PCT is the leading Commercial Court of Justice in France, both in terms of rulings issued - 100.000 - and of staff number.

It counts 172 volunteer - non-paid - Judges, of whom 86% male and 14% female Justices, all belonging to the business community (corporate owners or senior executives). They are organized in 22 Chambers, five of which specializing in bankruptcy administration and liquidation proceedings.

PCT's Justices are elected by a college of business and industry Electors. They go for re-election every two or four years, the total length of their judicature not exceeding 14 years. Justice candidates must be over 30 years of age and either show proof of having been registered as corporate owners with the Registry of Commerce for at least five years, or having been salaried senior executives for the same minimum period of time.

When joining PCT, a majority of Judges are still active within the business community. More than half of them have gone through a legal curriculum. Judgments are passed on a collegial basis, with three Judges privately deliberating each case.

As for professional training, an initial law curriculum is dispensed to PCT's newly elected Judges – hence furthered throughout their entire judicature – in order to allow them to first acquire and then keep up-to-date a sound knowledge of EU and national laws and regulations they have to put to practice. Taught by an in-house team of lecturing Judges over the last 30 years, this training curriculum is now dispensed on a joint basis with the French National School of Justice ("Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature").

Within the European environment, EU laws and regulations are today prevailing upon national ones and PCT's Judges must be conversant with that legal corpus.

Principles of independence and impartiality govern each and all Judges' activities, especially regarding procedural rules respect, thus warranting fair protection and ruling impartiality to all parties. A Judge is forbidden by law to hear cases concerning an organization in which he has (or had) a vested interest of any kind.

Proceedings at PCT, as well as at all others Courts of Law in France, are based on the principle of a "contradictory" exchange of evidence between parties to a legal action. Initial claims in excess of first-resort ceiling of 3.800 €uros may be appealed by either of the parties, and go to The Paris Court of Appeals – PCA.

Indifferent to amounts claimed, all cases may be brought to The French Supreme Court ("Cour de Cassation") whenever a breach in legal rules is called for.

About 8% of first-resort rulings issued are appealed, of which 80% are subsequently confirmed by PCA.