The August issue of our series examines a recent decision (Case No. 27 Cdo 3499/2023) that addresses the effect of serving legal documents. The Supreme Court’s decision clarified the effectiveness of unilateral juridical acts delivered by e-mail, based on a notice of a failure to elect the chairman of a board of directors for another term.
The case concerned the delivery of a notice informing that the chairman of a board of directors had not been elected for the next term of office. If the plaintiff had been notified well in advance that he was not elected, he would have been entitled to a lower severance payment. This was an important consideration in the present case. He received the notice by e-mail while on leave.
The form of the notice was not contractually agreed upon, so the principle of informality in juridical acts applied in this case. The Supreme Court ruled that an email deposited in an inbox regularly used by the addressee can be considered delivered, barring any objective obstacles to the delivery.
The Supreme Court has long held in its judgments that the addressee need not actually become acquainted with the juridical act; it is sufficient that they have the objective possibility to do so. In the present case, the Supreme Court has ruled that taking contractual leave does not constitute a valid obstacle. The Court noted that the person appointed as a member of an executive body is considered a member of that body for the entirety of their term, effectively serving “24 hours a day, 7 days a week”. Therefore, the addressee’s lack of obligation to check their email or expectation of e-mail delivery during their leave is irrelevant.
Although it may appear to simply summarise previously clarified rules of service, this decision is nonetheless significant. Proper service of process is critical to juridical acts. It ensures all parties receive timely notice of important actions, which safeguards their rights and obligations. This transparency also contributes to the predictability of legal relations. Proper service of process is thus the first key to success in a case.
