This project has been undertaken for the MA in Translation (University of Bristol).

The source text was in French (in black) and I translated it into English (in blue), like the rest of my coursework. LE PACS Le PACS est dfini par larticle 515-1 du Code civil comme un contrat qui peut tre conclu par deux personnes majeures de sexe diffrent ou de mme sexe et dont lobjet est dorganiser la vie commune. THE PACS The PACS is defined as a contract which can be entered by two people over 18 years of age, of different sexes or of a same sex in order to organise their common life (Article 515-1 of the Civil Code). Enregistrement Lenregistrement du PACS se fait au greffe du tribunal dinstance du lieu de la rsidence commune des futurs partenaires. Les conditions de fond exiges sont assez proches de celles du mariage. Larticle 515-2 reprend en effet les empchements traditionnels entre parents et allis. De mme, afin dviter les situations de bigamie, la conclusion dun PACS est impossible si lun des partenaires est mari ou dj engag dans un autre PACS. Registration The PACS is registered at the court office of the tribunal dinstance under the jurisdiction of where the future partners are to reside. The requested substantive conditions are rather similar to those of marriage. Indeed, Article 515-2 repeats traditional bars between people who are part of the same family. Also there cannot be a PACS if one of the partners is married or has already entered into another PACS. This is to avoid potential bigamy cases. Publicit La publicit du pacte est rgie par larticle 515-3-1 du Code civil. Larticle dispose, dans son premier alina, qu il est fait mention, en marge de lacte de naissance de chaque partenaire, de la dclaration de pacte civil de solidarit, sans indication de lidentit de lautre partenaire. Pour les personnes de nationalit trangre nes ltranger, cette information est porte sur un registre tenu au greffe du tribunal de grande instance de Paris. Lexistence de conventions modificatives est soumise la mme publicit et dans son second alina que le pacte civil de solidarit ne prend effet entre les parties qu compter de son enregistrement, qui lui confre date certaine. Il nest opposable aux tiers qu compter du jour o les formalits de publicit sont accomplies. Il en va de mme des conventions modificatives .

Publication Publication of the agreement is determined by Article 515-3-1 of the Civil Code. The article lays down in its first paragraph that mention of the civil pact of solidarity must be made in the margin of the record of the birth for each partner, without revealing the identity of the other partner. This information is registered at the court office of the tribunal dinstance of Paris for foreign people who were born abroad. This also applies to agreements which modify the initial pact. The article lays down in its second paragraph that the civil pact of solidarity is deemed to take effect for partners only from the date of registration which is the legal date. It shall prevail against third parties from the date when publication formalities are completed. This also applies to agreements which modify the initial pact. Les effets du PACS Larticle 515-4 dispose, dans son premier alina, que les partenaires lis par un pacte civil de solidarit sengagent une vie commune, ainsi qu une aide matrielle et une assistance rciproques. Si les partenaires nen disposent autrement, laide matrielle est proportionnelle leurs facults respectives . Le second alina de larticle 515-4 dispose de son ct que les partenaires sont tenus solidairement lgard des tiers des dettes contractes par lun deux pour les besoins de la vie courante. Toutefois, cette solidarit na pas lieu pour les dpenses manifestement excessives . Les partenaires pacss sont donc soumis, sur le plan personnel, une obligation de cohabitation similaire celle que lon retrouve dans le mariage et, sur le plan pcuniaire, une obligation de contribution aux charges de la vie commune et une solidarit dans les dettes, inspires l encore des rgles applicables en matire de mariage. Les partenaires sont par contre dispenss du devoir de fidlit, mme si une ordonnance du TGI de Lille rendue en 2002 a considr quun tel devoir pouvait simposer de manire implicite. Effects of the PACS Article 515-4 lays down in its first paragraph that partners bound by a civil pact of solidarity promise to live together and shall provide mutual material and moral support to each other. Material aid is proportional to their respective income, unless otherwise stated in the pact. The second paragraph of Article 515-4 lays down that partners shall be jointly liable with regard to third parties for debt incurred by one of them for the needs of everyday life. However, solidarity cannot cover expenditure that is deemed excessive. On a personal level, pacss partners shall therefore oblige themselves to a community of living which is also found in marriage. On a financial level, they shall contribute to their daily life expenses and they are liable with regard to third parties for debts incurred; these provisions are also based on rules applying to marriage. However, partners do not owe each other fidelity, despite the fact that a court order of the TGI of Lille in 2002 considered that such a duty could be implied.

