26 September 2026
Address Unknown
Exercising the option in time is good. Sending it to the promisor is better. Such is the first lesson of an unpublished judgment of the French Cour de cassation of 16 September 2026, which also offers a welcome reminder of what a penalty clause is.
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23 September 2026
After the Requiem, the Funeral Oration
In the spring, we struck up a requiem for the adhesion contract between businesses. Four months later, the Commercial Chamber delivers the funeral oration: not only does Article 1171 of the French Civil Code give way whenever the contract falls under the Commercial Code, but courts must now check this of their own motion.
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1 September 2026
Repeated tenders and order cuts: two new restrictive practices under French law
Born of parliamentary amendments to the Agricultural Emergency Act, the amendment to Article L. 442-1 of the French Commercial Code targets two weapons of commercial negotiation: keeping suppliers in permanent competition and cutting orders during talks.
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7 August 2026
Arbitration: what the decree of 6 August 2026 changes
Published in the Journal officiel of 7 August 2026, Decree no. 2026-741 modernises Book IV of the French Code of Civil Procedure. Arbitration centre, supporting judge, digital award, recognition, suspensive effect: what the text retains, and what it leaves to the Ancel-Clay project.
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30 July 2026
The professional seller’s duty to advise: competence 1 – specialisation 0
The Commercial Chamber holds that a seller’s duty to inform and advise is not owed to a competent professional buyer, with no need to enquire whether its specialisation differs from the seller’s.
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14 July 2026
You say termination, I say termination
Cass. civ. 3e, 25 June 2026, no. 24-18.064, FS-B Summary: The employer’s right to terminate a lump-sum construction contract at […]
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30 June 2026
Limitation No Use Running — One Must Set Out at the Right Point
Note on Cass. com., 10 June 2026, no. 25-14.312, F-B The intricacies of the law of limitation are reputed to […]
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19 June 2026
The fake-IBAN scam: « He who pays badly, pays twice »
Note on Cass. com., 17 June 2026, no. 24-13.306, FP-B+R In a decision delivered by the full bench […]
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16 June 2026
This Obscure Light, Falling from the Stars
Note on Cass. com., 13 May 2026, no. 25-10.491 The oxymoron drawn from Rodrigue’s monologue in Corneille’s Le Cid […]
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7 June 2026
Violence par abus de dépendance (economic duress): A First — and a Misfire
A case note on Cass. 3e civ., 4 June 2026, no. 24-15.070, FS-B Abstract For the first time, it seems, […]
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4 June 2026
A Resolution on Terminations
Note on Cass. com., 3 June 2026, no. 24-19.612 Since 2016, Article 1225 of the French Civil Code has […]
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31 May 2026
Personal injury — An uninformed victim, no apportionment of liability
Note on Cass., ass. plén., 29 May 2026, no. 23-20.005, B+R On 29 May 2026, the Plenary Assembly […]
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29 May 2026
Compensation for fraud: Is Parsys burning?
When the injury resulting from fraud is no longer reduced to a loss of chance Note on Cass. civ. […]
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27 May 2026
The Cellar Strikes Back
When fraud entitles the wrongdoing seller to compensation Note on Cass. civ. 3, 9 April 2026, no. 24-17.405, F-D […]
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25 May 2026
The labourer is worthy of his hire
Note on Cass. com., 13 May 2026, no. 24-21.473, F-B • • The labourer of the eleventh hour received a […]
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22 May 2026
To settle is to give up — knowing
Note on Cass. com., 13 May 2026, no. 24-20.159, F-B No settlement without mutual concessions, says Article 2044 of […]
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14 May 2026
Requiem for an Adhesion Contract
Listen to the organs — they are playing for you. How fearful that tune. Significant imbalance lies at the […]
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30 April 2026
Independent guarantee – To be precise: independent, yes — but a guarantee nonetheless
Note on Cass. com., 1 April 2026, no. 24-13.364, F-B The independent guarantee is a singular figure among […]
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29 April 2026
A Penalty Clause by Any Other Name
The concept of the clause pénale — set out in Article 1231-5 of the French Civil Code (formerly Article […]
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