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CIVIL CODE

MISE A JOUR LEGIFR ANCE 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 Pres ident 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 ancien t 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 Fe b. 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 whos e enforcement requires implementing measures
shall be postponed to the date of commencement of said measures.

In case of emergency, statutes whose decr ee of promulgation so prescribes and administrative
acts as to which the Government so orders by a sp ecial provision shall come into force as soon as
they are published.

The provisions of this Article shal l 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 poli cy 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 be ing 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 poli cy 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 c onstitutional 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 compensa tion 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 emer gency 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 i nvestigation, the court, even by
interim order and without prejudice to compen sation 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 reas on, 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 th e 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 meas ures 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 concer ned must be obtained previously except when his state
necessitates a therapeutic in tervention 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 wi th 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 grante d 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 procre ation or gestation on account of a third party are void.

Art. 16-8

No information enabling the identi fication of both the person that donates an element or a
product of his body and the person that receive s it may be disclosed. The donor may not be
acquainted with the identity of th e receiver and the receiver may not be acquainted with that of
the donor.

In case of therapeutic necessit y, only the physicians of the donor and receiver may have
access to the information enabling the iden tification 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 particul ars 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 identif ication 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 fo r getting or discontinuing subsid ies. 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 pers on 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 identifica tions owing to genetic prints. In the framework
of judicial proceedings, those persons must beside s 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, ac quired or lost according to the provisions laid down in
this Title, subject to any trea ties 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, with out 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 pa ragraph 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 natio nality are governed by the law that is in force at the
time of the act or fact to which le gislation attributes those effects.

The provisions of the preceding pa ragraph 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 declaratio ns of nationality, may, in the way provided for by law, be made
without authorization fr om 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 establis hed 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 gua rdian authorized to this end by the family
council .

Art. 17-4

(Act n° 2003-1119 of 26 Nov. 2003).- Falling with in 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 Fren ch 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 internatio nal 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 do miciled 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 na tionals 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 nationali ty 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 sh all apply for purposes of interpretation to changes of
nationality following upon annexations and cessi ons 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 na tionality 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 terr itories 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, follo w 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 intern ational convention, a change of nationality is subject
to the performing of an act of op tion, 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 w ithin six months preceding and twelve months
following his majority.

(Act n° 73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973) That pow er is lost if the alien or stateless parent acquires
French nationality during the minority of the child.

Section II – Of French Pe rsons 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 regard s an alien and if, under the nationa l 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 alie n parents and to whom the transmission of the nationality
of either parent is not by any means allowed by foreign Nati onality 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 nationali ty 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 Articl e 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 statut ory 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 esta blishing 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 eff ect 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 d eclaration uttered in accordance with Articles 26
and following.

He may divest himself of th at 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 ACQUISIT ION 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 whos e 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 declar ation, 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 commun ity of living shall be raised to three years where the alien, at the
time of the declaration, does not prove that he ha s resided in France uninterruptedly for at least
one year from the marriage.

The declaration shall be made as provi ded for in Articles 26 and following. Notwithstanding
the provisions of Article 26-1, it sh all 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, th e 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 Arti cle 26, paragraph 2, or, where the registration
was refused, after the day when the judgment whic h 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 trans actions 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 acknowledg ed 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 reside nce in France and has had his usual residence in
France for a continuous or discontin uous period of at least five years, from the age of eleven.

The tribunaux d’instance, local au thorities, public bodies and services and especially
educational establishments are ob liged 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 pres cribed 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 th e 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 sh all be deemed to have never been French.

Art. 21-9

(Act n° 98-170 of 16 March 1998)

Any person who fulfils the require ments laid down in Article 21-7 in order to acquire
French nationality loses the power to discla im it where he enlists in French forces.

Any minor born in France of fore ign 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 fore ign nationality. Those children have however the
power to acquire voluntarily French nationality as provide d 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 declarati on, in the way laid down in Artic les 26 and following where, at
the time of his declaration, he has in France hi s residence and has had his usual residence in
France for a continuous or discontin uous 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 Nati onality 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 per
son of French nationality
may, up to his majority, declare, in the way pr ovided for in Articles 26 and following, that he
claims the status of French, if he reside s in France at the time of his declaration.

“However, the obligation of resi ding 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 sa me 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 a nd 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), pers ons 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 nationalit y, that validity may not be objected to on the
sole ground that the declaran t had not that nationality.

Art. 21-14

(Act n° 93-933 of 22 July 1993)

Persons who have lost French na tionality 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 acquire d patent cultural, professional, economic or family bonds
with France, or actually performed military servi ces in a unit of the French army or fought in
French or allied armies in time of war.

The surviving spouses of the pe rsons 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 Nationa lity by a Decision of the Government

Art. 21-14-1

(Act n° 99-1141 of 29 Dec. 1999)

French nationality may be c onferred 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 an d 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, fulf illed the requirement of residence laid down in Article 22-1,
subject to the conditions la id 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 la id down in Articles 21-18, 21-19 and 21-20, naturalisation
may be granted only to an alien who proves an usua l 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 wit hout 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 ag e 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 nationa l 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 an y 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 attenda nce 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 confe rred by naturalisation on a proposal from the Minister of
Foreign Affairs to any French-speaking alien wh o 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 excep tion of a minor who may avail himsel f 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 Ar ticle 21-27 of this Code.

However, sentences delivered abro ad 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 Fren ch 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 lan guage shall not apply to political refugees and
stateless persons who have resided in France regu larly 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 check ing of assimilation and state of health of an alien
awaiting his naturalisation shall be pr escribed 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 w ithin 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 extende d only once for three months by a reasoned decision.

§ 6 – Provisions Common to some M odes 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 a lien who exercises a private or public professional activity
on behalf of the French state or of a body whos e activity is of special interest for French
economy or culture;

2° A residing in those countri es 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’ impr isonment 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 nationa lity 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 accordan ce with Article 133-12 of the Pena l 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 Crim inal 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 na tionality enjoys all the rights and is bound to all the
duties attached to the st atus 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, illegitim ate or who has been the subject of a plenary adoption,
one of the parents of whom acquires French nation ality, becomes French as of right where he has
the same usual residence as that parent, or resi des 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 go vernment 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 fr om 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 forei gn 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 Arti cles 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 Fr ench 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 wi th 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 spous e and the usual residence of th e 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 repudi ation 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 Fr ench nationality have not had themselves the
apparent status of French or resi dence 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 count ry, 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 Fren ch person who, filling an employment in a foreign army
or public service or in an inte rnational organization of which Fr ance 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 declar ed, 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 Conse il 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 fr om 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 a nd 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 obt ained 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 Artic le 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 acquire d 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 condi tions 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 stat us 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 f undamental interests of the Nation” (Act n° 93-933 of 22 July 1993)
“or for an ordinary or serious offence which cons titutes 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 I II of Book IV of the Penal Code” (Act n° 93-
933 of 22 July 1993);

3° Where he is sentenced for ev ading 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. 197
3

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 Declarat ions of Nationality

Art. 26

(Act n° 93-933 of 22 July 1993; Act 98-170 of 16 March 1998)

Declarations of nationality shall be rece ived 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 re fuse to register declarations which do not comply with
the statutory requirements.

His reasoned decision shall be notif ied to the declarant, who may challenge it before the
tribunal de grande instance w ithin 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 whic h establishes the filing of all the documents
necessary for proving the admissi bility 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 wa s made, registration may be challenged by the
Government procurator’s office*, where th e statutory requirements are not met.

In the absence of a refusal to re gister within the statutory period, a copy of the declaration shall
be given to the declarant beari ng 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 y ears 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 Artic le 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 Admi nistrative 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 authoriza tion to lose French nationality must set out its
reasons.

Art. 27-1

(Act n° 73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)

A decree deciding naturalisati on or reinstatement, authorization to lose French
nationality, loss or forfeiture of that nationa lity 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 st atutory requirements; where the decision was
obtained by lie or fraud, the decr ee 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 adopt ed after the person concerned has been heard or
summoned to bring forward his comments.

Section III – Of Mentions on th e Registers of Civil Registry

Art. 28

(Act n° 78-731 of 12 July 1978)

A mention of administrative ac ts 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 instrume nts 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 concerne d. However, the mentions of loss, disclaimer, forfeiture of,
opposition to the acquisition of French nationality, w ithdrawal 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 men tioned on those documents.

CHAPTER VI – OF DISPUTES IN MATTERS OF NATIONALITY

Section I – Of the Jurisdiction of Judi cial Courts and the Proceedings therein

Art. 29

(Act n° 73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)

The civil courts of general jurisdiction sh all exercise exclusive jurisdiction over disputes
relating to French or foreign nationality of natural persons.

Issues of nationality shall be prel iminary 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 re lating 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 offi ce 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 nati onality 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 o ffice 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 pl aintiff 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 Nati onality 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 hi m who challenges the status of French of a person who
holds a certificate of French nationality issu ed as provided for in Articles 31 and following.

Art. 30-1

(Ord. n° 45-2441 of 19 Oct. 1945)

Where French nationality is gr anted 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 th e 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 estab lished 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 th e party concerned does not fulfil any of the
statutory requirements for ha ving 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 esta blishes that he has that nationality.

Art. 31-1

(Act n° 93-933 of 22 July 1993)

The seats and territorial jurisdic tion of the tribunaux d’instance which are empowered to
issue certificates of nationalit y shall be established by decree.

Art. 31-2

(Act n° 73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)

A certificate of na tionality shall point out with reference to Chapters II, III, IV and VII of
this Title the statutory provision under which the party concerned ha s 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) Fo r the issuing of a certificate of nationality, the chief
clerk of a tribunal d’instance may, failing other elem ents, presume that the records of civil status
drawn up abroad and presented to him produce the e ffects 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 FREN CH NATIONALITY OF TRANSFERS OF
SOVEREIGNTY RELATING TO CERTAIN TERRITORIES

Art. 32

(Act n° 73-42 of 9 Jan. 1973)

French persons natives of the te rritory 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 prev iously 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 estab lished, 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 na tionality was granted to him by the law of that
State.

Likewise, the children of pers ons 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, k eep 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 agen t. 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 gra nde 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 pr esident of the tribunal de première instance or the
judge in charge of the section on detachment ha s alone the capacity to issue a certificate of
French nationality to a person who esta blishes 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 st atus, the first names, names, occupations and
domiciles of all persons named therein.

The dates and places of birth:

a) Of the father and moth er in the records of birth and of acknowledgement;

b) Of the ch ild in the records of acknowledgement;

c) Of the spous es 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 ag es 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 appeari ng in connection with records of civil status shall be at least of eighteen
years of age, relatives or not, w ithout 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 ci vil status shall read the records to the appearing parties or their agents,
and to the witnesses; he shall invite them to ta ke direct cognisance of them before signing them.

It shall be mentioned on the r ecords 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 cau se 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; a nd in that event, marriages, births and deaths
may be proved by books and papers emanating fr om 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 th at 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 decl ared 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, refe r the matter to the Government procurator in
Nantes in order that the authenti city 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 pers on concerned and the service within one month.

Where he shares the doubts of the service, the Government proc urator in Nantes shall initiate
any useful investigation, especi ally by referring the matter to th e 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 concerne d and the service as soon as possible of the
results of the inquiry.

Upon presentation of the re sults of the investigations carried out, the Government procurator
may refer the matter to the tribunal de grande inst ance in Nantes in order that it give judgment
about the validity of the reco rd 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 Affair s 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 re lating to civil status must be made in the margin of a
record already drawn up or registered, it sha ll be made by the officer of his own motion.

The officer of civil status who ha s drawn up or registered the record that occasions the
mention shall effect that mention within three da ys on the registers he keeps and, if the duplicate
of the register on which the mention is to be eff ected is at the court registrar’s office, he shall
send a notice to the Government pr ocurator of his arrondissement.

Where the record in the margin of which the mention is to be effected was drawn up or
registered in another co mmune, the notice shall be sent, within three days, to the officer of civil
status of that commune and th e latter shall notify at once the Government procurator of his
arrondissement if the duplicat e of the register is at the court registrar’s office.

(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) Where th e record in the margin of which a mention is to be
effected was drawn up or registered abroad, the of ficer of civil status who drew up or registered
the record that occasions the men tion 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 record s 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 tr ibunal 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 offen ces 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 Decl arations 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 judgm ent 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 bi rth is unknown, the court having juri sdiction shall be the one of
the residence of the applicant.

(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) In fore ign 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 decl ared by the father, or, in absence of the father, by the
doctors of medicine or surgery, midwives, hea lth officials or other persons present at the
delivery; and, where the mother has given birt h 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 name s, names, ages, occupations and domiciles
of the father and mother, and if there is occasion, those of the app licant. 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 regi sters on this subject.

(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) The first name s 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 fi rst name entered on the record of birth may be
chosen as the usual first name.

Where these first names or one of them, al one 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 th at the first name is not consonant with the welfare of the child or
interferes with the right s of third parties to the protecti on of their patronymics [replaced by
“family names” (Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March 20 011], 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 th e 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 th e 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 informe d, the officer of civil status shall give notice to the
Government procurator who shall ha ve 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 discove ry. 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, shal l 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 pl ace of a record of birth. Beside s the indications provided for by
Article 34, that record shall state the sex of the ch ild 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 draw n up, on declaration of the Children’s aid services, for
children placed under thei r guardianship and deprived of a kn own record of birth or for whom
the secret as to birth has been claimed.

Copies and certificates of the me morandum of discovery or of the interim record of birth
shall be issued on the terms and in accordance w ith the distinctions under Article 57 of this
Code.

Where the record of birth of the child is found or th e 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 impo ssibility to communicate with the shore or, if
in a foreign country, there is no Fr ench 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 skippe r, 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 disa bility, on request of his statutory representative. An adjunction
or suppression of first name s may be likewise decided.

Where the child is ove r thirteen his personal consent is required.

Art. 61

A person who establishes a lawf ul 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 afte r 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 establis hing or modifying a parental bond..

However, the establishing or m odifying 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 na mes and name shall be entered in the margin of
the records of civil status of the party concerned and, where appr opriate, of those of his or her
spouse and his or her children.

The provisions of Articles 100 a nd 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, plac e of birth and domicile of the maker of the
acknowledgement

It shall indicate the date and pl ace of birth, the sex and first names of the child or, failing
which, all appropriate informati on 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 name d 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 pa ternal 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 undert ake the search of the date and place of
establishment of the child’s record of birth.

CHAPTER III – OF RE CORDS 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 para graph 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 s pouses of a medical certificate dating from less than
two months, that attests that the person concerne d was examined for purposes of marriage, to the
exclusion of any other indication;

– hearing the future spous es jointly, except in case of impos sibility 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 re quire to have a separate talk with one or the
other of the future spouses.

An officer of civil status wh o does not comply with the prescriptions of the preceding
paragraphs shall be prosecuted before the tri bunal 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 preced ing 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 interrupt ed 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 specia l and authentic powers; they must be served,
with a copy of the power, on the pe rsons 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 sha ll make, without delay, a summary mention of the formal
objections in the register of marri ages; he shall also make, in the margin of the entry of those
formal objections, a mention of judgments or inst ruments 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 objec tion, 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 th ere is no formal objection.

Art. 70

(Act of 2 Feb. 1933)

The office copy of the record of bi rth delivered by each one of the future spouses to the
officer of civil status who is to celebrate th eir 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 instrume nt must not have been issued more than three months
before where it was issued in France, and more th an 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 tr ibunal d’instance of the place of his birth or of
his domicile.

An affidavit shall contain a declar ation made by three witnesses, of either sex, relatives
or not, of the first names, name, occupation and domi cile of the future spouse and of those of his
father and mother, when known; th e 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 co nsent 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 a nd of all those who concurred in the instrument,
as well as their degree of consanguinity.

(Act of 28 Feb. 1922) Except in th e 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, ab road, 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 ot herwise 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 establishe d 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 pr esence 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) Howeve r, in case of serious impediment, the Government
procurator of the place of marriage may require the o fficer 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 th at celebration outside the town hall.

Mention shall be ma de of this in the record of marriage.

The officer of civil status sha ll ask the future spouses and, if they are minors, their
ascendants present at the celebration and authoriz ing the marriage, to declare whether an ante-
nuptial agreement has been made and, in the affirma tive, 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 pro nounce, in the name of the law, that they are
united by marriage, and he shall dr aw 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, o ccupations, 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 contracti ng 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, occ upations, domiciles of the witnesses and their capacity as
adults;

8° (Act of 10 July 1850) Th e declaration, made upon the question prescribed by the
preceding Article, that an ante-nuptial agreemen t 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 agains t 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 G overnment procurator, without prejudice to the
rights of the parties c oncerned, 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 a nd, 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, da te 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, o ccupation 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 a nd a record of death upon exhibition of a medical
certificate stating that the child was born alive and viable and sp ecifying 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 else where than in the commune where the deceased was
domiciled, the officer of civil stat us 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 pr ovision 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 ascerta in 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 surger y, 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 se nd 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° 81-9 08 of 9 Oct. 1981, which has abolished the death
penalty]

Art. 84

In case of death in a prison or cen tre of confinement or detention, a notice of it shall be
given at once by the keepers or warders to the o fficer of civil status who shall betake himself
thereto as provided for in Article 80 a nd 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 men tioned 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 v oyage and under the circumstances provided for in Article
59, a record must be drawn up within twenty-f our 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 iden tified, the record of death shall include the most
complete description of him; in the event of late r 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 a pplication 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 li fe, where his body could not be found.

On the same terms, may be judici ally declared the death of an alien or stateless person
who disappeared either on a terr itory under the authority of France or aboard a French ship or
aircraft, or even abroad where he had hi s domicile or usual residence in France.

The procedure of judicial declar ation 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 regi stry 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 th e place of the disappearance, at th at 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 Gove rnment 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 a ll 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 th at 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 declarator y 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 ma de 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 deat h 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 part y 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 d eclaratory 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 so ldiers 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 quarter ing of French troops in foreign territories, for occupation or
under intergovernmental agreements, those record s may be received likewise by military officers
of civil status, named by an order of the Minist er 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 th e parts of the territory where, by reason of
mobilization or siege, the municipal civ il 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 ci vil status could not betake himself to the deceased person and,
notwithstanding Article 78, they may be drawn up only on the atte station 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 keepi ng 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 pr ovided 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 hus band; 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 milita ry 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 entitl ed, 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 r ecord of birth shall be drawn up for any person born
abroad who acquires or recovers French national ity unless the record drawn up at his birth was
already entered on a register kept by a French authority.

That record sh all state the name, first names and sex of the part y 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 r ecord of marriage shall likewise be drawn up where the
person who acquires or recovers French national ity got previously married abroad, unless the
celebration of the marriage was alre ady 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, da tes 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 bot h 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 si gnature of the officer of civil status;

– the mentions entered in the ma rgin of the record of which they take the place;

– indication of instruments an d judgments relating to the nationality of the person.

Mention shall be made later in the margin:

– of the indications require d for each category of record by the law in force.

Art. 98-4

The persons for whom records we re 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 fo reign record of civil status or a
record of French consular civil status and t hose 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 wh ich are declaratory of or supply for records of civil
status shall be ordered by the president of the court.

The application for rectific ation may be lodged by any party concerned or by the
Government procurator ; the la tter 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 th e record of civil status: for this
purpose he shall give all necessa ry 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 rectif ication 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 Ci vil 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 th e 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 Justi ce, the Minister of the Interior a nd 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 pr ovided that the concern that operates the boat
has its headquarters or an establishment there; in th is event, the domicile is fixed in the offices of
the concern; failing an election by them, those boa tmen and persons have their domiciles at the
headquarters of the concern which operates the bo at 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 whic h one leaves and to that of the place where the domicile is
transferred.

Art. 105

Failing an express declaratio n, proof of intention shall depend on circumstances.

Art. 106

A citizen called to a temporar y 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 di stinct 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 emancipate d 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 guardiansh ip 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 instrume nt 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 th at 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 app ear 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 procurat or, 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 pe rson 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 appl y to statutory administration under judicial
supervision such as it is pr ovided 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, acco rding to the extent of the property, the sums
that should be allocated yearly to the mainte nance of the family or the household expenses.

He shall determine how to provide for the settling of children.

He shall also specify how the expe nses of administration as well as, if necessary, the fees
that may be granted to the person responsible fo r the representation of the presumed absentee
and the administration of hi s property should be settled.

Art. 115

The judge may, at any time and ev en 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 guardia nships may authorize a partition, even partial, and
designate a notaire to unde rtake it, in the presence of the repr esentative of the presumed absentee
or of his substitute designated as provided for in Article 115, where the original representative is
himself concerned in the partiti on. The statement of liquidation is subject to the approval of the
tribunal de grande instance .

Art. 117

The Government procurator’s offi ce 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 amendmen t 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 representi ng 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 th e basis of the presumption of absence, may not be
called in question again where the death of the ab sentee is established or judicially declared,
whatever the date fixe d for the death may be.

Art. 120

The preceding provisions concerni ng 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 positi on 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 s pouse 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 si nce 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, fail ing 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 seek ing declaration of absence, after being stamped by the
Government procurator’s office, shall be pub lished 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 applicati on 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 b een 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 consideratio n of the conditions of the disappearan ce as well as of the circumstances
that can explain the lack of news.

The court may order any complement ary measure of investigation and prescribe, if there
is occasion, that an examinati on of witnesses be made adve rsarily with the Government
procurator, where the latter is not an applic ant, 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 l odged as early as the year preceding the expiry of the
period provided for in Article 122, paragraphs 1 and 2. A declarat ory 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 no t 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 rule s 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 judi cata, its operative part shall be recorded on request
of the Government procurator on th e registers of death of the place of domicile of the absentee or
of his last residence. Mention of that recording shall be made in th e margin of the registers at the
date of the judgment declaring th e 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 acc ordance with Article 99.

Art. 128

A declaratory judgment of absen ce involves, from the recording, all the effects that an
established death of the ab sentee would have had .

The measures taken for the admini stration 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 concerne d wishes to be represented, he may do so only through a
counsel regularly ent itled to practise.

The operative part of the ju dgment 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 publi cation, in the margin of the decl aratory judgment of absence and
on any register which refers to it.

Art. 130

An absentee whose existence is j udicially established recovers his property and that he
should have received during his absence in the co ndition in which it may be, the proceeds of that
which has been transferred or the property acqui red 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 judici ally 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 appropria te, to complementary damages.

Where fraud falls on the spouse of the person declared absentee, the latter is entitled to
contest the liquidation of the matr imonial regime to which the declaratory judgment of absence
has put an end.

Art. 132

Marriage of an absentee rema ins 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 ei ghteen 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 seco nd 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 re cords of death of the father or mother of one of the
future spouses where the spouse or the father a nd mother of the deceased certify the death under
oath.

Where the present residence of th e father or mother is unknown, and where he or she has
not been heard from for one year, the marriage ma y 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 enac ted by Article 363 [ Article 434-13] of the Penal
Code.

Art. 150

(Act of 17 July 1927)

Where the father and mother ar e 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 linea ge, 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, t ogether with the child himself, make declaration of this under
oath. It shall be likewise where, if one or severa l grandfathers or grandmothers give their consent
to the marriage, the present residence of the ot her 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, redu ced 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 specifie d 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 ance stors of the two lineages may be established by
a notaire, requested by the future spouse and acti ng 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 no tice 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 th at this notice is given for purpose of gaining the consent
not yet granted and that, failing which, the celebr ation of the marriage shall be proceeded with.

Art. 155

(Act of 4 Feb. 1934)

The disagreement of the ascendant s may also be established, either by a letter bearing an
authenticated signature and addre ssed to the officer of civil status who is to celebrate the
marriage, or by an instrument drawn up in th e 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 gra ndmothers and that of the family council, when it is required, being
mentioned in the record of marriage, shall be sent enced to the fine specified in Article 192 of the

Civil Code, at the suit of the parties concerned or of the Govern ment procurator of the tribunal
de grande instance of the arrondisseme nt where the marriage was celebrated.

Art. 157

(Act of 4 Feb. 1934)

An officer of civil status who ha s not required proof of the notice prescribed by Article
154 shall be sentenced to the fine prov ided for in the preceding Article.

Art. 158

(Act of 10 March 1913)

An illegitimate child lawfully ac knowledged 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 tw o 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 moth er, or grandfathers, or grandmothers, or where all are
unable to express their intenti on, 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 gain ing 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 a nd where the ascendants have not been heard
from for one year, the minor shall make a decl aration 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 gi ve notice of that oath to the family council which shall
rule on the application for author ization 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 rela tives 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 ma rriages 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 offi cer 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 di spensation 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 domic ile, 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 ov er 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 pr ovided for in Article 75, paragraph 3, of this
Code.

Art. 170

(Act of 21 June 1907)

A marriage contracted in a fo reign country between French persons and between a
French person and an alien is valid where it is ce lebrated in the forms in use in that country,
provided it was preceded by the public notice prescrib ed 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 likewis e as regards a marriage co ntracted 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 th e 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. Th ey 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 circumst antial 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 agen t in charge of the registration of the record
shall immediately inform the Government pr ocurator’s office and defer the registration.

The Government procurator sha ll rule upon the registration. Where he claims annulment
of the marriage, he shall order that the registra tion be limited to the only purpose of referring the
matter to the court; until the judgement of the latt er, an office copy of the registered record may
be issued only to judicial aut horities 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, th e effects of the marriage date back to the day preceding that of the death
of the spouse.

However, this marriage may not invol ve any right of intestate succession to the benefit of
the survivor and no matrimonial regime is cons idered to have existed between the spouses

CHAPTER III – OF FORMAL OBJECTIONS TO MARRIAGE

Art. 172

The right to interpose an objecti on 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, th e brother or sister, the uncle or aunt, a cousin-german,
of full age, may interpose an objecti on 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 th e 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, inter pose 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 fi fteen 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 th e 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 whethe r 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 tri bunal 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 st ate the capacity in which the party objecting is entitled
to do so; it shall contain an election of domic ile at the place where the marriage is to be
celebrated ; it shall also contai n the reasons of the objection a nd reproduce the text of law on
which the objection is based; the whole on pa in of nullity and of disqualification of the
ministerial officer who ha s 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 obj ection, 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 applica tion 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 th e 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 s pouse may apply for annulment of the marriage.

Art. 181

In the case of the preceding Ar ticle, the application for annulment may no longer be
admissible whenever there has been continuous cohabitation fo r 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 th e 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 marriag e 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 ma y 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 viola tion 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 th at age, may no longer be attacked :

1° where six months have elap sed 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 referr ed to in the preceding Article, may not be
admitted to apply for its annulment.

Art. 187

In all cases in which an applica tion 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 marri age, 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 in validity of the first marriage, the validity or invalidity
of that marriage must be judged beforehand.

Art. 190

In all cases to which Article 1 84 applies and under the modifications contained in Article
185, the Government procurator may and shall a pply 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 ve sted 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 observe d, 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 pr eceding 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 re gister of civil status; except in the cases
provided for by Article 46, in the Ti tle 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 th e 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 stat us which is not contradicted by the record of
birth.

Art. 198

Where the proof of the lawful cel ebration 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 civ il 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 Governme nt 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 th e 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 OBLIGATI ONS 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 th eir 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 obl igation ceases where the spouse owing to whom
the affinity existed and the children born of hi s or her union with the other spouse are dead.

Art. 207

(Act n° 72-3 of 3 Jan. 1972)

The obligations result ing from these provisions are reciprocal.

Nevertheless, where the creditor ha s 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 pr oportion 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 revi sion 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 th e 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 pr ovide 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 th at case be exempted from periodical payments.

CHAPTER VI – OF THE RESPECTIVE RI GHTS 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 doe s not regulate the contributions of the spouses to the
marriage expenses, they shall contribute to them in proportio n 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 pr ovided 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 hi s or her consent to the transaction may claim
the annulment of it: the action for annulment is ope n 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 righ ts and powers may be restricted as
a consequence of the matrimonial regime a nd 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 th e terms of a judicial authorization is effective against
the spouse whose assistance or consent was lack ing, 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 matrimoni al 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 unab le 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 re sulting from the matrimonial regime, the terms and
extent of that representation being fixed by the judge.

Failing a legal power, power of atto rney 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 th e power to make alone contracts which relate to the
support of the household or the educ ation of children: any debt thus contracted by the one binds
the other jointly and severally.

Nevertheless, joint and several ob ligations 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 transacti on, to the good or bad faith of the contracting third party.

(Act n° 85-1372 of 23 Dec. 1 985) 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 “f amily 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 provide d 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 th e 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 pe riod 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 th e 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 mova bles in the same manner as a person whose property is seized.
Where served on a third party, the latt er 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 pr ovided 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 tr ansaction, 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 individuall y, 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 acco rdance 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 administ er, 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 ma rriage 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 ma y, 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 coha bitated with his wife. The petition is subject
to transmission to the Government procurator’s of fice. 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 a pproval 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 ma y not be petitioned during the first six months of
marriage.

Art. 231

The judge shal l 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 mont hs 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 regu lates 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 th e 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 petiti on 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 acknowle dges 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 Br eakdown 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 ment al 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 applic ation of his own motion, subject to Article 240, where
divorce may have too serious consequen ces for the illness of the spouse.

Art. 239

A spouse who petitions for di vorce 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 ag e and of the duration of the marriage, or for the
children, in exceptional material or moral ha rdship, 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 ma y be invoked as a ground for divorce only by the spouse
who brings the originating peti tion, 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 spous e for facts ascribable to the other where those facts
constitute a serious or renewe d violation of the duties and obl igations 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 o ccurred 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 rene wal 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 educa tion 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 invoke d 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, re quest the “family causes judge” (Act n° 93-22
of 8 Jan. 1993 ) to establish thei r 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 ex clusive 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 ru le 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 conseque nces 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 judgm ent, 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 sh all 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 pl aced under one of the protective systems provided for in
Article 490 below, no petition for divor ce 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 author ization of the person under disability.

Section II – Of Conciliation

Art. 251

Where divorce is sought for brea kdown 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 mutu al consent of the spouses, a conciliation may be
attempted pending the lawsuit according to the ru les 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 th e 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 deem ed advisable, the judge may decide to suspend the
proceedings and resort to a new attempt at conc iliation 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 ha ving them renounce divorce, the judge shall try to induce
the spouses to regulate amicably its consequen ces, 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 a nnexed 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 ot her 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° Authori ze the spouses to reside apart;

2° Allocate to one of them th e enjoyment of the lodging and furniture of the household,
or divide that enjoyment between them;

3° Order the deliv ery of clothes and personal belongings;

4° Order periodical payments a nd allowance for costs to be paid by one spouse to the
other;

5° Grant to one of the spouses a dvance 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 th e petitioning spouse to reside apart, if occasion be
with his or her minor children.

He may also, as a safeguard of th e rights of a spouse, order any protective measures such
as the affixing of seals on community propert y. The provisions of Article 220-1 and the other
safeguards provided for by the matrimonial re gime remain nevertheless applicable.

Art. 258

Where he definitively dismis ses a petition for divorce, the judge may rule on the
contributions to the marriage expenses, the resi dence of the family and “the details of the
exercise of parental author ity” (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 cour t 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 unlaw ful 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 doc uments appropriate for fixing allowances and
payments and liquidating the matrimonial regime.

The judge may cause any proper inqu iry to be instigated of debtors or of all those who
hold assets on behalf of the spouses without pr ofessional secrecy being allowed to be raised.

CHAPTER III – OF THE CONS EQUENCES OF DIVORCE

Section I – Of the Date at which Divorce Takes Effect

Art. 260

A judgment gran ting divorce dissolves the marriage at the date at which it acquires force
of res judicata.

Art. 261

To contract a new marriage, the wi fe 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 agr eement 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 wh ere the birth of a child occurs after the decision
authorizing or approving the se parate residence or, failing whic h, after the date at which the
divorce judgment acquired force of res judicata .

Where the husband dies before th e 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 ag ainst 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) Th e 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 th e 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 prope rty 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 Consequen ces 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 pr ovided 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 wi fe may keep the use of the husband’s name either with
his consent, or with the authori zation 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 “m atrimonial causes judge” (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
shall order the liquidation and partition of the pa trimonial 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 grante d 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 ca se of mutual wrongs or of divorce by mutual consent.

Art. 266

Where divorce is granted on the ex clusive wrongs of one of the spouses, this one may be
ordered to pay damages for material and moral ha rm 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 ex clusive wrongs of one of the spouses, this one loses by
operation of law any gifts and matrimonial advant ages 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 a nd 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 mutu al wrongs, each one of the spouses may revoke all or
part of the gifts and advantages whic h 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 advant ages 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 pe tition accepted by the other spouse, each one of the
spouses may revoke all or part of the gifts and ad vantages which he or she granted to the other.

Art. 269

Where divorce is granted on th e ground of breakdown of community life, the spouse who
took the initiative for divorce lose s 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 Ar ticle 212 of the Civil Code ; but one of the
spouses may be compelled to pay the other a benef it intended to compensate, as far as possible,
for the disparity that breakdown of the marriag e 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 re ferred 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 m eans, the judge shall have regard, in particular, to/

– the ages a nd states of health of the spouses;

– (Act n° 2000-596 of 30 June 2000) the duration of the marriage;

– the time already devoted or th at 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 shal l 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 deta ils 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 produ ce 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 in dex in accordance with the rules applicable to
periodical payments.

