Access to administrative courts

In a decision handed down today, the Conseil d'État has amended its procedure to simplify the rules for lodging appeals with an administrative court by post. Previously, appeals sent by post had to reach the administrative court before the end of the appeal period. From now on, it will be sufficient for the appeal to have been postmarked before the deadline.  

Submitting an appeal within the appeal period is one of the conditions required for a challenge to be admissible before the administrative court.  Until now, this deadline was based on the date on which the appeal was registered by the clerk's office of the administrative court hearing the case.

This rule based on the date of registration meant that litigants who used Télérecours citoyens (the online service for private individuals that has been operational since 2018) could lodge their appeal right up to the last day of the appeal deadline.  On the other hand, individuals who sent their appeals by post had to post them several days before the deadline to ensure that their appeal reached the court on time.  

To ensure that, in practice, the appeal deadline is the same for all litigants, whether or not they use the Internet, the Conseil d'Etat today decided to amend its procedural rules. It ruled that, for appeals sent by post, compliance with the deadline shall now be based on the date the letter is sent, as evidenced by the postmark.  

This decision brings the deadline for all citizens appealing to the administrative courts into line with appeals to government administrations. Indeed, the postmark rule already applies to deadlines for submitting a claim, filing a declaration, making a payment or producing a document with regard to government administrations (French Code on Relations between the Public and the Administration).

Decision No. 466541 – 13 May 2024