Scope of the concept of significant financial damage (préjudice financier significatif) – commentary on the judgment of the French Financial Court of Appeal of 12 January 2024, CAF-2023-01

Abstract

This publication is a continuation of research on the consequences of recent changes in the French financial law regulations. The commentary on the first judgment of the new French Financial Court of Appeal of 12 January 2024, the creation of which is the result of the above- -mentioned changes, allows to refer to the concept of significant financial damage specified therein. This commentary may also be an interesting material for the Polish legislator and Polish doctrine, which has already been based on French models many times. The concept of the new financial jurisdiction (Cour d’appel financière) constitutes a rather bold institutional reform, which allows not only to relieve the cassation courts but also to provide additional sources of interpretation of key concepts of financial law. The new Financial Court of Appeal, which, not by accident, referred to the concept of financial damage in its first judgment, allows for an increase in the responsiveness of the judiciary related to the need to redefine many concepts in connection with dynamic and exponential technological progress. The methodology used by the author, referring to the functional comparative method, the historical-descriptive method and the dogmatic method, analyses the concept that was expressed in the judgment that the order of magnitude of given loss must be estimated with sufficient precision only to such an extent that it can be assessed in relation to the financial attributes of a given entity.