A debtor may request revisi on 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 re sponsibility for the balance of the capital passes to his
or her heirs. Heirs may request revision of th e 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 matrimoni al regime, the creditor of a compensatory benefit may
refer to the judge a claim for paym ent 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 peri ods 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. Unle ss 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 increas e the annuity up to an amount above the one initially
fixed by the judge .

An action for revision li es with the debtor and his or her heirs .

Art. 276-4

(Act n° 2000-596 of 30 June 2000)

The debtor of a compensatory bene fit in the form of a life annuity may at any time refer
the matter to the judge for the pur pose 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 th e debtor allows that replacement, in particular
at the time of liquidation of the matrimonial regime.

Art. 277

Irrespective of a statutory or judi cial 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 s pouses 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 e nd from the occurrence of a specific event. The
benefit may be in the form of an annuity gr anted 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 re vise the compensatory benefit.

Art. 280

The transfers and surrenders provi ded 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 exclusiv e 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 en tirely bound by the duty of support .

In the case of Article 238, the dut y 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 wher e 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 de btor spouse’s property so permits, periodical payments
must be replaced, in whole or part, by the settl ing 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 inade quate 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 gr ant 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 us ual residence in these lodgings;

2° Where divorce was grante d on petition of the owner spouse, for breakdown of
community life.

In the case provided for in 1° a bove, 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 st ate of notorious concubinage.

In all cases, the judge may te rminate the lease where new circumstances so justify.

Section III – Of the Consequen ces of Divorce for the Children

Art. 286

(Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002)

Consequences of divorce for th e 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 JU DICIAL 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 petiti on for divorce is filed may make a counterclaim for
judicial separation. A spouse against whom a petiti on 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 di vided 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 Consequen ces of Judicial Separation

Art. 299

Judicial separation does not di ssolve 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 th e judicially separated spouses, the other spouse keeps the
rights which legislation gr ants 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 separa tion 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 wh ich judicial separation takes effect is determined as
provided for in Articles 262 to 262-2.

Art. 303

Judicial separation leaves subsis ting 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, th e 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 co mmunity life puts an end to judicial separation.

In order to be effective against th ird 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 “o f 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 ju dicial separation has lasted three years.

Art. 307

In all cases of judicial sepa ration, it may be converted into divorce by joint petition.

Where judicial separation was gran ted 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 conseque nces 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 spouse s have their domicile on French territory;

– where no foreign law consid ers it should govern whereas French courts have
jurisdiction over a di vorce 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 thei r father and mother. They enter in to the family of each of them.

Section I – Of Presumpti ons 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 fr om 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 ha ve treated him as their child, and that he has treated them as his father
and mother;

That they have, in that cap acity, provided for his education, support and settling;

That he is so r ecognized 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 prejudi ce 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) Th e parental bonds established by an apparent status
recorded in an affidavit shall be mentioned in th e 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 instan ce exercising civil jurisdiction shall have exclusive
jurisdiction to have cognisance of actions regarding parentage.

Art. 311-6

In case of an offence interferi ng with the parentage of an individual, a criminal action
may be ruled upon only after the judgment on the que stion 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 th e day when the individual was deprived of the
status that he claims, or be gan to enjoin the status that is contested against him.

Art. 311-8

An action who belonged to an indi vidual 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 ac tion which he had already initiated, unless there was a
withdrawal or non-suit.

Art. 311-9

An action regarding pare ntage 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 requi re that all the parties concerned against whom they
consider judgment should be gi ven 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 la tter 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 convicti on, they shall have regard to the apparent status.

Art. 311-13

In the case where they are cons trained to dismiss the claim of a party who actually
educated a minor child, the courts may neverthele ss, 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 persona l 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 pr oduces 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 governi ng 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 th e court is governed, at the choice of the petitioner,
either by the personal law of the latt er, 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 pe rsonal law of his doer, or the child’s personal law.

Art. 311-18

An action for purposes of subsidie s is governed, at the choice of the child, by the law of
its usual residence or the law of th e usual residence of the debtor.

Section IV – Of Medical ly 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, mu st, subject to conditions that ensure secrecy,
give first their consents to a j udge 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 un less 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 discont inuance of community life, occurre d 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 me dically assisted procreation, in the hands of the
physician in charge of the implem entation of that assistance.

He who, after consenting to medi cal 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 a ssistance to procreation, does not acknowledge the child born out
of it. The action shall comply with th e 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 afterwar ds 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 pare nt with regard to whom his parentage has first
been established and the father’s name where hi s parentage has been established simultaneously
with regard to both.

Where a child of whom one parent at leas t 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 ha s 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 provide d for by a decree in Conseil d’État.

Art. 311-23

The power to choose provided for in Article s 311-21 and 334-2 may be exercised only once.

CHAPTER II – OF LEG ITIMATE CHILDREN

Section I – Of the Pres umption 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 ch ild 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 th e 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 legiti mate child with regard to the spouses.

Art. 313-1

The presumption of paternity sha ll be set aside where a child, recorded without indication
of the husband’s name, has an apparent st atus 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, ma y disavow him as provided for in Article 312.

He may even disavow him on the so le proof of the date of the delivery, unless he knew of
the pregnancy before the marriage, or be have like the father after the birth.

Art. 315

The presumption of paternity sh all 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 h undred 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 th e spot, within six months from his return.

And within six months following th e 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 enti tled 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 prope rty 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 di rected, 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, di rected 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 reach ed 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, appare nt 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 cons istent with that record.

And reciprocally, no one may contes t 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, ei ther 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 stat us, 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 ci rcumstantial 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 af ter 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 st atus 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 join tly, may, by bringing in proof as provided for in Article
323 above, claim a child as their own; but if the la tter already has an established parentage, they
must first demonstrate its inaccuracy, supposing th at 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 s ubsequent marriage of their parents.

Where their parentage was not alr eady 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 shal l take note of the acknowledgement and of the
legitimation in a separate record. [“The family na me of the children is determined under the rules
laid down in Article 311-21” (A ct n° 2002-304 of 4 March 20021)]

1 Shall come into force on 1 Jan. 2005

Art. 331-1

Where the parentage of an illegitim ate child was established with regard to his father and
mother or one of them only af ter 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 himsel f, where he had knowledge of the existence of the
children.

“The mention of the legitimation on th e 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 a ddition 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 decl aration produced at the time of the celebration of the marriage or
ascertained by the court, the pare nts are entitled to the option provided for in Article 311-21, if
parentage has been established in the way provide d 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 ma y 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 hi s 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 th e authority of the court provided that he has,
with regard to the parent who so requests, th e apparent status of an illegitimate child.

Art. 333-1

A petition for purposes of legitima tion 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 he r 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 petiti on, as well as that of the spouse of the petitioner, it shall pronounce
the legitimation, if it co nsiders 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 te rms 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 3 32-1, 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 ILLEG ITIMATE CHILDREN

Section I – Of the Effect s 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. de leted 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 ille gitimate 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 esta blished in the second place, or couple their two
names, in the order they choose, within the lim it of one family name for each of them. Mention
of the change of name shall app ear 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 jo intly with the mother, under the conditions laid down in Article
334-2 above1.

. The child may however re quest to take back the name which he bore before, through a
petition submitted to the “family causes judge” (A ct 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 othe r spouse, subject to the conditions set out in
Article 334-2. Subject to the same conditions, th e coupled names of both spouses may also be
conferred on the child in the order they have chos en and within the limit of one name for each of
them.” ( Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March 20021).

The child may however re quest 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 pate rnity or maternity action is not admissible, where the
child has a legitimate prentage alrea dy established by an apparent status.

Art. 334-10

Where there exists between the fa ther and mother of the illegitimate child one of the
impediments to marriage provided for by Artic les 161 and 162 above by reason of kinship, if
parentage is already established wi th regard to the one, it is forbidden to establish parentage with
regard to the other.

Section II – Of the Acknowledgeme nt 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 st atus or by any other authentic instrument.

The instrument shall co ntain 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 mo ther 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 pare ntage which contradicts it.

Art. 339

An acknowledgement may be c ontested 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 instrument s themselves renders improbable the declared
paternity or maternity. “It may likewise be in stituted where acknowledgement was made for
evading the rules which govern adopti on” (Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996).

Where there exis ts an apparent status which is c onsistent with the acknowledgement and
has lasted at least ten years after it, no contestati on 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 wh ere 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, th e mother, albeit a minor, is alone entitled to institute
it.

Where the mother did not acknowle dge 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 ha ve 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 with in two years after the child’s birth, on pain of lapse.

(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) Wh ere however the alleged father and the mother have
lived, during the statutory peri od of conception, in a state of concubinage involving, in the
absence of community life, an enduring or cont inuous 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 th e expiry of a period of two years following the
ending of that contribution.

Where an action was not instit uted 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, th e 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 birt h, 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 defe ndant 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) Pr oof 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.

Section IV – Of the Action for Purpose of Subsidies

Art. 342

An illegitimate child whose paternal parentage is not lawfully established may claim
subsidies to the one who had a relationship with his mother dur ing the statutory period of
conception.

(Act n° 77-1456 of 29 Dec. 1977) An action may be instituted during the whole minority
of the child; the latter may still institute it with in two years following his coming of age where it
was not done during his minority.

An action is admissible even wh ere the father or mother were, at the time of the
conception, in the bonds of a wedlock with anothe r person, or if there existed between them an
impediment to marriage governed by Articles 161 to 164 of this Code.

Art. 342-1

An action for purpose of subsid ies may also be instituted by the child of a married
woman, where his record of legitimate child is not corroborated by an apparent status.

Art.342-2

Subsidies shall be settled, in the form of periodical payments, according to the needs of
the child, the means of the debt or and his family situation.

Periodical payments may be owed beyond the coming of age of the child, where he is still
in need, unless that circumstan ce is imputable to his fault.

Art. 342-3

Where there is occasion to apply Article 311-11 above, the judge, failing other factors for
decision, has the discretion to impose on the defe ndants an indemnity intended to ensure the
support and education of the child, where faults are established against them or commitments
were previously entere d into by them.

That indemnity shall be coll ected by the Children’s aid service, a public-interest
organization or a judicial agent bound to pr ofessional secrecy, who will pay it over to the
statutory representative of the ch ild. The terms of this collecting and of this paying over shall be
fixed by decree.

The provisions governing subsidie s shall apply to that indemnity as to other issues.

Art. 342-4

(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)

A defendant may defeat a claim by proving by any means that he cannot be the father of
the child.

Art. 342-5

The responsibility of subsidies sh all be transmitted to the succession of the debtor under
the rules of Article “767” (Act n° 2001-1135 of 3 Dec. 2001).

Art. 342-6

Articles 340-2, 340-3 and 340-5 above shall apply to an action for purpose of subsidies.

Art. 342-7

A judgment which awards subsid ies creates between the debtor and the beneficiary, as
well as, if there is occasion, betw een each of them and the parents or the spouse of the other, the
impediments to marriage regulated by Articles 161 to 164 of this Code.

Art. 342-8

Res judicata on an action for purpos e of subsidies gives rise to no bar to proceedings
against a subsequent paternity suit.

The award of subsidies ceases to have effect where the paternal parentage of the child
happens to be established subsequently with regard to someone else than the debtor.

TITLE VIII

OF ADOPTION

(Act n° 66-500 of 11 July 1966)

CHAPTER I – OF PLENARY ADOPTION

Section I – Of the Requisites for Plenary Adoption

Art. 343

(Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996)

Adoption may be petitioned by two spouses not judicially separated , married for more
than two years or who are both ol der than twenty-eight years.

Art. 343-1

Adoption may be also petitioned by a person over “twenty-eight years of age” (Act n° 96-
604 of 5 July 1996).

Where the adopter is married and not judicially separated, his or her spouse’s consent is
required unless this spouse is unable to express his or her intention.

Art. 343-2

(Act n° 76-1179 of 22 Dec. 1976)

The requirement as to age provided for in the preceding Article is not imposed in the case
of adoption of the spouse’s child.

Art. 344

The adopters must be fifteen years older than the children whom they propose to adopt.
Where the latter are their spouse’ s children the required difference of age is only ten years.

(Act n° 76-1179 of 22 Dec. 1 976) The court may, however, if there are good reasons,
make an adoption order where the difference in ages is smaller than that provided for by the
preceding paragraph.

Art. 345

Adoption is allowed only in favour of children under fifteen, who have been received in
the home of the adopter or adopt ers for at least six months.

Where however the child is olde r than fifteen and has been received before having
reached that age by persons who did not fulfil th e statutory requirements for adopting or where
he was the subject of an ordinary adoption befo re reaching that age, plenary adoption may be
applied for if the conditions for it are fulfilled, “d uring the minority of the child and within two
years following his coming of age” (Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996).

Where it is older than “thirt een” (Act n° 76-1179 of 22 Dec. 1976), an adopted must
personaly consent to his plenary adoption.

Art. 345-1

(Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996)

Plenary adoption of the spouse’s child is allowed:

1° Where the child has a lawfully established parentage only with regard to that spouse;

2° Where the parent other than the spouse has been totally deprived of parental authority;

3° Where the parent other than th e spouse is dead and has left no ascendant of the first
degree or where the latter obviously took no further interest in the child.

Art. 346

No one may be adopted by several persons unless by two spouses.

(Act n° 76-1179 of 22 Dec. 1976) However, a new adoption may be ordered either after
the death of the adopter or the tw o adopters, or after the death of one of the two adopters if the
request is made by the new spouse of the survivor.

Art. 347

May be adopted:

1° Children to the adoption of wh om the father and mother or the family council have
validly consented;

2° Wards of the State;

3° Children declared abandoned in the way provided for in Article 350.

Art. 348

Where the parentage of a child is established with regard to his father and mother, the
latter must both consent to the adoption.

Where one of them is dead or unabl e to express his or her consent or has lost his or her
rights of parental authority, the consent of the other suffices.

Art. 348-1

Where the parentage of a child is es tablished only with regard to one of his parents, that
one shall give the consent to adoption.

Art. 348-2

Where the father and mother of the child are dead, unable to express their intention or
deprived of their rights of pare ntal authority, consent shall be given by the family council, after
advice of the person who actually takes care of the child.

It shall be likewise wher e the parentage of the child is not established.

Art. 248-3

Consent to the adoption shall be given “b efore the clerk in chief” (Act n° 95-424 of 8
Feb. 1995) of the tribunal d’instance of the domicile or residence of the person who consents, or
before a French or foreign notaire, or before French diplomatic or consular agents. It may also be
received by the Children’s aid service wh ere the child was entrusted to them.

Consent to adoption may be wit hdrawn within “two months” (Act n° 96-604 of 5 July
1996). Withdrawal must be made by registered letter with request for advice of delivery
addressed to the person or servi ce that received the consent to adoption. The handing over of the
child to his parents on even verb al request shall also be treated as proof of the withdrawal.

Where, on the expiry of the pe riod of “two months” (Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996),
consent was not withdrawn, the parents may still re quest restitution of the child, provided that he
has not been placed for purpose of adoption. Where the person who received him refuses to give
him back, the parents may refer the matter to the court which, taking into account the welfare of
the child, shall determine whether there is occas ion to order his restitution. By effect of
restitution, a consent to adoption lapses.

Art. 348-4

(Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996)

Where the father and mother or the family council consent to the adoption of a child by
entrusting him to the Children’s aid service or to a body authorized for adoption, the choice of
the adopter is left to the guardian with the agre ement of the family council of the wards of the
State or of the family council of the guardia nship organized on the initiative of the body
authorized for adoption.

Art. 348-5

Except where there exists a bond of relationship by blood or by marriage up to the sixth
degree inclusive between the adopt er and the adoptee, the consent to adoption of children under
two years old is valid only if th e child was actually entrusted to th e Children’s aid service “or to a
body authorized for adoption” (A ct n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996).

Art. 348-6

The court may make an adoption or der where it considers abusive the refusal of consent
raised by the legitimate or illegitimate parents or by one of them only, when they took no further
interest in the child at the risk of endangering his health or morality.

It shall be likewise in case of abusive refusal of consent by the family council.

Art. 349

As regards the wards of State w hose parents did not consent to an adoption, consent shall
be given by the family council of those wards.

Art. 350

(Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996)

A child received by a private pers on, a body or a Children’s aid service, whose parents
obviously took no further interest to him during th e year preceding the institution of a petition
for declaration of abandonment, shall be declared abandoned by the tribunal de grande instance,
except in case of a great dist ress of the parents and without prejudice to the provisions of
paragraph 4. A petition for declaration of aba ndonment is required to be transmitted by the
private person, the body or the Children’s aid serv ice who have received the child on the expiry
of a period of one year where the parents obviously took no further interest to it .

(Act n° 76-1179 of 22 Dec. 1976) Are deemed to have obviously taken no further interest
to their child parents who have not entertained w ith him relations necessary to maintain bonds of
affection.

A mere withdrawal of consent to adoption, a request for news or a wish expressed but not
carried out to take the child back may not be a token of interest sufficient to constitute the
ground of a dismissal as of right of a petition for declaration of abandonment. “Those steps may
not interrupt the period set out in pa ragraph 1″(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993).

Abandonment may not be declared where, during the period set out in paragraph 1 of this
Article, a member of the family petitioned to assu me care of the child and where that petition is
declared to be consonant w ith the welfare of the child.

Where it declares that the child is abandoned, the court shall, by the same order, delegate
the rights of parental authority ov er the child to the Children’s aid service, to the body or to the
private person “who received the child or to whom the latter was entrusted” (Act n° 93-22 of 8
Jan. 1993).

A third party application for re vocation of the order is admissible only in case of
deception, fraud or mistake as to the identity of the child.

Section II – Of the Placing for Pu rpose of Plenary Adoption and of the Judgment of Plenary
Adoption

Art. 351

Placing for the purpose of adoption must be made by actual entrusting to the prospective
adopters of a child for whom a valid and final co nsent to adoption was given, of a ward of State
or of a child declared ab andoned by judicial decision.

Where the parentage of the child is not established, there may be no placing for purpose
of adoption during a period of “t wo months” (Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996) after the receiving
of the child.

Placing may not take place wher e the parents of the child have petitioned for the
restitution of the child so long as there is no deci sion on the conclusiveness of that petition at the
request of the most diligent party.

Art. 352

Placing for the purpose of adoption is a bar to a restitution of the child to his family of
origin. It defeats any declaration of parentage and any acknowledgement.

Where a placing for the purpose of adoption comes to an end or where the court refuses
to order adoption, the effects of pl acing are retroactively set aside.

Art. 353

An adoption order may be made at the request of the adopter by the tribunal de grande
instance which shall verify “within six months after reference to the court” (Act n° 93-22 of 8
Jan. 1993), whether the statutory requirements ar e fulfilled and adoption is consonant with the
welfare of the child.

(Act n° 76-1179 of 22 Dec. 1976) In case the adopter has descendants, the court shall
verify in addition whether the adoption is not likely to imperil family life.

Where the adopter dies after having properly received the child for purpose of his
adoption, a petition may be filed on his or her be half by the surviving spouse or by one of the
adopter’s heirs.

(Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996) Wh ere the child dies after being properly received for
purpose of its adoption, the petition may neverthe less be filed. The judgment has effect on the
day preceding the death and involves only modifi cation of the civil status of the child.

An adoption order shall not state its reasons.

Art. 353-1

(Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996)

In case of adoption of a ward of State “, of a child entrusted to a body authorized for
adoption” (Act n° 2002-93 of 22 Ja n. 2002), or of an alien child who is not the child of the
adopter’s spouse, the court shall verify before making an adoption order that the petitioner or
petitioners gained an aut horization to adopt or we re dispensed with it.

Where an authorization was refu sed or was not issued within the statutory period, the
court may make an adoption order if it considers that the petitioners have the capacity to receive
the child and that the adoption is consonant with his welfare.

Art. 353-2. A third party application for revocat ion of the adoption order is admissible only in
case of deception or fraud imputable to the adopters.

Art. 354

Within fifteen days of the date on which it came into force of res judicata, an order
pronouncing plenary adoption shall be registered on the registers of civil status of the place of
birth of the adoptee, on request of the Government procurator.

(Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996 ) Where the adoptee was born in a foreign country, the
order shall be registered on the registers of the ce ntral service of civil status of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.

The registration shall state the da y, hour and place of birth, the sex of the child as well as
his [“family name and” (Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March 20021)] first names such as they result
from the adoption order, the first names, names, date and place of birth, occupation and domicile
of the adopter or adopters. It may not contain an y indication as to the actual parentage of the
child.

The registration takes the place of a record of birth for the adoptee.

“The original record of birt h kept by a French officer of civil status and, where
appropriate,” (Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996) th e record of birth established under Article 58
shall, on the initiative of the Government procurator, be stampe d “adoption” and treated as void.

1 Shall come into force on 1 Sept. 2003.

Section III – Of the Eff ects of Plenary Adoption

Art. 355

Adoption produces its effects from the day of the filing of the petition for adoption.

Art. 356

Adoption confers on the child a parentage which substitutes for his original parentage:
the adoptee ceases to belong to his blood family, s ubject to the prohibitions of marriage referred
to in Articles 161 to 164.

(Act n° 76-1179 of 22 Dec. 1976) Ho wever, an adoption of the spouse’s child still leaves
extant his original parentage with regard to that spouse and his or her family. It produces,
furthermore, the effects of an adoption by two spouses.

Art. 357

Adoption confers on the child the name of the adopter [and, in case of adoption by two
spouses, the husband’s name.., deleted by Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March 20021 ]

[“In case of adoption by two spous es, the name conferred on a child is determined under
the rules laid down in Articl e 311-21.” (Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March 20021)]

On request of the adopter or adopt ers, the court may modify the first names of the child.

Where the adopter is a married wo man, the court may, in the adoption order, decide with
the consent of the husband of the adopter that the name of the husband will be conferred on the
adoptee; where the husband is dead or unable to express his intention, the court shall in its
discretion make a determination after consulting the heirs of the husband or the closest persons
entitled to inherit from him. [replaced by: “Whe re the adopter is a married woman or a married
man, the court may, in the adoption order, decide, on request of the adopter, that the name of the
spouse will be conferred on the adoptee, subject to the consent of the spouse. The court may
also, on request of the adopter and subject to th e consent of the spouse, confer on the child the
coupled names of the spouses in the order they choose and within the limit of one family name
for each of them.

“Where the husband or the wife of the adopter is dead or unable to express his or her
intention, the court shall in its discretion make a determination after consulting the heirs of the
deceased or the closest persons entitled to inhe rit from him or her.” (Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March
20021) ]

1 Shall come into force on 1 Sept 2003

Art. 357-1

(Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March 20021)

The provisions of Article 311- 21 shall apply to a child who was the subject of an
adoption lawfully ordered abroad and having in France the effects of a plenary adoption.

The adopters shall exercise the option available under that Article at the time of the
request for registration of an a doption order by declaration sent to the Government procurator of
the place where that regist ration is to be made.

Where the adopters request an or der for enforcement of a foreign adoption order, they
shall join a declaration of option to their request. Mention of that declaration shall be made in the
decision.

Mention of the name chosen shall be made at the suit of the Government procurator, in
the child’s record of birth.

1 Shall come into force on 1 Sept 2003

Art. 358

An adoptee has, in the family of the adopter, the same rights and obligations as a child
“whose parentage is established under Title V II of this Book” (Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March
2002).

Art. 359

Adoption is irrevocable.

CHAPTER II – OF ORDINARY ADOPTION

Section I – Of Requisites and Judgment

Art. 360

Ordinary adoption is al lowed irrespective of the age of the adoptee.

(Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996) Wher e there are serious reasons justifying it, an ordinary
adoption of a child who was the subject of a plenary adoption is allowed.

Where the adoptee is over “thirt een” (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993), he must personally
consent to the adoption.

Art. 361

(Act n° 2001-111 of 6 Feb. 2001)

The provisions of Articles 343 to 344, 346 to 350, 353, 353-
1, 353-2, 355 and 357, last
paragraph [ replaced by : “the last two paragraphs of Article 357” (Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March
20021)], are applicable to ordinary adoption.

1 Shall come into force on 1 Jan. 2005

Art. 362

Within fifteen days of the da te on which it becomes res judicata, the order that
pronounces an ordinary adoption must be mentioned or registered on the registers of civil status
on request of the Government procurator.

Section II – Of the Effect s of Ordinary Adoption

Art. 363

(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)

Ordinary adoption confers the name of the adopt er on the adoptee by adding it to the name of the
latter.

“Where the adoptee and the adopter, or one of them, bear a double family name, the name
conferred to the adoptee results fr om the addition of the adopter’s name to his own name, within
the limit of one name for each of them. The c hoice belongs to the adopter, who must obtain the
consent of the adoptee where the latter is older than thirteen.

“In case of an adoption by two spouses, the name coupled with that of the adoptee shall be, on
request of the adopters, either that of the husband, or that of the wife, within the limit of one
name for each of them, and, failing an agreement, the first of the husband’s names. Where the
adoptee bears a double family name, the choice of the name which is preserved belongs to the
adopters, who must obtain the cons ent of the adoptee where he is older than thirteen. In case of
disagreement or failing a choice, the name of the adopters preserve d is added to the first of the
adoptee’s names. (Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March 2002; Act n° 2003-516 of 18 June 2
0031)

The court, however, may on request of the ad opter, decide that the adoptee will bear only the
name of the adopter. “In case of an adoption by two spouses, the family name substituted to that
of the adoptee may, at the choice of the adopters, be either that of the husband, or that of the
wife, or the coupled names of the spouses in th e order they choose and within the limit of one
name for each of them” (Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March 20021). That request may also be filed
after the adoption. Where the adop tee is older than thirteen, his personal consent to that

substitution of a patronymic [replaced by: “family name” (Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March 20021)] is required.

1 Shall come into force on 1 Jan. 2005

Art. 363-1

(Act n° 2002-304 of 4 March 20021)

The provisions of Article 363 sh all apply to a child who has been the subject of an
adoption lawfully ordered abroad and which has in France the effects of an ordinary adoption,
where the record of birth is kept by a French authority.

The adopters must exercise the op tion available under that Article by a declaration sent to
the Government procurator of the place where the record of birth is kept on the occasion of a
request for updating the latter.

Mention of the name chosen is en tered on the record of birth of the child, at the suit of
the Government procurator.

1 Shall come into force on 1 Jan. 2005

Art. 364

An adoptee remains in his family of origin and preserves all his rights therein, in
particular his rights of succession.

The prohibitions to marriage pr ovided for in Articles 161 to 164 of this Code apply
between the adoptee and his family of origin.

Art. 365

An adopter is, with regard to th e adoptee, alone invested of all the rights of parental
authority, including that of cons enting to the marriage of the adoptee, unless she or he is the
spouse of the father or of the mother of the a doptee; in that event, the adopter has parental
authority concurrently with his or her spouse, “who retains alone the exercise of it, subject to a
joint declaration with the adopter before the chief clerk of the tribunal de grande instance for the
purpose of an exercise in comm on of that authority” (Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002).

The rights of parental authority are exercised by the adopter or adopters on the “terms
provided for by Chapter I of Title IX of this Book” (Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002).

The rules of statutory administ ration and of guardianship of “minors” (Act n° 2002-305
of 4 March 2002) shall apply to an adoptee.

Art. 366

The bond of kinship resulting fr om adoption extend to the [repealed] children of the
adoptee.

Marriage is prohibited :

1° Between the adopter, the adoptee and his descendants;

2° Between the adoptee and the a dopter’s spouse; reciprocally, between the adopter and
the adoptee’s spouse;

3° Between the adoptee children of the same individual;

4° Between th e adoptee and the adopter’s children.

Nevertheless, the prohibitions to marriage provided fo r in 3° and 4° above may be lifted
by dispensation of the President of the Re public, where there are serious reasons.

(Act n° 76-1179 of 22 Dec. 1976) The prohibition to marriage provided for in 2° above
may be lifted in the same conditions where the person who created the kinship is deceased.

Art. 367

An adoptee owes maintenance to th e adopter where he is in need and, reciprocally, an
adopter owes maintenance to the adoptee.

The obligation of maintenance cont inues to exist between the adoptee and his father and
mother. However, the father and mother of th e adoptee are bound to provide maintenance to him
only where he cannot obtain it from the adopter.

Art. 368

(Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002)

An adoptee and his descendants have, in the family of the adopter, the rights to
succession provided for in Book III, Title I, Chapter III.

(Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996) The adoptee and his descendants do not have, however,
the status of compulsory heirs with re gard to the ascendants of the adopter.

Art. 368-1

Where an adoptee dies without descendants, property given by the adopter or received
through succession from him shall retu rn to the adopter or his descendants, where it still exists in
kind at the time of the death of the adoptee, on condition to contribute to debts and subject to the
vested rights of third parties. Property received gratuitously by the adoptee from his father and
mother shall return likewise to the latter or to their descendants.

The surplus of property of an a doptee shall be divided in halves between the family of
origin and the adopter’s family, without prejudice to the rights of the spouse on the whole of the
succession.

Art. 369

The effects of an adoption conti nue notwithstanding the subsequent establishment of a
parental bo,d.

Art. 370

(Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996)

Where serious reasons so justify, adoption may be revoked , on request of the adopter or
the adoptee, or, where the latter is a minor, of that of the Government procurator’s office.

A request for revocation made by the adopter is admissible only where the adoptee is
over fifteen.

Where the adoptee is a minor, the father and mother by blood or, failing them, a member
of the family of origin up to the degree of cousin-german may also request revocation.

Art. 370-1

An order which re vokes an adoption shall state its reasons

Its operative part shall be menti oned in the margin of the record of birth or of the
registration of the adoption order, in the way provided for in Article 362 .

Art. 370-2

Revocation causes all e ffects of adoption to cease for the future .

CHAPTER III – OF THE CONFLICT OF LA WS RELATING TO ADOPTION AND OF THE
EFFECTS IN FRANCE OF ADOPTIONS ORDERED ABROAD

(Act n° 2001-111 of 6 Feb. 2001)

Art. 370-3

The requirements for adoption are governed by the national law of the adopter or, in case
of adoption by two spouses, by the law which governs the effects of their union. Adoption
however may not be ordered where it is proh ibited by the national laws of both spouses.

Adoption of a foreign minor may not be ordered where his personal law prohibits that
institution, unless the minor was born and resides usually in France.

Whatever the applicable law may be, adoption requires the consent of the statutory
representative of the child. Consent must be free, obtaine d without any compensation,
subsequent to the birth of the child and informed as to the consequences of adoption, specially
where it is given for the purpose of a plenary adoption, as to the entire and irrevocable character
of the breaking off of the pre-existing parental bond.

Art. 370-4

The effects of an adoption ordered in France are those of French law.

Art. 370-5

An adoption lawfully ordered in a foreign country produces in France the effects of a
plenary adoption where it breaks off completely and irrevocably the pre-existing parental bond.
Failing which, it produces the effects of an ordinary adoption. It may be converted into a plenary
adoption where the required consents were given expressly and advisedly.

TITLE IX

OF PARENT AND CHILD (II : OF PARENTAL AUTHORITY)

(Act n° 70-459 of 4 June 1970)

CHAPTER I – OF PARENTAL AUTHORITY WITH REGARD TO THE PERSON OF A
CHILD

Art. 371

A child, at any age, ow es honour and respect to his father and mother.

Art. 371-1

(Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002)

Parental authority is a set of rights and duties whose finality is the welfare of the child.

It is vested in the father a nd mother until the majority or emancipation of the child in
order to protect him in his secu rity, health and morality, to ensure his education and allow his
development, showing regard to his person.

Parents shall make a child a party to judgments relating to him, according to his age and
degree of maturity.

Art. 371-2

(Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002)

Each one of the parents shall c ontribute to the education and support of the children in
proportion to his or her means, to those of the other parent and to the needs of the child.

That obligation does not come to an end as of right where the child is of age.

Art. 371-3

A child may not, without the permi ssion of the father and mother, leave the family home
and he may be removed from it only in cases of necessity as determined by statute.

Art. 371-4

(Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002)

A child has the right to have personal relations with his grandparents. Only serious
reasons may constitute a bar to that right.

Where the welfar e of the child so requires, the family causes judge shall fix the details of
the relations between a child and a third person, relative or not.

Art. 371-5

(Act n° 96-1238 of 30 Dec. 1996)

A child may not be separated from its brothers and sisters, unless this is not possible or
where his welfare dictates a different solution. If there is occasion, the judge shall rule on the
relations between the brothers and sisters.

Section I – Of the Exercise of Parental Authority

§ 1 – General Principles

Art. 372

(Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002)

The father and mother shall exercise in common parental authority.

Where, however, parentage is estab lished with regard to one of them more than one year
after the birth of a child whose pare ntage is already established with regard to the other, the latter
alone remains vested with the exercise of parental authority. It shall be likewise where parentage
is judicially declared with regard to the second parent of the child.

Parental aut hority may however be exercised in co mmon in case of joint declaration of
the father and mother before the chief clerk of the tribunal de grande instance or upon judgment

of the family causes judge.

Art. 372-1 and Art. 372-1-1 [repealed]

Art. 372-2

Where one of the “parents” (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) performs alone an usual act of
parental authority concerning the person of the child, he or she shall be considered to be acting
with the consent of the other with re gard to third parties in good faith,.

Art. 373

(Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002)

Shall be deprived of the exercise of parental authority the father or mother who is unable
to express his or her intention, by reason of a disability, absence or any other cause.

