International law

Protection of bank depositors residing in France and defrauded abroad

Depositors v. Lebanese banks: the Court of Cassation grants access to French courts to consumers – bank depositors – provided they are resident in France at the time of the summons.

Cass. civ. 1, 25 March 2026, No. 24-21.422— Cass. civ. 1, 25 March 2026, No. 24-21.790, published in the Bulletin and Report of the Court of Cassation

The Lebanese banking crisis, which erupted in autumn 2019 and deprived hundreds of thousands of depositors of access to their assets, continues to fuel litigation regarding depositors’ access to French courts. It is against this backdrop that the First Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation delivered, on 25 March 2026, two landmark judgments published in the Bulletin and Report of the Court of Cassation, which establish the rule that a consumer has access to the French courts if they are domiciled in France on the date of the summons, notwithstanding a jurisdiction clause designating the Lebanese court.

INSURANCE LAW

Third-party funding of litigation, class actions & insurance: at last (some) news

The DDADUE Act of 30 April 2025 recognises, for the first time in French law, the existence of third-party financing of legal proceedings (1)

International law

Aljadeed TV welcomes the result of our action that grants French depositors the right to act against Lebanese banks before French courts.

Thanks to our colleague Karim Daher for displaying this outcome.

COMPANY LAW

The “BSA AIR”, a method of financing start-ups in times of uncertainty.

Created by the North American practice of financing start-ups, the Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) based warrant, BSA AIR in French (for Bon de Souscription d’Actions fondé sur un Accord d’Investissement Rapide) quickly crossed the Atlantic. Seductive by its ability to attract new money in the company, the tool has some limits.

COMMERCIAL AND ECONOMIC LAW

Opening up of class action, a proposal under discussion.

The locks on class action have worked too well and the procedure has not been successful at all. The need to transpose European Directive 2020/1828 has led to a reform of the texts.

International law

Aljadeed TV welcomes the result of our action that grants French depositors the right to act against Lebanese banks before French courts

Les déposants des banques libanaises sont tous signataires d’une convention d’ouverture de compte les contraignant à régler leurs différends devant le juge libanais. Les banques libanaises redoutent le procès à l’étranger et s’y opposent par le jeu de la clause attributive de juridiction. Une avancée a été obtenue pour les déposants sur le fondement de l’article 14 du code civil.

Arbitration

Arbitration over a $15 billion sultanate: on 6 February 2023, the Paris Court of Appeal refused to grant exequatur to the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu

The Paris Court of Appeal dismissed the Sultan's heirs' application for enforcement of an arbitral award in their favour, sidestepping the question of whether the dispute between the Sultan's heirs and Malaysia over rights to the territory of the former sultanate could give rise to arbitration.

COMMERCIAL AND ECONOMIC LAW

The CSRD directive concerning the reporting obligations of companies in terms of “sustainability” will disrupt the economy.

The CSRD directive increases companies' "Environment, Social and Governance" disclosure obligations and extends its scope to small and medium-sized structures, which will disrupt the economy.

COMPANY LAW

Sanctions and counter-sanctions, what remains of trade with Russia?

Two nations negotiating together make each other mutually dependent… The natural effect of trade is to bring peace, Charles de Montesquieu.