In France and Belgium, an avoué was formerly a jurist and a ministerial officer charged with performing the preparation (French: postulation) of cases in front of courts.
Their functions were roughly equivalent to that of solicitors in common law systems, but only in the context of litigation.
Their tasks included the drafting of the statement of claim and of other documents, the distribution of the judgment, and other matters of procedure.
Avoués were ministerial officers, appointed by the Garde des sceaux in France, and were remunerated according to an official fee schedule.
[2][page needed] The latter, who appeared in cases before the Appeals court in France, were abolished in 2012, when their profession was subsumed with that of the avocat.