Art. 373-1

(Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002)

Where one of the father and mother dies or is deprived of the exercise of parental
authority, the other shall exer cise that authority alone.

§2 – Of the Exercise of Parental Authority by Separated Parents

(Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002)

Art. 373-2

Separation of the parents has no in fluence on the rules of devolution of the exercise of
parental authority.

Each of the father and mother sh all maintain personal relations with the child and respect
the bonds of the latter wi th the other parent.

Any change of residence of one of the parents, where it modifies the terms of exercise of
parental authority, sh all be the subject of a notice to the ot her parent, previously and in due time.

In case of disagreement between them, the most diligent parent shall refer the matter to the
family causes judge who shall rule according to what the welfare of the child requires. The judge
shall apportion removal expenses and adapt acco rdingly the amount of the contribution to the
support and education of the child.

Art. 373-2-1

Where the welf are of the child so requires, the j udge may commit exercise of parental
authority to one of the parents.

The exercise of the right of access and lodging may be refused to the other parent only
for serious reasons.

That parent shall keep the right and duty to supe rvise the support and education of the
child. He or she must have notice of the important choices relating to the life of the child. He or
she shall comply with the obligation that devolves upon him or her under Article 371-2.

Art. 373-2-2

In case of a separation betwee n the parents, or between the latter and the child, a
contribution to his support and ed ucation shall take the form of periodical payments to be paid,
according to the circumstances, by one of the parent s to the other, or to the person to whom the
child is entrusted.

The terms and guaranties of t hose periodical payments shall be fixed by the approved
agreement referred to in Article 373- 2-7 or, failing which, by the judge.

Those payments may in whole or in part take the form of a direct taking charge of costs
incurred on behalf of a child.

They may in whole or in part be effected under the form of a right of use and dwelling.

Art. 373-2-3

Where the consistence of the de btor’s property so permits, periodical payments may be
replaced, in whole or in part, under the te rms and guarantees provided for by the approved
agreement or by the judge, by the payment of a sum of money in the hands of an accredited body
responsible for granting in count erpart to the child an index-linked annuity, a surrender of
property in usufruct or an allo cation of property yielding income.

Art. 373-2-4

Ascription of additional means, in particular under the form of periodical payments, may,
if there is occasion, be requested later on.

Art. 373-2-5

A parent who has primarily the re sponsibility of an adult child who cannot meet his own
needs may ask the other parent to pay a contri bution to his support and education. The judge may
decide or the parents agree that th is contribution be paid in whole or in part into the hands of the
child.

§ 3 – Of the Intervention of the Family Causes Judge

(Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002)

Art. 373-2-6

A judge of the tribunal de grande instance in charge of family causes shall settle issues
brought before him in the framework of this Chapter in watching in particular over the
safeguarding of the welf are of minor children.

The judge may order measures that allow to protect continuity and effectiveness of the
keeping of the bonds of the child with each of his parents.

He may in particular order an en try on the passports of the parents to prohibit the child’s
departure from the territor y without the authorization of the two parents.

Art. 373-2-7

Parents may seize the family causes judge to have approved the agreement through which
they organize the terms of exercise of parental authority and establish their contributions to the
support and education of the child.

The judge shall approve the agr eement unless he observes that it does not sufficiently
protect the welfare of the child or that the consent of the parents was not freely given.

Art. 373-2-8

The judge may also be seized by one of the parents or the Government procurator, who
may himself be seized by a third person, relativ e or not, for the purpose of ruling upon the terms
of exercise of parental author ity and the contribution to the su pport and education of the child.

Art. 373-2-9

In compliance with the two preced ing Articles, the residence of a child may be fixed
alternately at the domicile of each of the pa rents or at the domicile of one of them.

On request of one of the parents or in case of disagreement between them about the mode
of residence of the child, the judge may order pr ovisionally an alternate residence of which he
shall determine the duration. On th e expiry of it, the judge shall rule finally on the residence of
the child alternately at the domicile of each of th e parents or at the domicile of one of them.

Art. 373-2-10

In case of disagreement, th e judge shall endeavour to conciliate the parties.

For the purpose of making easier th e search by the parents of a consensual exercise of
parental authority, the judge ma y offer them a measure of mediation and, after gaining their
agreement, designate a family me diator who will initiate it.

He may call upon them to meet a family mediator who will acquaint them with the
subject and progress of such a measure.

Art. 373-2-11

Where he rules on the terms of exercise of parental authority, the judge shall take into
consideration in particular:

1° The practice previously follow ed by the parents or the agreements they entered into
earlier;

2° Feelings expressed by a mi nor child in the way provided for in Article 388-1;

3° The capacity of each parent to assume his or her duties and to respect the rights of the
other;

4° The result of court-ordered appraisals possibly carried out, taking into account in
particular the age of the child;

5° Information collected in possi ble social enquiries and counter-enquiries provided for
in Article 373-2-12.

Art. 373-2-12

Before any decision fixing the terms of exercise of parental authority and of the right of
access, or entrusting the children to a third person , the judge may assign the task of undertaking a
social enquiry to any qualified person. This is for the purpose of collecting information on the
situation of the family and on the conditions in which the children live and are educated.

Where one of the parents contests the conclusions of a social inquiry, a counter-inquiry
may be ordered on his or her request.

A social inquiry may not be used in a trial of a cause for divorce.

Art. 373-2-13

The provisions of an approved agreement as well as the judgments relating to the
exercise of parental authority may be varied or completed at any time by the judge, on request of
the parents or of a parent or of the Government procurator, who himself may be seized by a third
person, relative or not.

§ 4 – Of the Intervention of Third Persons

Art. 373-3

(Act n° 87-570 of 22 July 1987)

“Separation of the parents” (Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002) is not a bar to the
devolution provided for by Article 373-1, even where the parent who remains able to exercise
parental authority was deprived of the exercise of some attributes of that authority by the effects
of a judgment delivered against him or her.

(Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002) The judge may, by way of exception and where the welfare
of the child so requires, in particular when one of the parents is deprived of the exercise or
parental authority, decide to en trust the child to a third person, chosen preferably within his
relatives. He shall be seized and shal l rule under Articles 373-2-8 and 373-2-11.

In exceptional circumstances, th e “family causes judge” (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)
who decides on the terms of exercise of parental authority after “a separation of the parents” (Act
n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002) may decide, even in th e lifetime of the parents, that in case of
death of the parent who exercises parental auth ority, the child may not be placed in the custody
of the survivor. He may, in that event, designate the person to whom the child shall temporarily
be entrusted.

[deleted]

Art. 373-4

(Act n° 87-570 of 22 July 1987)

Where the child was entrusted to a third party, parental authority shall continue to be
exercised by the father and mother; however, th e person to whom the child was entrusted shall
perform all the usual acts regard ing his supervision and education.

The “family causes judge” (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993), where he temporarily entrusts
the child to a third person, may decide that the latter shall require the establishment of a
guardianship.

Art. 374

(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)

Where the parentage of an illegitimate child is established only with regard to one of his
parents, the latter shall exerci se parental authority alone.

Where his parentage is established with regard to both parents under terms different from
those provided for in Article 372, parental authority shall be exercised by the mother. It shall
however be exercised in common by both parents where they make a joint declaration thereof
before the “clerk in chief of the tribunal de grande instance” (Act n° 95-125 of 8 Feb. 1995).

In all cases the family causes judge may, on request of the father, the mother or the
Government procurator’s office, modify the terms of exercise of parental authority with regard to
an illegitimate child. He may decide that it will be exercised either by one of the two parents, or
in common by both parents; in that case, he sha ll designate the parent at whose home the child
will have his usual residence.

The family causes judge may grant a right of supervision to the parent who does not have
the exercise of parental author ity. He may refuse him or her a right of access and lodging only
for serious reasons.

In case of exercise in common of parental authority, the parent at whose home the
children do not usually reside sha ll contribute to their support and education in proportion to the
respective means of the parents.

Art. 374-1

(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)

The court which decides on the es tablishing of an illegitimate parentage may decide to
entrust the child temporarily to a third person w ho will be in charge of requiring the organization
of a guardianship.

Art. 374-2

In all cases provided for in this Title, a guardianship may be established even where there
is no property to be administered.

It shall be then organize d in accordance with the provisions of Title X.

Section II – Of Edu cational Assistance

Art. 375

Where the health, security or morality of a not emancipated minor are imperilled, or
where the conditions of his e ducation are seriously endangered, measures of educational
assistance may be judicially ordered on request of the father and mother jointly, or of one of
them, “of the person or body to whom the child wa s entrusted” (Act n° 87-570 of 22 July 1987)
or of the guardian, of the minor himself or of the Government procurator’s office. Exceptionally,
the judge may be seized of his own motion .

They may be ordered at the same time with regard to several children dependent on a
same parental authority .

(Act n° 86-17 of 6 Jan. 1986) The decision shall fix the duration of the measure without
exceeding two years, where it relates to an e ducational measure implemented by a service or
body. A measure may be renewed by a judgment setting out the grounds on which it is based.

Art. 375-1

The juvenile j udge shall have jurisdiction, subject to appeal, in all matters relating to
educational assistance.

He shall al ways endeavour to secure the adhe sion of the family to the measure
contemplated.

Art. 375-2

Whenever possible, a minor must be kept in his present circle. In that case, the judge
shall designate, either a qualifie d person, or a service of observa tion, education or rehabilitation
in the free community, with the mission of bringi ng aid and counsel to the family in order to
overcome the material or moral difficulties which it is encountering. That person or service shall
be responsible for following the development of th e child and making a periodical report of it to
the judge.

The judge may also make the k eeping of the child in his circle conditional on specific
obligations, such as that of re gularly attending a medical or educational institution, ordinary or
specialized, or of exercisi ng a professional activity.

Art. 375-3

Where it is necessary to withdraw the child from hi s present circle, the judge may decide
to entrust him:

1° “To the other parent” (Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March
2002) ;

2° To another member of the family or to a trustworthy third person;

3° To a medical or educationa l, ordinary or specialized, service or institution;

4° “To a départemental Childre n’s aid service” (Act n° 89-487 of 10 July 1989) .

However, where a petition for divorce was filed or a divorce order handed down between
the father and mother, those measures may be taken only if a new circumstance likely to
endanger the minor is revealed after the decision “which rules on the terms of exercise of
parental authority or entrusts th e child to a third person” (Act n° 87-570 of 22 July 1987) . They
may not be a bar to the power of the “family causes judge” (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) to
decide, “under Article 373-3” (Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002), to whom the child is to be
entrusted. The same rules shall apply to judicial separation.

Art. 375-4

(Act n° 87-570 of 22 July 1987)

In the circumstances specified in 1°, 2° and 3° of the preceding Article, the judge may
assign either to a qualified person, or to a serv ice of observation, education or rehabilitation in
the free community, the mission of bringing aid and c ounsel to the person or the service to whom
the child was entrusted, as well as to the famil y, and of following the development of the child.

In all cases, the judge may join the handing over of the child with the same terms as
under Article 375-2, paragraph 2. He may also decide that periodical report shall be made to him
as to the situation of the child.

Art. 375-5

Provisionally, but subject to appeal, the judge may, pending suit, either order the
provisory handing over of the child to a rest or observation centre, or take one of the measures
provided for in Articles 375-3 and 375-4.

In case of emergency, the Government procurator of the place where the child was found,
shall have the same power, with the responsibility of referring the matter within eight days to the
competent judge who shall maintain, vary or revoke the measure.

Art. 375-6

Decisions taken in matters of educational assistance may, at any time, be varied or
revoked by the judge who took them, either of hi s own motion, or on request of the father and
mother jointly or of one of them, “of the person or service to whom the child was entrusted” (Act
n° 87-570 of 22 July 1987) or of the guardian, the child himself or the Government procurator’s
office.

Art. 375-7

The father and mother whose child gave occasion for a measure of educational assistance
keep their parental authority over him and ex ercise all the attributes of it that are not
incompatible with the implementation of the measure. They may not emancipate the child
without authorization of the juvenile judge, while the measure of educational assistance is being
implemented

Where it was necessary to place th e child outside the parents’ home, the latter keep a right
of correspondence and a right of access. The judge shall fix the terms thereof and may even, if
the welfare of the child so requires, decide that the exercise of these rights or of one of them
shall be temporarily suspended. “The judge may i ndicate that the locamlity of placement of the
child shall be chosen so as to make easier, as fa r as possible, the exercise of the right of access
for the parent or parents” (Act n° 98-657 of 29 July 1998) .

Art. 375-8

The expenses of support and educat ion of the child who was the subject of a measure of
educational assistance continue to devolve upon its father and mother as well as upon his
ascendants from whom maintenance may be cl aimed, except for the power of the judge to
discharge them of it in whole or in part.

Art. 375-9

(Act n° 2002-303 of 4 March 2002).- The judg ment which, under Article 375-3, paragraph 3,
entrusts the minor to an institution which receives persons admitted by reason of mental diseases,

shall be handed down after detailed medical advice from a physician not belonging to the
institution, for a duration which may not exceed fifteen days.

The provision may be renewed, after medical assent given by a psychiatrist of the receiving
institution, for a duration of one month, renewable.

Section III – Of the Delegation of Parental Authority

Art. 376

No relinquishment or transfer rela ting to parental authority may be effective, unless under
a judgment in the cases specified below.

Art. 376-1

A “family causes judge” (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) may, where he is called to rule
upon “the terms of exercise of parental authorit y or upon the education of a minor child or where
he decides to entrust a child to a third person” (Act n° 87-570 of 22 July 1987), take into
consideration the covenants whic h the father and mother may have freely concluded between
them on this subject, unless one of them addu ces serious reasons which allow him or her to
revoke his or her consent.

Art. 377

(Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002)

The father and mother, jointly or separately, may, where circumstances so require, seize a
judge for the purpose of having delega ted all or part of the exercise of their parental authority to
a third person, member of the family, trustw orthy near relation, institution approved for
receiving children or départemental Children’s aid service.

In case of plain disinterest or where the parents are unable to exercise all or part of
parental authority, the individua l, the body or the départemental Children’s aid service who
received the child may also seize the judge fo r purpose of having delegated to them parental
authority wholly or partially. In al l cases referred to in this Article, both parents shall be called in

the case. Where the child concerned is the subject of a measure of educational assistance,
delegation may occur only after opin ion of the juvenile judge.

Art. 377-1

(Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002)

Delegation, total or partial, of parental authority results from the judgment handed down
by the family causes judge.

However, a judgment of delega tion may provide, for the needs of education of a child,
that the father and mother, or one of them, shall share all or part of the exercise of parental
authority with the third person delegatee. That division shall require consent of the parent or
parents in so far as they exerci se parental authority. The presump tion in Article 372-2 shall apply
with regard to transactions performed by the delegator or delegators and the delegatee.

The judge may be seized of the di fficulties that a shared exercise of parental authority
may produce by the parents, one of them, the dele gatee or the Government procurator. He shall
rule in accordance with the pr ovisions of Article 373-2-11 .

Art. 377-2

In all cases, delegation may come to an end or be removed by a new judgment, where
new circumstances are adduced.

In the case where the father and mother are granted the return of the child, the “family
causes judge” (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993) sh all place on them, unless they are necessitous,
reimbursement of all or part of the expenses of support.

[deleted]

Art. 377-3

The right to consent to the adoption of a minor may never be delegated.

Section IV – Of the Total or Partial Withdrawal of Parental Authority

Art. 378

By express provision of a crim inal judgment, parental authority may be “totally
withdrawn” (Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996) from the father and mother who are sentenced either
as perpetrators, co-perpetrators or accomplices of a serious or ordinary offence committed on the
person of their child, or as co-p erpetrators or accomplices of a serious or ordinary offence
committed by their child,.

That “withdrawal” (Act n° 96- 604 of 5 July 1996) may be applied to ascendants other
than the father and mother as regards that part of parental authority which they may have over
their descendants.

Art. 378-1

The father and mother who “apart from any criminal sentence, either by maltreatment, or
by usual and excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages or drug addiction, or by a notorious
misconduct or criminal activities” or by lack of ca re or want of guidance, obviously endanger the
security, health or morality of the child, “may be totally withdrawn parental authority” (Act n°
96-604 of 5 July 1996).

The father and mother who, for more than two years, have intentionally abstained from
exercising the rights and fulfilling the duties they retained under Article 375-7, may likewise “be
totally withdrawn parental authorit y” (Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996).

An action “for total withdrawal of parental authority” (Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996)
shall be brought before the tribunal de grande instance, either by the Government procurator’s
office, or by a member of the family or by the child’s guardian.

Art. 379

(Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996)

A total withdrawal of parental authority ordered under one of the two preceding Articles
affects by operation of law all the attributes, pa trimonial as well as personal, connected with
parental authority; in th e absence of other determination, it ex tends to all minor children already
born at the time of the judgment. It involves, for the child, dispensation from maintenance

obligation, in derogation from Articles 205 to 207, unless otherwise provided by the judgment of
withdrawal.

Art. 379-1

(Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996)

Instead of a total withdrawal , the judgment may be confined to ordering a partial
withdrawal of parental au thority, limited to the attributes it sp ecifies. It may also decide that a
total or partial withdrawal of parental authority will be effective only with regard to certain
children already born.

Art. 380

When it orders “a total or partial withdrawal of parental authority or” (Act n° 96-604 of 5
July 1996) of the right of custody, the court seized shall, where the other parent is dead or has
lost the exercise of parental authority, either “d esignate a third person to whom the child will be
temporarily entrusted” (Act n° 87-570 of 22 July 1987) with the re sponsibility of requesting the
organization of a guardianship, or entrust th e child to the Children’s aid service.

It may take the same measures where parental authority has devolved on one of the
parents through the effect “of a to tal withdrawal of parental authority ordered” (Act n° 96-604 of
5 July 1996) against the other.

Art. 381

The father and mother who have been the subject “of a total withdrawal of parental
authority” (Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996) or of a withdrawal of rights for one of the grounds
provided for in Articles 378 and 378-1, may, by wa y of a petition, gain from the tribunal de
grande instance, by proving new circumstances, the re stitution to them, in whole or in part, of the
rights of which they were deprived.

An application for restitution may be filed only one year at the earliest after the judgment
ordering “the total or partial w ithdrawal of parental authority” (Act n° 96-604 of 5 July 1996)
became irrevocable; in case of dismissal, it ma y be renewed only after a new period of one year.
No application is admissible where, before the fi ling of the petition, the child has been placed for
the purpose of adoption.

Where restitution is granted, the Government procurator’s office shall, if there is
occasion, apply for measures of educational assistance.

CHAPTER II – OF PARENTAL AUTHORITY WI TH REGARD TO THE PROPERTY OF A
CHILD

Art. 382

The father and mother have, subject to the distinctions that follow, the administration and
enjoyment of the property of their child.

Art. 383

(Act n° 85-1372 of 23 Dec. 1985)

Statutory administration shall be exercised jointly by the father and mother where they
exercise in common parental aut hority and, in the other cases, unde r judicial supervision, either
by the father or by the mother, according to the provisions of the preceding Chapter.

Statutory enjoym ent is attached to statutory administ ration: it belongs either to the two
parents jointly, or to the one of the father and mother who is responsible for the administration.

Art. 384

The right of enjoyment comes to an end :

1° As soon as the child has comple ted “sixteen years” (Act n° 74-631 of 5 July 1974), or
even earlier when he contracts marriage;

2° Through the causes which put an end to parental authority, or even, more particularly,
through those which put an end to statutory administration;

3° Through the causes which involve extinction of any usufruct.

Art. 385

The charges of such enjoyment are:

1° Those to which usufructuaries are liable in general;

2° The feeding, supporting an d educating the child, according to his wealth;

3° Debts which burden a succession r eceived by the child to the extent that they must be
discharged out of the income.

Art. 386

That enjoyment may not take pl ace for the benefit of a surviving spouse who omits to
make an inventory, authentic or under priv ate signature, of property owed to a minor.

Art. 387

Statutory enjoyment does not ex tend to property acquired by a child through his work, or
to that which is donated or bequeathed to him under the express condition that the father and
mother may not have enjoyment of them.

TITLE X

OF MINORITY, OF GUARDIANSH IP AND OF EMANCIPATION

CHAPTER I – OF MINORITY

Art. 388

(Act n° 74-631 of 5 July 1974)

A minor is an individual of either sex who has not yet reached the full age of eighteen
years.

Art. 388-1

(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)

In all proceedings relating to hi m, a minor capable of discernment may, without prejudice
to the provisions as to his intervention or consen t, be heard by the judge or the person appointed
by the judge for that purpose. Wher e a minor so requests, his hearing may be denied only
by a judgment setting out specially the grounds on which it is based.

. He may be heard alone, with a counsel or a pe rson of his choice. Where that choice does not
appear to be consonant with the welfare of the child, the judge may appoint another person.

The hearing of a minor does not c onfer on him the status of a party to the proceedings.

Art. 388-2

(Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993)

Where, in a lawsuit, the interests of a minor appear to be in conflict with those of his
statutory representatives, the j udge of guardianships in the manner provided for in Article 389-3,
or, failing which, the judge who is seized of the case shall appoint an ad hoc administrator who
has the responsibility to represent him.

CHAPTER II – OF GUARDIANSHIP

(Act n° 64-1230 of 14 Dec. 1964)

Section I – Of the Cases Where either Statutory Administration or Guardianship Takes Place

Art. 389

(Act n° 85-1372 of 23 Dec. 1985)

Where parental authority is exer cised in common by the twol parents, they are statutory
administrators. In the other cases , statutory administration belongs to the parent who exercises
parental authority.

Art. 389-1

(Act n° 85-1372 of 23 Dec. 1985)

Statutory administration is outright where the two parents exercise parental authority in
common.

Art. 389-2

(Act n° 85-1372 of 23 Dec. 1985)

Statutory administration is placed under supervision of the judge of guardianships where
one or the other of the two parents is dead or is “deprived of the exercise of parental authority”
(Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002); it shall be likewise “in case of unilateral ex ercise of parental
authority” (Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002).

Art. 389-3

A statutory administrator acts as an agent for the minor in all civil transactions, except
cases where the law or usage authorizes minors to act for themselves.

Where his interests are in conflict with those of the minor, he must have an administrator
ad hoc appointed by the judge of guardianships. “In the absence of any suit of the statutory
administrator, the judge may undertake that appointment on request of the Government
procurator’s office, of the minor himself or of his own motion” (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993).

Property donated or bequeathe d to a minor under the condition that it shall be
administered by a third person is not subject to statutory administration. That third person
administrator has the powers conferred on him by the gift or will; failing which, those of an
administrator under judicial supervision.

Art. 389-4

(Act n° 75-617 of 11 July 1975)

In outright statutory administra tion, each of the “parents” (Act n° 85-1327 of 23 Dec.
1985) is deemed, with regard to third parties, to have received from the other the power to do
alone the transactions for which a guardi an would not need any authorization.

Art. 389-5

(Act n° 85-1372 of 23 Dec. 1985)

In outright statutory administrati on, the parents perform together the transactions that a
guardian could do only with the authorization of the family council.

Failing agreement between the parent s, a transaction must be authorized by the judge of
guardianships.

Even by mutual agreement, the pa rents may neither sell amicably, nor contribute to a
partnership an immovable or a business concern belonging to th e minor, nor contract loans on
his behalf, nor waive a right for him without the authorization of the judge of guardianships. The
same authorization is required for an amicable partition and the statement of liquidation shall be
approved in the way provided for in Article 466.

Where a transaction causes loss to the minor, the parents are liable for it jointly and
severally.

Art. 389-6

(Act n° 75-617 of 11 July 1975)

In statutory administration unde r judicial supervision, an administrator must provide
himself with an authorization from the judge of guardianships in order to perform the
transactions that a guardian ma y do only with an authorization.

He may do the other transactions alone.

Art. 389-7

(Act n° 70-459 of 4 July 1970)

As to other issues, the rules of guardianship shall apply to statutory administration, with
the adjustments resulting from the latter’s bei ng deprived of family council and supervisory
guardian, and without prejudicing, on the other part, to the rights that the father and mother hold
under Title Of Parental Authority in particular as regards the education of the child and the
usufruct of his property.

Art. 390

A guardianship must be opened where the father and mother are both dead or are
“deprived of the exercise of parental authority” (Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002).

It must also be opened with regard to an illegitimate child where neither the father nor the
mother have voluntarily acknowledged it.

There is no derogation to spec ific statutes governing the Children’s aid service.

Art. 391

In the case of statutory administration under judicial supervision, the judge of
guardianships may at any time, either of his ow n motion, or at the request of relatives by blood
or marriage or of the Government procurator’s office, decide to open guardianship, after hearing
or summoning the statutory administrator, excep t in emergency. The latter may not, from the
application and until final judgment, except in case s of emergency, enter into any transaction that
would require the authorizat ion of the family council were a guardianship opened.

The judge of guardianships may also decide, but only for serious reasons, to open a
guardianship in the case of an outright statutory administration.

In both cases, where a guardianshi p is opened, the judge of guardianships shall convene
the family council which may either name the st atutory administrator as guardian, or designate
another guardian.

Art. 392

Where an illegitimate child happe ns to be acknowledged by one of his parents after the
opening of a guardianship, the judge of guardianships may, on request of that parent, decide to
substitute statutory administrati on to guardianship under Article 389-2.

Section II – Of the Organi zation of a Guardianship

§ 1 – Of the Judge of Guardianships

Art. 393

The office of judge of guardianships is exercised by a judge of the tribunal d’instance in
whose territorial jurisdiction the minor has his domicile.

Art. 394

Where the minor’s domicile is tran sferred to another place, the guardian shall forthwith
give notice of it to the j udge of guardianships previously seize d. The latter shall forward the file

of the guardianship to the judge of guardianships of the new domicile. Mention of that
forwarding shall be kept in the cour t office of the tribunal d’instance.

Art. 395

A judge of guardianships sh all exercise a general supervision over statutory
administrations and guardians hips of his jurisdiction.

He may convene statutory admini strators, guardians and other organs of guardianship,
require clarifications from, make observations to, and gran t injunctions against them.

He may sentence to the fine pr ovided for in the Code of Civil Procedure those who,
without lawful excuse, did not comply with his injunctions.

Art. 396

The proceedings before a judge of guardianships shall be regulated by the Code of Civil
Procedure.

§ 2 – Of Guardians

Art. 397

The individual right to select a guard ian, relative or not, belongs only to the last dying of
the father and mother, where he or she has kept , on the day of death, the exercise of statutory
administration or guardianship.

Art. 398

That appointment may be made only in the form of a will or of a special declaration
before a notaire.

Art. 399 and 400 [repealed]

Art. 401

A guardian selected by the father or mother may not be compelled to accept
guardianship, unless he is furthermore within the class of the persons to whom, failing that
special selection, the fam ily council might have assign the duty thereof.

Art. 402

Where no guardian was selected by the last dying of the father and mother, guardianship
of a [deleted, Act n° 2002-305 of 4 March 2002] ch ild is conferred on the one of the ascendants
who is of the closest degree.

Art. 403

In case of concurrence between ascendants of the same degree, the family council shall
designate the one among them who will be guardian.

Art. 404

Where there is neither testamen tary guardian nor ascendant guardian, or where the one
who was designated in that capacity happens to cea se his office, a guardian shall be given to the
minor by the family council.

Art. 405

That council shall be convened by th e judge of guardianships, either of his own motion or
on submission therefor made to him by relatives by blood or marriage of the father and mother,
creditors or other parties con cerned or the Government procur ator’s office. Any person may
complain to the judge against the fact that will give occasion to the appointment of a guardian.

Art. 406

A guardian shall be designated for the duration of a guardianship.

The family council may however provide for his replacement in the course of the
guardianship where serious circumstances so requ ire, without prejudice to cases of excuse,
incapacity or removal.

§ 3 – Of Family Council

Art. 407

A family council is composed of four to six members, including the supervisory
guardian, but not the guardian or the judge of guardianships.

They shall be designated by th e judge for the duration of the guardianship. The judge
may, however, without prejudi ce to Articles 428 and following, provide of his own motion for
the replacement of one or several members in th e course of guardianship in order to respond to
changes which may occur in th e condition of the parties.

Art. 408

The judge of guardianships sh all select the members of the family council among the
relatives by blood or marriage of the father a nd mother of the minor, in appraising all the
circumstances of the case: nearness of degree, place of residence, ages and abilities of the parties
concerned.

He must avoid, as far as possible, leaving one of the two lines without representation. But
he shall have regard, above all, to the usual relations which the father and mother had with the
various relatives by blood or marriag e, as well as to the interest that those relatives have shown
or appear to be able to show to the person of the child.

Art. 409

The judge of guardianships may also call upon, to form part of the family council,
friends, neighbours or any other persons whom he c onsiders able to take interest in the child.

Art. 410

A family council is convened by the judge of guardianships. It shall be so where
convening is required either by two of its member s, or by the guardian or supervisory guardian,
or by the minor himself provided he is of the full age of “sixteen years” (Act n° 74-631 of 5 July
1974).

(Act n° 98-381 of 14 May 1998) A family council shall also be convened on the request
of a minor under sixteen and capab le of discernment, unless otherwise decided with particular
reasons by the judge.

Art. 411

Notice convening a meeting must be served at least eight days before the meeting.

(Act n° 98-281 of 14 May 1998) Previously to that meeting, the judge shall hold a
hearing of the minor capable of discernmen t in the way provided for in Article 388-1.

Art. 412

Members of the family council are obliged to attend meetings in person. Each one,
however, may be represented by a relative by blood or marriage of the father and mother of the
minor, where that relative is not already, in his own name, a member of the family council. A
husband may represent his wi fe or reciprocally.

Members of the family council who, without a lawful excuse, are neither present nor
validly represented, shall incur the fine provi ded for by the Code of Civil Procedure.

Art. 413

Where the judge of guardianshi ps considers that a judgment may be handed down
without the holding of a meeting being necessary, he shall notify to each one of the members of
the council the text of the decision to be taken with appropriate clarifications.

Each of the members shall cast his vote by letter missive within the period fixed to him
by the judge; failing which, he shall incur the fine provided for by the Code of Civil Procedure.

Art. 414

A family council may deliberate onl y where at least half of its members are present or
represented. Where that number is not attained, the judge may, either adjourn the meeting or, in
case of emergency, take the decision himself.

Art. 415

A family council is presided ove r by the judge of guardianships, who is entitled to vote
with a casting vote in case of a parity of votes.

The guardian must attend the m eetings; he is heard but does not vote, nor does the
supervisory guardian where he represents the guardian.

(Act n° 98-381 of 14 May 1998) A minor capable of discernment may, where the judge
does not consider it contrary to his welfare, a ttend meetings in an advisory capacity. A minor
over the full age of sixteen must be called wh ere the meeting was convened on his requisition.

In no case may his consent to a tr ansaction discharge the guardian and the other organs of
guardianship from their liabilities.

Art. 416

Resolutions of a family council are void where they were obtained by fraud or deception,
or where substantive formalities were omitted.

Invalidity is remedied by a ne w resolution equivalent to a confirmation under Article
1338.

An action for annulment may be brought by the guardian, the supervisory guardian,
members of the family council or by the Govern ment procurator’s office, within two years
following the resolution, as well as by the ward become of age or emancipated, within two years
following his coming of age or his emancipati on. Prescription does not run where there was
deception or fraud, until the fact is discovered.

Transactions performed under a nullified resolution are themselves voidable in the same
manner. The period, however, runs from the transaction and not from the resolution.

§ 4 – Of the Other Organs of Guardianship

Art. 417

The family council, having regard to the abilities of the persons concerned and the
composition of the patrimony to be administere d, may decide that the guardianship will be
divided between a guardian to the person and a gua rdian to the property, or that the management
of particular property will be en trusted to a deputy guardian.

Guardians so appointed shall be independent, and not liable to each other, in their
respective functions, unless otherwise ordered by the family council.

Art. 418

Guardianship is a personal office.

It does not extend to a guardia n’s spouse. Where, however, that spouse intrudes into the
management of the ward’s patrimony, he or she becomes jointly and severally liable with the
guardian for all management subsequent to the intrusion.

Art. 419

Guardianship does not extend to a guardian’s heirs. The latter are liable only for the
management of their predecessor; and, where they are adults, they are bound to continue it until
the appointment of a new guardian.

Art. 420

In every guardianship, there sh all be a supervisory guardian, appointed by the family
council among its members.

The functions of a supervisory gua rdian consist in the supervision of the management of
the guardian and in representing a minor where his interests conflict with those of the guardian.

Where he observes some mismanagement, he must, on pain of incurring personal
liability, immediately inform the judge of guardianships of it.

Art. 421

Where a guardia n intrudes into the management befo re the appointment of a supervisory
guardian, he may be dismissed from the guardia nship, if there was fraud on his part, without
prejudice to compensation due to the minor.

Art. 422 [repealed]

Art. 423

Where a guard ian is a relative by blood or marriage of the minor only in one line, the
supervisory guardian shall be taken, as fa r as possible, from the other line.

Art. 424

A supervisory guardian does not replace as of right a guardian who died or became under
a disability, or who disclaims th e guardianship; but he then shall, on pain of damages that may
result from it to the minor, seek the appointment of a new guardian.

Art. 425

The office of a supervisory guardi an comes to an end at the same time as that of the
guardian.

