French Judicial Organisation Overview

Extract

[...] The principle in civil matters is that the competent court is that of the place, the domicile of the defendant. In criminal matters, it will be that of the place of the offense The main principles related to the conduct of a trial : - the principle of adversarial proceedings: Each party to the trial must be aware of the arguments and evidence that will be used during the trial. - the principle of publicity: public trial as well as the judicial decision (except for in-camera proceedings to ensure the general interest or that of a party) - the principle of gratuitousness: one does not pay the judges (remunerated by the State); On the other hand, one pays for the defense, but the State has set up legal aid to allow everyone to be defended - Once a judgment has been rendered, we cannot go back, it cannot be retried under the same conditions. [...]

[...] A Court of Appeal by judicial region (but does not only judge cases from this region). Since 2001, there has also been the possibility of appealing after a verdict from the Court of Assizes. There is therefore a Court of Assize of Appeal. Within the Court of Appeal, there are specialized chambers in each legal field (commercial chamber for commercial court, for example) 3-The cassation Level of The Court of Cassation (which is only located in Paris). If a person is not satisfied with a ruling made by the Court of Appeal, they can therefore formulate a cassation appeal. [...]

[...] prescription - one must have a serious and legitimate interest - the quality to act : being the holder of the right invoked - the capacity to act in justice : legal capacity (cf chapter Always 2 people in a legal action: a claimant and a defendant. The claimant is the one who initiates a legal action. The defendant is the one against whom the action is initiated (and who must defend themselves) To initiate an action, it is necessary to determine the competent jurisdiction (criminal court, commercial court etc?). This is referred to as jurisdictional competence It is also necessary to determine the location of the legal action. This is referred to as territorial competence. [...]

[...] It is located in Luxembourg. It is the judicial authority of the European Union. Role of the CJEU: ensuring a uniform application and interpretation of the law within the EU 3 main missions to fulfill this role : 1. control the legality of acts of EU institutions 2. control the respect by Member States of the obligations arising from the treaties establishing the functioning of the EU 3. Interpret EU law at the request of national judges ? [...]

[...] Concerns disputes involving an administration (State, territorial collectivities, public administrations, private administrations with a mission to provide a public service) 1-The first degree: the administrative court affairs: students VS university / labor conflicts in the public service 2-The Administrative Court of Appeal Re-examine the Cases judged by the Administrative Court 3-The High Jurisdiction: the Council of State May be of first instance in certain cases: request for annulment of a decree of the President of the Republic or the Prime Minister or the Ministers May also directly seize of appeals against the decisions of administrative authorities with national competence (e.g. CNIL) In most cases, such as the Court of Cassation at the administrative level C-The Tribunal of Conflicts Resolve conflicts of jurisdiction between the administrative and judicial orders. With parity, it includes members of the Conseil d'Etat and members of the Court of Cassation. II)The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) Established in 1952 by the Treaty of the ECSC. Previously it was called the Court of Justice of the European Communities (ECJ). [...]