Droit.org is a legal news portal that brings together news stories from a wide range of websites, publications and legal blogs throughout the world, although the emphasis is on French law and the site is in French only. Droit.org is a member of the Free Access to Law Movement (FALM), which supports free access to legal information. News stories can be viewed by subject - e.g. business, taxation, family, civil, employment, IT and internet law - and by type - e.g.
Online library of more than 150 digitised works from leading French law library Bibliothèque Cujas in Paris. The selected titles cover the medieval period and the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The majority cover the law of France, but 30 are about German law. All the works are searchable by title, author, subject and date; full-text searches are available for some works. All can be browsed by title and filtered by period or subject. They are in pdf format. Most are in French, but some are in Latin or German and the site interface is in French.
Vast database of both current and historical treaties involving France, on the French Foreign Ministry's website. The database can be searched by title, keyword, type of treaty, state parties, place and date of signature and other criteria. The record for each treaty says whether or not it is in force.
Service-Public fr is the official gateway to the French Civil Service for individual citizens and professionals. It aims to guide citizens on public services available in France at a national and local level. In so doing, it explains rights and responsibilities, and includes a glossary of administrative and legal terms. To aid browsing, the site offers themes (argent, famille, logement, etc.) and a detailed list of dossiers. The tab on justice, for example, offers an accessible and detailed overview of the French justice system.
This blog on French administrative law was started in 2005 and its topics include electoral law, the constitution, public enterprises and the death penalty. Regular authors include lawyers François Gilbert, Alexis Frank and Alexandre Ciaudo. Some of the more substantial contributions are under the heading “A retenir”. Posts can be displayed by date or topic/thread. Lists of recommended books and articles on administrative law are included. .
The website of Bibliothèque Cujas in Paris includes a suite of legal research resources called 'Cujasthèque'. The Jurisguide section gives an overview of French legal publications and provides introductions to many different aspects of French legal research, some intended for students, some for academics. Full research guides are provided under ‘Guides et tutoriels’, covering legislation, case law, doctrinal writing, journals, mélanges and parliamentary publications; their main focus is on French law, but other countries, the EU, the Council of Europe and the UN are also included.
The website of the French Ministry of Justice offers an information portal on the administration and organisation of justice in France. It includes ministerial information (news, statistics, etc.), bulletins and newsletters, and many short DVDs to inform the public of its role and work. Included are presentations on the court structure in France, the juvenile justice system and the prison system. A sitemap guides users on different functions and themes. The regional section offers users information on the administration of justice in their locality.
Inpi is a French public body with responsibility for industrial and intellectual property. It helps to formulate public policy on intellectual property in France, and it registers and grants patents, trademarks, models and designs. One of its aims is to publish information on industrial property in France. The databases provided on this website include trademarks, patents, designs, models and many decisions of the French courts dealing with intellectual property. The BOPI, Bulletins Officiels de la Propriété Industrielle, are also available.
The French Cour des Comptes (Court of Accounts) has jurisdiction over France's public finances. It conducts mandatory audits of the accounts of public bodies such as government departments and ministries and agencies, social security bodies, and non-departmental public bodies. The Court also has discretion to exercise jurisdiction over charities, organisations which receive funds from the EU, and private-sector companies with close links to the public sector.
The Conseil d'Etat is the highest administrative court in France, being the court of last resort in cases involving the State or official bodies, or individuals with official responsibilities. It acts as an appeal court for the administrative tribunals and courts in France. Its business includes municipal elections, the status of foreigners in France, health, public finances, the environment and other aspects of administrative law. The website of the Conseil d'Etat presents news, statistics, recent decisions and information on the administrative legal system in France.
