In academic terms, French law can be divided into two main categories: private or judicial law ("droit privé") and public law ("droit public").
Judicial law includes, in particular:
Public law includes, in particular:
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.
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The term civil law in its general sense refers to private law, e.g., corporate law and the law of contracts, and should be distinguished from the French legal system as a whole, also known as civil law (vs. common law). The body of statutes and laws governing civil law and procedure are set out in the Civil Code of France.[1] Article 5 of the Civil Code specifically prohibits the practice of case law,[2] while Article 4 provides for the punishment of judges who refuse to give sentence if there is insufficient legal material on the idea that it is a refusal of justice.[3]
French criminal law is governed first and foremost by the Code pénal, or Criminal Code. For example, the Criminal Code formally prohibits violent offences, e.g., homicide, assault, etc., and many pecuniary offences such as theft or money laundering, and provides general punishment guidelines. However, a number of criminal topics, e.g., slander and libel, have not been codified but are instead addressed by legislation.[4]
Constitutional law is a branch of public law dealing with :
It fixes the hierarchy of laws and rules within the French legal system and the relationship between these different norms. Constitutional law became independent from political science and administrative law with the Constitution of 1958 which included the institution of a constitutional court, the "Conseil Constitutionnel".
Traditionally, Community law has been viewed as a body of rules which are transposed automatically (in the case of a regulation) or by national legislation (in the case of a directive) into French domestic law, be it civil, criminal, administrative or constitutional.
However, in November 2005 the Commission announced that, on the basis of a (somewhat controversial) ECJ court decision (holding that the EU had the right to require Member States to introduce criminal laws because, in the case at hand, it was necessary to uphold EU legislation on combatting pollution), it intended to create a dozen or so EU criminal offences, creating echos of the federal laws which exist in the United States of America. Indeed, the Commission - led by its Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs Franco Frattini - insists that the principle created in the ECJ court decision applies across all policies, not just policies concerning pollution.
Subsequently, in May 2006, the Commission formally submitted to the EU Parliament and EU Council (which have co-decision powers) the first draft directive aiming to put this new prerogative into effect. The draft concerns counterfeiting (for example, of car parts, drugs, or children's toys) and requires each Member State to set the following penalties for what it terms "organised counterfeiters": a period of imprisonment of up to four years and a fine of up to €300,000. The Parliament began its consideration of the draft directive in March 2007.
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