Driot Administratif - Administrative Law of France

Administrative Law:

Administrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies
of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the
enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of
public law. As a body of law, administrative law deals with the decision-making of
administrative units of government (e.g., tribunals, boards or commissions) that are part of
a national regulatory scheme in such areas as police law, international trade,
manufacturing, the environment, taxation, broadcasting, immigration and transport.
Administrative law expanded greatly during the twentieth century, as legislative bodies
worldwide created more government agencies to regulate the increasingly complex social,
economic and political spheres of human interaction.

Law of France

French law can be divided into two main categories: private law ("droit privé") and public
law ("droit public").

Judicial law includes, in particular:

* civil law ("droit civil"); and

* criminal law ("droit pénal").

Public law includes, in particular:

* administrative law ("droit administratif"); and

* constitutional law ("droit constitutionnel").

Administrative law in France - Droit administratif en France

French administrative law is the most important part of French public law. It includes all the
legal rules governing the administrative activities of public entities and private individuals.
In France, monitoring its implementation is ensured by a set of jurisdictions that are
administrative justice.

Initially, it is a judge-made law, that is to say basically formed by the courts. However, with
the integration of legal sources of higher value and an attempt at codification of
administrative law, this character is sometimes seriously questioned at the expense of
flexibility and adaptation to changing the law.
Current sources of administrative law 

The sources of administrative law in France are different. The value of each within the
hierarchy of standards is discussed in some cases, however, the following sources are
placed in order of decreasing value in the latter.
The constitutional rules.

Because of the presence of a written constitution, constitutional norms are not in principle of
customary origin. However, the rule established by the Constitutional Council is a form of
"constitutional practice" and may be considered a source of unwritten law (or at least non-
coded).

Two kinds of constitutional norms exist: that of the constitution and others belonging to the
block of constitutionality. The latter is especially composed by the constitutional
jurisprudence and the principles it was possible to identify

Written constitutional norms

The constitutional standard is primarily written, now, the constitution of the Fifth Republic.
However, the preamble to the constitution there a legal value? A decision of the
Constitutional Council of 16 July 1971 (Freedom of Association ") has said, as the State
Council in 1960 (EC, Sect, February 12, 1960, Eky). These solutions are essential because
they allow for inclusion in the standards written constitutional Bill of Rights of Man and the
Citizen or the Fundamental Principles Recognized by the Statutes of the Republic, both
contained in the Preamble to the Constitution 1946 which refers to the 1958 Constitution.

The unwritten constitutional norms 

These standards are written by the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Council and the
principles that emerge: Principles Recognized by the Laws of the Republic (PFRLR). Under
Article 62 of the constitution of the Fifth Republic, decisions of the Constitutional Council are
likely "to appeal" and "appropriate public authorities and all administrative and judicial
authorities." However, these standards are problematic. If it appears to be the constitutional
role of judges to fill any gaps in the constitution, however, these decisions have a value
below the constitution but above the law, while, in contrast to other French judges, the
judge has no democratic legitimacy because its does not make decisions on behalf of the
French people.

The Act 

The sources of administrative law include of course the laws which must be respected in all
cases to the Board. The French public law traditionally defines an organizational point of
view and formal: the law is an act of legislative bodies prepared by the legislative procedure
prescribed by the Constitution. In this regard, there are several categories of laws:
constitutional law, organic law, the referendum law, finance law, ordinary law, ... but all
have the same binding on the administrative authorities.
Administrative case law.

The case law of the State Council and the Court of conflict have been instrumental in the
formation and evolution of French administrative law. Called "leading cases" the decisions
that had a particular importance of this point of view. The study of administrative law
necessarily requires the consideration of these cases. The courts have particularly identified
the general principles of law (or PGD). These rules contain the basic principles of
administrative law.

Their existence was implied since the late nineteenth century, but two cases (EC, Ass, May
5, 1944, widow Lady Trompier-Gravel and CE, Ass, October 26, 1945, Aramu and others)
have explained. The general principles of law have legislative effect, although some authors
have argued that they were worth "infra-and supra-legislative decretal" (Rene Chapus).

The regulations 

Besides the laws passed by Parliament, a certain area of expertise has been recognized with
the regulations, which are acts of general and impersonal by the authority.

The authorities vested with regulatory power by the Constitution are two in number:

* The Prime Minister is the primary holder of regulatory power under Article 21 of
Constitution he "exercises regulatory power." This is a solution consistent with the
republican tradition.

* The President of the Republic, under Article 13, "sign ordinances and decrees deliberated
upon in the Council of Ministers". The Council of State ruled that a decree which has been
deliberated by the Council of Ministers despite the imposed no text can be altered by Order
in Council of Ministers.

Administrative litigation is provided by the administrative courts,

including:

Tribunal administratif

The Administrative Court is the administrative court of first instance. It is the common law
judge in administrative litigation, meaning that all administrative disputes falling under its
jurisdiction, except when special provision departs from that principle by conferring
jurisdiction on another court.

The administrative courts have jurisdiction in any dispute with a government (state, local
authorities, public administrative institutions, etc..). They are also responsible for all
matters related to municipal and cantonal elections. Exceptions where the Council of State
is responsible first and last resort, for example, involved disputes with consulates, appeals
against regulatory acts adopted by the ministers or against administrative whose scope
extends beyond the purview of a single tribunal.

Cour administrative d'appel

They are seized of appeals against decisions of administrative tribunals of their jurisdiction,
as well as appeals against decisions of commissions for indemnification of returnees.
Remain the responsibility of the State Council:

* Calls of judgments relating to local elections

* Those on appeal questions of legality

Appeals against judgments on appeals against orders prefectural deportation are the
jurisdiction of the courts, not the Council of State in respect of calls recorded from 1
January 2005. Their skills are introduced gradually: in 1989, for example, they were
unaware of the litigation abuse of power.

Conseil d'État

The State Council is, in France, a public institution charged with two main tasks: it is the
government adviser and the highest courts of the administrative order. The French judicial
system knows, in fact, the duality of orders of court (judicial and administrative). (The
supreme judge in the judiciary is the Court of Cassation, the conflicts of jurisdiction between
the two orders is decided by the Disputes Tribunal.)

In its advisory, the State Council must be consulted by the Government for a number of
acts, including bills. In its adjudicative role, he is the supreme judge in certain matters
(including exceptions for appeals against decisions taken by a public authority). He served
in Paris at the Palais-Royal. His vice-president (who is the de facto President of the Council)
is the first official of the State: as such, it presents the president's wishes all organs of
state, speaking on behalf of the Public public, the judiciary, public enterprises, etc.

The administrative courts of appeal are chaired by a Councillor of State. Other judges of
administrative courts and administrative courts of appeal judges are part of the same body,
the advisers of the administrative courts and the administrative courts of appeal. They are
recruited through the NAS, by posting, by competition or by the turn out. They are
irremovable.