Art. 426

A guardian may not seek the dismissal of a supervisory guardian or vote in the family
councils that are convened for that purpose.

§ 5 – Of the Duties of a Guardian

Art. 427

Guardianship, a prot ection due to a child, is a public office.

Art. 428

Save the father and mother in the case of Article 391, persons to whom age, illness,
remoteness, exceptionally absorbing professional or family activities or a previous guardianship
render that new office particularly hea vy, may be dispensed from guardianship.

Art. 429

Save the father and mother, ma y be discharged from guardianship persons who cannot
continue to perform it because of one of the causes provided fo r by the preceding Article, where
it occurred since the appointment.

Art. 430 and 431 [repealed]

Art. 432

One who was not a relative by blood or marriage of the father and mother of a minor may
not be compelled to accept a guardianship.

Art. 433

(Act n° 89-487 of 10 July 1989)

Where a guardianship remains vacant, the judge of guardianships shall remit it to the
State if it concerns an adult, and to the Ch ildren’s aid service if it concerns a minor.

Art. 434

Excuses that dispense or discha rge from a guardianship may be extended to a supervisory
guardian and even to members of the family counc il, but only according to the seriousness of the
cause.

Art. 435 and 436 [repealed]

Art. 437

A family council shall rule on the excuses of the guardian and the supervisory guardian;
the judge of guardianships on the excuses o ffered by members of the family council.

Art. 438

Where an appointed guardian is present in person at the resolution which remits
guardianship to him, he shall immediately, and on pain of having all subsequent claims declared
non-admissible, offer his excuses on which the family council shall deliberate.

Art. 439

Where he was not present in person, he shall, within eight days of notice of appointment
being served upon him, have the family council convened to deliberate on his excuses.

Art. 440

Where his excuses are rejected, he may make application to the tribunal de grande
instance to have them accepted; but he is bound to administer temporarily pending suit.

Art. 441

The various duties of guardianshi p may be assumed by any person, without distinction of
sex, but with reservation of the causes of incapac ity, exclusion, dismissal or challenge expressed
below.

Art. 442

Are incapable of the various duties of guardianship:

1° Minors, save the father or mother;

2° Adults under guardianshi p, insane persons and adults under curatorship.

Art. 443

Are excluded or dismissed by opera tion of law from the various duties of guardianship:

1° Those who were sentenced to an afflictive or infamous punishment or to whom
exercise of the duties of guardianship was fo rbidden under Article 42 [131-26] of the Penal
Code.

They may, however, be admitted to the guardianship of their own children, upon assent
of the family council.

2° Those who have been deprived of parental authority.

Art. 444

May be excluded or dismissed from the various duties of guardianship people of
notorious misconduct and those whose improbity, us ual negligence or inability for business has
been established.

Art. 445

Those who have, or whose father and mother have with the minor a controversy calling
into question the status of the la tter or a significant part of his property must resign and may be
challenged as to the various duties of guardianship.

Art. 446

Where a member of the family counc il is subject to exclusion, dismissal or challenge, the
judge of guardianships shall decide himself, either of his own motion, or on demand of the
guardian, of the supervisory guardian or of the Government procurator’s office.

Art. 447

Where a cause for exclusion, dismissa l or challenge relates to a guardian or a supervisory
guardian, the family council shall decide. It sh all be convened by the judge of guardianships,
either of his own motion, or on demand made by th e persons mentioned in Article 410 or by the
Government procurator’s office.

Art. 448

A guardian or supervisory guardi an may be excluded, dismissed or challenged only after
being heard or summoned.

Where he accep ts the resolution, mention shall be made thereof and a new guardian or
supervisory guardian shall take office at once.

Where he does not accept, he may ma ke an application to vacate under the rules of the
Code of Civil Procedure; but the judge of guardia nships may, if he considers that there is an
emergency, prescribe forthwith interim measures for the welfare of the minor.

Section III – Of the Functioning of a Guardianship

Art. 449

A family council shall regulate the general conditions of support and education of the
child, having regard to the intention which the father and mother may have expressed on this
subject.

Art. 450

A guardian shall take care of the person of the minor and shall represent him in all civil
transactions, save the cases where the law or usage authorizes minors to act for themselves.

He shall administer his propert y like a prudent administrator and be liable for the
damages that would result from his mismanagement.

He may not buy the minor’s property or take it on lease for rent or farm lease, unless the
family council has authorized the supervisory gua rdian to make a lease with him, or accept the
assignment of any right or claim against his ward.

Art. 451

A guardian shall administer and act in that capacity from the day of his appointment,
where it was made in his presence; otherwise, from the day when notice of it was served upon
him.

Within the ten days which follow, he shall require the lifting of seals, if they were
affixed, and shall at once have an inventory of the minor’s property made, in the presence of the
supervisory guardian. An office copy of that inventory shall be sent to the judge of
guardianships.

Failing an inventory within the pr escribed period, the supervisory guardian shall refer the
matter to the judge of guardianships for the purpo se of its being made, on pain of being jointly
and severally liable with the guardian for all orde rs rendered in favour of the ward. Default of
inventory shall authorize the ward to make proof of the value and composition of his property by
any means, even common repute.

Where a minor owes something to the guardian, the latter shall so declare in the
inventory, on pain of forfeiture, on the demand that the public officer is required to make to him,
and mention of which shall be made in the memorandum.

Art. 452

Within the three months which follow the initiating of a guardianship, a guardian shall
convert into registered securities or deposit all the bearer securities belonging to the minor into
an account opened in the name of the minor and mentioning the minority, with a depositary
accredited by the Government to receive funds and s ecurities of wards, unless he is authorized to
sell them as provided for in Articles 457 and 468.

He shall similarly, and under the sa me reservation, convert into registered securities or
deposit with an accredited depositary the bearer s ecurities that the minor receives afterwards, in
whatever manner, within the same period of th ree months after the entry into possession.

He may not withdraw the bearer securities deposited as provided for in the preceding
paragraphs, or convert registered securities into bearer securities, unless conversion is made
through a depositary accredi ted by the Government

The family council may, if necessary, fix a longer period for the performance of such
operations.

Art. 453

A guardian may give a receipt for funds which he receives for the account of the ward
only with the counte r-signature of the supervisory guardian

Those funds shall be deposited by him into an account opened in the name of the minor
and mentioning the minority, with a depositary ac credited by the Government to receive funds
and securities of wards.

Deposit is to be made within th e period of one month after the receiving of funds; where
that period elapses, the guardian is, as of right, debtor for the interests.

Art. 454

On the initiating of a guardianship, the family council shall determine at a roof estimate,
and according to the importance of the property managed, the sum annually available for the

support and education of the ward, the expenses of administration of his property, as well as
possibly the allowance that may be granted to the guardian.

The same resolution shall spec ify whether the guardian is authorized to put on the
account the salaries of particul ars administrators or agents for whose assistance he may ask,
under his own responsibility.

The family council may also authorize the guardian to make a contract for the
management of the marketable securities of the ward. The resolution shall designate the
contracting third party having regard to his solv ency and professional experience, and specify the
terms of the contract. Notwithstanding any stipul ation to the contrary, the contract may, at any
time, be terminated in the name of the ward.

Art. 455

A family council shall determine the sum at which shall begin for the guardian the
responsibility to reinvest the li quid capital of the minor, as well as the surplus of the income.
That reinvestment shall be made within a peri od of six months, save extension by the family
council. Where that period elapses, the guardian is as of right accountable for the interests.

The nature of the property that may be acquired in reinvestment shall be determined by
the family council, either in advance, or on the occasion of each transaction.

In any case, third partie s shall not be guarantors of the reinvestment.

Art. 456

As a representative of a minor, a guardian shall perform all acts of administration alone.

He may thus transfer, for value, m ovables of current use and property having character of
profits.

Leases agreed to by a guardian do not confer on the lessee, against a minor become of
age, any right to renewal or any right to remain on the premises at the expiry of the lease,
notwithstanding any statutory pr ovision to the contrary. Those provisions, however, shall not
apply to leases granted before the instituting of the guardianship and renewed by the guardian.

Transactions which, for the manage ment of the marketable securities of the ward, must
be deemed acts of administration entering into the responsibilities and powers, either of statutory
administrators and guardians, or of accredited depositaries, shall be determined by decree in
Conseil d’État.

Art. 457

A guardian may not, without being thereto authorized by the family council, make
transfers in the name of the minor.

Without that au thorization, he may not, in particular, borrow for the ward, or dispose of
or encumber with real rights immovables, busin ess concerns, marketable securities and other
incorporeal rights, or movables which are precious or constitute an important part of the ward’s
patrimony.

Art. 458

In giving its authorization, a family council may prescribe all steps it considers
appropriate, in particular as to the reinvestment of the funds.

Art. 459

A sale of immovables and busin ess concerns that belong to a minor shall be done
publicly by auction, in the presen ce of the supervisory guardian, subject to the conditions laid
down by Articles 953 and following of the Code of Civil Procedure [Articles 1271 and following
of the new Code of Civil Procedure].

A family council may, however, auth orize an amicable sale, either by public auction with
an opening bid it shall fix, or by priv ate agreement, at prices and terms it shall determine. In case
of amicable auction, an outbiddi ng may always be made, as provi ded for in the Code of Civil
Procedure.

A contribution to a partnership of an immovable or business concern may take place by
private agreement It must be authorized by the family council on the report of an expert whom
the judge of guardianships shall designate.

Marketable secu rities registered on an official list shall be sold through the agency of a
stockbroker [a broker-dealer].

Other marketable securities sha ll be sold by auction through the agency of a stockbroker
[a broker-dealer] or a notaire designated in the resolution which authorizes the sale. The family
council may, however, on the report of an expert designated by the judge of guardianships,
authorize the sale of it by private agreement at prices and under terms it shall determine.

Art. 460

The authorization required by Article 457 for the transfer of property of a minor shall not
apply where a judgment has ordere d a sale by auction on request of a co-owner of the property
held undivided.

Art. 461

A guardian may accept a succession accruing to a minor only under benefit of inventory.
The family council may, however, by a speci al resolution, authorize him to accept it
unconditionally where the assets mani festly exceed the liabilities.

A guardian may not repudiate a succession accruing to a minor without an authorization
of the family council.

Art. 462

In case the succession repudiate d in the name of a minor has not been accepted by any
one else, it may be retaken, either by the gua rdian authorized for that purpose by a new
resolution of the family council, or by the minor when he has come of age; but in the condition
in which it is at the time it is retaken and without any possibility of review of the sales and other
transactions lawfully performed during the vacancy.

Art. 463

A guardian may accept without auth orization gifts and specific legacies accruing to the
ward, unless they are encumbered with charges.

Art. 464

A guardian may, without authoriza tion, lodge a claim relating to patrimonial rights of the
minor. He may likewise abandon the proceedings. Th e family council may enjoin him to initiate
an action, to abandon it, or to make offers fo r the purpose of abandonment, on pain of being
liable.

A guardian may defend alone an action brought against the minor, but he may acquiesce
in it only with the authorizat ion of the family council.

An authorization of the family council is always required for actions relating to non-
patrimonial rights.

Art. 465

A guardian may not, without an aut horization of the family council, file an application
for partition in the name of the minor; but he may, without that authorization, reply to an
application for partition brought against the minor or join in a collective petition for the purpose
of partition, lodged by all the pa rties concerned under Article 822.

Art. 466

In order to produce with regard to a minor the same full effect as it would do between
adults, a partition must be made in court, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 815 and
following.

The family council may, however, auth orize an amicable partition, even partial. In that
case, it shall designate a notaire to proceed th ereto. The statement of liquidation, to which shall
be attached the resolution of the family council, must be submitted to the approval of the tribunal
de grande instance.

Any other partition sh all be considered as only provisional.

Art. 467

A guardian may compromise in the name of the minor only after having the family
council approve the terms of the compromise.

Art. 468

In all cases where the authorization of the family council is required for the validity of an
act of the guardian, it may be s ubstituted by that of the judge of guardianships, where the act to

be made involves property the capital value of which does not exceed a sum that is fixed by
decree1.

The judge of guardianships may also, on request of a guardian, authorize a sale of
marketable securities instead and in place of the family council where it appears to him that there
would be danger in delay, but on condition that a report be made as soon as possible to the
family council which will decide on the reinvestment.

1 D. n° 65-961 of 5 Nov. 1965 : 1000 000 F (15 300 €)

Section IV – Of the Accounts of Guardianship and Of Liabilities

Art. 469

Every guardian is accountable for his management when it comes to an end.

Art. 470

Before the end of a guardia nship, a guardian is bound to deliver each year to the
supervisory guardian an account of management. That account shall be written and delivered
without cost, on unstamped paper.

(Act n° 95-125 of 8 Feb. 1995) Th e supervisory guardian shall transmit the account with
his comments to the clerk in chief of the tri bunal d’instance who may ask him any information.
In case of difficulty, the clerk in chief shall report to the judge of guardianships who may
convene the family council, without prejudice to the power of the judge to get communication of
the account and supervise it at any time.

Where a minor reaches the full age of “sixteen years” (Act n° 74-631 of 5 July 1974), the
judge of guardianships may decide that th e account shall be communicated to him.

Art. 471

Within the three months followi ng the end of a guardianship, a final account shall be
rendered, either to the minor himself, having become of age or emancipated, or to his heirs. The
guardian shall advan ce the costs of it; they sha ll be charged to the ward.

A guardian must be allowed therein all expenses sufficiently warranted and made for a
useful purpose.

Where a guardian happens to cease his functions before the end of the guardianship, he
shall render a recapitulatory account of his mana gement to the new guardian who may accept it
only with the authorization of the family council, upon the comments of the supervisory
guardian.

Art. 472

A minor come of age or emanci pated may approve an account of guardianship only one
month after the guardian gave it to him, agai nst a receipt, with supporting documents. An
approval given before the e nd of the period is void.

Also void is any agreement entered into between the ward, become of age or
emancipated, and him who was his guardian where it has the effect of releasing the latter, in
whole or in part, from his obligation to render account.

Where an account gives rise to controversies, they shall be prosecuted and adjudged as
provided for in the Title Of Accounti ng of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Art. 473

Approval of an account does not prejudice actions for compensation that may belong to a
ward against a guardian or other organs of the guardianship.

The State is alone liable with regard to the ward, save its action of recourse if there is
occasion, for damage resulting from whatever fault committed in the functioning of the
guardianship, either by the judge of guardianships or his clerk, “or by the clerk in chief of the
tribunal d’instance” (Act n° 95-125 of 8 Feb. 1995) , or by the public administrator in charge of a
vacant guardianship under Article 433.

An action for damages by the ward against the State shall be brought in all cases before
the tribunal de grande instance.

Art. 474

The sum to which the balance due by the guardian may amount bears interest by
operation of law from the approval of the account and, at the latest, three months after the end of
the guardianship.

Interests on what may be due to the guardian by the minor run only from the day of
demand for payment which followed the approval of the account.

Art. 475

Any action by the minor against a guardian, organs of the guardianship or the State
relating to guardianship matters is time-barred af ter five years, counting from majority, even
where there has been emancipation.

CHAPTER III – OF EMANCIPATION

(Act n° 64-123 of 14 Dec. 1964)

Art. 476

(Act n° 74-631 of 5 July 1974)

A minor is emancipated as a matter of right by marriage.

Art. 477

(Act n° 74-631 of 5 July 1974)

A minor, even unmarried, may be emancipated when he has reached the full age of
sixteen years.

“After the minor has been hear d” (Act n° 93-22 of 8 Jan. 1993), that emancipation shall
be pronounced, if there are proper r easons, by the judge of guardianships, on request of the father
and mother or of one of them.

Where the request is filed by only one parent, the judge shall decide after hearing the
other, unless the latter is unable to express his or her intention.

Art. 478

(Act n° 74-631 of 5 July 1974)

A minor left without father and mother may in the same manner be emancipated on
request of the family council.

Art. 479

Where, in the case of the preced ing Article, the guardian having taken no step, a member
of the family council is of opinion that the minor can be emancipated, he may require the judge
of guardianships to convene the council in order to consider the matter. The minor himself may
request that convening.

Art. 480

The account of the administration or guardianship, as the case may be, is rendered to an
emancipated minor in the way provided for in Article 471.

Art. 481

An emancipated minor is capable, like an adult, of all transactions of civil life.

He must however, in order to ma rry or give himself in adoption, comply with the same
rules as if he was not emancipated.

Art. 482

An emancipated minor ceases to be under the authority of his father and mother.

The latter are not liable as of right, in their sole capacity as father or mother, for damage
that he may cause to others after his emancipation.

Art. 483 to 486 [repealed]

Art. 487

(Act n° 74-631 of 5 July 1974)

An emancipated minor may not be a merchant.

TITLE XI

OF MAJORITY AND OF ADULTS WH O ARE PROTECTED BY THE LAW

(Act n° 68-5 of 3 Jan. 1968)

CHAPTER I – GENERAL PROVISIONS

Art. 488

(Act n° 74-631 of 5 July 1974)

Majority is fixed at the full age of eighteen years; at that age one is capable of all the
transactions of civil life.

Nevertheless, an adult whom an impairing of his personal faculties places in the
impossibility of providing alone for his interests is protected by the law, either on the occasion
of a specific transaction, or in a continuous manner.

May be likewise protected an adult who, because of his prodigality, insobriety or
idleness, is in danger to fall into need or compromises the fulfilment of his family obligations.

Art. 489

In order to enter into a valid tran saction, it is necessary to be of sound mind. But it is for
those who seek annulment on that ground to prove th e existence of a mental disorder at the time
of the transaction.

During the lifetime of an indi vidual, an action for annulment may be brought only by
him, or by his guardian or curato r, where one of them was appoint ed for him afterwards. It is
time-barred after the period provided for in Article 1304.

Art. 489-1

After his death, transactions entered into by an individual, other than a gift inter vivos or
a will, may be contested on the ground provided for in the preceding Article only in the cases
listed below:

1° Where a transaction in itself discloses proof of a mental disorder;

2° Where it was entered into in a time when the individual was placed under judicial
supervision;

3° Where a pe tition was initiated before the death in order to have a guardianship or
curatorship opened.

Art. 489-2

A person who has caused damage to another when he was under the influence of a mental
disorder is nonetheless liable to compensation.

Art. 490

Where mental faculties are disordered by an illness, an infirmity or feebleness due to age,
the interests of the person are safeguarded by one of the systems of protection provided for in the
following Chapters.

The same systems of protection appl y to the impairing of bodily faculties if it prevents
the expression of intention.

An impairing of mental or bodily faculties must be medically established.

Art. 490-1

The methods of medical treatment, in particular as to the choice between hospitalisation
and care at home, are independent of the system of protection relating to civil interests.

Reciprocally, the system relati ng to civil interests is independent of the medical
treatment.

Nevertheless, judgments by which the judge of guardianships organizes the protection of
civil interests must be preceded by an advice of the attending physician.

Art. 490-2

Whatever the system of protecti on applicable may be, the lodging of the protected person
and the furniture with which it is equipped must be kept at his disposal as long as it is possible.

Power of administration, as regard s that property, allows only agreements for precarious
enjoyment, which shall cease from the return of the protected person, despite any provision or
stipulation to the contrary.

Where it becomes necessary or it is in the interest of the protected person to dispose of
rights relating to lodging or to transfer the furniture, the transaction must be approved by the
judge of guardianships, after advice of the a ttending physician, without prejudice to the other
formalities which the nature of the property ma y require. Souvenirs and other objects of a
personal character must always be excepted from transfer and kept at the disposal of the
protected person, where appropriate, tha nks to the institution of treatment.

Art. 490-3

The Government procurator of the place of treatment and the judge of guardianships may
visit or cause to be visited adu lts protected by law, whatever the system of protection applicable
to them may be.

CHAPTER II – OF ADULTS UNDER JUDICIAL SUPERVISION

Art. 491

An adult who, for one of the cause s provided for in Article 490, needs to be protected in
the transactions of civil life, may be placed under judicial supervision.

Art. 491-1

Judicial supervision results from a declaration made to the Government procurator in the
way provided for by the Code of Public Health.

A judge of guardianships, to whom proceedings in guardianship or curatorship have been
referred, may place the person whom it should be advi sable to protect under judicial supervision,
pending suit, by an interim order transmitted to the Government procurator.

Art. 491-2

An adult placed under judicial supervision keeps the exercise of his rights.

However, the transactions he en tered into and the undertakings he contracted may be
rescinded for ordinary loss or abated in case of excess, even though they may not be annulled
under Article 489.

Courts shall take into considerat ion, on this subject, the wealth of the protected person,
the good or bad faith of those who dealt with him, the usefulness or uselessness of the
transaction. An action for rescission or ab atement may be brought, during the
lifetime of the person, by all those who would ha ve standing to petition for the opening of a
guardianship and, after his death, by his heirs. It is time-barred after the period provided for in
Article 1304.

Art. 491-3

Where a person has appointed an agent for the purpose of administering his property,
either before, or after being placed under judici al supervision, that agency must be fulfilled.

However, where a power of attorn ey expressly mentions that it was given on account of
the period of supervision, it may, during that pe riod, be revoked by the principal only with the
authorization of the j udge of guardianships.

In all cases, the judge, either of his own motion, or on request of one of the parties who
would have standing to request the opening of a guardianship, ma y order the revocation of the
agency.

He may also, even of his own motion, order that “the accounts be submitted to the clerk
in chief of the tribunal d’instance for approval, without prejudice to the power of the judge to
exercise himself that supervision” (Act n° 95-125 of 8 Feb. 1995).

Art. 491-4

In the absence of an agency, th e rules of management of another’s business shall be
followed.

However, those who would have standing to request the opening of a guardianship are
under the obligation to do the acts of preser vation necessitated by the management of the
patrimony of the protected person where they had knowledge of their urgency as well as of the
declaration for purpose of supervision. The same obligation falls under the same conditions on
the director of the treating inst itution or, possibly, on the one w ho shelters at his home the person
under supervision.

An obligation to do acts of pres ervation involves, with regard to third parties, the
corresponding power.

Art. 491-5

Where there is occasion to act outside the cases defined in the preceding Article, any
party concerned may give notice thereo f to the judge of guardianships.

The judge may, either appoint a special agent for the purpose of doing a specific
transaction or a series of transa ctions of the same nature, within the limits of what a guardian
might do without the authorization of the family council, or decide of his own motion to open a
guardianship or a curatorship, or direct the pa rty concerned to instigate himself the opening
where he is one of those ha ving standing to request it

Art. 491-6

Judicial supervision comes to an end with a new declaration certifying that the previous
situation has come to an end, by lapse of the d eclaration under the periods of the Code of Civil
Procedure or by its cancellation upon deci sion of the Government procurator.

It comes also to an end with th e opening of a guardianship or of a curatorship from the
day when the new system of protection takes effect.

CHAPTER III – OF ADULTS IN GUARDIANSHIP

Art. 492

A guardianship shall be opened where an adult, for one of the causes provided for in
Article 490, needs to be represented in a continuo us manner in the transactions of civil life.

Art. 493

The opening of a guardianship sha ll be ordered by the judge of guardianships on request
of the person whom there is occasion to protect , of his or her spouse, unless community of living
has ceased between them, of his or her ascendants or descendants, brothers and sisters, of the
curator or of the Government procurator; it may also opened by the judge of his own motion.

Other relatives by blood or marri age, or friends, may only make known to the judge the
cause that could justify the ope ning of a guardianship. It shall be likewise with the attending
physician and the director of the institution.

The persons referred to in the two preceding paragraphs may, even where they did not
intervene into the case, appeal to the tribunal de grande instance against a judgment which
opened a guardianship.

Art. 493-1

The judge may order the opening of a guardianship only where the impairing of mental or
bodily faculties of the sick person was ascertained by a specialist chosen from a list established
by the Government procurator.

The opening of a guardianship sha ll be ordered in the way provided for in the Code of
Civil Procedure.

Art. 493-2

Judgments opening, modifying or withdrawing a guardianship may be enforced against
third parties only two months after mention of th em was made in the margin of the record of
birth of the protected person, as provided for in the Code of Civil Procedure.

Even failing that mention, they ar e nevertheless enforceable against third parties who had
personal knowledge of them.

Art. 494

A guardianship may be opene d for an emancipated minor as for an adult.

As regards a non-emancipated minor, a petition may even be initiated and adjudged
during the last year of minority; but guardianship shall take effect only from the day when he
comes of age.

Art. 495

Shall apply also to guardianships of adults the rules prescribed by Sections 2, 3 and 4 of
Chapter II of Title X of this Book for guardianshi ps of minors, save, however, those which relate
to the education of the child and, in a ddition, under the following amendments.

Art. 496

A spouse is the guardian of th e other spouse, unless community of living has ceased
between them or the judge is of opinion that a nother reason prevents his or her being entrusted
with guardianship. All othe r guardians are dative.

A guardianship of an adult may be conferred on a juridical person.

Art. 496-1

Nobody, except the spouse, descenda nts and juridical persons may be compelled to hold
guardianship of an adult beyond five years. On the expiry of that period, the guardian may
request and shall gain his replacement.

Art. 496-2

An attending physician may not be a guardian or a supervisory guardian of his patient.
But the judge of guardianships ma y always call on him to participate in the family council in an
advisory capacity.

A guardianship may not be conf erred on a treating institution, or on any person holding
therein a gainful occupation unless they are one of those who had standing to request the opening
of a guardianship. An executive employee of th e institution may however be designated as
manager of the guardianship in the circ umstances referred to in Article 499.

Art. 497

Where there is “a relative by blood or by marriage” (Act n° 96-452 of 28 May 1996)
qualified for managing the property, the judge of guardianships may decide that he shall manage
it as a statutory administrator, without a supervisory guardian or a family council, in accordance
with the rules that apply, as regards the property of a minor, to statutory administration under
judicial supervision.

Art. 498

There is no occasion to open a guardianship which would devolve on a spouse where the
interests of a protected person can be provi ded for adequately in accordance with the
matrimonial regime and in particular w ith the rules of Articles 217 and 219, 1426 and 1429.

Art. 499

Where, in consideration of the compos ition of the property to be managed, the judge of
guardianships considers it useless to establish a complete guardianship, he may limit himself to
designate as manager of the guardianship, without supervisory guardian or family council, either
an executive employee belonging to the administ rative staff of the treating institution, or a
special administrator, chosen in the way provided for in a decree in Conseil d’État.

Art. 500

A manager of a guardianship shall collect the incomes of the protected person and apply
them to the support and treatment of the latter and discharge of the main tenance obligations for
which he may be liable. Where there is an exce ss, he shall deposit it into an account which he
must open with an accredited de positary. Each year, he shall render account of his management
directly to the “clerk in chie f of the tribunal d’instance, wit hout prejudice to the power of the
judge to request at any time from the cler k in chief communication of the account of
management and direct transmittal of th e accounting” (Act n° 95-125 of 8 Feb. 1995).

Where other acts become necessar y, he shall refer the matter to the judge who may either
authorize him to do them, or decide to establish the guardianship completely.

Art. 501

When opening a guardianship or in a subsequent judgment, the judge, upon opinion of
the attending physician, may list some transactions that the person in guardianship will have the
capacity to enter into himself, either alone, or wi th the assistance of the guardian or of the person
standing in his stead.

Art. 502

All transactions entered into by a protected person after the judgment of opening of a
guardianship are void as of right, subj ect to the provisions of Article 493-2.

Art. 503

Prior transactions may be annulled where the cause which determined the opening of the
guardianship existed notoriously at the time when they were made.

Art. 504

A will made after the opening of a guardianship is void as of right.

A will previously made remains valid, unless it is proved that, since the opening of the
guardianship, the reason which determined the testator to so dispose has disappeared.

Art. 505

With authorizat ion of the family council, gifts may be made in the name of an adult in
guardianship, but only in favour of his descendant s and by way of advancement, or in favour of
the spouse.

Art. 506

Even in the cases of articles 497 and 499, marriage of an adult in guardianship is allowed
only with the consent of a family council specially convened in orde r to consider the matter. The
council may decide only after hearing the future spouses.

There is no occasion for a meeti ng of the family council where the father and mother
both give their consent to the marriage.

In all cases, the opin ion of the attending physician is required.

Art. 506-1

(Act n° 99-944 of 15 Nov. 1999)

Adults in guardianship may not enter into a civil covenant of solidarity.

Where, during a civil covenant of solidarity, one of the partners is placed under
guardianship, the guardian authorized by the fa mily council or, failing which, the judge of
guardianships may put an end to the covenant in the way provided for in Article 515-7,
paragraph 1 or 2.

Where the initiative to cancel the covenant is taken by the other partner, the notice
mentioned in the same Article, paragraph 2 and 3, shall be served on the guardian.

Art. 507

Guardianship comes to an end with the causes that determined it; nevertheless removal of
it may be ordered only in complying with the formalities prescribed for attaining its opening and
a person in guardianship may resume the exercise of his rights only after a judgment of removal.

The methods of review provided for by Article 493, paragraph 3, may be resorted to only
against judgments that refuse to give removal of a guardianship.

CHAPTER IV – OF ADULTS IN CURATORSHIP

Art. 508

Where an adult, for one of the causes provided for in Article 490, without being unable to
act for himself, has need of being advised or supe rvised in transactions of civil life, he may be
placed under a system of curatorship.

Art. 508-1

An adult to whom Article 488, pa ragraph 3, refers may also be placed under a system of
curatorship.

Art. 509

Curatorship is opened and comes to an end in the same way as a guardianship of adults.

It is subject to the same requirements as to notice.

Art. 509-1

In a curatorship there is no other organ than the curator.

A spouse is curator for the ot her spouse unless community of living has ceased between
them or the judge is of opinion that another r eason prevents his or her being entrusted with
curatorship. All other curators must be appointed by the judge of guardianships.

Art. 509-2

The provisions relating to the dutie s of a guardian shall apply to the office of a curator,
under the amendments which guard ianship of adults involves.

Art. 510

An adult in curatorship may not, without the assistance of his curator, enter into any
transaction which, under the system of guardianship of adults, requires an authorization of the
family council. Nor may he, without that assistance, receive capital or make investment of it.

Where a curato r refuses his assistance to a trans action, a person in curatorship may
request a suppletory authorization from the judge of guardianships.

Art. 510-1

Where an adult in curatorshi p has entered alone into a transaction for which the
assistance of a curator was required, himself or the curator may seek the annulment of it.

An action for annulment is time -barred after the period provided for in Article 1304, or
even, before expiry of that period, in conseque nce of the approval that the curator may have
given to the transaction.

Art. 510-2

Any service made on an adult in curatorship may be also made on the curator, on pain of
invalidity.

Art. 510-3

In cases where the assistance of a curator was not required by statute, transactions into
which an adult in curatorship ma y have entered alone remain neve rtheless subject to actions for
rescission or abatement regulated by Article 491-2, as though they we re entered into by a person
under judicial supervision.

Art. 511

When opening a curatorship or in a subsequent judgment, the judge, upon opinion of the
attending physician, may list some transactions that the person in curatorship will have the
capacity to enter into alone, in derogation from Article 510, or, inversely, add other transactions
to those for which that Article requ ires the assistance of a curator.

Art. 512

When appointing a curator, the j udge may order that he alone shall receive the incomes
of the person in curatorship, settle expenses with regard to third parties, and deposit the excess, if
any, into an account opened w ith an accredited depositary.

A curator appointed with that ta sk shall render an account of his management each year
to the “clerk in chief of the tribunal d’instance, without prejudice to the power of the judge to
request at any time from the clerk in chief communication of the account of management and
direct transmittal of the accounting” (Act n° 95-125 of 8 Feb. 1995). .

Art. 513

A person in curatorship may freely make his will, except for application of Article 901, if
there is occasion.

He may make a gift only with the assistance of his curator.

Art. 514

As regards marriage of an adult in curatorship, the consent of the curator is required;
failing which, that of the judge of guardianships.

Art. 515 [repealed]

TITLE XII

OF CIVIL COVENANTS OF SOLI DARITY AND OF CONCUBINAGE

(Act n° 99-944 of 15 Nov. 1999)

CHAPTER I – OF CIVIL CO VENANTS OF SOLIDARITY

Art. 515-1

A civil covenant of solidarity is a contract entered into by two natural persons of age, of
different sexes or of a same se x, to organize their common life.

Art. 515-2

On pain of nullity, th ere may not be a civil covenant of solidarity:

1° Between ascendants and desce ndants in direct line, between relatives by marriage in
direct line and between collaterals until the third degree inclusive;

2° Between two persons of wh om one at least is bound by the bonds of marriage;

3° Between two persons of whom one at least is already bound by a civil covenant of
solidarity.

Art. 515-3

Two persons who enter into a civil covenant of solidarity shall make a joint declaration of
it at the court office of the tribunal d’instance under the jurisdiction of which they fix their
common residence.

On pain of dismissal, they sh all file with the clerk the agreement concluded between
them in duplicate original and add the documents of civil status which allow to establish the
validity of the transactio n with respect to Article 515-2, as we ll as a certificate of the court office
of the tribunal d’instance of thei r places of birth or, in case of bi rth abroad, of the court office of
the tribunal de grande instance of Paris, attesting that they are not already bound by a civil
covenant of solidarity.

After the filing of the set of doc uments, the clerk shall enter that declaration into a
register.

The clerk shall countersign and da te the two originals of the agreement and give them
back to each partner.

