Legal Definitions - aler sans jour

Aler sans jour is a French legal term that translates to "to go without a day." In legal practice, it signifies that a court or tribunal has adjourned a case indefinitely, meaning no specific date has been set for future proceedings or hearings. The case is not dismissed, but rather placed into an inactive status, effectively on hold until one of the parties requests its revival or the court decides to take further action.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Imagine a complex commercial dispute between two large corporations. After several preliminary hearings, both parties indicate to the judge that they are engaged in serious, good-faith settlement negotiations and believe they are close to reaching an agreement. To facilitate these discussions without the immediate pressure of an upcoming trial date, the judge might declare the case aler sans jour. This allows the companies ample time to finalize their settlement without the court's calendar dictating their pace. If the settlement talks ultimately fail, either party can then petition the court to reactivate the case and schedule it for trial.

• Consider an administrative hearing where a professional licensing board is reviewing a complaint against a doctor. During the hearing, new, unexpected medical evidence is introduced that requires extensive analysis by expert witnesses for both the board and the doctor. To ensure a fair and thorough review of this critical information, the hearing officer might decide to adjourn the proceedings aler sans jour. This provides all parties with the necessary time to consult with their experts, prepare rebuttals, or conduct further investigations without being constrained by a fixed deadline. Once the new evidence has been fully processed, either side can request that the hearing be rescheduled.

• In a family law matter involving a child custody dispute, the court might order a comprehensive psychological evaluation of the parents and children. These evaluations can be lengthy and require significant time for the experts to complete their assessments and prepare detailed reports. Rather than setting a series of placeholder dates, the judge might declare the case aler sans jour until the psychological reports are submitted and reviewed by all legal teams. This ensures that the court has all necessary information before proceeding, and a new hearing date can be set once the reports are finalized and distributed.