Commissioners of justice
As of July 2022, commissioners of justice will be the public and ministerial officers who replace court bailiffs and judicial auctioneers. They will exercise the competences formerly entrusted to these two professions within the jurisdiction of the court of appeal of the headquarters of their office.
Ordinance No. 2016-728 of 2 June 2016 operates a progressive merger of the professions of judicial auctioneer and court bailiff. This new profession can be practised as of 1 July 2022 and will be exclusive as of 1 July 2026.
Evolution of the number of professionals
| Period | Court bailiffs | Judicial auctioneers | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of 2015 | 3,102 | 391 | ||
| Recommendations 2018-2020 | +202 | +42 | ||
| Recommendations 2021-2023 | +50 | 0 |
Opinions on freedom of (business) establishment and maps
In accordance with the Law of 6 August 2015, amended by the Ordinance of 2 June 2016 as mentioned above, the Autorité issues an opinion to the Minister of Justice on the freedom of (business) establishment of commissioners of justice every two years. This opinion is accompanied by a map that identifies those areas where the establishment of offices appears beneficial to strengthen proximity or the offer of services. The proposed map is then validated by a joint decree of the Ministers of Justice and Economy.
Prior to the entry into force of the status of commissioner of justice, the Autorité drew up separate maps for court bailiffs and judicial auctioneers until their merger in 2022. Since then, it has been developing a single map for commissioners of justice.
Commissioners of justice
In its Opinion No. 23-A-09 of 7 July 2023, the Autorité assessed the creation of the new profession of commissioner of justice and recommended the establishment of 33 new commissioners of justice by 2025.
- Scale of the establishment area: département
- Number of free establishment areas: 13
- Number of controlled establishment areas: 86
- Number of new professionals to be established: 33
For more information, please refer to:
Judicial auctioneers
In its Opinion No. 16-A-26 of 20 December 2016, the Autorité identified 36 free establishment areas in which it recommended the establishment of 41 professionals in two years.
It also made a number of recommendations designed to promote access to offices.
The Decree of 28 December 2017 issued pursuant to Article 52 of the Law of 6 August 2015 validated the map proposed by the Autorité.
- Scale of the establishment area: département
- Free establishment areas: 36
- Controlled establishment areas: 63
- Number of new professionals to be established: 42
The zone by zone recommendations can be consulted in the table of recommendations with figures for judicial auctioneers.
The Autorité received eight applications for the creation of offices in five controlled establishment areas. In accordance with Framework Opinion No. 18-CP-001 of 18 June 2018, it responded unfavourably to these requests on the grounds that the creation of additional offices in the areas concerned would be likely to affect the continuity of operations of existing offices and compromise the quality of service provided.
Consult the opinions submitted by the Autorité de la concurrence to the Minister of Justice on the requests for the establishment of judicial auctioneers in the "orange" zones, in application of the first map.
For more information, please refer to:
On 2 December 2019, the Autorité adopted an opinion on the freedom of (business) establishment of judicial auctioneers and a proposal for a revised map of establishment areas, with recommendations on the rate of creation of new judicial auctioneers' offices (Opinion No. 19-A-17).
In a letter dated 22 July 2020, the Government asked the Autorité to develop a new map proposal to take into account the exceptional context created by the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on the economic activity of this profession.
As the Autorité's previous map proposal, prepared in December 2019, predated the outbreak of the health emergency in our country in March 2020, it was unable to take into account the effects of this crisis on the economy of this profession.
At the request of the Government, which asked it to prepare a new map proposal to take into account the exceptional context and assess the impact of the health emergency on the economic activity of the profession of judicial auctioneer, the Autorité adopted deliberation No. 2021/02 of 28 April 2021, attached to Opinion No. 19-A-17 of 2 December 2019, in which it recommended that no additional offices be created.
The Decree of 20 July 2021 issued pursuant to Article 52 of the Law of 6 August 2015 validated the map proposed by the Autorité.
- Scale of the establishment area: département
- Number of controlled establishment areas: 99
- Number of free establishment areas: 0
For more information, please refer to:
Court bailiffs
In its Opinion No. 16-A-25 of 20 December 2016, the Autorité identified 35 free establishment areas in which it recommended the establishment of 202 professionals in two years.
It also made a number of recommendations designed to promote access to offices.
The Decree of 28 December 2017 issued pursuant to Article 52 of the Law of 6 August 2015 validated the map proposed by the Autorité.
- Scale of the establishment area: département
- Free establishment areas: 35
- Controlled establishment areas: 64
- Number of new professionals to be established: 202
The recommendations zone by zone can be consulted in the table of recommendations with figures for court bailiffs.
The Autorité received 29 applications for the creation of offices in controlled establishment areas. In accordance with framework Opinion 18-AH-001 of 18 June 2018, in five opinions, concerning three zones, it considered that it was possible to respond positively to a request for the creation of an office and allow the free establishment of a new court bailiff.
Consult the opinions submitted by the Autorité de la concurrence to the Minister of Justice on the requests for the establishment of court bailiffs in the "orange" zones, in application of the first map.
For more information, please refer to:
On 2 December 2019, the Autorité adopted an opinion on the freedom of (business) establishment of court bailiffs and a proposal for a revised map of establishment areas, with recommendations on the rate of creation of new court bailiffs' offices (Opinion No. 19-A-16).
In a letter dated 22 July 2020, the Government asked the Autorité to develop a new map proposal to take into account the exceptional context created by the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on the economic activity of this profession.
As the Autorité's previous map proposal, prepared in December 2019, predated the outbreak of the health emergency in our country in March 2020, it was unable to take into account the effects of this crisis on the economy of this profession.
At the request of the Government, which asked it to prepare a new map proposal to take into account the exceptional context and assess the impact of the health emergency on the economic activity of the profession of court bailiff, the Autorité adopted deliberation No. 2021/01 of 28 April 2021, attached to Opinion No. 19-A-16 of 2 December 2019, in which it recommended the establishment of 50 new professionals in 22 areas of the country by 2023.
The Decree of 20 July 2021 issued pursuant to Article 52 of the Law of 6 August 2015 validated the map proposed by the Autorité.
- Scale of the establishment area: département
- Number of free establishment areas: 22
- Number of controlled establishment areas: 77
- Number of new professionals to be established: 50
The number of establishments zone by zone can be consulted in the table of recommendations with figures for court bailiffs.