"French law" redirects here. For the dialect of French used in English courts, see Law French. For the law requiring the use of French in Quebec, see Charter of the French Language.
French law has a dual jurisdictional system comprising private law (droit privé), also known as judicial law, and public law (droit public).[1][2]
Schema of jurisdictional dualism in the French legal system
Judicial law includes, in particular:
Civil law [fr] (droit civil)
Criminal law (droit pénal)
Public law includes, in particular:
Administrative law (droit administratif)
Constitutional law [fr] (droit constitutionnel)
Together, in practical terms, these four areas of law (civil, criminal, administrative and constitutional) constitute the major part of French law.
The announcement in November 2005 by the European Commission that, on the basis of powers recognised in a recent European Court of Justice ("ECJ") ruling, it intends to create a dozen or so European Union ("EU") criminal offences suggests that one should also now consider EU law ("droit communautaire", sometimes referred to, less accurately, as "droit européen") as a new and distinct area of law in France (akin to the "federal laws" that apply across States of the US, on top of their own State law), and not simply a group of rules which influence the content of France's civil, criminal, administrative and constitutional law.
Frenchlaw has a dual jurisdictional system comprising private law (droit privé), also known as judicial law, and public law (droit public). Judicial law...
LawFrench (Middle English: Lawe Frensch) is an archaic language originally based on Anglo-Norman, but increasingly influenced by Parisian French and...
French nationality law is historically based on the principles of jus soli (Latin for "right of soil") and jus sanguinis, according to Ernest Renan's...
The droit d'auteur or French authors' rights law, is in the jurisdiction ofFrance a set of exclusive prerogatives available to a creator over his or...
French company law is the law governing corporations incorporated in France or under French corporate law. In the wake of the French Revolution in 1791...
system of the French Republic. The field of criminal law is defined as a sector ofFrenchlaw, and is a combination of public and private law, insofar...
French labour law is the system of labour law operating in France. During the French Revolution, the Le Chapelier Law 1791 was passed to prohibit unions...
secondary schools. The law is an amendment to the French Code of Education that expands principles founded in existing Frenchlaw, especially the constitutional...
Law enforcement in France is centralized at the national level. Recently, legislation has allowed local governments to hire their own police officers...
Law schools in France may refer to three distinct institutions: The legal component of a French university, called Faculté de droit (Faculty ofLaw)....
Administrative law is a division oflaw governing the activities of executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch...
depending on the type, function and magazine capacity of the weapon. In 1563, King Charles IX ofFrance made an address to the Rouen parliament about forbidding...
history ofFrance is commonly divided into three periods: that of the old Frenchlaw (Ancien Droit), that of the Revolutionary or intermediary law (Droit...
The 23 February 2005 Frenchlaw on colonialism (French: loi n° 2005-158 du 23 février 2005 portant reconnaissance de la Nation et contribution nationale...
Toubon Law (full name: law 94-665 of 4 August 1994 relating to usage of the French language) is a Frenchlaw mandating the use of the French language...
number of prominent French intellectuals, doctors, and psychologists calling for reforms to or the abolition of the French age of consent law. A January...
recognized as incurable. The abortion law was liberalized by the Veil Act in 1975. The First French Republic saw the act of abortion being changed from an act...
and topical guide ofFrance: France – country in Western Europe with several overseas regions and territories. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean...
While administrative law is often a subcategory of civil law in many countries, it is completely separated in France and each body oflaw is headed by a specific...
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a...
The fundamental lawsof the Kingdom ofFrance were a set of unwritten principles which dealt with determining the question of royal succession, and placed...
vestiges of feudalism were abolished.[citation needed] Specifically, as to civil law, the many different bodies oflaw used in different parts ofFrance were...
Republic. For the last century, the French government policy has been based on the 1905 Frenchlaw on the Separation of the Churches and the State, which...
The hate speech laws in France are matters of both civil law and criminal law. Those laws protect individuals and groups from being defamed or insulted...
Constitutional Lawsof 1875 were the laws passed in France by the National Assembly between February and July 1875 which established the Third French Republic...
"Rule ofLaw in France". Middlesex University – School ofLaw. SSRN 929099. Letourneur, M.; Drago, R. (1958). "The Rule ofLaw as Understood in France". The...
Global Information