4. Proceedings open to the parties

4.1 The stakes and risks of a trial

Bear in mind that a trial always takes longer than you think, because there are two fundamental principles of any procedure (judicial or administrative):

• The "principe du contradictoire" – provided for in articles 15 and 16 of the CPC –, which the judge is responsible for enforcing, means that in a lawsuit, the plaintiff must face an adversary (he or she is not alone in explaining himself or herself before the judge); it also implies that, for the rights of the plaintiff and defendant to be respected (i.e. for their case to be heard equally), it is necessary to exchange submissions, briefs and exhibits (nothing must be hidden).

  In construction processes, the large number of...