On October 22, the Tribunal de Commerce de Créteil will mark 40 years of operation, an event that the court’s president, Philippe Jombart, says marks a significant milestone for the local business community. The court has expanded from sixteen judges at its founding to fifty-five today, a growth that mirrors the rising number of commercial disputes in the Val-de-Marne department. During this period, the region’s economic fabric has become denser, driven by the development of the Grand Paris, the expansion of the Gustave Roussy cancer center, and major logistical hubs like Orly airport and Rungis market. This economic activity has naturally increased the volume of litigation and bankruptcy proceedings handled by the court.
Evolution and Digital Transformation
Philippe Jombart notes that the court has undergone a major cultural shift, moving away from a focus purely on adjudication toward favoring amicable dispute resolution. This change has been accelerated by digital transformation, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the court to adopt remote hearings and electronic signatures. The court’s registry staff played a key role in this transition, anticipating the need for a fully digital system to keep operations running when other courts paused. Now, judges arrive at the courthouse without physical dossiers, relying instead on digital tools to manage cases efficiently.
Intelligence artificial has become a tool for the court, though its use is approached with caution due to the high confidentiality risks involved. For legal research, AI assistance is valuable, provided users know how to formulate queries and verify the results, which are not always accurate. Some registries use AI tools to generate summaries of case files from digitized submissions.
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The court explicitly asks newly appointed judges not to use AI during their first two years of service. This measure aims to preserve the learning process and ensure that young judges develop their critical thinking and legal reasoning, as their initial cases do not require AI assistance. Once trained, judges may use AI only to verify the consistency of their decisions and correct potential errors, while maintaining full control over the content.
Document fraud remains a persistent issue, though the number of cases is not high in absolute terms. Organized networks exploit the ease of company creation to establish fake businesses or take over existing ones by replacing directors with fictitious individuals, often from Eastern European countries, and using false addresses. These networks frequently transfer debts from struggling companies-such as those convicted of undeclared labor-to these shell entities, complicating recovery efforts.
Specialization and Ethics
Philippe Jombart argues that Créteil meets the criteria for a specialized commercial court, though it was not selected for the initial 19 designated TCS. He points to the court’s 55 judges, a dense and varied economic fabric, and controlled appeal rates as evidence of its capacity to handle large-scale cases. These cases involve companies with 250 or more employees generating 20 million euros in revenue, or those exceeding 40 million euros in turnover without a staff-size condition. In 2025, the court opened 1,400 insolvency procedures, with only about five cases meeting the TCS threshold.
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The topic of ethics has become central to the court’s operations, a sensitivity Philippe Jombart attributes to the era of social media. The ease with which false information circulates online means that the appearance of a conflict of interest can fuel accusations, particularly regarding how judges communicate their decisions. This vigilance is not new but has evolved significantly over the past 15 years. Philippe Jombart suggests that the court is perhaps overly attentive to these ethical standards, responding to a persistent public skepticism about the impartiality of consular justice.
Philippe Jombart’s comments highlight the court’s efforts to balance efficiency and fairness in its operations. The court’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, has been key in maintaining its effectiveness. As the court looks to the future, it must continue to work through the complexities of commercial law while ensuring that its operations remain transparent and accountable to the public.
Interview with the Tribunal President
Philippe Jombart explains that the failure rate has remained stable over the period. He notes that the court has not observed a significant evolution in the number of cases where decisions are overturned.
