Court of Cassation's Role in Modernizing Civil Law

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[...] The reversals or shifts in jurisprudence also contribute to the modernization of civil law following a specific logic. The Reversals of Jurisprudence: An Evolving Uncertainty From the outset, it is essential to clarifythe requirements of legal security and protection of the legitimate trust of litigants do not consecrate a right to acquired jurisprudence that is constant »13, « the evolution of jurisprudence relevant to the judge's office in the application of the law ». In any case, it is advisable to retain that « the jurisprudential evolutions, can certainly be, a source of instability and uncertainty [ . [...]

[...] Also is it essential to recall that the Court of Cassation does not know « from the bottom of the affairs »4. It is up to him to simply appreciate the conditions in which the court of first instance has to settle the dispute in question, that is to say, to check their legality. This control mission is exercised through a specific procedure: the cassation technique. By definition, the « cassation technique » designates the set of mechanisms by which the Court exercises its control of legality over the decisions of the courts of first instance. [...]

[...] The Court of Cassation also devotes itself to clarifying broad and abstract legal concepts. The use by the legislator of standards or imprecise notions (fault, good faith, property, commercial act, interest of the company, geographical sector, community of work, for example) enables the judge to define their substance. In establishing progressively the contours of these notions by the way of the praetor, the Court of Cassation defines criteria allowing for a uniform application by the judges of the fact. For example, it has gradually clarified a clear definition of the notion of ' accident at work ». [...]

[...] Is uncertainty suitable for the cassation technique in civil matters? « There is, for the whole Republic, a Court of Cassation. » This provision of Article L. 411-1 of the Code of Judicial Organisation captures the very essence of the Court of Cassation: a unique jurisdiction, occupying a 'position of paramountcy within the judicial order »1. Inherited from the French Revolution, this institution is invested with a true ' mission of judicial policy »2, for reprise of the expression of Dean Jean Carbonnier. [...]

[...] It remains to be specified that the Court of Cassation also ensures the modernization of civil law. II- The constructive uncertainty: a driving force for modernizing civil law The Court of Cassation does not limit itself to stabilizing civil law, it also mobilizes uncertainty as a lever of evolution to adapt the law to the multiple changes that punctuate life in society. This function transcends its role of legality control to make it a true actor of normative creation. It is based on a supplementary interpretation of legal norms as well as on reversals of jurisprudenceB). [...]