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Tribunal de de commerce

Experimental Implementation of the “Economic Activities Tribunal” (TAE)

As part of the Ministry of Justice’s 2023-2027 orientation and programming law (Article 26 of Law No. 2023-1059 of November 20, 2023) and under the conditions defined by Decree No. 2024-674 of July 3, 2024, “Economic Activities Tribunals” (TAE) have been established on an experimental basis in certain territories.

Thus, for a period of four years, from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2028, 12 Commercial Courts are now designated as “Economic Activities Tribunals” (TAE) in Avignon, Auxerre, Le Havre, Le Mans, Limoges, Lyon, Marseille, Nancy, Nanterre, Paris, Saint-Brieuc, and Versailles (Order of July 5, 2024).

The aim of this experiment is to evaluate the benefit of having a single tribunal to handle all amicable and collective procedures for professionals facing economic difficulties. Previously, the handling of amicable and collective procedures was divided between the judicial tribunal and the Commercial Court (only merchants and artisans fell under the jurisdiction of the Commercial Court).

What are the Jurisdictions of the TAE?

The TAE have jurisdiction over all economic actors, regardless of the debtor’s legal status or activity: sole proprietors, liberal professionals, commercial or civil companies, associations, including agricultural operators, but excluding regulated legal professions such as lawyers, notaries, judicial officers, auctioneers, clerks of the TAE or commercial court, judicial administrators, and judicial agents.

They are authorized to handle the following procedures:

  • Warning procedures and amicable procedures;
  • Appointment of a conciliator (only for agricultural businesses in difficulty);
  • Collective procedures such as safeguard procedures, judicial recovery, and judicial liquidation;
  • Actions and disputes related to commercial leases arising from safeguard, recovery, or judicial liquidation procedures, provided there are “sufficiently connected links” to the procedure. Other disputes related to commercial leases will remain under the jurisdiction of judicial courts.

What is the Composition of the TAE?

The TAE are composed of:

  • Elected judges from Commercial Courts ;
  • Judges from the agricultural sector, appointed by the Minister of Justice upon recommendation from departmental chambers of agriculture;
  • Clerks from Commercial Courts.

This composition aims to bring diverse expertise suited to the specific needs of different economic sectors.

What are the Objectives of the Experiment?

The government’s goal for this experiment is to assess the benefit of a single tribunal to handle all amicable and collective procedures in order to :

  • Reduce processing times for these procedures;
  • Support struggling entrepreneurs by offering tailored and specialized solutions;
  • Centralize economic competencies to ensure better case management.

Evaluation of the Experiment

According to Article 4 of Decree No. 2024-674 of July 3, 2024, a “committee of evaluation” composed of experts and parliamentarians will be responsible for submitting an evaluation report to the Minister of Justice at least eight months before the end of the experiment. The final report will be presented by the Government to Parliament before July 1, 2028 (as per Article 26, III of the Law of November 20, 2023).

The evaluation will assess the effectiveness of the measure based on:

  • The duration of judicial liquidation procedures;
  • The rate of appeals against decisions;
  • The quality of service provided to litigants;
  • Feedback from legal professionals on the procedure, based on statistics from the Ministry of Justice and satisfaction surveys.

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