France

• Author: Véronique Magnier
• DOI: 10.1177/0002716208328332
• Published date: 01 March 2009
• Date: 01 March 2009
• Subject Matter: Articles

114 ANNALS, AAPSS, 622, March 2009

France has long-established procedures for approved

consumer organizations bringing actions to defend gen-

eral consumer or investor interests, involving injunctive

relief, but debate on the introduction of collective dam-

ages actions has yet to resolve into reform. Traditional

principles oppose an opt-out approach.

Keywords: civil law; group litigation; ECHR proce-

dural principles; opt-out; class action; con-

tingency fees; consumer law; securities

regulation; competition law

The French Civil Litigation

System, the Increasing Role of

Judges, and Influences from

Europe

As part of the civil law family in Europe, the

French legal system has built a procedural

framework for litigation deeply rooted in

Romano-canonical origins. French civil litigation

does not include the main features that distin-

guish common law litigation, including pretrial

discovery, trial by jury, and the American rule on

costs. The main source of civil law procedure lies

in the Code of civil procedure, enacted in 1975

and following the 1806 Code. Although this code

has been amended several times and been

shaped by case law, its basic structure and char-

acteristic features have endured. The French

civil trial is adversarial and not inquisitorial.

French rules underwent important changes

since the 1970s, reflecting some conceptual

evolution (Guinchard et al. n.d.).1As a result of

an accelerating expansion of litigation over the

past thirty years, French justice had to face dra-

matic consequences that revealed crucial weak-

nesses and several shortcomings in the

administration of justice. The response of legis-

lators faced with having to guarantee better

France

By

VÉRONIQUE MAGNIER

Véronique Magnier is a professor of law and heads the

master’s degree in business law at Paris XI Law School.

DOI: 10.1177/0002716208328332