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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

huissier de justice salarié

English translation:

bailiff employed at a bailiff partnership

Added to glossary by Jana Cole
Oct 29, 2015 17:03
8 yrs ago
53 viewers *
French term

huissier de justice salarié

French to English Law/Patents Law (general)
This is in the letterhead of a bailiff partnership.

(names changed)

David SMITH - Richard JONES
Huissiers de Justice associés
Melvin ANDERSON - *** Huissier de Justice salarié ***
Proposed translations (English)
4 bailiff or salaried court usher
3 junior bailiff/marshal
3 non partner bailiff, staff member bailiff
References
Always a good idea to research
Explanation (in English)

Discussion

Kirsten Bodart Nov 2, 2015:
I think there would be many debtors who'd be very grateful if that were the case... Unfortunately they do everything from recovering debts, serving summons, to supervising contests, and they used to officially establish adultery too (before the law in this respect was changed to the faultless divorce). So 'process server' indeed doesn't cover the role.
AllegroTrans Nov 2, 2015:
They are not simply process servers (in France, Belgium etc.)
See my reference entry
Adrian MM. (X) Oct 30, 2015:
Process-server The asker has sent everyone down the bailiff path. Any US etc. reason why these are not retained process-servers?
Kirsten Bodart Oct 30, 2015:
Make it an 'official' then From infogerechtsdeurwaarder.be: "De gerechtsdeurwaarder is een ministerieel ambtenaar welke door de Koning wordt benoemd én welke het beroep uitoefent onder het statuut van zelfstandige. Aldus heeft de deurwaarder een dubbel professioneel statuut, zijnde openbaar ambtenaar en zelfstandige."

Concluding that bailiffs are appointed by the king and have a double professional position as official of the state and self-employed.
writeaway Oct 30, 2015:
Not officially civil servants in Belgium afaik @Kirsten. Afaik, they are not civil servants. They work as independent companies although the courts pay appoint them to take action. Don't see what they have to do with notaries either, except that notaries also aren't civil servants.
Kirsten Bodart Oct 30, 2015:
Bailiffs in France and Belgium are like notaries, only with a less pleasant task ;).
They study law, specialise and then are allotted a certain area to 'keep office'. Officially they are civil servants, but they are allowed to recover their costs. Their number is limited, unlike lawyers, which in recent years has contributed to associated practices/partnering. Traditionally bailiffs, lawyers, doctors, notaries and such like used to work alone, but due to an oversupply of qualified people they have been pooling their services to obtain enough revenue. So, in this case, the two main bailiffs are like partners, as some here have already said, and the 'salariés', just get a salary from the practice, but they will be qualified bailiffs, as otherwise they are not allowed to act or call themselves bailiffs. The profession is closely regulated, unlike in the UK.

If possible, I'd make a category 'our bailiffs' or something. Basically it's not an issue how they get paid. Also, calling the main ones 'partners' assumes the idea that the practice is a partnership, which has legal consequences. These places can operate under SARLs (limited company), or even without formal structure.
Charles Davis Oct 30, 2015:
Spain This is completely off-topic, but reading the discussion brought it to mind (particularly re. the huissier's robe and cravat), and I thought those unfamiliar with Spain might find it entertaining. There is no figure equivalent to the huissier de justice in Spain, but there are firms of "cobradores", debt-collectors, legal but not regulated, who are kept very busy these days. The thing that seem wacky to the outsider is that there's a tradition of them wearing fancy dress. The best known company is called "El cobrador del frac", the "debt-collector in a tailcoat", who looks like this:
http://s03.s3c.es/imag/_v2/ecodiario/espana/225x250/cobrador...

