the spouses may request that the effects of the
presumption of paternity be reinstated by proving that, during the
statutory period of conception, a de facto relationship took place,
that renders probable the paternity of the husband. "The action may
be brought by the child within two years after his coming of age" (Act
n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993).
Art. 314
A child born before the
one-hundred and eightieth day of marriage is legitimate and shall be
deemed to have been so as from his conception.
The husband, however, may disavow him as provided for in Article
312.
He may even disavow him on the sole proof of the date of the
delivery, unless he knew of the pregnancy before the marriage, or
behave like the father after the birth.
Art. 315
The presumption of
paternity shall not apply to a child born more than three hundred
days after the dissolution of the marriage or, in case of declared
absence of the husband, to the one who was born more than three
hundred days after the disappearance.
Art. 316
A husband must institute
an action in disavowal within six months of the birth, where he is
on the spot.
Where he was not on the spot, within six months from his return.
And within six months following the discovery of the fraud, where
the birth of the child was concealed from him.
Art.
316-1
Where the husband is dead
before having instituted the action, but still being within the
prescribed period for doing so, his heirs are entitled to contest
the legitimacy of the child.
Their action ceases nevertheless to be admissible where six months
have elapsed from the time when the child has taken possession of
property claimed to be paternal, or from the time when the child has
disturbed them in their own possession.
Art.
316-2
An extra-judicial
instrument containing a disavowal on the part of the husband or a
contestation of legitimacy on the part of the heirs, is void where
it is not followed by an action at law within the period of six
months.
Art. 317
(Act n°
93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
An action in disavowal
shall be directed, in the presence of the mother, against an ad
hoc administrator designated on behalf of the child by the judge
of guardianships in the way provided for in Article 389-3.
Art. 318
Even where there is no
disavowal, the mother may contest the paternity of the husband, but
only for the purpose of legitimation, when she remarried with the
true father of the child after dissolution of the marriage .
Art.
318-1
On pain of dismissal, an
action, directed against the husband or his heirs, must be joined
with an application for legitimation "brought before the tribunal
de grande instance" (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993).
It must be lodged by the mother and her new spouse within six months
of their marriage and before the child has reached the age of seven
years.
Art.
318-2
Judgment is given on the
two petitions by one and the same
ruling
which may entertain the
contestation of legitimacy only where legitimation is admitted.
Section
II - Of Proofs of Legitimacy
Art. 319
Parentage of legitimate
children is proved by records of birth entered in the registers of
civil status.
Art. 320
Failing this instrument,
apparent status of a legitimate child is sufficient.
Art. 321
There is apparent status
of a legitimate child where it binds the child indivisibly to his
father and mother.
Art. 322
No one may claim a status
contrary to that which is given to him by his record of birth and an
apparent status consistent with that record.
And reciprocally, no one may contest the status of a person who has
an apparent status consistent with his record of birth.
Art.
322-1
If however it is alleged
that there was a setting up of a supposititious child, or a
substitution, even unintentional, either before, or after the
drafting of the birth record, proof of it is admissible and may be
made by any means.
Art. 323
Failing record and
apparent status, or where the child was entered, either under false
names or without indication of the mother's name, proof of the
parentage "may be judicially made only where there exist
presumptions or circumstantial evidence serious enough to allow its
being admissible." (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993).
[repealed]
Art. 324
[repealed]
Art. 325
Contrary proof may be made
by any appropriate means to establish that the claimant is not the
child of the mother whom he claims to have or even, maternity being
proved, that it is not the child of the mother's husband.
Where the husband was not joined in the case for the claiming of
status, he may contest his paternity within a period of six months
after the day when he knew of the judgment which entertained the
petition of the child having become res judicata.
Art. 326
Without waiting for a
claim of status to be instituted by the child, the husband may, by
any means, contest his paternity within a period of six months after
the day when he knew of the birth.
Art. 327
After the death of the
husband, his heirs are likewise entitled to contest his paternity,
either as a precautionary step where the husband was still in the
prescribed period for doing so, or in defence to a claim of status.
