France-Which is What? The fragile evidentiary test to determine whether sovereign assets can be deemed diplomatic assets (Congo v Commisimpex & Orange)
Arbitration analysis: On 12 June 2025, the French Court of Cassation held that a foreign State’s declaration that assets were used for diplomatic purposes created a presumption pursuant to which said assets enjoyed immunity from execution. According to the court, such presumption could be rebutted by the judgment creditor if the latter could submit a form issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming that the assets in question (i) had not been declared by the foreign State as used for the purposes of its diplomatic mission or (ii) had been declared by the foreign State but subsequently rejected by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The court also carved out an exception to the evidentiary test it had laid down: pursuant to the principle of the unicity of the legal status of immoveable property (Principe d’unicité du statut du bien immobilier), the court ruled that, even if the conditions (i) and (ii) were unsatisfied, a foreign State could still claim diplomatic immunity from execution over its immoveable property if that property had benefited from tax exemptions which would normally benefit diplomatic properties in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention. Written by Marie-Laure Cartier and Alexandre Meyniel, partners at Cartier Meyniel AARPI.