Concernant la proprit des biens acquis au cours du pacte par les partenaires, larticle 515-5 prvoit que sauf dispositions contraires de la convention vise au deuxime alina de larticle 515-3, chacun des partenaires conserve ladministration, la jouissance et la libre disposition de ses biens personnels. Chacun deux reste seul tenu des dettes personnelles nes avant ou pendant le pacte, hors le cas du dernier alina de larticle 5154 . Les partenaires sont ainsi soumis au rgime de la sparation des biens, sauf sils dcident de lier leurs patrimoines en rdigeant une convention dindivision (art. 515-5-1). Mme si cela na rien dobligatoire, il est prfrable, dans une telle hypothse, de consulter un notaire ou un avocat pour viter tout problme lors de la dissolution du statut ou en cas de dcs de lun des partenaires. Regarding the ownership of property acquired by partners during the pact, Article 515-5 lays down that each partner retains the administration, enjoyment or grant on their respective property, unless otherwise stated in the agreement according to Article 515-3, paragraph 2. Each of them remains liable for their personal debts which occured before or during the pact, except the case referred to in the last paragraph of Article 515-4. Partners are therefore under the legal status of separate estate, except if they decide to bind their estates with the system of indivision, [a written contract of undivided ownership where each item bought after the PACS is deemed to belong jointly to both of the partners (Art. 515-5-1) - translators note]. It is strongly recommended to consult a notary public or a solicitor at this stage to avoid any problems when the status is dissolved or one of the partners dies. Lalina 2 rgle ensuite le problme de la dtermination des biens. Chacun des partenaires peut prouver par tous les moyens, tant lgard de son partenaire que des tiers, quil a la proprit exclusive dun bien. Les biens sur lesquels aucun des partenaires ne peut justifier dune proprit exclusive sont rputs leur appartenir indivisment, chacun pour moiti . Il faudra donc tre particulirement vigilent. Cette disposition est calque sur larticle 1538 du Code civil qui rgle le problme de la preuve des biens personnels lorsque les poux ont choisi de se soumettre au rgime de la sparation de biens. Il ne faut donc pas voir dans la prsomption dindivision institue une rsurgence des prsomptions poses par lancien article 515-5, mais bien une simple transposition des rgles applicables aux poux. Paragraph 2 deals then with the problem of property ownership. With respect both to the other partner and to third parties, a partner may prove by any means that he or she has the exclusive ownership of a property. Property on which neither spouse may establish an exclusive ownership is deemed to belong to them in undivided ownership, to each by half. Vigilance is therefore required. This provision is based on Article 1538 of the Civil Code which defines how spouses can demonstrate evidence of property ownership when their chosen matrimonial property law is the status of separate estate. This presumption of separate estate does not reproduce presumptions of the previous version of Article 515-5; it is only a transposition of rules which are applicable to spouses.

Lalina 3, enfin, prvoit que le partenaire qui dtient individuellement un bien meuble est rput, lgard des tiers de bonne foi, avoir le pouvoir de faire seul sur ce bien tout acte dadministration, de jouissance ou de disposition . Cela rappelle larticle 222 du Code civil, mme si lexclusion des meubles meublants viss larticle 215 alina 3 et aux meubles corporels dont la nature fait prsumer la proprit de lautre conjoint, pose par le second alina de larticle 222, na pas t reprise. Finally, paragraph 3 lays down that the partner who owns movable property in their own right is said to have the ability to undertake any act of administration, enjoyment or grant on this property, with respect to third parties of good faith'. It calls to mind Article 222 of the Civil Code, even if the exclusion of pieces of furniture (Article 215, paragraph 3), or movable tangible property, the nature of which giving rise to a presumption of ownership of the other spouse (Article 222, paragraph 2), has not been included. Larticle 515-5-2 prvoit toutefois que certains biens demeurent la proprit exclusive de chaque partenaire. Il en va ainsi notamment des deniers perus quelque titre que ce soit postrieurement la conclusion du pacte et non employs lacquisition dun bien, des biens crs et leurs accessoires, des biens caractre personnel, des biens acquis au moyen de deniers appartenant au partenaire avant lenregistrement de la convention initiale, des biens acquis au moyen de deniers reus par donation ou succession, des biens acquis par licitation de tout ou partie dun bien dont lun des partenaires au sein dune indivision successorale. However, some property remains the sole ownership of each partner, according to Article 515-5-2. This applies to any personal denarii which are gained after the agreement of the pact and are not used for purchasing property, new property and its accessories, personal property, property purchased by one of the partner with their own denarii before registration of the initial pact, property purchased with denarii coming from either a donation or succession, property acquired by licitation of the overall or part of the property which was owned by one of the partner within an indivision relating to a succession. Les partenaires pacss bnficient enfin dune imposition commune et dun droit doccupation gratuit du logement du partenaire pendant un an en cas de dcs de ce dernier. Par contre, ils nont aucune vocation successorale lgale. Le seul avantage successoral confr aux partenaires rside dans une fiscalit avantageuse, mais cela suppose au pralable que le partenaire dcd ait pris soin de gratifier lautre dans un testament. Si aucun testament na t rdig, le partenaire survivant na aucun droit. Pacss partners are eligible for joint taxation and have the gratuitous enjoyment of the lodging of the partner for one year in case the latter dies. However, they cannot inherit from one another. The sole advantage relating to successions is concerned with tax, which implies that the deceased has previously drafted a will in favour of the other partner. In the absence of a written will, the surviving partner has no rights.

Dissolution du PACS Les effets du PACS sont peut-tre limits par rapport ceux du mariage, mais ils ne sont pas pour autant ngligeables. Il ne faudrait pas les prendre la lgre : la dcision de conclure un pacte est une dcision srieuse. Le seul bmol rside dans la facilit avec laquelle celui-ci peut tre dissous. La diffrence entre le PACS et le mariage prend ici toute son ampleur, puisque la dissolution est forcment extrajudiciaire dans le PACS cas alors quelle est imprativement judiciaire dans le mariage. Cela signifie que le PACS est rompu en dehors des tribunaux alors que pour le mariage, cest impossible. Terminating a PACS Although effects of the PACS appear less numerous than those of marriage, they still remain significant. These should not be taken too lightly: the decision to enter into a pact is a serious decision. The only downside is concerned with terminating a PACS as this can take place very easily. As a result, the difference between the PACS and marriage has increased further: terminating a PACS is extrajudicial, whereas marriage is ended by judicial proceedings exclusively. In other words, the PACS is ended without any court order; this is impossible for marriage. Adapted from http://www.easydroit.fr/divorce-famille/pacs/ Accessed 20 March 2009