Art. 328
The spouses, separately or
jointly, may, by bringing in proof as provided for in Article 323
above, claim a child as their own; but if the latter already has an
established parentage, they must first demonstrate its inaccuracy,
supposing that the case is one of those in which the law authorizes
that demonstration.
Section
III - Of Legitimation
Art.
329
(Act n°
93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
Legitimation may benefit
all illegitimate children provided that their parentage has been
lawfully established.
Art. 330
Legitimation takes place
either by marriage of the parents, or on the authority of the court.
§ 1 - Of
Legitimation by Marriage
Art. 331
All children born out of
wedlock, "even deceased" (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993), are
legitimated by operation of law by the subsequent marriage of their
parents.
Where their parentage was not already established, those
children must be the subject of an acknowledgement at the moment of
celebration of the marriage.. In that event, the officer of civil
status who performs the celebration shall take note of the
acknowledgement and of the legitimation in a separate record. ["The
family name of the children is determined under the rules laid down
in Article 311-21" (Act n° 2002-304 of 4
March 20021)]
1
Shall come into force on 1
Jan. 2005
Art.
331-1
Where the parentage of an
illegitimate child was established with regard to his father and
mother or one of them only after their marriage, legitimation may
take place only by virtue of a judgment.
That
judgment shall state that the child has, since the celebration of
the marriage, enjoyed the apparent status of their common child.
Art.
331-2
Any legitimation shall be
mentioned in the margin of the record of birth of the legitimated
child.
That mention may be required by any party concerned. In the case of
Article 331, the officer of civil status shall provide for it
himself, where he had knowledge of the existence of the children.
"The mention of the legitimation on the record of birth
of an adult child is of no effect on his patronymic [replaced by
"family name" (Act n° 2002-304 of 4
March 20021)]
where the record does not contain in addition mention of the consent
of the party concerned to the modification of his patronymic" [replaced
by "family name" (Act n° 2002-304 of 4
March 20021)]
(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993).
1 Shall
come into force on 1
Jan. 2005
Art.
332
[repealed]
Art.
332-1
Legitimation confers on a legitimated child the
rights and duties of a legitimate child.
"By
means of a joint declaration produced at the time of the celebration
of the marriage or ascertained by the court, the parents are entitled
to the option provided for in Article 311-21, if parentage has been
established in the way provided for in Article 334-1 and if they did
not avail themselves of the power given by Article 334-2"(Act n°
2002-304 of 4 March 2002; Act n° 2003-516 of 18 June 20031).
"Legitimation however may not have the
effect of modifying the patronymic [replaced
by
"family
name", Act n°
2002-304 of 4 March 2002; Act n° 2003-516
of 18 June 20031)]
of an adult child without his consent" (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993).
It takes effect from the date of the marriage.
1
Shall come into force on
1 Jan. 2005
§ 2 - Of
Legitimation on the Authority of the Court
Art.
333
Where it appears that a
marriage is impossible between the two parents, the benefit of
legitimation may yet be conferred on the child on the authority of
the court provided that he has, with regard to the parent who so
requests, the apparent status of an illegitimate child.
Art.
333-1
A petition for purposes of
legitimation must be initiated by one of the two parents or by both
jointly before the tribunal de grande instance.
Art.
333-2
Where one of the parents
was, at the time of conception, in bonds of a wedlock which is not
dissolved, his or her petition is admissible only with the consent
of her or his spouse.
Art.
333-3
The court shall verify
whether the statutory conditions are fulfilled and, after receiving
or inducing, if there is occasion, the comments of the child
himself, of the other parent where he or she is not a party to the
petition, as well as that of the spouse of the petitioner, it shall
pronounce the legitimation, if it considers it is justified.
Art.
333-4
A legitimation on the
authority of the court takes effect at the date of the
judgment
which pronounces it finally.
Where it took place on petition of one of the parents,
it does not have any effect with regard to the other; it does not
involve change of the ["family" (Act n°
2002-304 of 4 March 20021)]
name of the child, unless the court otherwise decides.
1 Shall
come into force on 1
Jan. 2005
Art.
