France Revises Arbitration Law

France’s revised Arbitration Law (Articles 1442-1527 of the French Civil Procedure Code), which came into effect on May 1, 2011, includes new sections, clarifies existing provisions and codifies existing case law. Notably, international arbitration agreements are not subject “to any requirements as to form”  (Article 1507) — for example, agreements need not be in writing . Arbitration provisions in contracts are deemed to be independent and separate from the underlying contracts (Article 1447); and a new position — the “juge d’appui” [support judge] — is created to assist the arbitration process. For international arbitrations, the role of the juge d’appui will be performed by the President of the Tribunal de grande instance (Civil Court of first instance) in Paris (Article 1459).

France’s Arbitration Law (English Translation)