Jurisdiction

France

Codified civil law system with a distinct administrative jurisdiction

Overview

France operates a codified civil law system in which statute and code, rather than precedent, are the primary sources of law. The Constitution of 1958 establishes the Fifth Republic and, together with the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the 1946 Preamble, forms the constitutional bloc against which legislation is measured. Constitutional review is entrusted to the Conseil constitutionnel rather than to the ordinary courts. The judicial order, headed by the Cour de cassation, decides civil and criminal matters, while a separate administrative order headed by the Conseil d'État reviews the acts of public authorities. This dual structure, and the French approach to the relationship between domestic and international law, has shaped legal systems across Europe, Africa and beyond.

The archive currently holds 13 judgments catalogued under France, spanning 29 areas of law.

Court structure

  1. Conseil constitutionnel (constitutional review)
  2. Cour de cassation · Conseil d'État (judicial and administrative orders)
  3. Cours d'appel · Cours administratives d'appel
  4. Tribunaux judiciaires · Tribunaux administratifs

Landmark cases

Constitutional lawSociété des Cafés Jacques VabreCour de cassation · 1975Administrative lawNicoloConseil d’État · 1989Constitutional lawFreedom of Association DecisionConstitutional Council · 1971Public law liabilityBlancoTribunal of Conflicts · 1873Administrative jurisdictionCadotCouncil of State · 1889Pacta sunt servanda / judicial non-interventionCanal de CraponneCourt of Cassation · 1876Right to judicial reviewDame LamotteCouncil of State · 1950Rights of defenceAramuCouncil of State · 1945Police powers and public orderBenjaminCouncil of State · 1933Human dignity as public orderMorsang-sur-OrgeCouncil of State · 1995Compensation and contributory faultDesmaresCourt of Cassation · 1982Wrongful lifePerrucheCourt of Cassation · 2000Public liability for wartime crimesPaponCourt of Cassation · 2002

Areas of law