Proof of facts in administrative law in France: many ad hoc and ex post rules of evidence, but for how long?

Abstract

In France, general legislative rules of proof of facts between the administrations and the citizens are rare. Nevertheless, there are real obligations for public administrations to base their decisions on factual evidence, and for citizens to provide evidence they hold. The inquisitorial litigation procedure is the main asset of French administrative law because it relieves citizens who take a case to the administrative courts and who do not have all the evidence, some of which is often held by the administrations. Freedom of assessment of evidence is also an important principle which facilitates the administration of evidence for the parties and the judges. However, the disinterest of the legislator with regard to proof in the relations between administrations and citizens can no longer persist in the face of the probative issues raised by digitization and especially big data and artificial intelligence.