He shall have a mention of the decl aration entered into a register held in the court office
of the tribunal d’instance of th e place of birth of each partner or , in case of birth abroad, in the
court office of the tribunal de grande instance of Paris.

An entry in the register of the place of residence shall attribute an undisputable date to
the civil covenant of solidarity and rende r it effective against third parties.

Any amendment to the covenant sha ll be the subject of a joint declaration entered at the
court office that received the initi al transaction, to which shall be added, on pain of dismissal and
in duplicate original, th e instrument amending the agreement. The formalities provided for in
paragraph 4 shall apply.

Abroad, the entry of a joint decl aration of a covenant binding two partners of whom one
at least is of French nationality, the formalitie s provided for in paragraphs 2 and 4 and those
required in case of an amendment of the cove nant shall be the responsibility of French
diplomatic and consular agents.

Art. 515-4

Partners bound by a civil covenant of solidarity shall provide mutual material and moral
aid to each other. The terms of that aid shall be fixed by the covenant.

Partners shall be jointly and severally liable with regard to third parties for debts incurred
by one of them for the needs of everyday life and for expenses relating to the common lodging.

Art. 515-5

Partners to a civil covenant of solidarity shall lay down, in the agreement referred to in
Article 515-3, paragraph 2, whether they wish to submit to the system of undivided ownership
the furniture they would acquire for value after the conclusion of the covenant. Failing which,
that furniture shall be deemed undivided in ha lves. It shall be likewise where the date of
acquisition of that propert y may not be established.

The other property of which partne rs become owners for value after the conclusion of the
covenant shall be deemed undivided in halves where the instrument of acquisition or of
subscription does not otherwise provide.

Art. 515-6

The provisions of Article 832 sh all apply between partners to a civil covenant of
solidarity in case of dissolution of it, save those relating to all or part of an agricultural holding,
as well as to an undivided share or to partnership shares of that holding.

Art. 515-7

Where partners decide by mutu al agreement to put an end to a civil covenant of
solidarity, they shall file a joint written declaration with the court office of the tribunal d’instance
under the jurisdiction of which one of them at least has his residence. The clerk shall enter that
declaration into a register a nd shall ensure its preservation.

Where one of the partners decides to put an end to a civil covenant of solidarity, he or she
shall serve notice of his or her decision on the ot her and shall send a copy of that notice to the
court office of the tribunal d’instance which received the initial instrument.

Where one of the partners puts an end to a civil covenant of solidarity by marrying, he or
she shall notify his or her decision to the other by service and shall send copies of the latter and
of his or her record of birth on which mention of the marriage has been made, to the court office
of the tribunal d’instance which received the initial instrument.

Where a civil covenant of solidarity comes to an end by the death of at least one of the
partners, the survivor or any part y concerned shall send a copy of the record of death to the court
office of the tribunal d’instance wh ich received the initial instrument.

A clerk who receives a declar ation or instruments provided for in the preceding
paragraphs shall enter or have entered mention of the end of the covenant into the margin of the
initial instrument. He shall also have registration of that mention written into the margin of the
register provided for in Article 515-3, paragraph 5.

Abroad, receiving, recording and preserving a declaration or instruments referred to in
the first four paragraphs shall be the responsibility of French dipl omatic or consular agents, who
shall also undertake or have undertaken menti ons provided for in the preceding paragraph.

A civil covenant of solidarity shall come to an end, according to the circumstances:

1° As soon as a mention is made in the margin of the initial instrument of the joint
declaration provided for in the first paragraph;

2° Three months after service delivered under paragraph 2, provided that a copy of it was
brought to the knowledge of the clerk of th e court designated in that paragraph;

3° On the date of the ma rriage or of the death of one of the partners.

Partners shall undertake themselves the liquidation of the rights and obligations resulting
on their behalf from the civil covenant of solidar ity. Failing an agreement, the judge shall rule on
the patrimonial consequences of the breach, wi thout prejudice to damage possibly suffered.

CHAPTER II – OF CONCUBINAGE

Art. 515-8

Concubinage is an union in fact , characterized by a life in common offering a character
of stability and continuity, between two persons, of different sexes or of the same sex, who live
in couple.

BOOK TWO

OF PROPERTY AND OF THE VARIOU S MODIFICATIONS OF OWNERSHIP

TITLE ONE

OF THE VARIOUS KINDS OF PROPERTY

Art. 516

All property is movable or immovable.

CHAPTER I – OF IMMOVABLES

Art. 517

Property is immovable, either by its nature or by its destination or by the object to which
it applies.

Art. 518

Lands and buildi ngs are immovables by their nature.

Art. 519

Windmills or watermills, fixed on pillars and forming part of a building, are also
immovables by their nature.

Art. 520

Harvests standing by roots and the fruit of trees not yet gathered are also immovables.

As soon as crops are cut and the fruit separated, even though not removed, they are
movables.

Where only a part of a ha rvest is cut, this part alone is movable.

Art. 521

The normal cutting of underwood or of timber periodically cut becomes movable only as
the cutting down of trees proceeds.

Art. 522

Animals which the owner of a tene ment delivers to a farmer or share cropper for farming,
whether they are appraised or not, shall be deemed immovables so long as they remain attached
to the tenement under the te rms of the agreement.

Animals leased to othe r than farmers or share croppers are movables.

Art. 523

Pipes used to bring water into a house or other immovable are immovables and form part
of the tenement to which they are attached.

Art. 524

“Animals and things that the ow ner of a tenement placed thereon for the use and working
of the tenement are immovable by des tination” (Act n° 99-5 of 6 Jan. 1999).

Thus,

Animals attached to farming;

Farming implements;

Seeds given to farmers or share croppers;

Pigeons in pigeon-houses;

Warren rabbits;

Beehives;

“Fishes of waters not referred to in Article 402 [L. 231-3] of the Rural Code and of
stretches of water referred to in Articles 432 and 433 [L. 231-6 and L. 231-7] of the same Code”
(Act n° 84-512 of 29 June 1984); [now Article s L. 431-6 and L. 431-7 of the Code of the
Environment]”

Wine pressers , boilers, stills, vats and barrels;

Implements necessary for working ironworks, paper-mills and other factories;

Straw and manure,

are immovables by destination where they have been placed by the owner for the use and
working of the tenement.

All movables which the owner has attached to the tenement perpetually are also
immovables by destination.

Art. 525

An owner shall be deemed to have attached movables perpetually to his tenement, where
they are fastened with plaster or mortar or cement, or where they cannot be removed without
being broken or damaged, or without breaking or damaging the part of the tenement to which
they are affixed.

The mirrors of an apartment shall be deemed perpetually placed where the flooring to
which they have been fastened is part of the panelling.

It shall be the same as to pictures and other ornaments.

As regards statues, they are immovables where they are placed in a recess designed
expressly to receive them, even though they can be removed without breakage or damage.

Art. 526

The usufruct of immovable things;

Servitudes or land services;

Actions for the purpose of recovering an immovable,

are immovables by the object to which they apply.

CHAPTER II – OF MOVABLES

Art. 527

Property is movable by its nature or by prescription of law.

Art. 528

(Act n° 99-5 of 6 Jan. 1999)

Animals and things which can m ove from one place to another, whether they move by
themselves, or whether they can move only as the result of an extraneous power, are movables
by their nature .

Art. 529

Obligations and actions having as their object sums due or movable effects, shares or
interests in financial, commerc ial or industrial concerns, even where immovables depending on
these enterprises belong to the concerns, are mova bles by prescription of law. Those shares or
interests shall be deemed movables with regard to each shareholder only, as long as the concern
lasts.

Perpetual or life annuities, either from the State or private individuals, are also movables
by prescription of law.

Art. 530

Any annuity established in perpetuity for the price of sale of an immovable, or as
condition to a conveyance, for value or gratuito us, of an immovable tenement, is essentially
redeemable.

A creditor may nevertheless regulate the terms and conditions of the redemption.

He may also stipulate that the annuity may be redeemed only after a certain time, which
may never exceed thirty years: any st ipulation to the contrary is void.

Art. 531

Boats, ferry-boats, ships, floating mills and baths, and generally all works which are not
fastened to pillars and do not form part of a house, are movables: a seizure of some of these
things may however, owing to their importance, be subject to certain special proceedings, as
explained in the Code of Civil Procedure.

Art. 532

Materials coming from the demo lition of a building, those gathered for erecting a new
one, are movables until they are used by a worker in building operations.

Art. 533

The word movable, used alone in provisions of law or of man, without any other addition
or designation, does not include ready money, precious stones, credits, books, medals,
instruments of sciences, arts and professions, clothing, horses, carriages, weapons, grain, wine,
hay and other commodities; neither does it include what is involved in a business.

Art. 534

The words furnishing movables include only movables intended for use and
ornamentation of apartments, such as tapestries, beds, seats, mirrors, clocks, tables, china and
other articles of such kind.

Pictures and statues that form pa rt of the furniture of an apartment are also included
therein, but not collections of pictures which may be in galleries or special rooms.

It shall be likew ise of china: only that which is part of the decoration of an apartment is
included under the denominati on of furnishing movables.

Art. 535

The expression movable property, that of furniture or movable effects include generally
every thing which is deemed to be a mova ble according to the rules above set forth.

Art. 536

A sale or gift of a house, with all that is found therein, does nor include ready money, or
credits and other rights whose instruments of title may have been deposited in the house; all
other movable effects are included.

CHAPTER III – OF PROPERTY IN ITS RELATIONS WITH THOSE WHO OWN IT

Art. 537

Private individuals have the free disposal of property which belongs to them, subject to
the modifications established by legislation.

Property which does not belong to private individuals is administered and may be
transferred only in the forms and accordi ng to the rules which are peculiar to it.

Art. 538

Ways, roads and streets of which the State is in charge, navigable or floatable rivers and
streams, beaches, foreshore, ports, harbours, anchorages and generally all parts of French
territory which are not capable of private ownership are deemed to be dependencies of the Public
Domain.

Art. 539

All property without a claimant a nd a master, and that of private persons who die without
heirs or whose successions are abandoned, belong to the Public Domain.

Art. 540

The gates, walls, ditches and battle ments of fortified places and fortresses, are also part of
the Public Domain.

Art. 541

It shall be likewise with lands, fortifications and battlements of places which are no
longer fortified places: they belong to the State, unless they have been lawfully transferred, or
ownership has been acquired by prescription against it.

Art. 542

Common property is that to whose ownership or revenue the inhabitants or one or several
communes have a vested right.

Art. 543

One may have a right of ownership, or a mere right of enjoyment, or only land services to
be claimed on property.

TITLE II

OF OWNERSHIP

Art. 544

Ownership is the right to enjoy and di spose of things in the most absolute manner,
provided they are not used in a way prohibited by statutes or regulations.

Art. 545

No one may be compelled to yield his ownership, unless for public purposes and for a
fair and previous indemnity.

Art. 546

Ownership of a thing, either movable or immovable, gives a right to everything it
produces and to what is accessorily united to it, either naturally or artificially.

That right is called right of accession.

CHAPTER I – OF THE RIGHT OF ACCESSION TO WHAT IS PRODUCED BY A THING

Art. 547

Natural or cultural fruit of the land;

Revenues;

Increase in stock,

belong to the owner by right of accession.

Art. 548

(Act n° 60-464 of 17 May 1960)

Fruit produced by a thing belong to the owner only on condition that he repays the costs
of ploughing, works and seeds incurred by third part ies and whose value must be assessed at the
date of repayment.

Art. 549

(Act n° 60-464 of 17 May 1960)

A mere possessor makes fruits his own only where he possesses in good faith. If not, he
is bound to restore the products with the thing to the owner who claims it; where the said
products are not found in kind, their value must be appraised at the date of repayment.

Art. 550

A possessor is in good faith where he possesses as owner, under an instrument of transfer
of whose defects he does not know.

He ceases to be in good faith from the time those defects are known to him.

CHAPTER II – OF THE RIGHT OF ACCESSION TO WHAT UNITES OR INCORPORATES
ITSELF WITH A THING

Art. 551

Everything which unites and incorporates itself with a thing belongs to the owner,
according to the rules hereafter laid down.

Section I – Of the Right of Acce ssion Relating to Immovable Things

Art. 552

Ownership of the ground invo lves ownership of what is above and below it.

An owner may make above all th e plantings and constructions which he deems proper,
unless otherwise provided for in the Title Of Servitudes or Land Services.

He may make below all construc tions and excavations which he deems proper and draw
from these excavations all the pr oducts which they can give, subj ect to the limitations resulting
from statutes and regulations relating to mi nes and from police statutes and regulations.

Art. 553

All constructions, plantings and wo rks on or inside a piece of land are presumed made by
the owner, at his expenses and belonging to him, unless the contrary is proved; without prejudice
to the ownership, either of an underground galler y under a building of another, or of any other
part of the building, which a third party may ha ve acquired or may acquire by prescription

Art. 554

(Act n° 60-464 of 17 May 1960)

An owner of the ground who made constructions, plantings and works with materials
which did not belong to him, shall pay the value of them, appraised at the date of payment; he
may also be ordered to pay damages, if there is occasion: but the owner of the materials may not
remove them.

Art. 555

(Act n° 60-464 of 17 May 1960)

Where plantings, constructions or works were made by a third party and with materials
belonging to the latter, the owner of the tenement has the right, subject to the provisions of
paragraph 4, either to keep the ownership of them, or to compel the third party to remove them.

Where the owner of the tenement requires to have the constructions, plantings or works
suppressed, it shall be done at the expense of the third party, and without any compensation for
him; the third party may furthermore be ordered to pay damages for loss which the owner of the
tenement may have suffered.

Where the owner of the teneme nt prefers to keep ownership of the constructions,
plantings or works, he must, at his choice, repay the third party either a sum equal to that by
which the tenement has increased in value, or the cost of the materials and the price of the labour
appraised at the date of repayment, account be ing taken of the condition in which the said
plantings, constructions or works are .

Where the plantings, constructions or works were made by an evinced third party who
would not have been liable to restoring the fruits owing to his good faith, the owner may not
insist on the suppression of the said works, cons tructions and plantations, but he has the choice
to repay the third party eith er of the sums referred to in the preceding paragraph.

Art. 556

Deposits and accretions which gath er successively and imperceptibly in tenements on the
bank of a river or stream are called alluvion.

Alluvion benefits to the riparian ow ner, whether it be a question of a river or of a stream
navigable, floatable or not; on condition, in the fi rst case, that he leaves a footpath or towing-
path, in accordance with regulations.

Art. 557

The same rule shall apply to sandbanks formed by running water which withdraws
insensibly from one of its banks and proceeds on to the other: the owner of the uncovered bank
profits from the alluvion, without the riparian owner of the opposite side being allowed to claim
the land which he has lost.

That right does no t arise with regard to foreshore.

Art. 558

Alluvion does not arise with regard to lakes and ponds, whose owner always keeps the
land covered by the water when it reaches the level of the outlet of the pond, even where the
volume of water decreases.

Reciprocally, the owner of a pond does not acquire any right to the riparian lands which
its water happens to cover during extraordinary floods.

Art. 559

Where a river or stream, navigabl e or not, removes by a sudden drift a considerable and
recognizable part of a riparian field and carries it towards a lower field or to the opposite bank,
the owner of the part removed may claim his prope rty; but he is compelled to file his claim
within one year: after that period, it will no longer be admissible, unless the owner of the field to
which the part removed has been joined has not yet taken possession of it.

Art. 560

Islands, islets, deposits which gather in the beds of rivers or of navigable or floatable
streams belong to the State, unless there is an inst rument of title or prescription to the contrary.

Art. 561

Islands and deposits which gather in streams not navigable nor floatable belong to the
riparian owners on the side where the island ga thered: where the island has not gathered on one
side, it belongs to riparian owners of both si des, beginning from a line supposedly drawn in the
middle of the river.

Art. 562

Where a stream or river, in forming a new arm, cuts off and surrounds a field of a
riparian owner and makes an island of it, that owner keeps the ownership of his field, although
the island gathered in a river or a stream navigable or floatable.

Art. 563

(Act of 8 April 1898)

Where a river or a stream navi gable or floatable forms a new course by abandoning its
former bed, the riparian owners may acquire owne rship of that former bed, each one in his own
right until a line supposedly drawn in the middle of the stream. The price of the former bed must
be fixed by experts appointed by th e president of the court of the location of the land, on request
of the préfet of the département.

Where the riparian owners fail to declare, within three months of the notice served upon
them by the préfet, their intention to purchase at the prices fixed by the experts, the conveyance
of the ancient bed must be made under the ru les which govern alienation of the domain of the
State.

The proceeds of the sale shall be distributed as a compensation to the owners of the
tenements filled by the new course in proportion to the value of the ground taken from each of
them.

Art. 564

Pigeons, rabbits, fishes which go to another pigeon-house, warren or “stretch of water
referred to in Articles 432 and 433 [ L. 231-6 and L. 231-7] of the Rural Code” (Act n° 84-512 of
29 June 1984), belong to the owner of these thin gs, provided that they were not attracted by
fraud or guile.

Section II – Of the Right of Acce ssion Relating to Movable Things

Art. 565

Where the right of accession app lies to two movable things belonging to two different
masters, it depends entirely on the principles of natural equity.

The following rules will serve as examples to the judge to make up his mind, in
unforeseen situations, according to the circumstances of the case.

Art. 566

(Act n° 60-464 of 17 May 1960)

Where two things belonging to differe nt masters, which have been so joined as to form
one whole, are nevertheless separable, so that one may subsist without the other, the whole
belongs to the master of the thing which forms th e main part, subject to the obligation of paying
to the other the value, appraised at the date of payment, of the thing which has been jopined.

Art. 567

The part to which the other has b een joined only for the use, ornamentation or completion
of the first is deemed the main part.

Art. 568

Where, however, the thing joined is of much more value than the main thing and where it
was used without the knowledge of the owner, the latter may request that the thing joined be
separated in order to be returned to him, even where there may result some deterioration of the
thing to which it has been joined.

Art. 569

Where of two things joined to fo rm one whole, one cannot be considered as the accessory
of the other, that one is deemed the main whic h has the greater value, or the greater volume
where the values are approximately equal.

Art. 570

(Act n° 60-464 of 17 May 1960)

Where a craftsman or any person whatever has used material which did not belong to him
to make a thing of a new kind, whether the material can resume its original form or not, he who
was the owner of it has the right to claim the th ing made out of it by repaying the price of the
labour appraised at the date of repayment.

Art. 571

(Act n° 60-464 of 17 May 1960)

Where however the labour was so important that it greatly exceeds the value of the
material used, the service will then be deemed the main part and the workman has the right to
keep the thing wrought, by repaying th e owner the value of the material, appraised at the date of
repayment.

Art. 572

(Act n° 60-464 of 17 May 1960)

Where a person has partly used material which belonged to him and partly material
which did not belong to him to make a thing of a new kind, without either of the two materials
being entirely destroyed, but in such a way that they cannot be separated without inconvenience,
the thing is common to the two owners, as to on e, on account of the material which belonged to
him, and as to the other, on account both of the material which belonged to him and of the price
of his labour. The price of the labour must be appr aised at the date of the auction sale provided
for in Article 575.

Art. 573

Where a thing has been formed by a mingling of several materials belonging to different
owners, of which none however can be considered as the main material, if the materials can be
separated, he without whose knowledge the material s have been mingled may request that they
be separated.

Where the materials can no longe r be separated without inconvenience, they acquire
ownership of them in common, in proportion to the quantity, the quality and the value of the
materials belonging to each of them.

Art. 574

(Act n° 60-464 of 17 May 1960)

Where the material belonging to one of the owners was far superior to the other in
quantity and price, then the owner of the mate rial superior in value may request the thing
resulting from the mingling, by repaying the other th e value of his material, appraised at the date
of repayment.

Art. 575

Where a thing remains in common between the owners of the materials from which it has
been made, it must be sold by auction for their common benefit.

Art. 576

(Act n° 60-464 of 17 May 1960)

In all cases where the owner w hose material was used without his knowledge to make a
thing of a different kind may claim ownership of that thing, he has the choice of requesting
restitution of his material in the same kind, quantity, weight, measure and good quality, or its
value appraised at the date of restitution.

Art. 577

Those who have made use of materials belonging to others, and without their knowledge,
may also be ordered to pay damages, if th ere is occasion, without prejudice to criminal
prosecution, if need be.

TITLE III

OF USUFRUCT, OF USE AND OF HABITATION

CHAPTER I – OF USUFRUCT

Art. 578

Usufruct is th e right to enjoy things of which anot her has ownership in the same manner
as the owner himself, but on condition that their substance be preserved.

Art. 579

Usufruct is established by law or by a person’s wish.

Art. 580

Usufruct may be establishe d outright, or at a certain date, or conditionally.

Art. 581

It may be established on any kind of movable and immovable property.

Section I – Of the Rights of a Usufructuary

Art. 582

A usufructuary has the right to en joy all kinds of fruits, either natural or cultural, or
revenues, which the thing of which he has the usufruct can produce.

Art. 583

Natural fruits are those which are the spontaneous product of the earth. The produce and
increase of animals are also natural fruits.

Cultural fruits of a te nement are those which are obtained by cultivation.

Art. 584

Revenues are rents of houses , interests on sums due, arrears of annuities.

Prices of farming leases are also included in the class of revenues.

Art. 585

Natural and cultural fruits, hangi ng from branches or roots when a usufruct begins,
belong to the usufructuary.

Those which are in the same condition when the usufruct comes to an end, belong to the
owner, without compensation on e ither side for ploughing and seeds, but also without prejudice
to the portion of the fruits which may be acqui red by a tenant paying rent in kind who may be
there at the beginning or at the termination of the usufruct.

Art. 586

Revenues are deemed to be acquired day by day, and belong to the usufructuary in
proportion to the duration of his usuf ruct. This rule shall apply to proceeds of farming leases, as
well as to rents of houses and other revenues.

Art. 587

(Act n° 60-464 of 17 May 1960)

Where a usufruct includes things which cannot be used without being consumed, such as
money, grain, liquors, a usufructua ry has the right to use them, but with the responsibility of
returning, at the end of the usufru ct, either things of the same quantity and quality or their value
appraised at the ti me of restitution.

Art. 588

A usufruct of a life annuity also gives the usufructuary, during the duration of his
usufruct, the right to collect arrearages of it, without being liable to any restitution.

Art. 589

Where a usufruct includes things which, without being consumed at once, deteriorate
gradually, such as clothes or furnishing movables, the usufructuary has the right to make use of
them for the use to which they are intended and is only bound to return them at the end of the
usufruct in the condition in which they are, not deteriorated through his intentional wrong or
fault.

Art. 590

Where a usufruct includes unde rwood, a usufructuary is bound to respect the order and
quota of cuttings, in accordance wi th the parcelling or the uniform usage of the owners; without
however compensation in favour of th e usufructuary or of his heirs, for ordinary cuttings, either
of coppice, or of staddles, or of forest trees that were not done during his enjoyment.

Trees which can be removed from a tree nursery without damaging it, form part of a
usufruct only on condition for the usufructuary of complying with the usages of the place in
replacing them.

Art. 591

A usufructuary also benefits, al ways by observing the periods and usages of the former
owners, by the parts of woods of timber trees in which periodical cuttings are made, whether
those cuttings are made periodically over a certain extent of land, or whether they are made of a
certain quantity of trees taken indiscriminate ly over the whole surface of the property.

Art. 592

In all other cases, a usufructua ry may not interfere with woods of timber trees: he may
only use the trees which have been uprooted or broken by accident to make the repairs which he
is bound to make; he may even for that purpose have trees cut down, if necessary, provided the
necessity of so doing is ascertained with the owner.

Art. 593

He may take vine props in the woods; he may also take annual or periodical products
from the trees; all of which being done according to the usage of the country or the custom of the
owners.

Art. 594

Fruit trees which die, even th ose which are uprooted or broken by accident, belong to the
usufructuary, subject to the conditi on of replacing them by others.

Art. 595

(Act n° 65-570 of 13 July 1965)

A usufructuary may enjoy by himself, give on lease to another, even sell or transfer his
right gratuitously.

Leases that a usufructuary made alone for a period exceeding nine years are, in case of
termination of the usufruct, bind ing with regard to the bare-owner only for the time remaining to
run, either of the first period of nine years where the parties are still in it, or of the second period,
and so on in order that the lesse e has only the right to conclude the enjoyment of the period of
nine years in which he is.

Leases of nine years or under wh ich an usufructuary alone makes or renews more than
three years before termination of a current lease where it relates to rural property, or more than
two years before the same time where it relate s to houses, are without effect, unless their
performance began before termination of the usufruct.

A usufructuary may not, without the assistance of the bare-owner, give on lease a rural
tenement or an immovable intended for commercial , industrial or craft use. Failing assent of the
bare-owner, a usufructuary may be authorized by a court to do that transaction alone.

Art. 596

A usufructuary enjoys the increas e resulting from alluvion to the thing of which he has
the usufruct.

Art. 597

He enjoys the rights of servit ude, of way and generally all rights which an owner may
enjoy, and he enjoys them in the same way as the owner himself.

Art. 598

He also enjoys, in the same way as the owner, mines and quarries which are being
worked when the usufruct begins; where, how ever, a working which may not be carried on
without a concession is concerne d, a usufructuary may enjoy it only after gaining permission
from the President of the Republic.

He has no right to mines and quarries not yet opened, or to peat bogs whose working has
not yet begun, or to a treasu re-trove which may be discove red during the duration of the
usufruct.

Art. 599

An owner may not, by his acts or in any manner whatsoever, injure the rights of a
usufructuary.

On his part, a usufructuary may not, on termination of the usufruct, claim any
compensation for the improvements which he assert s to have made, even though the value of the
thing has been increased thereby.

He or his heirs may however rem ove mirrors, pictures and other ornaments which he may
have set up, but provided he restores the premises to their former condition.

Section II – Of the Obliga tions of a Usufructuary

Art. 600

A usufructuary takes things in the condition in which they are; but he may enter into
enjoyment only after having an inventory of the movables and a statement as to the immovables
subject to the usufruct drawn up, the owner being present or he having been duly summoned.

Art. 601

He shall give security to enjoy as a prudent administrator, unless he is dispensed with by
the instrument creating the usufru ct; however, the father and mother who have the legal usufruct
of their children’s property, a sell er or donor who reserved the usufruct, are not obliged to give
security.

Art. 602

Where a usufructuary does not find a security, the immovables shall be given on lease or
sequestered;

Sums included in the usufruct shall be invested;

Commodities shall be sold and the proceeds arising out of it shall be likewise invested;

The interest on those sums and th e proceeds of leases shall belong in that case to the
usufructuary.

Art. 603

Failing a security on the part of a usufructuary, an owner may demand that movables
which fall into decay through use be sold, and th e proceeds invested like that of commodities;
the usufructuary shall then enjoy the interest during his usufruct: however, a usufructuary may
request, and the judges may order, according to the circumstances, that a part of the movables
necessary for his use be left to him, on his ow n mere guarantee given on oath, and subject to the
condition of presenting them again on termination of the usufruct.

Art. 604

Delay in giving security does not de prive a usufructuary of the fruits to which he may be
entitled: they are owed to him from the time when the usufruct began.

Art. 605

A usufructuary is only bound to repairs of maintenance.

Major repairs remain the responsibi lity of the owner, unless they were occasioned by the
lack of repairs of maintenance si nce the beginning of the usufruct; in whic h case the usufructuary
is also liable for them.

Art. 606

Major repairs ar e those to main walls and vaults, th e restoring of beams and of entire
coverings;

That of dams, breast walls and enclosing walls also in entirety.

All other repairs are of maintenance.

Art. 607

Neither an owner nor a usufruct uary are bound to rebuild what has fallen from decay or
has been destroyed by a fortuitous event.

Art. 608

A usufructuary is liable dur ing his enjoyment for all the annual charges upon the
property, such as taxes and others which, according to usage, are deemed to be charges on the
fruits.

Art. 609

As to charges that may be im posed upon the ownership for the duration of the usufruct,
an owner and a usufructuary c ontribute to them as follows:

The owner is bound to pay them a nd the usufructuary must account to him for interest;

Where they are advanced by the us ufructuary, he may claim the capital at the end of the
usufruct.

Art. 610

A legacy, made by a testator, of a life annuity or of periodical payments, must be paid
wholly by the universal legatee of the usufruct, and by a legatee by universal title of the usufruct
in proportion to his enjoyment, without any claiming back on their part.

Art. 611

A specific usufructuary is not liable for debts for which the tenement is mortgaged:
where he is compelled to pay them, he has a remedy against the owner, subject to what is
provided for in Article 1020 in the Titl e Of Gifts Inter Vivos and of Wills.

Art. 612

A usufructuary, either universal, or by universal title, shall contribute with the owner to
the payment of debts as follows:

The value of the tenement subject to usufruct shall be appraised; the contribution to the
debts shall be then fixed, in accordance with that value.

Where a usufructuary wishes to advance the sum for which the tenement is liable, the
capital shall be restored to him at the end of the usufruct, without any interest.

Where a usufructuary does not wi sh to make that advance, the owner has the choice
either to pay that sum, in which case the usufruct uary shall account to him for interest during the
duration of the usufruct, or to ha ve a portion of the property subject to the usufruct sold to the
extent of the amount due.

Art. 613

A usufructuary is obliged to pay only the costs of the suits relating to enjoyment and of
the other orders to which those suits may give rise.

Art. 614

Where during the duration of an usufruct a third party commits any encroachment upon
the tenement, or interferes in any other way with the rights of the owner, the usufructuary is
bound to notify the latter thereof; failing which, he is liable for all loss which may result from it
to the owner, as he would be for dilapidations committed by himself.

Art. 615

Where an usufruct is established only over an animal which happens to die without the
fault of the usufructuary, the latter is not bound to re turn another one, or to pay an appraisal of it.

Art. 616

(Act n° 60-464 of 17 May 1960)

Where a herd upon which a usufru ct was established perishes entirely by accident or
disease and without the fault of the usufructuary, the latter is bound to account to the owner only
for the skins, or of their value ap praised at the date of restitution.

Where the herd does not perish en tirely, the usufructuary is bound to replace the heads of
the animals that have perished, to the extent of the increase in stock.

Section III – Of the Manner in whic h a Usufruct comes to an End

Art. 617

A usufruct is extinguished:

By the natural [repeal ed by implication] death of the usufructuary;

By the expiry of the time for which it was granted;

By the consolidation or vesting in the same person of the two capacities of usufructuary
and of owner;

By non-user of the right during thirty years;

By the total loss of the thing upon which the usufruct was established.

Art. 618

Usufruct may also cease through abuse which a usufructuary makes of his enjoyment,
either by committing dilapidations upon the teneme nt, or by allowing it to decay for want of
maintenance.

Creditors of a usufructuary may intervene in controversies, for the preservation of their
rights; they may offer to repair the dilapidations committed and to give guarantees for the future.

Judges may, according to the serious ness of the circumstances, order either the absolute
extinguishment of the usufruct, or the re-entry of the owner into the enjoyment of the thing
subject thereto, provided that he pa ys annually to the usufructuary, or to his assigns, a fixed sum,
up to the time when the usufru ct should have ceased.

Art. 619

A usufruct which is not granted to private individuals may last only thirty years.

Art. 620

A usufruct granted until a third party reaches a fixed age lasts until that time, even though the
third party dies before the fixed age.

Art. 621

The sale of a th ing subject to usufruct involves no cha nge in the right of the usufructuary;
he continues to enjoy his usufruct unless he has formally waived it.

Art. 622

Creditors of a usufructuary may ha ve a waiver annulled, where it was prejudicial to them.

Art. 623

Where a part only of a thing subj ect to usufruct is destroyed, usufruct is preserved on
what remains.

Art. 624

Where a usufruct is established only on a building, and that building is destroyed by fire
or other accident, or collapses from decay, the us ufructuary may not have the right to enjoy the
ground or the materials.

Where the usufruct was establ ished on an area of which the building was a part, the
usufructuary enjoys the ground and the materials.

CHAPTER II – OF USE AND OF HABITATION

Art. 625

Rights of use and habitation are established and lost in the same manner as usufruct.

Art. 626

They may not be enjoyed unless s ecurity has been previously given, and statements and
inventories made, as in the case of usufruct.

Art. 627

A user and a person having a right of habitation shall enjoy like prudent administrators.

Art. 628

Rights of use and of habitation are regulated by the instruments which have established
them and are more or less extensiv e, depending upon their provisions.

Art. 629

Where an instrument does not make clear the extent of these rights, they shall be
regulated as follows.

Art. 630

A person who has the use of the fr uits of a tenement may only demand what is necessary
for his needs and those of his family.

He may demand them even for the needs of children arrived since the granting of the use.

Art. 631

A user may neither tran sfer nor lease his right to another person.

Art. 632

He who has a right of habitati on in a house, may live there with his family, even though
he was not married at the time when that right was granted to him.

Art. 633

A right of habitation is restricted to what is necessary for the habitation of the person to
whom that right is granted, and of his family.

Art. 634

A right of habita tion may not be transferred or leased.

Art. 635

Where an user takes all the fruits of a tenement, or occupies the whole of a house, he is
subjected to the expenses of cultivation, repairs of maintenance and payment of taxes, like a
usufructuary.

Where he takes only a part of th e fruits or occupies only a part of a house, he shall
contribute in proportion to what he enjoys.

