Is France a Common Law Country

Some areas of French law even consist mainly of case law. For example, tort liability in private law is elaborated mainly by judges on the basis of only five articles (articles 1382-1386) of the Civil Code. [20] [21] Scholars have suggested that French judges dispense justice in these areas of law, as do common law judges. [13]82[22] Case law is also the main source of principles in French administrative law. [19] Many decisions of the Constitutional Council are crucial for the understanding of French constitutional law. [23] The France, for example, has prioritized the educational and emotional needs of youth. The country passed its first Juvenile Court Act in 1912, which established a court dedicated to handling juvenile cases. A more comprehensive system, in use since 1945, is based on the Tribunal. In general, a civil law system that is more prescriptive than its common law counterpart.

It is largely based on Roman law. For example, in relation to a contract, even if the clause is not expressly written but is contained in the relevant contract code, the clause applies. As a result, less emphasis is placed on the definition of all contractual clauses, since statutory restrictions apply even if they are not explicitly mentioned. The differences between French jurisprudence and jurisprudence in common law systems appear to be as follows: (1) they are not cited before the highest courts; [5] [17] [18] [19] (2) Lower courts are theoretically free to depart from higher courts, although they run the risk of having their decisions overturned; [5] and (3) In the absence of a recognized source of law, courts cannot rely solely on case law as a basis for their decision. [24] [5] The following countries have common law legal systems: According to the World Bank, the following are the main features of the common law system: There are currently about 78 legal systems in force in France, which categorically deal with both French public and private law. These codes are published free of charge by the French government on a site called Legifrance. [29] The French legal system underwent major changes after the French Revolution of 1789, which swept away the ancien régime. [32] By 1790, the National Constituent Assembly had overhauled the country`s judicial system. [32] In 1791, a penal code had been adopted. The Civil Code (1804), the Code of Civil Procedure (1806) and the Commercial Code (1807) were adopted under Napoleon Bonaparte and reflect Roman law, pre-revolutionary ordinances and customs, scientific legal writings, Enlightenment ideas, and Napoleon`s personal vision of law. [32] These codes consisted of numbered articles, were written in elegant French, and were to be understood by the layman. [28] [5] In addition, they introduced many classical liberal reforms, such as the abolition of the remaining feudal institutions and the introduction of personality rights, property rights, and contracts for all French male citizens.

[41] This means that the hierarchy of courts in the legal system is important. The U.S. Supreme Court, for example, is the highest court in the land: all the decisions it makes “bind” all the other courts in the country that must follow those decisions. When he decided in 1973 that the 14. The constitutional amendment guaranteeing people`s privacy should be interpreted as guaranteeing a woman`s right to abortion, meaning that no other court can rule that a woman does not have the right to abortion (and because the Supreme Court is the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution, no legislative body can pass a bill against a woman`s right to abortion). This decision can only be changed by the Supreme Court itself. The term civil law in France refers to private law (laws between individuals) and must be distinguished from the group of legal systems derived from Roman law known as civil law, as opposed to common law. In some countries, such as France, prosecution is provided by a single office, which has representatives before courts throughout the country (see Public Prosecutor`s Office). In Japan, too, the prosecution operates alongside a unified judicial system. However, in the United States, states and counties are. Unlike the common law, civil law is a codified set of statutes and statutes created by Parliament. In civil law, judicial authorities use the Civil Code to evaluate cases and make decisions.

Civilian systems also clearly define the cases that can be brought before the courts, the procedures for handling claims, and the penalties for a crime. Both civil law and common law aim to achieve consistent results by applying the same standards of interpretation. First, let`s look at the legal system used in most English-speaking countries. The Economist explains that “the system originated in pre-Norman times, when the rules were different in each part of the country. For consistency, the judges created a common law based on the customs of the country and the decisions of monarchs. These rules evolved organically and were rarely written. It contains backdated influences from the Bible and the Romans and Normans. When judges make a decision, they are largely bound by the rules and other doctrines developed by previous courts.

Parallel to the common law is the unified magistrate of the France, whose members include judges and prosecutors. Prosecutors and judges work for the National Ministry of Justice, whose central administration is also part of the unified magistrate. As the House of Lords was the highest court in Britain at the time, this new precedent (an example of common law) bound all other courts in the country. Since then, Acts of Parliament (civil law examples) have been passed that formalize the definition of rape and repeal this exception. In addition, some countries have customary law in which patterns of conduct or customs have been accepted as legal requirements or codes of conduct. Other countries have religious legal systems where religious texts or traditions define the laws of that country. Religious legal systems are widespread in Islamic countries. Some countries have mixed legal systems that include common law and another type of legal system.

With the French Civil Code of 1804, a European model began that gave spouses the choice of marital status: codifiers were confronted with a variety of customary law in different parts of the country, and since they did not want to impose any, they included alternatives. Unlike the French legal system, the English framework is generally based on case law or jurisprudence.

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