But there are also, or have been, those that turn up dressed as bullfighters, nuns, clowns or the pink panther. This is not just Spanish eccentricity; the idea is to embarrass the debtor. If one of these people turns up at your place of business with a briefcase, everybody can see what's going on.
Nikki Scott-Despaigne Oct 30, 2015:
This is a professional partnership with two "huissiers" (bailiffs in this instance, not court ushers), who are partners in the firm. We are told that David SMITTH and Richard JONES are partners (H d justice associés). The partnership employs another qualified "huissier" but he is not a partner in the firm, just an employee. It's no more complciated than that in fact. All 3 are officers of the court; none is an employee of the court here.

It is important to bear in mind and to convey only what is meant in the French. Bailiff (meaning court usher) and bailiffs who effect service of writs and so on do occupy different functions. It is easy to confuse, back translate and end up creating a bunch of close of complete false friends. The "huissier de justice" is the guy (or girl) who a translator will send round to a client who has not paid a bill. So you can instruct a huissier to do some debt collecting for you. They can act to testify/witness various facts, (damage caused by lessees who did not pay the rent and vandalized your property, for example). If you haven't paid your rent for 2 months and your landlord wants you out, for ex, the huissier will serve a notice to quit.
Jana Cole (asker) Oct 29, 2015:
Thank you.
AllegroTrans Oct 29, 2015:
What I assume "salarié" to mean Bailiffs in France are members of the legal profession. They work in private practices just like avocats. Although responsible to and governed by the Courts, they are not paid by the Courts.
They are either partners (i.e. earning a proportion of the practice's profits) or salaried bailiffs (i.e. just earning a fixed salary)

Proposed translations

16 mins
Selected

bailiff or salaried court usher

je dirais

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Note added at 19 mins (2015-10-29 17:22:53 GMT)
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also: "court Clerk"

www.inputyouth.co.uk/.../job-courtusher.html
Court ushers are responsible for preparing courts for hearings and making sure ... Starting salaries may be around £12,700 but experienced court ushers may ...

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Note added at 26 mins (2015-10-29 17:29:26 GMT)
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"salaried" suggests that the person in question is permanently employed, appointed
Peer comment(s):
neutral writeaway : not an usher in this case. but do agree with your added note. salarié is another false friend. It does mean full time employee/not of court as Nikki says-just saw it concerns a bailiff partnership. my bad
1 hr
neutral AllegroTrans : definitely not an usher
2 hrs
neutral Nikki Scott-Despaigne : (See discu post). The "huissier de justice salarié" is an employee of the partnership; he is not an employee of the court. Only the other two "huissiers de justice associés" are partners in the firm. All 3 are "officers of the court", (UK parlance).
7 hrs
Something went wrong...
3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
31 mins

junior bailiff/marshal

I would say this letterhead is trying to distinguish the hierarchy within the practice, with the associates or partners coming first. I would perhaps recommend something along the lines of "junior bailiff" or "junior marshal" for the following position.
Reference:

http://www.chronique-ouvriere.fr/spip.php?article87

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bailiff

Peer comment(s):
disagree AllegroTrans : You cannot imply "junior" from "salaried" and "marshal" doesn't work in Europe
2 hrs
agree Adrian MM. (X) : for the US where the asker is
22 hrs
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8 hrs

non partner bailiff, staff member bailiff

It's one of those funny things that we simply wouldn't put on a firm's headed paper. In partnerships in the UK, for example, we tend to indicate who partners are, who associate partners are (not the same as "associé" in French, of course). Other individuals in the firm may hold the same qualification and be able to perform the same professional duties but if they are employees of the partnership it will simply not be indicated.

There are exceptions, with firms of solicitors, for example. As professional parnetships, they will indicate partners (senior partner, junior partner, associate etc), but other solicitors will be listed apart or simply not appear on the heaed paper.

This is why the French way seems strange to people in the UK, for example. In France, the mployee gets his employee (non-partnership) status on the paper too. It has the advantage of letting clients know that although he is not a partner, he is still qualified to serve notices, collect debts, and a whole host of other tasks.

How to treat this one? I don't know what is the usual practice for professional partnerships in the US.

