Court case against FIA moves forward to February hearing

In response to legal action brought against the FIA by Laura Villars, supported by FIA Forward, today at the Paris Judicial Court Judge Malik Chapuis declined to provide “Interim Relief” in the case, and thus the election at the FIA General Assembly will go forward on the 12th of December. As stated before, this outcome was not unexpected as the matter is extremely complicated, as indicated by the Judge’s 19-page decision.

The Judge rejected the argument by the FIA that neither Ms Villars nor Mr Mayer at FIA Forward had standing to bring the action. On the majority of points, however, the Judge stated that the claims made were “not established with the degree of obviousness required in interim proceedings.” Given the short timeframes of the process and limited presentations of evidence, this was a reasonable and expected response in such a complex case.

Today’s judgment is not the end of the legal process. As stated by Laura Villars’ attorney, Maître Robin Binsard, “The emergency-proceedings judge held that this dispute belongs before the trial court, and we will therefore continue this case against the FIA before the judges who hear matters on the merits. A first hearing is scheduled for 16 February 2026.”

This legal action has been led by presidential candidate Laura Villars with the support of Tim Mayer’s FIA Forward campaign. Tim Mayer has consistently maintained that the lack of transparency, accountability, and the excessive concentration of presidential authority within the FIA undermine the ability of Members to evaluate competing visions for the future of the organisation. Regardless of their political alignment, all Member Clubs deserve an open, fair and credible electoral process.

FIA Forward will continue to advocate for integrity, transparency and genuine democratic practice within our governing structures as the case proceeds to a full hearing on the merits in February.

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