Legal aid extended to civil and administrative matters in Wallis and Futuna

The Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice signed Decree No. 2026-990 on October 23, 2026, regarding the extension of legal aid in civil and administrative matters to the territory of Wallis and Futuna. The text, published in the Official Journal of the French Republic on October 25, 2026 (JORF No. 0250, NOR JUST2616922D), also adapts local procedures, from appeal deadlines to the appointment of lawyers. It comes into force on November 1, 2026.

The decree amends Decree No. 93-1425 of December 31, 1993, issued for the application of Ordinance No. 92-1147 of October 12, 1992, relating to legal aid in New Caledonia and the islands of Wallis and Futuna, and refers to Law No. 91-647 of July 10, 1991, relating to legal aid. It supplements this framework with an entire chapter dedicated to “the advance and recovery of costs in the Wallis and Futuna islands” and four annexed coefficient tables.

The appeal deadline neutralized by the aid request

The new Article 13-1 of the 1993 decree establishes the principle of an extension: when a legal action or appeal must be brought before the expiration of a deadline before the courts of first instance or appeal, the action is deemed to have been brought within the deadlines if the request for legal aid is addressed to the president of the court of first instance, or filed with them, before the expiration of said deadline.

The legal claim must then be introduced within a new deadline of the same duration, calculated from two possible dates:

• the date on which the applicant can no longer contest the decision of admission or rejection, or the date on which the decision rendered on their appeal was notified to them;
• in the event of admission, the date, if later, on which a legal professional was appointed.

The text specifies that deadlines are not interrupted when, after a rejection, the applicant submits a new request with the same objective.

Lawyers, transactions, and mutual consent divorce

The lawyer or approved person who agrees to provide assistance under legal aid informs their bar president or the president of the court of first instance of Mata’Utu, and provides the beneficiary with a written document certifying their acceptance. The same president shall rule by a reasoned decision if the counsel requests to be relieved of their duties.

Articles 38-1 to 38-4 organize the appointment of a new lawyer by the president of the court of first instance, particularly in cases of lack of jurisdiction of the seized court or when execution is to be pursued in another district. In matters of settlement prior to proceedings, only a lawyer may be chosen or appointed. In the case of divorce by mutual consent provided for in Article 229-1 of the civil code, the lawyer informs the opposing party in writing and mentions that only correspondence bearing the mention “Official” may be communicated to the president of the court for the purpose of examining their payment request; the benefit of the aid remains acquired solely for the counsel’s remuneration.

Remuneration, mediation and costs advanced by the State

The remuneration of the lawyer and approved persons is now equal to the product of the amount of the reference value unit provided for in Article 27 of the 1991 law and the coefficients set in the tables annexed to the decree: table 1 for civil matters in Wallis-and-Futuna, table 2 for the criminal courts of New Caledonia and the territory, table 3 for the administrative court of Wallis-and-Futuna, table 4 for the hearing of the child and civil interests.

For mediation, the remuneration is capped according to the number of beneficiaries:

• from €128 to €256 excluding tax when only one party benefits from the aid;
• from €256 to €512 excluding tax when several parties benefit from it.

In the event of striking from the roll, withdrawal from the docket, termination of proceedings for any cause other than a judgment or a settlement, or a dismissal (non-lieu) and withdrawal before the administrative courts, the judge may allocate to the lawyer a remuneration that cannot exceed half of the scale applicable for full aid. The new chapter on the advance and recovery of costs provides that the State advances the remuneration for expertise and mediation, witness allowances, and clerk’s fees, without deposit, and establishes the regime for the collection title and its contestation. The first president of the court of appeal of Nouméa and the prosecutor general at this court are jointly established as secondary authorizing officers for the corresponding expenditures and revenues, including travel expenses for lawyers, reimbursed quarterly to the pecuniary settlement fund based on the most economical class rate.

For the litigants of the territory, the effect is concrete: a request for aid filed on time no longer results in the loss of a deadline for appeal, and the State’s coverage extends to the costs of expertise, mediation, and execution, within a pricing framework that is now written and enforceable.