Art. 636

Use of woods and fore sts is regulated by a specific legislation.

TITLE IV

OF SERVITUDES OR LAND SERVICES

Art. 637

A servitude is a charge impose d on an immovable for the use and utility of another
immovable belonging to another owner.

Art. 638

A servitude may not establish any pre-eminence of an immovable over the other.

Art. 639

It results either from the natural location of the premises, or from obligations imposed by
statute, or from agreements between owners.

CHAPTER I – OF THE SERV ITUDES ORIGINATING FROM THE SITUATION OF THE
PREMISES

Art. 640

Lower tenements are subjected to those which are higher, to receive waters which flow
naturally from them without the hand of man having contributed thereto.

A lower owner may not raise dams which prevent that flow.

An upper owner may not do anythi ng that worsens the servitude of the lower tenement.

Art. 641

(Act of 8 April 1898)

An owner has the right to use and dispose of rainwater which falls on his tenement.

Where the use of those waters or the course given to them worsens the natural servitude
of flow established by Article 640, a compensation is due to the owner of the lower tenement.

The same provision shall a pply to spring waters originating on a tenement.

Where, by borings or subterranean works, an owner causes waters to rise from his
tenement, the owners of lower tenements mu st receive them; but they are entitled to
compensation in case of loss resulting from their flow.

Houses, courts, gardens, parks and enclosures adjoining dwellings may not be subjected
to any worsening of the servitude of flow in th e cases provided for in the preceding paragraphs.

Controversies which the estab lishment and exercise of the servitudes provided for by
these paragraphs may give rise to, and the settlement, if any, of the compensations due to the
owners of lower tenements, must be brought, subj ect to review, before the judge of the tribunal
d’instance of the canton who, in his judgment must reconcile the interests of agriculture and
industry with the respect due to ownership.

If there is occasion for an appraisement, one expert only may be appointed

Art. 642

(Act of 8 April 1898)

A person who has a spring on his tenement may always use the water on his wishes,
within the limits and for th e needs of his property.

An owner of a spring may no longer use it to the detriment of the owners of the lower
tenements who, for more than thirty years, have made and completed, on the tenement where the
water springs, apparent and permanent works inte nded to use the waters and facilitating their
passage within their property.

Nor may he use them so as to depr ive the inhabitants of a commune, village or hamlet, of
the water which is necessary to them; but where the inhabitants have not acquired or prescribed
the use, the owner may claim a compensa tion which shall be fixed by experts.

Art. 643

(Act of 8 April 1898)

Where, as soon as they leave th e tenement where they spout out, spring waters form a
watercourse presenting the nature of public and running waters, the owner may not divert them
from their natural course, to the detriment of lower users.

Art. 644

A person whose property borders running water other than that which is declared a
dependency of the Public Domain by Article 538 in the Title Of Different Kinds of Property,
may use it as it flows for irrigating his property.

A person through whose property that water flows may even use it over the interval it
runs through it, provided he retu rns it to its ordinary course when it leaves his tenements.

Art. 645

Where a controversy arises between owners to whom those waters may be useful, the
courts, in their decisions, must reconcile the interests of agriculture with the respect due to
ownership; and, in all cases, th e special and local regulations on the course and use of waters
must be complied with.

Art. 646

Any owner may compel his ne ighbour to a setting of boundaries of their contiguous
tenements. Setting boundaries shal l be done at common expense.

Art. 647

An owner may enclose his prope rty, subject to the exception laid down in Article 682.

Art. 648

An owner who wishes to be enclos ed loses his right to commonage and free pasture, in
proportion to the land that he so withdraws.

CHAPTER II – OF THE SERVITUD ES ESTABLISHED BY STATUTE

Art. 649

Servitudes established by statute are for the purpose of public or communal utility, or of
the utility of private individuals.

Art. 650

Those established for public or communal utility have as their subjects towing-paths
along navigable or floatable streams, the making or repairing of roads and of other public or
municipal works.

All that relates to that kind of se rvitudes is prescribed by statutes or specific regulations.

Art. 651

The law subjects owners to vari ous obligations towards each other, independent of any
agreement.

Art. 652

Part of those obligati ons are regulated by statutes on rural police;

The others relate to party walls and common ditches, to cases in which an outer wall is
necessary, to views over the property of a neighbour, to eaves and to right of way.

Section I – Of Party Walls and Common Ditches

Art. 653

In cities and in the country, a ny wall serving as separation between buildings up to the
point of disjunction, or between courtyards and ga rdens, and even between enclosures in fields,
is deemed to be a party wall, unle ss there is an instrument of title or an indication to the contrary.

Art. 654

There is an indication of a no n-party wall where the top of a wall is straight and
perpendicular from its facing on one side a nd shows an inclined plane on the other;

Even where there is on one side only either a coping or stone fillets and corbels which
were placed there in building the wall.

In such cases, a wall is deemed to be long exclusively to the owner on whose side the
eaves or stone corbels and fillets are.

Art. 655

Repairing and reconstruction of a party wall must be borne by all those who have a right
to it, and in proportion to the right of each.

Art. 656

However, any co-owner of a party wall may excuse himself from contributing to
repairing and reconstructing by waiving the right in common, provided the party wall does not
support a building which belongs to him.

Art. 657

A co-owner may build against a party wall, and place there beams or joists through the
whole thickness of the wall, more or less fi fty-four millimetres, without prejudice to a
neighbour’s right to have the beam shortened with a chisel down to half of the wall, where he
himself wishes to lay beams in the same place, or to back a chimney against it.

Art. 658

(Act n° 60-464 of 17 May 1960)

A co-owner may have a party wa ll raised; but he must pay alone the expense of the
raising and of the repairs of ma intenance above the height of th e common enclosure; he must
also pay alone the costs of maintenance of the common part of the wall due to the raising and
repay to the neighbouring owner all the expenses made necessary for the latter by the raising.

Art. 659

Where a party wall is not in a condition to support a raising, the person wishing to raise it
must have it entirely rebuilt at his own expense, and the thickness in excess must be taken on his
side.

Art. 660

(Act n° 60-464 of 17 May 1960)

A neighbour who did not contribut e to a raising may acquire rights in common on it by
paying one-half of the expense it has cost and the value of one-half of the ground supplied for
the additional thickness, if there is any. The expense that the raising has cost must be appraised
at the date of acquisition, account being taken of the condition in which the raised part of the
wall is.

Art. 661

(Act n° 60-464 of 17 May 1960)

An owner adjoining a wall may make it a party wall in whole or in part by repaying to the
master of the wall half the expe nse which it has cost, or half the expense which the part of the
wall which he wishes to make a party wall has co st and half the value of the ground on which the
wall was built. The expense which the wall has cost must be appraised at the date of acquisition
of rights in common on it, account being take n of the condition in which it is.

Art. 662

A neighbour may not make a rece ss in a party wall or apply or build up a work on it
without the consent of the othe r, or, on his refusal, without having had experts determine the
necessary steps in order that the new work be not detrimental to the other’s rights.

Art. 663

In cities and suburbs, everyone may compel his neighbour to contribute to the
constructions and repairs of an enclosure se parating their houses, court-yards and gardens
situated in those cities and s uburbs: the height of the enclos ure shall be fixed according to
specific regulations or uniform and recognized usages and, failing usages and regulations, a
dividing wall between neighbours, whic h will be constructed or restored in the future, shall be at
least thirty-two decimetres high, including the coping, in cities of fifty thousand souls and more,
and twenty-six decimetres in the others.

Art. 664 [repealed]

Art. 665

Where a party wall or a house is rebuilt, active and passive servitudes continue with
regard to the new wall or the new house, without , however, their being allowed to become more
burdensome, and provided rebuilding is ma de before prescription is acquired.

Art. 666

(Act of 20 Aug. 1881)

Every enclosur e separating tenements is deemed to be held in common, unless there is
only one property actually enclosed, or there is an instrument of title, prescription or indication
to the contrary.

As regards ditches, there is an indication that they are not held in common where the
embankment or spoil of earth is found on only one side of the ditch.

A ditch is deemed to belong exclus ively to the one on whose side the spoil is situated.

Art. 667

(Act of 20 Aug. 1881)

A common enclosure must be maintained at common expense; but a neighbour may
elude that obligation by wa iving ownership in common.

That power ceases where the ditch serves usually for the flowing of waters.

Art. 668

(Act of 20 Aug. 1881)

A neighbour whose property adjo ins a ditch or a hedge not held in common may not
compel the owner of that ditch or he dge to convey rights in common to him.

A co-owner of a common hedge ma y destroy it up to the limit of his property, provided
he builds a wall upon that limit.

The same rule shall apply to the co-owner of a common ditch which is used only as an
enclosure.

Art. 669

(Act of 20 Aug. 1881)

So long as a hedge is held in common, its products belong to the owners in halves.

Art. 670

(Act of 20 Aug. 1881)

Trees situated in a common hedge are held in common as the hedge is. Trees planted on
the dividing line of two tenements are also deemed to be held in common. Where they die or are
cut or uprooted, those trees are divi ded in halves. Fruits are gathered at joint expense and divided

also in halves, either when they fall naturally, or when the fall was caused, or when they were
picked.

Each owner has the right to require that the trees held in common be uprooted.

Art. 671

(Act of 20 Aug. 1881)

It is permitted to have trees, shrubs or bushes near the limit of a neighbouring property
only at the distance allowed by the specific regul ations presently in force or by uniform and
recognized usages, and failing regulations and usag es, at the distance of two metres from the
dividing line of the two tenements as regards pl antations whose height exceeds two metres, and
at the distance of half a metr e as regards other plantation.

Trees, bushes and shrubs of a ll kinds may be planted in espaliers on each side of a
dividing wall, without having to k eep to any distance, but they may not pass the crest of the wall.

Where a wall is not a party wall, th e owner alone has the right to lean espaliers against it.

Art. 672

(Act of 20 Aug. 1881)

A neighbour may require that trees, shrubs and bushes planted at a distance less than the
statutory distance, be uprooted or reduced to the height fixed in the preceding Article, unless
there is an instrument of title , an adjustment made by the owne r, or thirty-year prescription.

Where the trees die, or where they are cut or uprooted, a neighbour may replace them
only by keeping to the statutory distances.

Art. 673

(Act of 20 Aug. 1881; Act of 12 Feb. 1921)

One over whose property branches of a neighbour’s trees, bushes and shrubs jut out may
compel the latter to cut them. Fruits which have fallen naturally from these branches belong to
him.

Where roots, brambles and br ushwood jut out on his property, he has the right to cut
them himself up to the limit of the dividing line.

The right to cut roots, brambles and brushwood or to have branches of trees, bushes or
shrubs cut may not be lost by prescription.

Section II – Of theDistance and of Intermedia te Works Required for Certain Constructions

Art. 674

He who has a well or a cesspool dug near a wall, whether it is a party wall or not,

He who wishes to build a chimne y or a fire-place, a forge, an oven or a furnace,

Set a stable against it,

Or place against that wall a st ore of salt or a heap of corrosive materials;

Is obliged to leave the distance prescribed by regulations and specific usages relating to
those things, or to do the works prescribed by the same regulations and usages in order to avoid
injuring a neighbour.

Section III – Of the Views over th e Property of One’s Neighbour

Art. 675

One of the neighbours may not, w ithout the consent of the other, cut in a party wall any
window or opening, in any manner what ever, even in fixed fanlights.

Art. 676

The owner of a wall which is not a party wall, adjoining the property of another person,
may cut openings or windows in it, in leaded iron and fixed fanlights.

Those windows must be provided with an iron lattice whose meshes shall have an
aperture of one decimetre (about three inches, eight lines) at the most, and with a frame of fixed
fanlights.

Art. 677

Those windows or openings may onl y be made at twenty six decimetres (eight feet)
above the floor or ground of the room which one wishes to give light to, where it is on the
ground floor, and at nineteen decimetres (six feet) above the floor of the upper stories.

Art. 678

(Act n° 67-1253 of 30 Dec. 1967)

One may not have straight view s or bow windows, or balconies or similar projections
over the neighbour’s property, whether enclosed or not, if there is not a distance of nineteen
decimetres between the wall where they are cut a nd the said property, unless the tenement or the
part of the tenement over which the view bear s is already burdened, for the benefit of the
tenement which profits by it, with a servit ude of way which prevents the erecting of
constructions.

Art. 679

(Act n° 67-1253 of 30 Dec. 1967)

One may not, subject to the same reservation, have side or oblique views on the same
property, unless there is a dist ance of six decimetres.

Art. 680

The distance mentioned in the two preceding Articles counts from the outer facing of the
wall in which the opening is cut, and, where ther e are balconies or other similar projections, from
their exterior line up to the dividing line of the two tenements.

Section IV – Of Eaves

Art. 681

An owner must make his roofs in such a way that rainwater falls on his land or on the
public highway; he may not have it pour on his neighbour’s tenement.

Section V – Of Right of Way

Art. 682

(Act n° 67-1253 of 30 Dec. 1967)

An owner whose tenements are enclaved and who has no way out to the public highway,
or only one which is insufficient either for an ag ricultural, industrial or commercial working of
his property, or for carrying out operations of building or developm ent, is entitled to claim on his
neighbours’ tenements a way sufficient for the complete servicing of his own tenements,
provided he pays a compensation in pr oportion to the damage he may cause.

Art. 683

(Act of 20 Aug. 1881)

The way must be taken regularly on the side where the route from the enclaved tenement
to the public highway is shortest

It must however be fixed at the least damageable place for the person over whose
tenement it is allowed.

Art. 684

(Act of 20 Aug. 1881)

Where a tenement is enclosed because of its dividing in consequence of a sale, an
exchange, a partition or any othe r contract, a way may be requested only on the lands which
were the subject of those transactions.

However, in the case where a su fficient way cannot be made over the divided tenements,
Article 682 shall apply.

Art. 685

(Act of 20 Aug. 1881)

The location and manner of a se rvitude of way for enclavement are established by a
continuous usage for thirty years.

An action for compensation in the case provided for in Article 682 is subject to be time-
barred, and the way may be continued, although an action for compensation is no longer
admissible.

Art. 685-1

(Act n° 71-494 of 25 June 1971)

In case of discontinuance of the enclavement and whatever be the way in which the
location and manner of the servitude were determ ined, the owner of the servient tenement may,
at any time, invoke the extinguishment of the servitude where the service of the dominant
tenement is ensured under the conditions of Article 682.

Failing amicable agreement, that disappearance must be ascertained by a judicial
decision.

CHAPTER III – OF THE SERVITUDES ESTABLISHED BY THE ACT OF MAN

Section I – Of the Various Kinds of Servitude s which may be Established over Property

Art. 686

Owners are permitted to establish over their property, or in favour of their property, such
servitudes as they deem proper, provided however that the services established are laid neither
on a person nor in favour of a person, but only on a tenement and for a tenement, and provided
that those servitudes moreover are not in any way contrary to public policy.

The use and extent of the serv itudes thus established are regulated by the instrument
which creates them; failing an instrument, by the following rules.

Art. 687

Servitudes are established either for the use of buildings, or for that of tenements.

Those of the first kind are called urban, whether the buildings to which they are due are
located in a city or in the country.

Those of the second kind are named rural.

Art. 688

Servitudes are either continuous or discontinuous.

Continuous servitudes are those w hose usage is or may be unceasing without need of a
present act of man: such are water-pipes , sewers, views and others of that kind.

Discontinuous servitudes are thos e which need a present act of man in order to be
exercised: such are rights of way, drawi ng water, pasturing and others similar.

Art. 689

Servitudes are apparent or non-apparent.

Apparent servitudes are those which show themselves by outer works, such as a door, a
window, an aqueduct.

Non-apparent servitudes are those which do not have an outer sign of their existence,
such as for instance a prohibition to build on a te nement, or to build only up to a fixed height.

Section II – How Servitudes are Established

Art. 690

Continuous and apparent serv itudes are acquired by an instrument of title or by
possession of thirty years.

Art. 691

Continuous non-apparent servitude s and discontinuous servitudes, whether apparent or
not, may be established only by an instrument of title.

Possession, even immemorial, is not sufficient to establish them, without, however, one
being allowed to challenge today servitudes of that kind already acquired by possession in
localities where they were allowed to be acquired in that way.

Art. 692

Adjustment made by the owner is eq uivalent to an instrument of title as to continuous and
apparent servitudes.

Art. 693

There is an adjustment made by the owner only where it is proved that the two tenements
at present divided belonged to the same owner and that it was th rough him that things were put
in the condition which give s rise to the servitude.

Art. 694

Where an owner of two tenements between which an apparent sign of servitude exists,
disposes of one property and the contract does not contain any agreement relating to the
servitude, the latter continues to exist actively or passively in favour of the tenement conveyed or
upon the tenement conveyed.

Art. 695

An instrument creating a servitude , with regard to those which may not be acquired by
prescription, may be replaced only by an instru ment recognizing the servitude, emanating from
the owner of the tenement subjected to the servitude.

Art. 696

Where a person establishes a servitude , he is deemed to grant all that is necessary to use
it.

For instance, a servitude to draw water from another’s fountain necessarily involves a
right of way.

Section III – Of the Rights of the Owner of a Tenement to which a Servitude is Due

Art. 697

A person to whom a servitude is due, has the right to make all works necessary to use and
maintain it.

Art. 698

Those works shall be at his expense, and not at that of the owner of the tenement
subjected to the servitude, unless the instrument creating the servitude provides for the contrary.

Art. 699

Even in the case where the owne r of a tenement subjected to a servitude is compelled
under the instrument to make the works necessary fo r the use or preservation of a servitude at his
own expense, he may always exempt himself fr om the burden by waiving the servient tenement
to the owner of the tenement to which the servitude is due.

Art. 700

Where a property for which a servitude was established happens to be divided, the
servitude remains due for each portion, without how ever the condition of the servient tenement
becoming more burdensome.

Thus, for instance, in case of a ri ght of way, all the co-owners are obliged to use it at the
same place.

Art. 701

The owner of a tenement which owes a servitude may do nothing tending to diminish its
use or to make it more inconvenient.

Thus, he may not change the condi tion of the premises or remove the exercise of the
servitude to a place different from th e one where it was originally assigned.

But however, where that original assigning has become more onerous to the owner of the
servient tenement, or where it prevents him from making adva ntageous repairs on it, he may
offer to the owner of the other tenement a place as convenient for the exercise of his rights, and
the latter may not refuse it.

Art. 702

On his part, he who has a right of servitude may only use it in accordance with his
instrument of title, without being allowed to make, either on the tenement which owes the
servitude, or on the tenement to which it is due , any change which would render the condition of
the former more burdensome.

Section IV – How Servitudes are Extinguished

Art. 703

Servitudes cease when things are in such a condition that they can no longer be used.

Art. 704

They revive where things are restor ed in such a manner that they can be used; unless time
has already elapsed, sufficient to give rise to the presumption that the servitude is extinguished,
as stated in Article 707.

Art. 705

A servitude is extinguished when the tenement to which it is owed, and the one which
owes it, are united in the same hands.

Art. 706

A servitude is exti nguished by non-user during thirty years.

Art. 707

The thirty years begin to run, according to the different kinds of servitudes, either from
the day when one ceased to enjoy them, with resp ect to discontinuous servitudes, or from the day
when an act contrary to the servitude has been performed, with respect to continuous servitudes.

Art. 708

The manner of a servitude may be time-barred like the servitude itself and in the same
way.

Art. 709

Where a property in favour of whic h a servitude is established belongs to several persons
in undivided ownership, enjoyment by one prev ents prescription against all of them.

Art. 710

Where, among co-owners, there is one against whom prescription could not run, such as a
minor, he keeps the rights of all the others.

BOOK III

OF THE VARIOUS WA YS IN WHICH OWNERSHIP IS ACQUIRED

general provisions

Art. 711

Ownership of property is acquired and transmitted by succession, by gift inter vivos or
will, and by the effect of obligations.

Art. 712

Ownership is also acquire d by accession or incorporation, and by prescription.

Art. 713

Property which has no master belongs to the State.

Art. 714

There are things which belong to nobody and whose usage is c
ommon to all.

Public order statut es regulate the manner of enjoying them.

Art. 715

The right to hunt or fish is also regulated by specific statutes.

Art. 716

Ownership of a treasure trove belongs to him who discovers it on his own tenement;
where a treasure trove is discovered on another’ s tenement, one half of it belongs to him who
discovered it, and the other half to the owner of the tenement.

A treasure trove is any hidden or buried thing of which nobody can prove ownership and
which is discovered by a mere chance.

Art. 717

Rights to flotsam, to effects cast up by the sea, of whatever nature they may be, to plants
and herbages which grow on the seashore, are also regulated by specific statutes.

It shall be the same as to lost things whose master does not appear.

TITLE ONE

OF SUCCESSIONS

Art. 718 and 719 [repealed]

CHAPTER ONE – OF THE OPENING OF SUCCESSIONS, THE UNIVERSAL TITLE AND
THE VESTING OF HEIRS IN POSSESSION

(Act n° 2001-1135 of 3 Dec. 2001)

Art. 720

Successions are opened by de ath, at the latest domicile of the deceased .

Art. 721

Successions devolve according to legislation where the deceased did not dispose of his
property by gratuitous transfers .

They may devolve through gratuitous transfers insofar as the latter are consistent with
inheritable reserve.

Art. 722

Agreements having the purpose of creating or disclaiming rights upon all or part of a
succession not yet opened or of a property being part of it are effective only where authorized by
legislation .

Art. 723

Universal successors and successo rs by universal title are liable for an indefinite
obligation to the debts of a succession .

Art. 724

Heirs designated by legislati on are vested by operation of law in possession of the
property, rights and actio ns of the deceased ;

Universal legatees and donees are ve sted in possession in the conditions provided for in
Title II of this Book.

Failing them, succession is acqui red by the State who needs a court order to take
possession .

Art. 724-1

The provisions of this Title, in particular those which relate to option, undivided
ownership and partition shall apply, as may be thought proper, to universal legatees or donees, or
legatees or donees by univers al title, save as otherwise provided by a specific rule .

CHAPTER II – OF THE QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR INHERITING OF PROOF OF
HEIRSHIP

(Act n° 2001-1135 of 3 Dec. 2001)

Section I – Of theQualificati ons Required for Inheriting

Art. 725

In order to inherit, one must ex ist at the time of the opening of the succession or, having
been conceived, be born viable .

A person whose absence is presumed under Article 112 may inherit .

Art. 725-1

Where two persons, one of whom was entitled to the other’s succession, die in the same
event, the order of deaths sha ll be established by any means.

Where that order may not be determined, the succession of each of them devolves
without the other being called to it.

Where, however, one of the co -deceased leaves descendants, the latter may represent
their predecessor in title, when representation is allowed.

Art. 726

Are unworthy of inheriting and, as such, must be excluded from succession :

1° One who is sentenced, as pe rpetrator or accomplice, to a serious penalty for having
intentionally given or attempted to give death to the deceased;

2° One who is sentenced, as pe rpetrator or accomplice, to a serious penalty for having
intentionally struck blows at or committed violence or assault that provoked the deceased’s death
without intenti on of causing it.

Art. 727

May be declared unworthy of inheriting :

1° One who is sentenced, as pe rpetrator or accomplice, to a correctional penalty for
having intentionally given or attempted to give death to the deceased;

2° One who is sentenced, as pe rpetrator or accomplice, to a correctional penalty for
having intentionally committed violence that pro voked the deceased’s death without intention of
causing it;

3° One who is sentenced for fals e testimony borne against the deceased in criminal
proceedings;

4° One who is sentenced for abst aining intentionally from preventing either a serious or
an ordinary offence against th e physical integrity of the deceased, wherefrom death resulted,
whereas he could do so w ithout any danger as to him or third persons ;

5° One who is sentenced for a sl anderous criminal charge against the deceased where,
relating to the acts denounced, a serious penalty was incurred ;

May also be declared unworthy of inheriting those who have committed acts referred to
in 1° and 2° above and with regard to whom, by reason of their death, the public right of action
could not be exercised or was extinguished .

Art. 727-1

A declaration of unworthiness provided for in Article 727 shall be pronounced after the
opening of the succession by the tribunal de grande instance on application of another heir. An
application must be brought w ithin six months of the death where the sentence or conviction
precedes the death, or within six months of th at judgment where it follows the death .

In the absence of heirs, a requ est may be filed by the Government procurator’s office.

Art. 728

Is not excluded from successi on a person entitled to inherit subject to a cause of
unworthiness provided for in Articles 726 and 727, where the deceased, after the facts and the
knowledge he had thereof, has stated by an express declaration of intention in the form of a will,
that he intends to maintain him in his rights to succession or made a gratuitous transfer, universal
or by universal title, in his favour.

Art. 729

An heir who is excluded from a succession on account of unworthiness is obliged to
return all incomes and revenues which he enjoyed since the opening of the succession .

Art. 729-1

Children of an unworthy person may not be excluded on account of their parent’s fault,
whether they come to the succession on their own behalf or through representation; but an
unworthy person may not, in any case, claim over the property of that succession the enjoyment
that the law grants to the fathers and mo thers over the property of their children.

Section II – Of Pr oof of Heirship

Art. 730

Proof of heirship may be made by any means.

No changes are made in the provi sions or uniform usages relating to the issuing of
certificates of ownership or inheritance by judicial or administrative authorities.

Art. 730-1

Proof of heirship may result from an affidavit drawn up by a notaire on request of one or
several assigns.

Failing an ante-nuptial agreement or last will and testament of the predecessor in title of
the person who requires it, an affidavit may also be drawn up by the clerk in chief of the tribunal
d’instance of the place of opening of the succession.

An affidavit shall refer to the record of death of the person whose succession is opened
and shall mention the supporting do cuments which may have been filed, such as records of civil
status, and, possibly, documents re lating to the existence of gratuitous transfers mortis causa
which may affect the devolution of the succession.

It shall contain the assertion, signed by the assign or assigns makers of the request, that
they are entitled, alone or with others whom th ey specify, to come into all or part of the
succession of the deceased.

Any person whose statements s eem to be useful may be called to the affidavit.

Art. 730-2

An assertion contained in an affidavit does not involve, per se, acceptance of the
succession.

Art. 730-3

Faith must be given to an a ffidavit so established, until evidence contrary to it.

A person who avails himself of it is presumed to have rights of succession in the
percentage herein stated.

Art. 730-4

The heirs designated in an affi davit or their common agent are deemed, with regard to
third persons possessing property of the succession, to have free disposal of that property and,
where funds are concerned, free disposal of them in the percentage stated in the affidavit.

Art. 730-5

A person who, knowingly and in bad faith, avails himself of an inaccurate affidavit,
incurs the penalties of concealment provided for in Article 792, without prejudice for damages.

CHAPTER III – OF HEIRS

(Act n° 2001-1135 of 3 Dec. 2001)

Art. 731

Succession devolves by law to the relatives and spouse entitled to inherit on the
following terms.

Art. 732

A surviving spouse non-divorced, ag ainst whom there does not exist an order of judicial
separation having force of res judicata is a spouse entitled to inherit.

Section I – Of the Rights of Relatives in the Absence of a Spouse Entitled to Inherit

Art. 733

Legislation does not discriminate between legitimate and illegitimate children in order to
determine relatives called to inherit .

Rights resulting from a doption are regulated in the Title Of Adoption.

§ 1 – Of Orders of Heirs

Art. 734

In the absence of a spouse entitle d to inherit, relatives are called to succeed as follows:

1° Children and their descendants;

2° The father and mother; brot hers and sisters and the descendants of the latter;

3° Ascendants other than the father and mother;

4° Collaterals other than brothers and sisters and the descendants of the latter.

Each of these four categories c onstitutes an order of heirs which excludes the following.

Art. 735

Children or their descendants su cceed to their father and mother or other ascendants,
without distinction of sex or primogeniture , even where born of different marriages.

Art. 736

Where a deceased leaves neither de scendants, nor brother or sister, or descendants of the
latter, his father and mother inherit from him, each one taking one half.

Art. 737

Where the father and mother have died before the deceased and the latter leaves no
descendants, the brothers and sisters of the d eceased or their descendants inherit from him,
excluding the other relatives, ascendants or collaterals.

Art. 738

Where the father and mother ou tlive the deceased and the latter has no descendants, but
brothers and sisters or descendants of the latte r, one-quarter of the succession devolves to each
one of the father and mother, and the remaining half to the brothers and sisters or to their
descendants.

Where only one of the father and mother survives, one-quarter of the succession devolves
to the latter, and three-quarters to the brot hers and sisters or to their descendants .

Art. 739

Failing heirs of the first two orders, succession devolves to ascendants other than the
father and mother .

Art. 740

Failing heirs of the first three or ders, succession devolves to collateral relatives of the
deceased other than brothers and sisters and the descendants of the latter .

§ 2 – Of Degrees

Art. 741

The proximity of relationshi p is established by the number of generations; each
generation is called a degree .

Art. 742

The sequence of degrees form s the line; the sequence of degrees between persons
descending one from the other is called the direct line; the sequence of degrees between persons
who do not descend one from the other, but who descend from a common ancestor, is called the
collateral line.

Descending direct lin e is separated from ascending direct line.

Art. 743

In the direct line, as many de grees are counted as there are generations between the
persons: thus, a son is, with regard to his father, in the first degree, a grandson in the second; and
reciprocally the father and grandfathe r with regard to sons and grandsons.

In the collateral line, degrees ar e counted by generations from one of the relatives to and
exclusive of the common ancestor, and from the latter to the other relative.

Thus, two brothers are relatives in the second degree; uncle and nephew are in the third
degree; first cousins in the fourth degree; and so on.

Art. 744

In each order, the heir who is in the nearest degree excludes an heir in a later degree.

In the same degree, heirs inherit in equal shares and by heads.

The whole, subject to what will be laid down hereafter as to division by branches and
representation.

Art. 745

Collateral relatives may not inherit beyond the sixth degree.

§ 3 – Of Division by Branches, Paternal and Maternal

Art. 746

Parenthood is divided into tw o branches, depending on whether it proceeds from the
father or the mother.

Art. 747

Where succession devolves to asce ndants, it is divided in halves between those of the
paternal branch and those of the maternal branch.

Art. 748

In each branch, the ascendant who is in the nearest degree inherits, to the exclusion of all
others.

The ascendants in the same degree inherit by heads.

Failing an ascendant in a branch, the ascendants of the other branch shall take the whole
succession.

Art. 749

Where succession devolves to co llaterals other than brothers and sisters and their
descendants, it is divided in halves between t hose of the paternal branch and those of the
maternal branch.

Art. 750

In each branch, the collateral who is in the nearest degree inherits, to the exclusion of all
others.

The collaterals in the same degree inherit by heads.

Failing a collateral in a branch, th e collaterals of the other branch shall take the whole
succession.

§ 4 – Of Representation

Art. 751

Representation is a fiction of the law which causes the representative to enter into the
rights of the person represented.

Art. 752

Representation takes place without limitation in the descending direct line.

It is admitted in all cases, whether the children of the deceased compete with the
descendants of a predeceased child, or whether all the children of the deceased having died
before him, the descendants of said children are in equal or unequal degrees between them.

Art. 752-1

Representation does not take place in favour of ascendants; in each of the two lines, the
nearest always excludes the remotest.

Art. 752-2

In the collateral line, representa tion is admitted in favour of children and descendants of
brothers or sisters of the deceased, whether they come to the succession concurrently with uncles
and aunts, or whether, all the brothers and sist ers of the deceased having died before him, the
succession devolves on their descenda nts in equal or unequal degree.

Art. 753

In all cases in which representation is admitted, partition shall be made by stocks, as if
the represented person came to the succession; if there is occasion, it shall be made by
subdivision of stock. Within a stock or subdivisi on of stock, partition shall be made by heads.

Art. 754

One represents predeceased pe rsons, one does not represent those who have renounced.

One may represent a person to whose succession one has renounced.

Art. 755

Representation is admitted in favour of the children and descendants of an unworthy heir,
although the latter is alive on the opening of the succession.

Children of an unworthy heir c onceived before the opening of a succession of which the
unworthy heir was excluded shall return to the succession of the latter the property they have
inherited in his stead, where they come in competition with other children conceived after the
opening of the first succession.

Collation shall be made under the pr ovisions of Section 2 of Chapter VI of this Title .

Section II – Of the Rights of a Spouse Entitled to Inherit

§ 1 – Of the Nature of the Right s, of their Amount and Exercise

Art. 756

A spouse entitled to inherit is called to a succession ei ther alone, or in competition with
the relatives of a deceased.

Art. 757

Where a predeceased spouse leaves children or descendants, the surviving spouse shall
take, at his or her option, either the usufruct of the whole of the existing property or the
ownership of the quarter where all the children are born from both spouses and the ownership of
the quarter in the presence of one or several children who are not born from both spouses.

Art. 757-1

Where, in the absence of childr en or descendants, a deceased leaves his father and
mother, the surviving spouse shall take one half of the property. The other half devolves for one
quarter to the father and for one quarter to the mother .

Where the father or the mother is predeceased, the share which he would have taken
devolves to the surviving spouse .

Art. 757-2

In the absence of children or descendants of the deceased or of his father and mother, the
surviving spouse shall take the whole succession .

