France has just been singled out again by the CEPEJ (European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice) in a report which indicates that it is still at the back of the pack: our country continues to be among the countries (with a comparable GDP ) who invest the least in their justice. Judges and prosecutors are fewer and fewer and ever more overloaded. Consequence: the processing times for cases are getting longer, including routine cases. To put an end to this administrative slowness, a mass legal action has just been launched, in which all plaintiffs are invited to join, whatever their type of case.
The results of a six-year study* conducted by legaltech Justice.cool
depicts a critical situation in the French courts: it reports an average delay of more than 600 days between the sending of the request to the registry and the rendering of the decision, all jurisdictions combined. The study notes that it is necessary to wait 370 days on average after referral to the registry to obtain a first hearing before a judge.
These averages vary from one region to another and show a “constantly worsening” of the situation since 2016, underlines the study. It is necessary to wait more than two and a half years to obtain a judgment at the judicial court of Aulnay-sous-Bois (93) or even more than three years before the authorities of Longjumeau (91), against six to nine months in certain other cities. from France like Quimper or Mulhouse. It is even necessary to wait sometimes up to four years, or even five, before the judgment is rendered. “Sometimes these are insignificant everyday cases, with damages of €200 to €500, which can take four to five years to be processed” explains Joyce Pitcher, lawyer behind this class action lawsuit. “At the moment, we are pleading at the local court of Aulnay-sous-Bois files that we sent in 2018″ she adds. A situation that affects all jurisdictions, whether in criminal matters, industrial tribunals, etc. It is neither the fault of the magistrates, nor of the clerks, believes Joyce Pitcher, “but that of the State which has the responsibility to ensure a decent justice service”.
Reason why the lawyer, specialist in collective actions in justice has decided to carry out a new mass action : _”These are joint individual actions, so that each litigant, each lawyer can assign liability to the State, due to unreasonable delays. We offer all people who have had their case processed within a longer period six months from joining the action, in which we are asking the State for compensation of €125 per month of delay”. _A legal action based on article 6 of the ECHR (European Court of Human Rights) and article L141-1 of the code of judicial organization which engages the responsibility of the State if the justice is not done within a reasonable time, she said. “We have case law which provides on average for compensation ranging from €200 to €250 per month of delay beyond six months of proceedings” explains Joyce Pitcher before continuing: “Anyone who fails in their obligations must be responsible for their actions. Lawyers, magistrates, litigants: everyone complains about this situation. So if the State does not react, we have no other solution than to assign him to his responsibilities”.
Among these first plaintiffs registered in the class action #AcceleratingJustice, let us quote the case of Cécile: she seized the industrial tribunal of Nanterre for a salary case and saw her file returned to 2026. There is also this couple, who were not reimbursed by the airline -while it was planned- for a canceled flight, 2 years ago, and for an amount of 4,000 €. his file has already been returned eight times. Or this other couple of nonagenarians who suddenly had to leave their house, following a decree of endangerment, after foundation work to build a building next door, and which caused a landslide: they lost their property and have had to pay rent for five years to find new accommodation. As the hearing has still not taken place, they are still waiting to be reimbursed and compensated.
How to join the collective action?
By completing an online form and uploading the documents in your file to the site justice.cool
. The procedure is free and registrants will be informed as the procedure progresses.
*The study of Justice.cool
covers more than 7,000 cases mainly concerning small consumer disputes sent to 75 civil courts since 2016. Launched in January 2020, the start-up Justice.cool settles disputes out of court using algorithms, thanks to a platform dedicated to the amicable resolution of disputes for the payment of sums not exceeding 5000 euros.