333-5
Where legitimation on the authority of the court
was pronounced with regard to both parents, the child shall take the
name of the father [replaced
by "the
family name of the child is determined under the rules laid down by
Articles 311-21 and 311-23" (Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March 20021)];
where he is a minor," the court shall rule on the terms of exercise
of parental authority" (Act n° 87-750 of 22 July 1987) as in
matters of divorce.
1 Shall
come into force on 1 Jan. 2005
Art.
333-6
The provisions of Articles 331-2, [repealed]
and 332-1, paragraph 1, shall apply to legitimation on the authority
of the court1.
1
Shall continue in force
until 31 Dec 2004.
Art. 333-6.-
"The provisions of
Article 331-2 and of the first two paragraphs of Article 332-1
shall apply to legitimation on the authority of the court (Act n°
2002-304 of 4 March 2002
1).
1 Shall
come into force on 1 Jan 2005
CHAPTER III
- OF ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN
Section
I - Of the Effects of Illegitimacy and of the Modes of Establishing
Illegitimate Kinship in General
Art.
334
[repealed]
[deleted]
Art.
334-1
An illegitimate child acquires the name of the
parent with regard to whom his parentage has been established in the
first place; [his
father's name, where his parentage has been established
simultaneously with regard to both.
deleted by Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March 20021)]
1 Shall
come into force on 1 Jan 2005
Art.
334-2
Even where his parentage was established only in
the second place with regard to the father, an illegitimate child
may take the latter's name by substitution when, during his
minority, the two parents make joint declaration of it before "the
chief clerk of the tribunal de grande instance" (Act n°
95-125 of 8 Feb. 1995)1.
Where the child is more than "thirteen" (Act
n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) years old, his personal consent is
required.
1
Shall continue in force
until 30 Dec. 2004
Art. 334-2.-
"Where
the name of an illegitimate child was not transmitted in the way
provided for in Article 311-21, his parents may, by means of a joint
declaration made before the officer of civil status, choose during his
minority whether they will substitute to it the family name of the
parent with regard to whom parentage was established in the second
place, or couple their two names, in the order they choose, within the
limit of one family name for each of them. Mention of the change of
name shall appear in the margin of the record of birth." ( Act n°
2002-304 of 4 March 2002; Act n° 2003-516 of 18 June 20031).
Where the child is more than "thirteen" (Act n°
93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) years old, his personal consent is required.
1
Shall come into
force on 1 Jan 2005
Art.
334-3 . "In the other cases, the change of name of an
illegitimate child must be requested to the family causes judge.
However, the tribunal de grande instance seized of a request
for the change of status of an illegitimate child may in one and the
same judgment rule on it and on the application for the change of
name of the child that was brought before it"
(Act n°
93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993).
An action may be instituted during the minority of the child and
within two years following either its coming of age, or a
modification brought about in his status.
Art.
334-4
The substitution of name
extends as of right to the minor children of the party concerned. It
extends to adult children only with their consent.
Art.
334-5
Failing established paternity, the mother's
husband may, by substitution, confer his own name on the child by a
declaration made jointly with the mother, under the conditions laid
down in Article 334-2 above1.
. The child may however request to take back the
name which he bore before, through a petition submitted to the "family
causes judge" (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993), within two years
following his coming of age.
1
Shall continue in force
until 31 Dec. 2004.
Art. 334-5.- “Failing
established maternity or paternity, the father's wife or the mother's
husband according to the circumstances may confer by substitution her
or his family name to the child by a declaration made jointly with the
other spouse, subject to the conditions set out in Article 334-2.
Subject to the same conditions, the coupled names of both spouses may
also be conferred on the child in the order they have chosen and
within the limit of one name for each of them.” ( Act n° 2002-304 of 4
March 20021).
The child may however request to take back the
name which he bore before, through a petition submitted to the "family
causes judge" (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993), within two
years following his coming of age.
1 Shall
come into force on 1 Jan 2005
Art.
334-6
The rules for attributing
a name provided for in the preceding Articles shall not prejudice
the effects of an apparent status.
Art.
334-7 [repealed]
Art.
334-8
(Act n°
82-536 of 25 June 1982)
Illegitimate parentage is
lawfully established by voluntary acknowledgement.
Illegitimate parentage may also be lawfully established by an
apparent status or by the effect of a judgment.
