You may be wondering what guarantees the independence of a court-appointed expert in property matters, or you work in property and are considering applying for registration on a Court of Appeal list. The decision of the Second Civil Chamber of the Cour de cassation (French supreme court for civil and commercial matters) of 15 June 2023 (appeal no. 23-60.021) clarifies how that independence must be assessed: on the candidate’s actual situation, not on a presumption drawn from his or her profession.
The framework: who can be registered on a list of experts
Lists of court experts are drawn up by each Court of Appeal under law no. 71-498 of 29 June 1971 and decree no. 2004-1463 of 23 December 2004. The headings are set by a national nomenclature; the order of 5 December 2022 places property valuation under heading C.18.
Among the conditions for registration, article 2, 6°, of the decree requires that the candidate carry on no activity incompatible with the independence needed to perform court-ordered expert assignments. Article 8, first paragraph, provides that the general assembly of the court’s judges assesses applications, in particular in the light of the courts’ needs, but that it may not refuse registration for lack of need where it registers other candidates under the same heading.
The facts
A professional working in the management of co-owned buildings (administration de copropriétés) had applied for registration on the list of experts of the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal, under the property headings. The general assembly of the court’s judges rejected her application on 4 November 2022 on two grounds: the courts had no need, and her activity gave rise to a conflict of interest. She appealed to the Cour de cassation, the only court with jurisdiction over these decisions.
The decision
Lack of need could not be relied on
At the same sitting, the general assembly had registered three other candidates under the same headings. The Cour de cassation held that it had made a manifest error of assessment in relying on the courts’ needs, since article 8 of the decree prohibits that ground of refusal where other candidates are registered under the same heading.
Managing co-owned buildings is not, in itself, incompatible
The Court also held that the activity of managing co-owned buildings does not, by itself, amount to an activity incompatible with the independence needed for court-ordered expert assignments. The general assembly could therefore not infer a conflict of interest from the candidate’s profession alone. It had to examine her actual situation.
The refusal was annulled in so far as it rejected the registration.
What this decision says about independence
Independence is assessed case by case. A conflict of interest is not attached to an occupation; it arises from a situation: a link with a party, an interest in the outcome of the dispute, a business relationship with one of the litigants. This is the logic of the Code of Civil Procedure, which allows a technical expert to be challenged on the same grounds as judges (article 234) and requires him or her to perform the assignment with conscience, objectivity and impartiality (article 237). The provisions of the Code on investigative measures entrusted to a technical expert govern the whole assignment.
The safeguards lie first in practice. The Charte de l’expertise en évaluation immobilière (French property valuation charter, 6th edition, Title I, §4.1.3) defines a conflict of interest as any situation in which a personal, professional or financial interest of the expert is likely to influence, or to appear to influence, his or her judgement. It requires such situations to be declared and managed, and any assignment carrying a risk of partiality to be declined. It also prohibits fees linked to the value of the property valued (Title I, §2.1), so that the result of the valuation has no effect on the fee. For court experts, it recalls the obligations specific to court assignments: adversarial process, personal performance of the assignment (Title I, §4.4).
Related activities are not excluded, but they must be declared. A professional who manages buildings, administers property or takes part in transactions may be registered. What he or she cannot do is accept an assignment concerning a building he or she manages, a party he or she advises or a sector in which he or she has a direct interest. The declaration of independence made to the judge on appointment, then to the parties at the first meeting, exists precisely to check this.
In practice, for the parties to an expert appraisal
If you are a party to an expertise judiciaire (court-ordered expert appraisal), you can check that there is no link between the appointed expert and the other parties, and apply for the expert’s recusal within the prescribed period if such a link exists. The expert’s main profession is not, in itself, a ground; a concrete link is. Conversely, an expert who works in property often brings direct knowledge of the local market, which is useful to the assignment, as long as his or her situation is transparent.
For candidates seeking registration
The decision confirms that Courts of Appeal assess applications on objective criteria: qualifications, experience, good character, and the absence of any concrete incompatibility. An application file is best served by describing precisely the activities carried on, the measures taken to avoid conflicts of interest (declining assignments on managed buildings, separation of activities) and the training followed in procedure.
Further reading
The Court expert and litigation support page describes how a court-ordered appraisal unfolds and how a party is assisted, with timescales and fees. Two articles complete this one: how to become a property valuation expert in France and what a valuation report contains.
What next
An expert has been appointed in your case, or an opposing report has just arrived?
Litigation support, critical review of an opposing report, joint private valuation: tell me where the proceedings stand.
Free quote, by email or by phone. No commitment before the quote is accepted. Fees are never linked to the value of the property (Charte de l’expertise, Title I, §2.1).
