FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Thierry Laloum, Jordan Pontal, Julie Sarny and Gabin Dupont-Guianvarch, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
1. Jurisdiction 1.1 General Rules or Specific Regimes? Since the landmark Blanco case ruling passed by the French Tribunal des conflits (Conflicts Court) on 8 February 1873, administrative judges have been responsible for resolving disputes in administrative law. Administrative law is governed by specific rules which differ from those set out in the French Civil Code. In principle, the Civil Code applies solely to private law matters, which typically involve relations between individuals. The independence of administrative law from the Civil Code is rooted in the requirements of pub - lic service or public interest. Public service and public interest not only define the jurisdiction of administrative courts, but also form the founda - tion of administrative law. However, administrative law does not have com - plete autonomy from civil law. Administrative judges occasionally apply provisions of the Civil Code or its underlying principles, and they may also be required to enforce aspects of criminal law, competition law and consumer protection law. 1.2 Forum for Judicial Review The French judicial system is composed of two court systems, judicial and administrative. Except in cases where jurisdiction between these two court systems is explicitly determined by law, jurisdiction is allocated based on the fol - lowing criteria: • the applicable legal regime (administrative law or private law);
• the nature of the party involved (administra - tive authority, private law legal entity or natu - ral person); and • the concepts of public interest, public service and prerogative of public power, which help to define other concepts, such as adminis - trative agreements, public works and public domain. As a result, in the absence of specific legislative provisions, jurisdiction between the two court systems must be determined on a case-by-case basis. However, case law provides a framework for defining the areas of jurisdiction of each court system. For example, disputes arising from administrative acts generally fall under the juris - diction of the administrative judge (Conflicts Court16 June 1923, Septfonds, Lebon p. 498). Legal action brought by claimants before admin - istrative courts can be divided into two catego - ries: • recours pour excès de pouvoir ,or ultra vires action, aims to ensure compliance with the law, and is where a claimant seeks to have an administrative act annulled. In this case, the administrative nature of the act determines the jurisdiction of the administrative judge. • recours de plein contentieux ,or comprehen - sive litigation, primarily seeks to establish the liability of the administrative authority involved. In this case, the jurisdiction of the administrative judge is determined by the nature of the administrative authority and the 2. Target of Challenge 2.1 Determining Susceptibility
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