Art.
334-9
An acknowledgement is
void, a paternity or maternity action is not admissible, where the
child has a legitimate prentage already established by an apparent
status.
Art.
334-10
Where there exists between
the father and mother of the illegitimate child one of the
impediments to marriage provided for by Articles 161 and 162 above
by reason of kinship, if parentage is already established with
regard to the one, it is forbidden to establish parentage with
regard to the other.
Section
II - Of the Acknowledgement of Illegitimate Children
Art.
335
(Act n°
93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
Acknowledgment of an
illegitimate child may be made in the record of birth, by an
instrument received by the officer of civil status or by any other
authentic instrument.
The instrument shall contain the statements provided for in Article
62.
(Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996) It shall also contain a
mention that the maker of the acknowledgement was informed of the
divisible character of the bond of illegitimate kinship.
Art. 336
An acknowledgement of the
father without indication of the mother and admission on her part,
has effect only with regard to the father.
Art. 337
A record of birth
designating the mother is deemed to be an acknowledgment, where it
is corroborated by an apparent status.
Art. 338
So long as it is not
contested in court, an acknowledgement renders inadmissible the
establishing of another parentage which contradicts it.
Art. 339
An acknowledgement may be
contested by all persons having an interest therein, including his
maker.
An action may also be instituted by the Government procurator's
office where circumstantial evidence based on the instruments
themselves renders improbable the declared paternity or maternity.
"It may likewise be instituted where acknowledgement was made for
evading the rules which govern adoption" (Act n° 96-604 of 5 July
1996).
Where there exists an apparent status which is consistent with the
acknowledgement and has lasted at least ten years after it, no
contestation is any longer admissible, unless on the part of the
other parent, of the child himself or of those who claim to be the
true parents.
Section
III – Of Paternity and Maternity Suits
Art.
340
(Act n°
93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
Paternity out of wedlock
may be judicially declared.
Proof of it may be made only where there exist serious presumptions
or circumstantial evidence.
Art.
340-1 [repealed]
Art.
340-2
The action belongs only to
the child.
During the minority of the child, the mother, albeit a minor, is
alone entitled to institute it.
Where the mother did not acknowledge the child, where she is dead or
unable to express her intention, the action shall be instituted as
provided for in Article 464, paragraph 3, of this Code.
Art.
340-3
(Act n°
93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
An action to establish
paternity must be brought against the alleged father or against his
heirs; in the absence of heirs or where they have renounced the
succession, against the State, the renouncing heirs being
nevertheless joined in the action in order to maintain their rights.
Art.
340-4
An action must be
instituted within two years after the child's birth, on pain of
lapse.
(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) Where however the alleged
father and the mother have lived, during the statutory period of
conception, in a state of concubinage involving, in the absence of
community life, an enduring or continuous relationship, the action
may be instituted until the expiry of a period of two years
following the ending of the concubinage. Where the alleged father
contributed to the support, the education or the settling of the
child in the capacity of a father, the action may be instituted
until the expiry of a period of two years following the ending of
that contribution.
Where an action was not instituted during the minority of the child,
the latter may institute it during two years after his coming of
age.
Art.
340-5
Where it entertains the
action, the court may, on petition of the mother, order the father
to reimburse her for all or part of her maternity and support
expenses during the three months preceding and the three months
following the birth, without prejudice to damages she may claim
under Articles 1382 and 1383.
Art.
340-6
The court shall rule, if
there is occasion, on the attribution of name and on parental
authority, under Articles 334-3 and "372" (Act n° 2002-305 of 4
March 2002).
Art.
340-7
When dismissing the
petition, the judges may, however, allow subsidies to the child, if
the relationship between the mother and the defendant was proved in
the way provided for in Articles 342 and following.
Art. 341
(Act n°
93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
Maternity suits are
allowed subject to Article 341-1.
The child who brings the action must prove that he is the one to
whom the alleged mother has given birth.
(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) Proof of it may be made only
where there exist serious presumptions or circumstantial evidence.
Art.
341-1
(Act n°
93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
After a child's birth, his
mother may request that the secrecy as to her admittance and
identity be preserved.
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