French Code of civil procedure
In forceThe President may decide that the lawyers will appear before him again, on a hearing date that he fixes, to confer on the case one last time if he considers that a final exchange of submissions or a final communication of exhibits is sufficient to put the case in order or that the parties' submissions must be brought into conformity with the provisions of Article 768. The parties may also request time to enter into a participatory procedure agreement for the purposes of readiness for hearing.
The referral decision is simply noted in the case file. The President shall, if necessary, set a time limit for each of the lawyers to serve their submissions and communicate documents.
On the date set for the hearing, where the parties and their lawyers prove that they have entered into a participatory procedure agreement for the purposes of readiness for hearing, the President shall take the measures provided for in the second paragraph of Article 1546-1. Except in the event of withdrawal from the list, he shall designate the Pre-Trial Judge. In the absence of such justification and if the case is ready for trial, the President shall declare the proceedings closed and refer the case to the hearing of the pleadings. This may be held on the same day.
If the case is ready to be heard, the provisions of the last paragraph of article 778 may be applied.
The President refers to the Pre-Trial Judge cases that are not ready for trial. He sets the date for the pre-trial hearing. The clerk's office notifies the lawyers.
