A
- Abus de biens sociaux : personal use of company assets to the detriment of shareholders.
- Abus de confiance : embezzlement
- Acte authentique : notarized instrument (in general in connection with a real property transaction).
- Acte sous seing privé : private seals instrument.
- Action : share in a company. Also, in legal parlance, claim. Introduire une action en justice : to commence a legal action in court. (See “désistement”).
- Administrateur : Director.
- Administrateur judiciaire : Court appointed Receiver having as mission to manage a company in the preliminary stages of bankruptcy.
- Administrateur provisoire : Court appointed Officer having as mission to manage a company in case of a dispute between shareholders.
- Agent d’assurances : insurance company Representative.
- Agent de change : stock exchange broker.
- Agent immobilier : real estate agent.
- Amende : fine.
- Appel : appeal. Faire/interjeter appel : to lodge an appeal.
- Arbitrage : arbitration.
- Arrêt : decision by a Higher Court such as the Court of Appeals or the Cour de Cassation or the Conseil d’Etat.
- Arrêté : administrative decision.
- Artisan : craftsman (e.g. Cabinet maker, baker) who must be registered with the so-called Répertoire des Métiers.
- Assemblée Générale : general Meeting of shareholders
- Assemblée Nationale : Lower House of the French Parliament.
- Assignation : Court summons.
- Association : non-profit Association (or society).
- Astreinte : court ordered penalty.
- Audience : hearing.
- Audit : due diligence.
- Augmentation de capital : increase in the stated capital of a company.
- Avocat : Lawyer (title borne by both Litigators and Counselors).
- Avocat Général : Public Prosecutor before the Court of Appeals or the Cour de Cassation.
- Avocat à la Cour de Cassation : Lawyer licensed to appear before the Cour de Cassation and the Conseil d’Etat.
- Avoué : Appelate Attorney having a monopoly to file procedural briefs with the higher courts.
B
- Bail : lease.
- Bail commercial : commercial property lease.
- Bail d’habitation : residential lease.
- Barreau : Bar Assocation.
- Bâtonnier : President of the Bar Association, generally elected for two years.
- Bourse des Valeurs : Stock Exchange.
- Bourse du Commerce : Commodities Exchange.
- Bilan : Balance sheet.
- Brevet : Patent.
- Bureau de liaison : Liaison Office.
C
- Cadre : Senior Employee, with special entitlements.
- Capital : capital.
- Capital social : stated capital of a company.
- Carte de commerçant étranger : business permit which non EU passport holders are required to hold in order to be appointed as President or Vice-President of a French Company.
- Carte de séjour : stay permit.
- Cautionnement : guarantee.
- Chambre d’instruction : the division of the Court of Appeals in charge of reviewing decisions rendered by the Juge d’Instruction.
- Chambre du Conseil : special judicial formation when proceedings are not opened to the general public, such as bankruptcy cases or in the case of personal matters such as petition for name change or change in the matrimonial status.
- Circulaire : administrative guidelines.
- Code : Code, legal texts. There are obviously various codes, such as Code Civil, Code de Commerce, Code de la Consommation, Code de la Propriété Intellectuelle, Code de la Sécurité Sociale, Code de l’Urbanisme, Code de
- Procédure Civile, Code de Procédure Pénale, Code des Douanes, Code Général des Impôts, Code Pénal.
- Commissaire aux comptes : Company Auditor, appointed for a six year term.
- Commissaire priseur : Auctioneer.
- Commission Européenne : European Commission sitting in Brussels.
- Commission rogatoire : inquiry conducted by a Police Officer on behalf of an Investigating Judge (“Juge d’Instruction”) or deposition taken by a French Judge on behalf of a foreign Judge in connection with international judicial cooperation.
- Conciliateur : Court appointed Agent, whose duties are to attempt to mediate a dispute. Also Court appointed Agent who tries to mediate between a debtor company and its creditors.
- Conclusions : Court Brief.
- Concurrence déloyale : unfair competition.
- Conseil Constitutionnel : Constitutionnal Court reviewing the constitutionnality of statutes upon petition by a certain number of house representatives (“Députés”) or Senators (“Sénateurs”).
- Conseil d’Administration : Board of Directors.
- Conseil de prud’hommes : Labor Court, composed of four Counselors who are elected by Unions and the Employers’ Association; in case of a tie, a professional Judge (“Juge Départiteur”) is appointed to break the tie.
- Conseil de Surveillance : Supervisory Board, in a S.A. type of company managed under the less common system of governance known as “Directoire” and “Conseil de Surveillance”.
- Conseil d’Etat : the highest Court for administrative matters.
- Conseiller : title given to Judges sitting at the higher Courts, such as the Court of Appeals, the Cour de Cassation and the Conseil d’Etat. This title is also given to the Labor Court Judges.
- Contravention : less serious offense.
- Contrefaçon : infringement.
- Cour d’Arbitrage : Arbitration Court.
- Cour d’appel : Cour of Appeals.
- Cour d’Assises : a division of the Court of Appeals sitting in criminal matters (formerly subject to capital punishment) and composed of both Magistrates and a jury of laymen. See “Crimes”.
- Cour de Cassation : the highest Court for civil and commercial matters.
- Crédit documentaire : documentary credit.
- Crime : the most serious criminal offense, among which crimes that were historically subject to capital punishment (e.g. a murder or rape). Misdemeanors are called “délits” whereas the less serious offenses are classified as “contraventions”.
- Curateur : Custodian for an incompetent adult in the case of a less serious form of incompetency.