Art. 757-3

Notwithstanding Article 757-2, in case of predecease of the father and mother and in
absence of descendants, the property that the d eceased received from them by succession or gift
and that is found in kind in the succession devolves for one half to the brothers and sisters of the
deceased or to their descendants, themselves de scending from the predeceased parent or parents
from whom the devolution originates.

Art. 758

Where a surviving spouse takes the whole or the three quarters of the property, the
ascendants of the deceased, other than the father and mother, who are in need are entitled to a
maintenance obligation against th e succession of the predeceased.

The period within which it may be claimed is of one year after the death or the moment
from which the heirs cease to perform the payments they made before to the ascendants. In case
of undivided ownership the period shall be ex tended until the completion of the partition.

Periodical payments shall be obt ained from the succession. They shall be borne by all the
heirs and, in case of insufficien cy, by all the specific legatees, in proportion to what they
received.

If, however, the deceased expressl y declared that such legacy should be paid in
preference to the other, Article 927 shall apply.

Art. 758-1

Where a surviving spouse has an option between ownership or usufruct, his or her rights
may not be assigned so long as he or she did not exercise the option.

Art. 758-2

The option of a spouse between usufruct and ownership may be proved by any means.

Art. 758-3

Any heir may request in writing a spouse to exercise his or her option. Where he or she
fails to come to a decision in writing within th ree months, the spouse shall be deemed to have
chosen the usufruct .

Art. 758-4

Where he or she dies without ha ving come to a decision, the spouse shall be deemed to
have chosen the usufruct .

Art. 758-5

The calculation of the right in fu ll ownership of a spouse provided for in Articles 757 and
757-1 must be effected on an aggregate formed of all the property existing at the death of his or
her spouse to which shall be united fictitiously that which he or she has disposed with, by an act
inter vivos or testamentary, in favour of persons entitled to inherit, by way of advancement.

The spouse may exercise his or her right only on property which the predeceased has not
disposed with by act inter vivos or testamentary, and without prejudicing reserved rights or rights
to collation.

§ 2 – Of the Conversion of a Usufruct

Art. 759

Any usufruct belonging to a s pouse upon the property of the predeceased, whether it
results from legislation, from a will or from a gi ft of future property, gives rise to a power of

conversion into a life annuity, on request of one of the heirs bare-owners or of the spouse himself
or herself entitled to inherit.

Art. 759-1

A power of conversion may not be renounced . Coheirs may not be deprived of it by the
intention of the predeceased.

Art. 760

Failing an agreement between the pa rties, an application for conversion shall be referred
to the judge. It may be instituted until final partition.

Where he entertains the appli cation for conversion, the judge shall determine the amount
of the annuity, the guarantees which the debtor heir s shall give, as well as the appropriate kind of
index-linking to maintain the initial equi valence of the annuity to the usufruct.

The judge, however, may not order against the intention of the spouse the conversion of
the usufruct bearing on the lodging which he or she occupies as his or her main residence, as
well as on the furniture with which it is fitted.

Art. 761

Through an agreement between the heirs and the spouse, it may be proceeded to a
conversion of the usufruct of the spouse into a capital.

Art. 762

The conversion of an usufruct is part of the performing of a partition. It does not produce
a retroactive effect, save stipulati ons of the parties to the contrary.

§ 3 – Of the Temporary Right to Lodgi ng and of the Right for Life to Lodging

Art. 763

Where, at the time of the death, a spouse entitled to inherit actually occupies, as his or her
main habitation, a lodging belonging to the spous es or fully depending upon the succession, he
or she has by operation of law, during one year, th e gratuitous enjoyment of that lodging, as well
as of the furniture, included in the succession, with which it is fitted.

Where his or her habitation was s ecured through a lease , the rents thereof shall be repaid
to him or her during the year , as the payments proceed.

The rights provided for in this Arti cle shall be deemed direct effects of the marriage and
not rights of inheritance;

This Article is mandatory.

Art. 764

Save intention to the contrary expressed by the deceased in the way provided for in
Article 971, a spouse entitled to in herit who actually occupied, at the time of the death, as his or
her main habitation, a lodging belonging to the spouses or fully depending upon the succession,
has on this lodging, until his or her death, a right of habitation and a right of use on the furniture,
included in the succession, with which it is fitted.

Those rights of habitation and of use are exercised subject to the conditions provided for
in Articles 627, 631, 634 and 635.

The spouse, the other heirs, or one of them may insist on an inventory of the movables
and a statement of the immovable subjected to the rights of use and of habitation being drawn
up.

Notwithstanding Articles 631 a nd 634, where it results from the situation of the spouse
that the lodging subject to the right of habitation is no longer ad apted to his or her needs, the
spouse or his or her representativ e may lease it for an use other than commercial or rural in order
to provide necessary means for new conditions of dwelling.

Art. 765

The value of the rights of habita tion and use shall be appropriated to the value of the
rights of succession taken by the spouse.

Where the value of the rights of habitation and use is lesser than that of the rights of
succession, the spouse may take the remainder on the existing property.

Where the value of the rights of habitation and use is hi gher than that of his or her rights
of succession, the spouse is not bound to compen sate the succession on account of the excess.

Art. 765-1

A spouse has one year after the deat h in order to evidence his or her intention to benefit
from those rights of habitation and use.

Art. 765-2

Where the lodging was the subject of a lease, a spouse entitled to inherit who, at the time
of the death, actually occupied th e premises as his or her main habitation benefits by the right of
use upon the furniture, included in the succession, with which it is fitted.

Art. 766

A spouse entitl ed to inherit and the heirs may, by agreement, convert the rights of
habitation and use into a life annuity or a capital.

Where a minor or a protected adult are among the parties to an agreement, the latter must
be authorized by the judge of guardianships.

§ 4 – Of the Right to Maintenance

Art. 767

The succession of a predeceased spous e owes maintenance to a spouse entitled to inherit
who is in need. The period within which to claim it is one year after the death or the time where
the heirs cease to perform the payments they ma de before to the spouse. In case of undivided
ownership the period shall be extended until the completion of the partition.

Periodical payments shall be obtained from the succession. They shall be borne by all the
heirs and, in case of insufficien cy, by all the specific legatees, in proportion to what they
received.

If, however, the deceased expressl y declared that such legacy should be paid in
preference to the other, Article 927 shall apply.

CHAPTER IV – OF THE RIGHTS OF THE STATE

Art. 768

(Ord. n° 58-1307 of 23 Dec. 1958)

In absence of heirs, a succession is acquired by the State .

Art. 769

(Ord. n° 58-1307 of 23 Dec. 1958)

The administration of Domains which claims a right to a succession is bound to have
seals affixed and to cause an inventory to be made in the forms prescribed for the acceptance of
successions under benefit of inventory .

Art. 770

(Ord. n° 58-1307 of 23 Dec. 1958)

It must petition to obtain from the tribunal de grande instance in whose territorial
jurisdiction the succession was opened, a court order to take possession.

It is dispensed from using the services of a counsel; the court shall rule on the petition
three months and forty days after a notice and bill in the usual forms, and after having heard the
Government procurator.

Where, the vacancy having been duly declared, the administration of Domains has been
appointed curator, it may, before filing its petition, proceed by itsel f to the formalities of notice
provided for in the preceding paragraph.

In all cases, bill-sticking shall be proved by a copy of the bill signed by the director of
Domains and bearing a certificate of the mayor of the place of opening of the succession.

Art. 771 [repealed]

Art. 772

(Ord. n° 58-1307 of 23 Dec. 1958)

The administration of Domains which does not fulfil the formalities prescribed for it may
be ordered to pay damages to th e heirs, if any should appear.

Art. 773 [repealed]

CHAPTER V – OF THE ACCEPTANCE AND REPUDIATION OF SUCCESSIONS

Section I – Of Acceptance

Art. 774

A succession may be accepted outright or subject to benefit of inventory.

Art. 775

No one is obliged to accept a succession which devolves upon him .

Art. 776

(Act of 18 Feb. 1938)

Successions devolving on minors and on adults in guardianship may be lawfully accepted
only in accordance with the provisions of the Title Of Minority, of Guardianship and of
Emancipation.

Art. 777

The effects of acceptance go back to the day of the opening of the succession .

Art. 778

Acceptance may be express or by conduct: it is express where one assumes the title or
capacity of heir in an authentic or private instrument; it is by conduct where the heir does an act
which necessarily implies his intention of accepti ng and which he would be entitled to do only in
his capacity as heir.

Art. 779

Acts of mere preservation, su pervision and interim administration are not acts of
acceptance of a succession, unless the title or cap acity of heir has been assumed therein.

Art. 780

A gift, sale or assignment of his rights of inheritance made by one of the co-heirs, either
to a stranger, or to all his co -heirs, or to some of them, involves on his part acceptance of the
succession.

It shall be the same :

1° as to the renunciation, even gr atuitous, which one of the heirs makes in favour of one
or several of his co-heirs;

2° as to the renunciation which he makes in favour of all his co-heirs without distinction,
where he receives the price of his renunciation.

Art. 781

Where a person to whom a succe ssion has devolved dies without having repudiated it or
without having accepted it expressly or by condu ct, his heirs may accept or repudiate it on his
behalf.

Art. 782

Where those heirs do not agree as to accepting or repudiating the succession, it must be
accepted under benefit of inventory.

Art. 783

An adult may attack an accep tance, express or by conduct, which he made of a
succession, only in the case where that accepta nce was the result of a deception committed upon
him: he may never claim on the ground that he su ffered loss, except only in the case where the
succession is absorbed or reduced more than on e-half through the discovery of a will unknown at
the time of the acceptance.

Section II – Of the Renu nciation of Successions

Art. 784

Renunciation of a succession may not be presumed; it may only be made at the court
office of the tribunal de grande instance in the arrondissement of which the succession was
opened, on a special register kept for that purpose.

Art. 785

An heir who renounces shall be deemed to have never been an heir.

Art. 786

The share of a renouncing heir ac crues to his co-heirs; where he is alone, it devolves
upon the next degree.

Art. 787

One may never take by repres entation of an heir who renounced: where the person
renouncing is the only heir in his degree, or wh ere all the co-heirs renounce, children come in
their own right and inherit by heads.

Art. 788

Creditors of one who renounces to the detriment of their rights may be authorized by the
court to accept the succession on behalf of their debtor, in his place and stead.

In that case, the renunciation is avoided only in favou r of the creditors and to the extent
only of their claims: it is not so in favour of the heir who renounced .

Art. 789

The power to accept or repudiate a succession is extinguished by the length of time
required for the longest prescr iption of immovable rights .

Art. 790

So long as prescription of the right to accept is not effective against the heirs who
renounced, they have the power to still accep t the succession, where it has not already been
accepted by other heirs; without pr ejudice, however, to the rights which third parties may have
acquired to property of the succession, either by pr escription, or by transactions lawfully entered
into with the curator of the vacant succession.

Art. 791

One may not, even by an ante -nuptial agreement, renounce the succession of a living
person or transfer contin gent rights which one may have to that succession.

Art. 792

Heirs who have misappropriated or concealed items of property of a succession, are
deprived of the power to re nounce it: they remain outright heirs, notwithstanding their
renunciation, without being allowed to claim any share in the things misappropriated or
concealed.

Section III – Of the Benef it of Inventory, of its Effects and of the Obligations of a Beneficiary
Heir

Art. 793

The declaration of an heir, that he intends to assume that capacity only under benefit of
inventory, must be made at th e court office of the tribunal de grande instance in the
arrondissement of which the succession was opened: it must be entered on the register designed
for receiving acts of renunciation .

Art. 794

That declaration is effective only where it is preceded or followed by a true and exact
inventory of the property of the succession, in the manner prescribed by the legislation on
procedure, and within the periods wh ich shall be hereafter specified.

Art. 795

An heir has three months for making the inventory, from the day of the opening of the
succession.

He has in addition, for deliber ating on his acceptance or renunciation, a period of forty
days, which shall commence to run from the day of expiry of the three months given for the
inventory, or from the day of the closing of th e inventory if it was finished before the three
months.

Art. 796

Where, however, there exist in th e succession articles liable to waste away or costly to
keep, an heir may, in his capacity of being enti tled to inherit, and without there being an
acceptance on his part thereby presumed, have hims elf authorized by the court to proceed to a
sale of those articles.

That sale must be done by a public officer, after the bills and notice regulated by
legislation on procedure.

Art. 797

While the periods for making an inventory and deliberating are elapsing, an heir may not
be compelled to assume a capacity and no judgm ent may be obtained against him: where he
renounces when the periods have elapsed or before , the expenses which he has lawfully incurred
up to that time are the responsibility of the succession.

Art. 798

After the expiry of the above-mentioned periods, an heir, in case of proceedings brought
against him, may require a new period which th e court to which the matter was referred may
grant or refuse according to the circumstances.

Art. 799

The costs of the proceedings, in th e case of the preceding Article, are the responsibility of
the succession, where the heir pr oves either that he had no knowledge of the death, or that the
periods were insufficient, either because of the location of the property, or because of the
controversies which have arisen : where he does not make that proof, the costs are his personal
responsibility.

Art. 800

Nevertheless, after the expiry of the periods granted by Article 795, and even of those
given by the judge under Article 798, an heir keeps the power to still make an inventory and to
stand as heir beneficiary, where he has not acted as heir or where there does not exist against him
a judgment having become res judicata which conde mns him in the capacity of outright heir.

Art. 801

An heir who has been guilty of concealment or who has omitted, knowingly and in bad
faith, to include articles of the succession in the inventory, is deprived of the benefit of
inventory.

Art. 802

The effect of the benefit of inventory is to give an heir the advantage:

1° To be obliged to pay the debts of the succession only to the extent of the value of the
property which he receives, and even to be allo wed to discharge himself from paying the debts
by abandoning all the property of the succes sion to the creditors and legatees;

2° Not to mingle his personal pr operty with that of the succession, and to keep against it
the right to ask for payment of his claims.

Art. 803

A beneficiary heir is responsible for administering the property of the succession, and
must account for his administrati on to creditors and legatees.

He may be constrained as to his personal property only after having been given notice to
present his account, and having failed to comply with that obligation.

After an auditing of the account, he may be constrained as to his personal property only
to the extent of the balance of which he is debtor.

Art. 804

He is liable only for gross fa ults in the administration for which he has charge.

Art. 805

He may sell movables of the succession only through a public officer, by auction and
after the usual bills and notices.

Where he produces them in kind, he is liable only for depreciation or deterioration caused
by his negligent conduct.

Art. 806

He may sell immovables only in the forms prescribed by the rules of procedure; he is
obliged to transfer the proceeds thereof to mortgage creditors who made themselves known.

Art. 807

Where creditors or other persons concerned so require, he is obliged to give good and
solvent security for the value of the movables co ntained in the inventory and for the portion of
the proceeds of the immovables not transferred to mortgage creditors.

Where he fails to give that secu rity, the movables shall be sold and the proceeds thereof
deposited, as well as the proceeds not transf erred of the immovables, for the purpose of
discharging the liabili ties of the succession.

Art. 808

Where there are attaching credito rs, a beneficiary heir may pay only in the order and
manner fixed by the judge.

Where there are no attaching creditor s he shall pay creditors and legatees as they present
themselves.

Art. 809

Creditors who did not attach, w ho present themselves after the auditing of the account
and the payment of the balance , may only exer cise their remedies against the legatees.

In either case, the remedy is time-b arred after the lapse of three years, after the day of the
auditing of the account and th e payment of the balance.

Art. 810

Costs of seals, if any have been affixed, of inventory and of account, are charged against
the succession .

Section IV – Of Vacant Successions

Art. 811

Where, after expiry of the periods for making the inventory and deliberating, no one
presents himself to claim a succession, and th ere are no known heirs or the known heirs have
renounced, the succession is deemed vacant.

Art. 812

The tribunal de grande instance in whose arrondissement it is opened, shall appoint a
curator on request of the pers ons concerned, or on demand of the Government procurator.

Art. 813

A curator of a vacant succession is obliged first of all to have its state of being
established by an inventory: he shall exercise and enforce its rights; he shall answer claims
brought against it; he shall admini ster, with the responsibility of having the funds forming part of
the succession, as well as the proceeds from the sa le of movables or immovables, deposited into
the funds of the receive r of the national office for the pres ervation of rights and with the
responsibility of accounting to whomever it may belong.

Art. 814

The provisions of Section III of this Chapter, on the forms of an inventory, the method of
administration, and the accounts to be rendered by a beneficiary heir, shall apply moreover to
curators of vacant successions, “insofar as they ar e not contrary to the provisions of Articles
1000 and 1001 of the Code of Civil Procedure” (Ord. n° 58-1007 of 24
Oct. 1958) .

CHAPTER VI – OF PARTIT ION AND OF COLLATIONS

Section I – Of Undivided Ownership and of the Action for Partition

Art. 815

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

No one may be compelled to remain in undivided ownership and a partition may always
be induced, unless it was dela yed by judgment or agreement .

“On request of an undivided co-own er, a court may delay partition” (Act n° 78-627 of 10
June 1978) for two years at the most where its im mediate carrying out could affect the value of
the undivided property “or where one of the undivided co-owners can settle in an agricultural
holding depending on the succession only at the end of that period” (Act n° 80-502 of 4 July
1980). That delay may be applied to the whole of the undivided property or only to part of it .

Furthermore, where undivided co -owners wish to remain in undivided ownership, the
court may, on request of one or several of them, on the basis of the interests as they stand, and
without prejudice to the applicati on of Articles 832 to 832-3, allot his share, after appraisal, to
the one who sought partition, either in kind, if it can easily be disjoined from the remainder of
the undivided property, or in money, if the allotm ent in kind cannot be conveniently made, or if
the applicant expresses his preference for it; where there is not a sufficient sum in the undivided
property, the complement shall be remitted by t hose of the undivided co-owners who concurred
in the request, without prejudice to the possi bility for the other undivided co-owners to
participate in it if they expre ss the wish of doing so. The share of each of them in the undivided
property shall be increased in proportion to his remittance.

Art. 815-1

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

Failing an amicable agreement, undivided ownership of an agricultural holding forming
an economic unit and whose development was secured by the deceased or by his or her spouse
may be maintained, under the terms fixed by the c ourt, on request of the persons referred to in
paragraphs 3 and 4 below . The cour t shall rule on the basis of the interests as they stand and of
the possibilities of existence which the family can derive from the undivided property. The
maintenance of undivided ownership remains po ssible where the holding includes elements of
which the heir or the spouse was already ow ner or co-owner before the opening of the
succession.

Undivided ownership may also be maintained on request of the same persons and under
the terms fixed by the court, as regards ownership of premises used for habitation or for
professional purposes which, at the time of the death, were actually used for that habitation or
for those purposes by the deceased or his or her spous e. It shall be the same for movable articles
which are useful for the ex ercise of the profession.

Where the deceased leaves one or several minor descendants, the maintenance of
undivided ownership may be requested either by the surviving spouse, or by any heir, or by the
statutory representati ve of the minors.

In the absence of minor descendants, the maintenance of undivided ownership may be
requested only by the surviving spouse and provided that he was before the death, or has become
by reason of the death, co-owner of the agricu ltural holding or of the premises used for
habitation or for professional purpos es. If it is a case of premises used for habitation, the spouse
must have resided on the spot at the time of the death.

Maintenance of undivided owners hip may not be prescribed for a duration longer than
five years. In may be renewed, in the case provided for in paragraph 3, until the coming of age of
the youngest of the descendants, and, in the case provided for in paragraph 4, until the death of
the surviving spouse.

Art. 815-2

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

Any undivided owner may take th e necessary steps for the preservation of the undivided
property.

He may use for that purpose f unds of the undivided property which he holds, and he is
deemed to have the free disposal of them with regards to third parties.

Failing funds of the undivided prope rty, he may compel his undivided co-owners to make
with him the necessa ry expenditures.

Where undivided property is encu mbered with an usufruct, those powers are effective
against the usufructuary to the extent that the latter is responsible for repairs.

Art. 815-3

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

Acts of administration and dis position relating to undivided property require the consent
of all the undivided co-owners . They may give to one or several of them general authority for
administration. A special authority is required for any act which does not belong to a normal
management of the undivided property, as well as for the conclusion and renewal of leases.

Where one undivided owner takes up the management of the undivided property, with the
knowledge of the others and nevertheless without opposition on their part, he is deemed to have
received an implied authority, c overing acts of administration, but not acts of disposition or
conclusion or renewal of contracts.

Art. 815-4

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

Where one of the undivided owners is unable to express his intention, another may be
judicially entitled to represent him, in a genera l manner or for some particular transactions, the
terms and extent of that representation being fixed by the judge.

Failing statutory power, contractual authority or judicial entitlement, the acts done by a
undivided owner on behalf of anothe r are effective with regard to the latter under the rules of
management of another’s business.

Art. 815-5

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

An undivided owner may be judi cially authorized to do alone an act for which the
consent of an undivided co-owner would be requir ed, where the refusal of the latter imperils the
common interest.

“The judge may not, on request of a bare-owner, order the sale of the full ownership of a
property encumbered with an usuf ruct, against the wish of the usufructuary” (Act n° 87-498 of 6
July 1987).

An act made within the terms fixe d by the judicial authorization is effective against the
undivided owner whose consent was wanting .

Art. 815-6

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

The president of the tribunal de grande instance may prescribe or authorize all urgent
measures which the comm on interest requires .

He may in particular authorize an undivided owner to collect from debtors of the
undivided property or from depositaries of undivi ded money funds designed to meet urgent
needs, while prescribing, where required, the terms of their use. That authorization does not
involve qualifying as regards a surviving spouse or a heir.

He may also, either designate an undivided owner as administrator with obligation if
there is occasion of giving secu rity, or appoint a sequestrer. Articles 1873-5 to 1873-9 of this
Code shall apply as may be thought proper to th e powers and obligations of the administrator,
unless they are otherwis e regulated by the judge.

Art. 815-7

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

The president of the court may al so prohibit the shifting of tangible movables reserving
the right to specifying those of which he grants the personal usage to one or another of the
persons entitled, under the responsib ility on the latter to give security, if he deems it necessary.

Art. 815-8

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

Whoever collects revenues or incu rs expenses for the account of the undivided ownership
must keep a statement of them which is at the disposal of the undivided owners.

Art. 815-9

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

Each undivided owner may use and enjoy undivided property in accordance with its
destination, to the extent compa tible with the rights of the other undivided owners and with the
effect of the acts lawfully made in the course of the undivided ownership. Failing an agreement

between the persons concerned, the exercise of that right shall be regulated, provisionally, by the
president of the court .

An undivided owner who uses or en joys privately an undivided thing is liable to an
indemnity, unless otherwise agreed .

Art. 815-10

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

Fruits and revenues of undivide d property accrue to the undivided ownership, in default
of interim partition or of any other ag reement establishing divided enjoyment.

No inquiry relating to fruits a nd revenues may, however, be admissible more than five
years after the date on which they we re or could have been collected.

Each undivided owner is entitled to benefits coming from undivided property and bears
the loss in proportion to his ri ghts in the undivided property.

Art. 815-11

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

Any undivided owner may claim his annual share in the benefits, less the expenses
involved by acts to which he consented or which are effective against him.

Failing another title, the extent of the rights of each in the undivided ownership results
from the affidavit or from the abstract of inventory drawn up by the notaire .

In case of controversy, the pres ident of the tribunal de grande instance may order an
interim distribution of the benef its, subject to an account to be made before the final liquidation.

Up to the amount of available money, he may likewise order an advance in capital on the
rights of an undivided owner in the partition to come.

Art. 815-12

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

An undivided owner who manages one or several undivided items of property is
accountable for the products of hi s management. He is entitled to compensation for his activity
on terms fixed amicably or, failing which, by judicial decision.

Art. 815-13

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

Where an undivided owner has improved at his expenses the condition of undivided
property, account of it must be take n for him according to equity, with regard to the increase in
value of the property at the time of partition or of transfer. Account shall be taken likewise for
him of the necessary outlays he made out of hi s own money for the preservation of said property,
even though they did not improve it.

Reciprocally, an undivided owner is responsible for degradations and deteriorations
which have diminished the value of the undivided property through his act or fault.

Art. 815-14

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

An undivided owner who intends to transfer, for value, to a person outside the undivided
ownership, all or part of his righ ts in the undivided property or in one or several articles of that
property shall give notice by extra- judicial act to the other undivided owners of the price and
terms of the planned transfer as well as of the name, domicile and occupation of the person who
intends to acquire it.

Any undivided owner may, within the period of one month following that notice, make
known to the transferor, by extra-judi cial act, that he exercises a right of pre-emption at the price
and terms of which he was notified.

In case of pre-emption, the person who is exercising it shall have an instrument of sale
drafted within a period of two m onths, counting from the date of sending his reply to the seller.
After that period, his declaration of pre-emption is void by operation of law, fifteen days after a

notice of default remained ineffective, and without prejudice to damages which may be claimed
of him by the seller .

Where several undivided owners exercise their rights of pre-emption, unless otherwise
agreed, they are deemed to acqui re together the portion put up for sale in proportion to their
respective shares in the undivided ownership.

Where terms of payment have b een granted by the transferor, Article 833-1 shall apply.

Art. 815-15

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

Where there is occasion for an auc tion of all or part of the rights of an undivided owner
in undivided property or in one or more articles of that property, the counsel or notaire must
inform the undivided owners of it by notice one month before the date planned for the sale.
“Each undivided owner may take the place of the pur chaser within a period of one month after
the auction, by declaration at th e court office or with the notaire” (Act n° 78-627 of 10 June
1978).

The particulars established for the purpose of the sale must mention the rights of
substitution.

Art. 815-16

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

Every transfer or
auction made in defiance of Articles 815-14 and 815-15 is void. An action for annulment is time-
barred after five years. It may be brought only by those on whom notices were to be served or by
their heirs.

Art. 815-17

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

Creditors who might have levied execution on the undivided property before there was
undivided ownership, and those whose claims result from the preservation or management of the
undivided property, shall be paid by deduction from the assets before partition. They may, in
addition, conduct attachment or seizure and sale of the undivided property.

Personal creditors of an undivide d owner may not attach or seize the latter’s share in
undivided property, whether movable or immovable.

They have, however, the power to in stigate partition in the name of their debtor or to
intervene in a partition instigated by him. The undivided co-owners may stop the course of the
action for partition by discharging the obligation in the name and on behalf of the debtor. Those
who exercise that power shall be reim bursed by deduction from the undivided property.

Art. 815-18

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

The provisions of Articles 815 to 815-17 shall apply to undivided property in usufruct to
the extent that they are consistent with the rules on usufruct.

The notices provided for in Articles 815-14, 815-15 and 815-16 must be served on any
bare owner and on any usufructuary. But a usufru ctuary may acquire a share in bare ownership
only where no bare owner offers to acquire it; a bare owner may acquire a share in usufruct only
where no usufructuary offers to acquire it.

Art. 816

A partition may be applied for even where one of the heirs has enjoyed separately a part
of the property of the su ccession, if there was no instrument of partition nor possession adequate
to acquire prescription .

Art. 817

(Act of 19 June 1939)

As regards minors or adults in guardianship, an action for partition may be brought by
their guardians speci ally authorized by a family council.

As regards absent coheirs, th e action belongs to the relatives vested with possession.

Art. 818 [repealed]

Art. 819

(Act n° 85-1372 of 23 Dec. 1985)

Where all the heirs are present and fully capable, a partition may be made in such manner
and through such act as the parties deem proper .

Art. 820

(Act n° 85-1372 of 23 Dec. 1985)

Property of a succession may, in whol e or in part, be subject to measures of preservation,
such as the affixing of seals, on request of a party concerned or of the Government procurator’s
office, under the conditions and following the forms determined by the Code of Civil Procedure.

Art. 821 [repealed]

Art. 822

(D.-Law of 17 June 1938)

An action for partition and the controversies arising either on the occasion of
maintaining undivided ownership or during the pr oceedings of partition, shall be, on pain of
annulment, submitted only to the court of the place of opening of the succession; it is before that
court that auctions shal l be made and that claims relating to the warranty of shares between
coparceners and those for rescissi on of a partition shall be brought. In the case where an attempt
to conciliation as provided for in Article 48 [rep ealed] of the Code of Civil Procedure takes
place, the judge of the tribunal d’instance of the place of opening of the succession shall alone be
competent, on pain of annulment.

(Act of 15 Dec. 1921) Where a ll the parties agree, the court may be seized of an
application for partition through a collective request signed by their counsels. If there is occasion
for an auction, the request shall contain an upset price which will serve as an appraisal. In that
case, the judgment shall be handed down in chambers and is not appealable where the
submissions of the request are accepte d by the court without modification.

(Act of 19 June 1939) The provi sions of the preceding paragraphs shall apply without
need of a previous authorizati on, whatever the capacity of the party concerned may be and even
where he is represented by a judicial agent.

Art. 823

Where one of the coheirs refuses to consent to a partition, or where controversies arise,
either as to the way of proceeding, or as to the manner of settling it, the court shall decide as in
summary matters, or sha ll appoint, if necessary, for the pr oceedings of partition, one of the
judges, on whose report it shall decide the controversies.

Art. 824

Appraisal of the immovables sha ll be made by experts chosen by the parties concerned,
or, upon their refusal, appointed by the court of its own motion.

The memorandum of the experts sh all state the basis of the appraisal; it shall indicate
whether the article appraised can be conveniently partitioned; in wh at manner; finally, in case of
partition, it shall fix each one of the shares that can be formed therefrom, and their value.

Art. 825

Appraisal of the movables, where there was no valuation in a regular inventory, must be
made by knowledgeable persons, at a fair price and without increase.

Art. 826

Each one of the coheirs may claim his share of the movables and immovables of the
succession in kind: nevertheless, where there are attaching or seizing creditors, or where the
majority of the coheirs deem a sale necessary for the discharge of the debts and liabilities of the
succession, movables shall be sold p ublicly in the ordinary manner.

Art. 827

(D.-Law of 17 June 1938)

Where the immovables cannot be conveniently partitioned or allocated in the conditions
provided for by this Code, a sale by auc tion must take place before the court.

The parties, however, where they ar e all of full age, may consent that the auction be held
before a notaire, on the choice of whom they agree.

Art. 828

After the immovables and movables have been appraised and sold, if there is occasion,
the supervising judge sha ll send the parties before a notaire up on whom they agree, or whom he
appoints of his own motion, if the parties do not agree upon a choice.

Before that officer shall be de termined the accounts of what the parties may owe each
other, the formation of the general mass, the com position of the shares and the allotments to be
made to each of the coparceners.

Art. 829

Each coheir shall return to the mass, according to the rules hereafter laid down, the gifts
which have been made to him and the sums of which he is debtor.

Art. 830

Where collation is not made in kind, the coheirs to whom it is owed, shall appropriate an
equivalent portion from the mass of the succession.

Appropriations shall be made, as far as possible, on things of the same kind, character
and good quality as those not returned in kind.

Art. 831

After those appropriations, out of what remains of the mass, the composition is made of
as many equal shares as there are copa rcener heirs or coparcener stocks.

Art. 832

(D.-Law of 17 June 1938)

In forming and composing shar es, the parcelling out of lands and the splitting up of
holdings must be avoided.

In so far as parcelling out of la nds and splitting up of holdings can be avoided, each share
must, as far as possible, be composed, in whole or in part, of movables or immovables, of rights
or of claims of equivalent value.

“A surviving spouse or any co-o wner heir may request a preferential allotment by way of
partition, under the responsib ility of a compensation, if any, of any agricultural holding, or part
of agricultural holding, constituting an economic unit, or undivided portion of an agricultural
unit, even formed in part from a property of wh ich he was already owner or co-owner before the
death, in whose development he actually participates or participated; in the case of an heir, the
requirement as to participation may have been fu lfilled by his or her spouse. If there is occasion,
the request for preferenti al allotment may bear on shares of the capital, without prejudice to the
application of the statutory provi sions or of articles of association on the continuation of a
partnership with the surv iving spouse or one or several heirs.

“The same rules shall apply to any commercial, industrial or craft concern, whose
importance does not exclude a family natu re ” (Act n° 82-596 of 10 July 1982).

(Act n° 80-502 of 4 July 1980) In the case where neither the surviving spouse, nor any
co-owner heir requests the appl ication of the provisions provided for in paragraph 3 above or
those of Articles 832-1 or 832-2, preferential allotment may be granted to any coparcener

provided he obliges himself to give on lease, within a period of six months, the property under
consideration under the terms fixed in Chapter VII of Title I of Book VI [Chapter VI of Title I of
Book IV] of the Rural Code to one or several of the coheirs fulfilling the personal requirements
provided for in paragraph 3 above or to one or several descendants of those coheirs fulfilling the
same conditions .

A surviving spouse or any co-o wner heir may also request preferential allotment :

Of the ownershi p or right to lease of the premises which actually serve him or her as
habitation, where he or she had resi dence here at the time of the death “, with the furniture which
garnishes them” (Act n° 2001-1135 of 3 Dec. 2001);

Of the ownershi p or right to lease of the premises used for professional purposes which
serve actually for the exercise of his or her occupation and of the furniture for professional
purposes which garnishes the premises;

Of the whole of movable articles necessary for the holding of a rural property farmed by
the deceased as tenant farmer or sharecropper wh ere the lease continues for the profit of the
applicant or where a new lease is granted to the latter.

