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Referring to the question of fees,
avocats
, like bar-
risters, do not charge on a scale rate. In fact, their fees
are normally calculated in a manner similar to the
schedule 2 costs sys'em for Irish solicitors. In practicc.
fees are assessed in relation to the time involved, usual-
ly at an hourly rale which is rarely less than 250 ITS.
and often considerably more. There is a practice of
paving a deposit on account of costs and outlays at in-
structions stage. While this is a matter of course with
avocats,
the practicc is also widely used by other
branches of the profession. No sys'em of taxation of
fees exists although clicnts have a right of recourse to
the local
Bátonnier.
All payments received by an
avocat
from a clicnt to
cover outlays can be paid into a special bank operated
bv the profession, known as the
Caisse des reglements
pécuniaircs cffeetués par les Avocais a la Cour de Paris
(C.A.R.P.A.) The right to avail of this account is open
to an)
avocat
who obtains an insurance policy cover-
ing his liability (for overdrawing the account). The
object of the sys'em, established in 1954, is to enable
necessary outlays to be expended in respect of Court
proceedings without having to refer back to a clicnt
for each such payment. It is believed that this sub-
stantially minimise delays in such proceedings. It also
enables an
avocat
to collect funds on behalf of a client
without resort to an intermediary such as, for example,
a
huissier
(bailiff) when obtaining payment on foot of
a judgment.
This brief outline of the function of an
avocat
in
France will indicate to the Irish practitioner that con-
trary to what is often assumed, the
avocat's
practice
is not the direct equivalent of that of an Irish or UK
barrister. Rather, it is a combination of the functions of
both solicitor and barrister in a Civil Law context. More-
over, as already remarked, 'he
avocat
is becoming less
restricted to the field of advocacy and more involved
in administration, at least among the younger member?
of the profession. To this end, he has been putting
his house in order in preparation for undertaking this
new role. The establishment of the
avocats
own special
welfare system, compulsory insurance against profes-
sional negligence, the set'ing up of an office known as
the
Bureau Commun des Avocats
staffed' by law clerks,
messengers and secretariat to undertake much of the
auoccff's administrative work — are all recent reforms
Initiated by the profession itself. It is evident therefore
that this branch of the French legal profession has
embarked on a process of rapid transforma'ion and
seems likely to acquire a very dominant influence in
future French legal practice.
Notaire
The Notaire occupies an extremely important place in
the French legal profession. Although he is essentially a
conveyancing and probate specialist, these are by no
means the limits of his activities. Indeed, in provincial
districts, his role is very much on a par with that of
the family solicitor in the Common Law system.
It Is impossible to describe the full extent of his act-
ivities without reference to the nature of his function in
the French legal system. A law of 1803 defines this as
follows:
"Nolaires
are public officials appoin'ed to rcccive all
documents to which the parlies thereto arc legally ob-
liged or desire to accord thereto the character of
authenticity attaching to documents of public record
and to record the date of such documents, to record
the location of the originals thereof and to enable de
liveries of copies thereof certified and common, to be
made".
It is evident therefore that the nature of the
Notaire s
role broadly resembles that of the notary public though
the scopc of his activities are considerably wider than
those of the former.
Although public officers,
notaires
are not in any
sense civil servants. Nonetheless, the public functions
they undertake invest them with considerable impor-
tance. As a result, their numbers arc limi'ed and their
activities strictly regulated.
The enormous scope of the
notaire's
sphere of acti-
vity is apparent from the definition of the nature of
his office. His right of certifying the authenticity of doc-
uments and right of performing, quite literally, the
function of a public records office assure him of an im-
portant place in a great many areas of French lego!
procedure. Not only, is he a Land Registry and a Pro-
bate Office in his own right, his services are also en-
gaged in matrimonial settlements (not uncommon in
Francc where the law automatically regulates the mar-
riage under the system of community of property unless
the couple select the system of separation of goods
by establishing a marriage settlement before a
Notaire)
in company formations (a declaration of compliance on
the promotion of a
Société Anonyme,
broadly the
French equivalent of a public company, must he
signed before a No'aire), in commcrcial transactions,
notobly in relation to protested bills where the
Notairc
does much the same as a Notary Public.
Wi ll few exceptions, the originals of documents, in-
cluding deeds transferring title to immovable property
must be kept in the archives of the
Notairc
before
whom the document has been signed. Certified copies
(grosses)
are given to the parties having an interest
in the transaction.
The originals, referred to as "
m i n u t e s
m u s t be re-
tained by the
Notaire
and his successors for 125 years,
whence they are delivered up to the national or regional
archives offices. It follows that
minutes
are usually kept
in chronological order. A check list or "
repertoire"
is
also maintained in chronological form. This is delivered
up :o the registration authorities from lime to time for
the purpose of ensuring that registration formalities
end stamp duty requirements have been respected.
It is evident from the above that the administration
of a
Notaire's practice
is far more complex than that
of a conveyancing or probate Solicitor. A
Notaire
will
invariably employ at least one c/erc
principal,
several
Junior
clercs
and a number of secretaries. Indeed, the
national ratio of practising
Notaires
to notarial staff
is presently one to six. However these proportions are
usually greater in large cities (a staff of fifteen would
not be unusual for a Parisien
Notaire
while the largest
Etudes
are staffed by up to 200 or more employees) and
smaller in depressed areas of France. It is not surpris-
ing therefore that the notariat is the largest legal
service in France, although the number of practising