Publié le 02/08/2026

French labour law - Appeal procedure : the operative part of the written submissions seeking to set aside the judgment constitutes a request for reversal; the Court of Appeal is thereby seized of the matter (Cass., June 18th,26,)

Article juridique - Droit du travail

In a decision dated June 18th, 2026 (23-18.170) published in the official bulletin, the Court of Cassation ruled on the requirements for drafting appeal submissions.

The Court of Cassation affirmed that the object of the appeal—which aims either for the total or partial reversal of the judgment or for its annulment—must be specified in the operative part of the submissions filed by the principal or incidental appellant.

However, where the specific terms "reversal" or "annulment" are absent, but it can be inferred from the wording of the operative part of the submissions—interpreted in light of the notice of appeal if necessary—that the appellant is effectively seeking the annulment or reversal of the judgment, the Court of Appeal must acknowledge that the matter is properly before it.

Indeed, requiring the explicit use of the terms "reversal" or "annulment" in such cases—under penalty of the notice of appeal lapsing or the judgment being upheld—would hinder access to the appellate court and constitute excessive formalism.

This ruling is to be welcomed.

IV-Analysis.

For lawyers, the appeal procedure has become an obstacle course.

This complexity in the appeal process has created unnecessary stress for lawyers.

Even George Orwell could not have imagined an appeal procedure that is as complex as it is incomprehensible.

Indeed, through successive reforms—notably Decree No. 2009-1524 of December 9, 2009—the legislature has created unnecessary pitfalls designed to throw a wrench in the works for lawyers handling appeals. The objective was to reduce the backlog of pending appeals, as many failed to comply with the strict new provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) regarding notices of appeal.

The Paris Court of Appeal was compelled—particularly in employment and social security matters—to establish a specialized chamber (Pole 6, Chamber 1) to handle disputes concerning appellate procedure.

The authors of this article fully endorse the Court of Cassation’s ruling of June 18, 2026.

This ruling limits the impact of excessive formalism in appellate proceedings.

Since the ruling of September 17, 2020 (Case No. 18-23.626), the Court of Cassation had held—based on Articles 542 and 954 of the Code of Civil Procedure—that when an appellant fails to request either the reversal or the annulment of the judgment in the operative part of their written submissions, the Court of Appeal has no choice but to uphold the judgment.

As a result of this case law, lower courts have consistently demanded strict adherence to formal requirements regarding appellate submissions.

However, in the present case, the Court adopts a more flexible approach, reasoning that even in the absence of the specific terms "reversal" or "annulment," the judge must determine whether the intent to challenge the judgment is nonetheless clearly evident from the submissions.

The Court of Cassation notes that:

. on the one hand, the operative part of the submissions requested, first, that the judgment be set aside and, second, that a new ruling be issued based on precisely defined claims; and

. on the other hand, the notice of appeal limited the challenge to specific parts of the judgment’s operative ruling—thereby necessarily implying a request for reversal; consequently, the Court of Appeal—which should have acknowledged that the matter was properly before it—engaged in excessive formalism.

Thus, a blanket requirement to use the specific words "reversal" or "annulment"—under penalty of the appeal lapsing or the judgment being upheld—constitutes excessive formalism that infringes upon the right of access to a fair trial, as guaranteed by Article 6, paragraph 1, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

To read the full brief, click the link below.

https://www.village-justice.com/articles/procedure-appel-revirement-dispositif-des-conclusions-demandant-mettre-neant,58233.html

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