Preferential allotment may be sought jointly by several persons entitled to inherit.
“Preferential allotment of the ow nership of the premises and of the furniture which gaenishes it,
referred to in paragraph 7, is as of right for a surviving spouse” (Act n° 2001-1135 of 3 Dec.
2001).

“In the circumstances referred to in the preceding paragraph, an allottee surviving spouse
may require from his coparceners periods, whic h may not exceed ten years, for payment of a
fraction of the balance, equal to a half at the most. Unless otherwise agreed, the sums remaining
due bear an interest at the statutory rate.

“In case of sale of the premises or of the furniture which garnishes them, the fraction of
the balance which relates to it becomes immediately du e; in case of partial sales, the proceeds of
those sales shall be paid to the coparceners a nd appropriated to the fraction of the balance still
due.

“Rights resulting from a preferen tial allotment may not prejudice rights for life of use and
habitation which a spouse may exercise under Ar ticle 764” (Act n° 2001-1135 of 3 Dec. 2001).

“Failing an amicable agreement, a request for preferential allotment shall be brought
before the court, which shall decide on the basis of the interest as they stand; in case of several
requests relating to a holding or a concern, the court shall take into account the fitness of the
various applicants to manage that holding or concern and to remain therein, and in particular the
duration of their personal taking pa rt in the operation of the holding or of the concern” (Act n°
82-596 of 10 July 1982) .

Property which forms the subject of the allotment shall be appraised at its value on the
day of partition .

Unless otherwise amicably agr eed between the coparceners, a balance which may be
oxed shall be paid cash .

Art. 832-1

(Act n° 80-502 of 4 July 1980)

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 832, paragraphs “14 and 16 ” (Act n° 2001-
1135 of 3 Dec. 2001) and unless maintenance in undi vided ownership is requested under Articles
815, paragraph 2, and 815-1, preferential allotment re ferred to in Article 832, paragraph 3, is as
of right as regards any agricultu ral holding which does not exceed the limits of surface fixed by
decree in Conseil d’État. In case of several requests, the court shall designate the allottee or joint
allottees on the basis of the interests as they stan d and of the fitness of the various applicants to
manage the holding and to remain therein .

In the circumstances referred to in the preceding paragraph, even where a preferential
allotment was judicially granted, the allottee ma y require from his coparceners periods which
may not exceed ten years for payment of a fraction of the balance, equal to a half at most. Except
otherwise agreed, sums remaining due b ear interest at the statutory rate.

(Act n° 61-1378 of 19 Dec. 1961) In case of sale of the whole of an allotted property the
fraction of the balance remaining owed becomes im mediately due; in case of partial sales, the
proceeds of those sales shall be paid to the coparceners and appr opriated to the fraction of the
balance still due.

[repealed]

Art. 832-2

(Act n° 80-502 of 4 July 1980)

Where maintenance in undivi ded ownership was not ordered under Articles 815,
paragraph 2, and 815-1, and failing a preferen tial allotment in ownership provided for in
Articles 832, paragraph 3, or 832- 1, a surviving spouse or any co-owner heir may request
preferential allotment of all or part of imm ovable property or rights for agricultural purposes
depending on the succession, with a view to establishing an agricultural land grouping with one
or several coheirs and, as the case ma y be, one or several third persons.

That allotment is of right wher e the surviving spouse or one or several of the coheirs
fulfilling the personal qualifications provided for in Article 832, paragraph 3, require that there
be given them on lease all or part of the propert y of the grouping, subject to the conditions laid
down in Chapter VII of Title I of Book VI [Chapter VI of Title I of Book IV] of the Rural Code.

In case of several requests, the property of the grouping may, where its composition so
permits, be the subject of several leases benefiti ng different coheirs; otherwise, and failing an
amicable agreement the court shall designate the lessee taking into account the fitness of the
various applicants to manage the property conc erned and to remain therein. Where the terms and
conditions of that lease or of those leases were not the subject of an agreement, they shall be
fixed by the court.

The immovable property and rights which the applican ts do not intend to contribute to
the agricultural land grouping, t ogether with the other property of the succession, shall be
allotted by priority, within the limits of their respective rights of succession, to the undivided
owners who did not agree to the formation of the grouping. Where those undivided owners do
not obtain the whole of their rights through the allo tment thus made, a balance must be paid to
them. Unless otherwise amicably agreed between the coparceners, a balance which may be owed
shall be paid within the year following the pa rtition. It may be effected through a giving in
payment under the form of shares in the agricu ltural land grouping, unless the parties concerned,
within the month following the proposal made to them, make known their opposition to that
mode of payment.

Partition is complete only after the signature of the instrument of constitution of the
agricultural land groupin g and, if there is occasion, of the long-term lease or leases.

Art. 832-3

(Act n° 80-502 of 4 July 1980)

Where an agricultural holding constituting an economic unit and not operated under the
form of a partnership is not maintained in undivided ownership under Articles 815, paragraph 2,
and 815-1, and was not the subject of a preferenti al allotment within the terms provided for in
Articles 832, 832-1 or 832-2, a surv iving spouse or any co-owner heir who wishes to continue
the exploiting in which he or she actually participates or participated may require,
notwithstanding any request for auction, that the partition be concluded subject to the condition
that his or her coparceners grant to him or her a long-term lease under the terms fixed in Chapter
VII of Title I of Book VI [Chapt er VI of Title I of Book IV] of the Rural Code, on the lands of
the holding which fall to them. Un less otherwise amicably agreed between the parties, the one
who requests to benefit by those provisions sha ll receive by priority in his or her share the
buildings for exploita tion and habitation.

The preceding provisions shall ap ply to a part of an agricultural holding which can
constitute an economic unit.

Account shall be taken, if there is occasion, of depreciation due to the existence of a lease
in the appraisal of the lands included in the various shares.

Articles 807 and 808 [L. 412-14 and L. 412-15] of the Rural Code shall determine the
specific rules for the lease referred to in the first paragraph of this Article.

Where there are several requests, the tribunal de grande instance shall designate the
beneficiary or beneficiaries on the basis of the interests as they stand and of the fitness of the
various applicants to manage all or part of the holding or to remain therein.

Where, due to the obvious unfitness of the applicant or applicants to manage all or part of
the holding, the interests of the c oheirs risk being imperilled, the c ourt may decide that there is
no occasion to apply the first thr ee paragraphs of this Article.

An economic unit referred to in pa ragraph 1 can be formed in part of property of which a
surviving spouse or a heir was al ready owner or co-owner before the death. As regards a heir, the
requisite of participation may have been fulfilled by his or her spouse.

Art. 832-4

(Act n° 80-502 of 4 July 1980)

The provisions of Articles 832, 832-1, 832-2 and 832-3 shall benefit a spouse or any heir,
whether co-owner in full or bare ownership .

The provisions of Articles 832, 832- 2 and 832-3 shall benefit also a beneficiary, universal
or by universal title, of the succession by virt ue of a will or of a contractual institution.

Art. 833

Inequality of shares in kind shall be compensated by a reversion, either in the form of an
annuity, or in money.

Art. 833-1

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

Where the debtor of a balance has obtained time for payment and, as a result of economic
circumstances, the value of the property put in his share has increased or lessened by more than
one-fourth since the partition, th e sums remaining due shall increase or lessen in the same
proportion.

The parties may, however, agree that the amount of the balance will not vary.

Art. 834

Shares are made by one of the coheirs where they can agree between themselves on the
choice and where the one chosen accepts the char ge: otherwise the shares shall be made by an
expert appointed by th e supervising judge.

They shall then be drawn by lots.

Art. 835

Before drawing the lots, each copa rcener is allowed to present objections as to their
formation.

Art. 836

The rules established for the di vision of the masses to be partitioned shall also be
followed in the subdivision to be made between the coparcener stocks.

Art. 837

Where, in operations referred to a notaire, controversies arise, the notaire shall draw up a
memorandum of the difficulties and respective statements of the parties, and shall refer them to
the supervisor appointed for the partition; and as to other issues, proceedings shall be conducted
as prescribed by legislation relating to procedure.

Art. 838

(Act n° 64-1230 of 14 Dec. 1964)

Where all coheirs are not present, a partition must be made in court, under the rules of
Articles 819 to 837.

It shall be the same where there are among them non-emancipated minors or adults in
guardianship, subject to Article 466.

Where there are several minors, a special and distinct guardian may be given to each of
them.

Art. 839

(Act n° 64-1230 of 14 Dec. 1964)

Where there is occasion for an au ction, in the case provided for in paragraph 1 of the
preceding Article, it may be made only in court with the formalities prescribed for the transfer of
the property of minors. Outsiders shall always be admitted.

Art. 840

(Act n° 64-1230 of 14 Dec. 1964)

Partitions made in accordance with the rules above prescribed in the name of “presumed
absentees” (Act n° 77-1447 of 28 Dec. 1977) and persons not present are final; they are
temporary only where the prescribed rules were not complied with.

Art. 841 [repealed]

Art. 842

After partition, each coparcener shall receive the instruments of title pertaining to the
property which falls on him.

Instruments of title of a divided property shall remain to the one who has the largest part,
with the responsibility to assist with them those of his coparcener s who have an interest therein,
where he is required to do so.

Instruments of title common to a w hole inheritance shall be delivered to the one whom all
the heirs have chosen to be the depositary of them, with the responsibility to assist the
coparceners with them, whenever required. Where th ere is a difficulty about that choice, it shall
be regulated by the judge .

Section II – Of the Collations, Appropriation and Abatement of Gr atuitous Transfers Made to
Persons Entitled to Inherit

Art. 843

(Act of 24 March 1898)

Every heir, even beneficiary, coming into a succession, shall return to his coheirs
everything he has received from the deceased, by gi ft inter vivos, directly or indirectly; he may
not keep the gifts made to him by the deceased unless they were made expressly over and above
his share, or with exemption from collation.

Legacies made to a heir are deemed to be made over and above his part, unless the
testator has expressed his wish to the contra ry, in which case the legatee may only claim his
legacy by taking less.

Art. 844

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

Gifts made over and above the sh are or with exemption from collation may be retained,
and legacies may be claimed by an heir coming into a partition, only up to the amount of the
disposable portion: the exce ss is subject to reduction .

Art. 845

An heir who renounces a succession may nevertheless retain the gift inter vivos or claim
the legacy made to him up to the amount of the disposable portion.

Art. 846

A donee who was not a presumptive heir at the time of the gift, but who is entitled to
inherit on the day of the opening of the successi on, is also bound to collation, unless the donor
has exempted him from it.

Art. 847

Gifts and legacies made to the son of a person who is entitled to inherit at the time of the
opening of the succession, are always deemed to have been made with exemption from collation.

The father coming to the succession of the donor is not bound to collate them.

Art. 848

Likewise, a son coming in his ow n right to the succession of the donor is not bound to
collate a gift made to his father , even if he has accepted the latter’s succession; but where the son
comes only by representation, he sh all collate what was given to his father, even in the case
where he has repudiated his succession.

Art. 849

Gifts and legacies made to the spouse of a spouse entitled to inherit are deemed to be
made with exemption from collation.

Where gifts and legacies are made jointly to two spouses, one of whom only inherits, the
latter collates the half; where th e gifts are made to the spouse enti tled to inherit, he or she shall
collate the whole.

Art. 850

Collation is made only to the succession of the donor.

Art. 851

Collation is due for what has been devoted to the settling of one of the coheirs, or for the
payment of his debts.

Art. 852

The expenses of food, support, educ ation, apprenticeship, the ordinary costs of outfitting,
those of weddings and usual pr esents, shall not be collated.

Art. 853

It shall be th e same with profits which a heir may have made out of agreements entered
into with the deceased, where those agreements di d not offer any indirect advantage when they
were made.

Art. 854

Likewise, no collation is due fo r partnerships concluded without fraud between the
deceased and one of his heirs, where the artic les thereof were regulated by an authentic
instrument.

Art. 855

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

A property which perishes through a fortuitous event and without fault of the donee is not
subject to collation.

Where, however, that property was restored through an indemnity received because of its
loss, a donee shall collate it in the proportion that the indemn ity served to restore it.

Where the indemnity was not used for that purpose, it is itself subject to collation .

Art. 856

Fruits and interests from thi ngs subject to collation are due only from the day of the
opening of the succession.

Art. 857

Collation is only due by a coheir to his coheir; it is not due to legatees nor to creditors of
the succession.

Art. 858

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

Collation is made by taking le ss. It may not be required in kind unless otherwise
stipulated in the instrument of gift.

In case of such a stipulation, conveyances and creations of real rights granted by the
donee are extinguished in conse quence of collation, unless the donor has consented to them.

Art. 859

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

An heir also has the power to collate in kind property given which still belongs to him
provided that property be free from any encu mbrance or occupancy with which it was not
already burdened at the time of the gift.

Art. 860

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

Collation is due of the value of the property given at the time of partition, according to its
condition at the time of the gift.

Where the property was transferred before partition, account shall be taken of the value it
had at the time of transfer and, where a new pr operty was substituted for the property transferred,
of the value of that new pr operty at the time of partition.

The whole, unless otherw ise stipulated in the instrument of gift.

Where it results from such a stipula tion that the value to be collated is less than the value
of the property determined accord ing to the rules of appraisal provided for by Article 922 below,
that difference forms an indirect advantage vested in the donee over and above his share.

Art. 861

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

Where collation is made in ki nd and the condition of the property given was improved by
the act of the donee, account thereof must be taken to him, in consideration of that by which their
value has increased at the tim e of partition or transfer.

Likewise account must be taken to the donee of the necessary expenses which he made
for the preservation of the property, even if they have not improved it.

Art. 862

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

A coheir who makes collation in kind may retain possession of the property given until
the sums due to him for expenses or im provements have been actually reimbursed.

Art. 863

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

A donee, on his part, must, in case of collation in kind, account for degradations and
deteriorations which have reduced the value of the property given through his act or fault.

Art. 864

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

A gift made in advance of his share to a compulsory heir who accepts the succession
shall be appropriated to his shar e of reserve and, subsidiarily to the disposable portion, unless
otherwise agreed in the instrument of gift.

The excess is subject to abatement.

A gift made in advance of his sh are to a compulsory heir who renounces the succession is
treated as a gift over and above the donee’s share.

Art. 865

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

A gratuitous transfer made over and above the beneficiary’s share shall be appropriated to
the disposable portion. The exce ss is subject to abatement.

Art. 866

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

Gifts made to a person entitled to inherit, or to persons entitled to inherit, jointly, which
exceed the disposable portion may be retained in whole by the beneficiaries, whatever the excess
may be, provided they compensate the coheirs in money.

Art. 867

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

Where a legacy made to a person en titled to inherit, or to persons entitled to inherit,
jointly, relates to a property or several item s of property which compose a whole whose value
exceeds the disposable portion, the legatee or legatees may, whatever the excess, claim in totality
the subject matter of the gratuit ous transfer, provided they compen sate the coheirs in money. It
shall be likewise even where the gratuitous tran sfer involves movable items of property which
were in the common use of the deceased and of the legatee .

Art. 868

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

Where abatement may not be re quired in kind, a donee or legatee is debtor for an
indemnity equivalent to the excess portion of th e abatable gratuitous transfer. That indemnity
shall be calculated according to the value of the articles donated or bequeathed at the time of
partition, and their condition on the day when the gratuitous transfer took effect.

It is payable at the time of pa rtition, save agreement between the coheirs. However,
where the subject matter of the gr atuitous transfer is an item of the property which may be the
subject of a preferential allotment, periods may be granted by the court, account being taken of
the interests as they stand, if they were not granted by the transferor. The granting of those
periods may not in any case have the effect of deferring payment of the indemnity beyond ten
years from the opening of the succession. The provisi ons of Article 833-1 shall then apply to the
payment of the sums due.

Failing agreement or stipulation to the contrary, those sums bear interests at the statutory
rate in civil matters. Advantages resulting from periods and methods of payment granted do not
constitute a gratuitous transfer.

In case of sale of the whole of a property donated or bequeathed, the sums remaining due
become immediately due; in case of partial sales, the proceeds of those sales are paid to the
coheirs and appropriated to the sums still due.

Art. 869

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

Collation of a sum of money is equal to its amount. Where, however, it was used to
acquire property, collation of the value of that property is due , in the way provided for in Article
860 .

Section III – Of the Payment of Debts

Art. 870

Coheirs contribute between themselv es to the payment of the debts and liabilities of the
succession, each one in proportion to what he takes from it.

Art. 871

A legatee under universal title cont ributes with the heirs pro rata to his benefit; but a
specific legatee is not held for the debts and liabilities, except however a foreclosure action
against a bequeathed immovable.

Art. 872

Where immovables of a succession are encumbered by annuities with a special mortgage,
each coheir may require that the annuities be reimbursed and the immovables freed before the
composing of the shares. Where the coheirs part ition the succession in the condition in which it
stands, the encumbered immovable must be apprai sed at the same rate as the other immovables;
the capital of the annuity shall be deducted from the total value; the heir in whose share that
immovable falls has alone the charge of servici ng the annuity and is liable for it towards his
coheirs.

Art. 873

Heirs are held to the debts and liabilities of the su ccession personally for their equal share
and portion, and by mortgage for the whole; subject to their remedy either against their coheirs,
or against the universal legatees, for the part to which the latter must contribute.

Art. 874

A specific legatee who has paid a debt encumbering a bequeathed immovable remains
subrogated to the rights of the creditor against th e heirs and successors under universal title.

Art. 875

A coheir or successor under univer sal title who, because of a mortgage, has paid more
than his share of a common debt, has a remedy against the other heirs or successors under
universal title only for the share which each of them must bear personally, even in the case
where the coheir who paid the debt has caused himself to be subrogated to the rights of the
creditor; without prejudice, however, of the ri ghts of a coheir who, because of benefit of
inventory, has retained the pow er to demand payment of his personal claim, like any other
creditor.

Art. 876

In case of insolvency of one of the coheirs or successors under universal title, his share of
the mortgage debt must be divided pro rata between all the others.

Art. 877

Enforceable instruments against a deceased are equally enforceable against a heir
personally; creditors, however, may seek enforcement only eight days after notice of those
instruments has been served upon the heir personally or at his domicile.

Art. 878

They may request, in any case and against any creditor, separation of the deceased’s
patrimony from the heir’s patrimony.

Art. 879

That right, however, may no longe r be exercised where there is novation in the claim
against the deceased, by acceptance of the heir as debtor.

Art. 880

It is time-barred, with rega rd to movables, after the lapse of three years.

With regard to immovables, an act ion may be brought as long as they are in the hands of
the heir.

Art. 881

Creditors of an heir are not allo wed to request the separation of the patrimonies against
the creditors of the succession.

Art. 882

In order to prevent that partition be made in fraud of their rights, creditors of a coparcener
may oppose its being made out of their presence; th ey have the right to intervene in it at their
own expense; but they may not attack a partitio n achieved, unless, however, it was made without
them and notwithstanding an objection they would have made.

Section IV – Of the Effects of Pa rtition and of Warranty of Shares

Art. 883

(Act n° 76-1286 of 31 Dec. 1976)

Each coheir shall be deemed to have succeeded alone and immediately to all the effects
comprised in his share, or falli ng to him through auction, and never to have had ownership of the
other effects of the succession.

It shall be the same as to the property which came to him through any other act leading to
the cessation of undivided ownership. One shall not distinguish depending on whether the act
causes undivided ownership to cease in whole or in part, with regard only to some items of
property or to some heirs.

However, transactions lawfully pe rformed either under an agency given by the coheirs, or
under a judicial authorization, maintain their e ffects whatever the allotment of the property
which was the subject thereof may be at the time of the partition.

Art. 884

Coheirs remain respectively wa rrantors towards each other only for disturbances and
dispossession which result from a cause previous to the partition.

The warranty may not arise wh ere the kind of dispossession suffered was excepted by a
specific and express clause of the instrument of partition; it ceases where a heir suffers
dispossession by his own fault.

Art. 885

Each coheir is personally obliged in proportion to his hereditary share to indemnify his
coheir for the loss which dispossession caused to him.

Where one of the coheirs is inso lvent, the portion for which he is responsible must be
equally divided between the warran tor and all the solvent coheirs.

Art. 886

The warranty of solvency of the debtor of an annuity may be enforced only within the
five years following the partiti on. Warranty on account of insolv ency does not arise where it
happened only since the partition achieved.

Section V – Of Rescission in Matters of Partition

Art. 887

Partitions may be re scinded for reason of violence or deception.

There may also be occasion for rescission where one of the coheirs establishes, to his
prejudice, loss amounting to more than one four th. The mere omission of an article of the
succession does not give rise to an action for rescission, but only to a supplement to the
instrument of partition.

Art. 888

An action for partition is allowe d against any act aiming at putting an end to an undivided
ownership, between coheirs, whether it be characte rized as a sale, exchange, settlement, or in
any other manner.

But, after the partition, or the act which takes its place, an action for rescission is no
longer admissible against a settlement made ove r the real difficulties which the first act
presented, even though no suit has b een initiated on that subject.

Art. 889

An action is not admitted against a sale of rights to succession made without fraud to one
of the coheirs, at his own risk, by his other coheirs or one of them.

Art. 890

In order to decide whether there ha s been loss, the articles shall be appraised according to
their value at th e time of partition.

Art. 891

The defendant in a claim for rescission may stop the course of it and prevent a new
partition by offering and delivering to the plaintiff the supplement of his hereditary share, either
in money, or in kind.

Art. 892

A coheir who has transferred his sh are in whole or in part, is no longer entitled to bring
an action for rescission on ground of deception or vi olence, where the transfer which he made is
subsequent to the discovery of the decepti on, or to the ending of the violence.

TITLE II

OF GIFTS INTER VIVOS AND OF WILLS

CHAPTER I – GENERAL PROVISIONS

Art. 893

One may dispose of his property gratuitously only by gift inter vivos or by will, in the
forms hereinafter laid down.

Art. 894

A gift inter vivos is a transact ion by which the donor divests himself now and irrevocably
of the thing donated, in favour of the donee who accepts it.

Art. 895

A will is a transaction by which a testator disposes, for the time when he is no longer
alive, of the whole or part of hi s property, and which he may revoke.

Art. 896

Substitutions are prohibited .

Any disposition by which a donee, an heir appointed or a legatee, is assigned the duty to
keep and return to a third party, is void, even wi th regard to the donee, the heir appointed or the
legatee.

[repealed]

Art. 897

Are excepted from the first two paragraphs of the preceding Article the dispositions
which the fathers and mothers and the brothers a nd sisters are allowed to make under Chapter VI
of this Title.

Art. 898

A disposition by which a third party is called to take a gift, an inheritance or a legacy, in
case a donee, an heir appointed or a legatee woul d not take it, shall not be considered as a
substitution, and is valid .

Art. 899

It shall be the same as regard s an inter vivos or testamentary disposition by which a
usufruct is donated to one person and bare ownership to another .

Art. 900

In any inter vivos or testamentary disposition, the conditions which are impossible or
those which are contrary to legi slation or good morals, shall be deemed to be not written .

Art. 900-1

(Act n° 71-526 of 3 July 1971)

Clauses of inalienability co ncerning a property donated or bequeathed are valid only
where they are temporary and justified by a serious and legitimate interest. Even in that case, a
donee or legatee may be judicially authorized to dispose of the property if the interest which
justified the clause has disappeared or if it happens that a more important interest so requires.

[repealed]

The provisions of this Article do not prejudice gratuitous transfers granted to juridical
persons or even to natural persons res ponsible for forming juridical persons.

Art. 900-2

(Act n° 84-562 of 4 July 1984)

A beneficiary may apply for judicial revision of the conditions and charges encumbering
the gifts or legacies which he has received, where, in consequence of a change of circumstances,
performance of them has become for him extr emely difficult, or seriously detrimental.

Art. 900-3

(Act n° 84-562 of 4 July 1984)

A claim for revision shall be brought as a main action; it may be so also as a
counterclaim, in reply to an action for perfor mance or revocation brought by the heirs of the
disposing person.

It shall be brought against the he irs; it shall be brought at the same time against the
Government procurator’s office where there is doubt as to the existence or identity of some of
them; where there is no known heir, it must be brought against the Government procurator’s
office.

The latter shall, in any case, have the case communicated to
him.

Art. 900-4

(Act n° 84-562 of 4 July 1984)

A judge seized of a claim for revision may, according to the circumstances and even of
his own motion, either reduce the quantity or intervals of the performances encumbering the
gratuitous transfer, or modify their character making allowance fo r the intention of the disposing
person, or even merge them with analogous performances resulting from other gratuitous
transfers.

He may authorize the transfer of a ll or part of the property which is the subject matter of
the gratuitous transfer with ordering that the proceeds thereof be used for purposes in keeping
with the intention of the disposing party.

He shall prescribe measures adapted to maintain, as far as possible, the denomination
which the disposing person intended to give to his gratuitous transfer.

Art. 900-5

(Act n° 84-562 of 4 July 1984)

A claim is admissible only ten years after the death of the disposing person or, in case of
a succession of claims, ten years after the judgment which ordered the previous revision.

A beneficiary must justify th e steps he took, during the interval, to perform his
obligations.

Art. 900-6

(Act n° 84-562 of 4 July 1984)

Third party application for reh earing against a judgment acceding to an application for
revision is admissible only in case of fraud chargeable to the donee or legatee.

The retraction or reformation of the judgment attacked does not give rise to any action
against the third party purchaser in good faith.

Art. 900-7

(Act n° 84-562 of 4 July 1984)

Where, after revision, performance of the conditions or charges, such as it was originally
provided, becomes possible again, it may be requested by the heirs.

Art. 900-8

(Act n° 84-562 of 4 July 1984)

Shall be deemed not written any clause by which a disposing party deprives of a
gratuitous transfer a pe rson who questions the validity of a cl ause of inalienability or requests
authorization to transfer.

CHAPTER II – OF THE CAPACITY TO DISP OSE OR TO RECEIVE BY INTER VIVOS
GIFT OR BY WILL

Art. 901

To make an inter vivos gift or a will one must be of sound mind.

Art. 902

All persons may dispose and receiv e, either by inter vivos gift, or by will, except those
whom legislation declares to be incapable.

Art. 903

A minor under sixteen years of age may not in any way dispose, except for what is
provided for in Chapter IX of this Title.

Art. 904

(Act n° 64-1230 of 14 Dec. 1964)

A minor who has reached the ag e of sixteen years and is not emancipated, may only
dispose by will, and only to the extent of half of the property which legislation allows an adult to
dispose of.

(Act of 28 Oct. 1916) Where, how ever, he is called up for a campaign of war, he may,
during the duration of the hostilitie s, dispose of the same portion as if he were of full age, in

favour of any of his relatives, or of several of them up to the sixth degree inclusive or in favour
of his surviving spouse.

Failing relatives of the sixth degree inclusive, a minor may dispose as a person of full age
would do.

Art. 905 [repealed]

Art. 906

To be capable of receiving inter vivos, one need only to be conceived at the time of the
gift.

To be capable of receiving by will, one need only to be conceived at the time of the death
of the testator.

However, the gift or will may only take effect if the child is born viable.

Art. 907

A minor, although he has reached th e age of sixteen, may not dispose to the benefit of his
guardian, even by will.

(Act n° 64-1230 of 14 Dec. 1964) A minor, having become of age or emancipated, may
not dispose, either by gift inter vivos or by w ill, to the benefit of the person who was his
guardian, unless the final account of the guardians hip has been previously rendered and audited.

In the above two cases, the ascendants of minors who are or who were their guardians are
excepted.

Art. 908 and 908-1 [repealed]

Art. 908-2

(Act n° 72-3 of 3 Jan. 1972)

In inter vivos and testamentary dispositions, the phrases “sons and grandsons, children
and grandchildren”, without other addition or designation, refer to illegitimate descent as well as
legitimate, unless the contrary results from the instrument or from circumstances.

Art. 909

Doctors in medicine or surger y, health officers and pharmacists who have treated a
person during the disease of which he dies, may not benefit from the inter vivos or testamentary
dispositions which he made in their fa vour during the course of that illness.

Are excepted :

1° Specific remunerative dispositions, with regard to the means of the disposing party
and to the services rendered;

2° Universal dispositions, in the case of relationship up to the fourth degree inclusive,
provided however the deceased has no heir in th e direct line; unless the person in whose favour
the disposition was made is hi mself one of those heirs.

The same rules shall apply to ministers of worship.

Art. 910

Dispositions inter vivos or by w ill to the benefit of almshouses, of the poor of a commune
or of public-utility institutions may only take effect as they are authorized by decree.

Art. 911

Any disposition in favour of a person under a disability is void, whether it is disguised
under the form of a contract for value, or is made under the names of intermediaries.

Are deemed intermediaries the fa ther and mother, the children and descendants, and the
spouse of the person under a disability.

Art. 912 [repealed]

CHAPTER III – OF THE DISPOSABLE PORTION OF PROPERTY AND OF ABATEMENT

Section I – Of the Disposab le Portion of Property

Art. 913

(Act n° 72-3 of 3 Jan. 1972)

Gratuitous transfers, either by inter vivos acts or by wills, may not exceed half of the
property of a disposing person, wher e he leaves only one child at his death; one-third, where he
leaves two children; one-fourth, where he leaves three or a greater number; without there being
occasion to discriminate between legitimate and illegitimate children [repealed].

Art. 913-1

(Act n° 72-3 of 3 Jan. 1972)

Are included in Article 913, under th e name of children, descendants in whatever degree,
although they must be counted only for the child whose place they take in the succession of the
disposing party.

Art. 914

(Act n° 72-3 of 3 Jan. 1972)

Gratuitous transfers, either by inter vivos acts or by wills, may not exceed half of the
property where, failing children, a deceased leaves one or several ascendants in each of the lines,
paternal and maternal, and three-fourths where he leaves ascendants only in one line .

The property thus reserved for the benefit of ascendants is received by them in the order
that the law calls them to succeed: they alone ar e entitled to that reserve in all cases where a
partition concurrently with collat erals would not give them the por tion of property assigned to it.

Art. 914-1

(Act n° 2001-1135 of 3 Dec. 2001)

Gratuitous transfers, either by inter vivos acts or by wills, may not exceed three-fourths
of the property where, failing descendants and as cendants, a deceased leaves a surviving spouse,
not divorced, against whom does not exist an orde r of judicial separation become res judicata
and who is not a party to divorce or judicial separation proceedings.

Art. 915 to 915-2 [repealed]

Art. 916

“Failing descendants, ascendants or a surviving spouse, not divorced, against whom an
order of judicial separation become res judicata does not exist and who is not a party to divorce
or judicial separation proceedings” (Act n° 2001-1135 of 3 Dec. 2001), gratuitous transfers by
inter vivos acts or by wills may exhaust the whole property.

Art. 917

Where a disposition by inter vivos ac t or by will is of a usufruct or of an annuity whose
value exceeds the disposable portion, the heirs for whose benefit the law establishes a reserve
have the option, either to perfor m that disposition or to waive ownership of the disposable
portion.

Art. 918

The value in full ownership of property transferred, either on condition of paying a life
annuity, or non-returnable, or with reservation of a usufruct, to one of the persons entitled to
inherit in the direct line, shall be appropriated to the disposable portion; and the excess, if any,
shall be collated to the mass. That appropriation and that collation may not be requested by those
of the other persons entitled to inherit in the direct line who may have consented to those
transfers, and, in no case, by persons enti tled to inherit in the collateral line.

Art. 919

(Act of 24 March 1898)

The disposable portion may be donate d in whole or in part, either by act inter vivos or by
will, to the children or other pe rsons entitled to inherit from th e donor, without being subject to
collation by the donee or legatee coming to the succession, provided that, as regards gifts, the
disposition was made expressl y over and above the share.

A declaration that a gift is over and above the share may be made, either in the
instrument containing the disposition, or after, in the form of inter vivos or testamentary
dispositions.

Section II – Of the Abatemen t of Gifts and Legacies

Art. 920

Dispositions either inter vivos or mortis causa, which exceed the disposable portion shall
be abated to that portion at the tim e of the opening of the succession.

Art. 921

Abatement of dispositions inter vivos may be requested only by those for whose benefit
the law makes a reserve, by their heirs or assi gns: donees, legatees or creditors of a deceased
may not request that abatement or benefit by it.

Art. 922

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

Abatement is determined by forming a mass of all the property existing at the death of
the donor or testator.

One shall add fictitiously to it, af ter deducting the debts, that of which he has disposed by
gift inter vivos according to its condition at the tim e of the gift and its value at the opening of the
succession. Where property has been transferred, account shall be taken of its value at the time
of transfer and, if there was substitution, of the value of th e new property on the day of the
opening of the succession.

One shall calcu late on all that property, having rega rd to the kind of heirs whom he
leaves, the portion which the deceased may have disposed of.

Art. 923

There shall never be occasion to abate gifts inter vivos, until the value of all the property
included in the testamentary dispositions has b een exhausted; and where there is occasion for
that abatement it shall be done begi nning with the last gift and so on, going back from the last to
the oldest.

Art. 924

(Act n° 71-523 of 3 July 1971)

A compulsory heir favoured ove r and above his share beyond the disposable portion and
who accepts the succession bears the abatement in va lue as is laid down in Article 866; up to his
rights in the reserve, abatemen t shall be made by taking less.

He may claim all the articles bequ eathed where the reducible portion does not exceed his
share in the reserve.