David SMITH - Richard JONES
Huissiers de Justice associés
Melvin ANDERSON - Huissier de Justice salarié

David SMITH - Richard Jones, (Partner Bailifs)
Bailiff Partnership
Melvin ANDERSON (Non-Partner Bailif) or (Staff member bailiff)

I don't much like my suggestion as it does look wholly unnatural to me, but it indicates that all 3 are qualified bailiffs and describes the nature of their status with regard to the firm. It just seems odd to put "employee".

BTW, I would not translate the headed paper as it is an official registered business. However, I suppose this is for the purposes of the client seeking clarity.
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Reference comments

3 hrs
Reference:

Always a good idea to research

Huissiers: a multifaceted role
Connexion edition: December 2010

HUISSIER de justice is usually translated as “bailiff”, but these officials have a bigger role than this suggests at first glance.

The huissier, whose formal dress includes a black robe and a white cravat, is a state official, appointed by the Justice Minister. There are 2,200 of their études (legal offices) across France.
Their tasks include:

- Delivering formal notification of decisions to those concerned: eg. delivering summons to appear in a tribunal de grande instance (high court), informing people of court judgments or giving a tenant notice to quit a property on behalf of their landlord.

- Carrying out court orders, such as freezing a debtor’s bank account, seizing goods, or paying creditors.

- Amicable resolution of debts, eg. by drawing up a reimbursement plan accepted by debtor and creditor.

- Making a legally enforceable attestation of a state of affairs, eg. the condition of a property on arrival of a new tenant or before renovation work,
observing nuisance being caused to a neighbour or making an inventory of possessions before a couple signs a pacs, showing what belongs to each.

- Filing the rules of competitions organised by media firms and, sometimes, helping to draw them up. A huissier can also draw winners, guaranteeing impartiality.

- Seizing counterfeit goods.

Huissiers are a regulated profession with set tariffs for their work and they are competent to act within the area served by a specific tribunal d'instance (local court).
Reference:

http://www.connexionfrance.com/huissiers-de-justice-france-multifaceted-role-news-article.html

Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree Yvonne Gallagher : why not put an answer?
3 hrs
I think the asker can work it out
agree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : this is all true, but the point is of course that the bailiff in question is a qualified bailiff too, but that he is an employee (salarié) of the partnership, where the other two are partners (associés).
4 hrs
I personally would not use employee; it sort of implies a lesser status than "salaried bailiff" (e.g. a mere office clerk in the practice)
Something went wrong...
2 hrs
Reference:

Explanation (in English)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huissier_de_justice

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Note added at 17 hrs (2015-10-30 10:52:14 GMT)
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Many in the United States use the word bailiff colloquially to refer to a peace officer providing court security. More often, these court officers are sheriff's deputies, marshals, corrections officers or constables. The terminology varies among (and sometimes within) the several states.

From its staff, the court may appoint by court order bailiffs as peace officers, who shall have, during the stated terms of such appointment, such powers normally incident to police officers, including, but not limited to, the power to make arrests in a criminal case, provided that the exercise of such powers shall be limited to any building or real property maintained or used as a courthouse or in support of judicial functions.[citation needed]

In rural areas, this responsibility is often carried out by the junior lawyer in training under the judge's supervision called a law clerk who also has the title of bailiff.

Whatever the name used, the agency providing court security is often charged with serving legal process and seizing and selling property (e.g., replevin or foreclosure). In some cases, the duties are separated between agencies in a given jurisdiction. For instance, a court officer may provide courtroom security in a jurisdiction where a sheriff handles service of process and seizures.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bailiff
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree AllegroTrans : yes but unfortunately your ref says "usher" whuich is clearly wrong
1 hr
it just explains it's the literal translation. Huissier de justice, literally "usher of justice", is a term used in France Luxembourg, Quebec, Suisse romande, and the French Community of Belgium for a specific legal officer ... .
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