French Code of civil procedure
In forceWhere the application is made after his appointment, the Pre-Trial Judge shall, until he relinquishes jurisdiction, have sole jurisdiction, to the exclusion of any other formation of the court, to:
1° Rule on procedural objections, applications made pursuant to Article 47 and incidents putting an end to the proceedings;
The parties are no longer entitled to raise these exceptions and incidents at a later date unless they arise or are revealed after the judge has relinquished jurisdiction;
2° Allocate an advance for the proceedings;
3° Grant an advance to the creditor when the existence of the obligation is not seriously disputable. The Pre-Trial Judge may make enforcement of his decision subject to the provision of a guarantee under the conditions set out in Articles 514-5,517 and 518 to 522;
4° To order any other provisional measures, including protective measures, with the exception of provisional seizures and provisional mortgages and pledges, as well as to modify or supplement, in the event of a new fact, any measures that have already been ordered;
5° To order, even ex officio, any investigative measures;
6° To rule on any grounds for dismissal.
Where the plea of inadmissibility requires that a question of substance first be decided, the Pre-Trial Judge shall rule on that question of substance and on that plea of inadmissibility. However, in cases that do not fall within the jurisdiction of the single judge or that are not assigned to him, a party may object. In such a case, and by way of exception to the provisions of the first paragraph, the Pre-Trial Judge shall refer the case back to the formation of the court, if necessary without closing the investigation, so that it may rule on the substantive issue and on the objection. The court may also order this referral if it considers it necessary. The referral decision is a measure of judicial administration.
The pre-trial judge or the bench of judges shall rule on the substantive issue and on the plea of inadmissibility by means of separate provisions in the operative part of the order or judgment. The bench shall rule on the plea of inadmissibility even if it does not consider it necessary to rule first on the substantive issue. Where appropriate, it refers the case back to the Pre-Trial Judge.
The parties are no longer entitled to raise these pleas of inadmissibility in the course of the same proceedings unless they arise or come to light after the Pre-Trial Judge has relinquished jurisdiction.
