Law In France Research Articles

Democracy and the Entanglement of Political Parties and the State: Party–State Relations in 20th-Century France, Italy, and Germany

This article makes a plea for a historical turn in the study of party–state relations. Building on recent insights on the role of political parties in institution-making which have emerged in the historical sciences, it suggests that the deployment of a historical institutionalist perspective can tackle the difficulties in isolating the causal mechanisms and identifying empirical indicators of party–state entanglement, which stand at the foreground of political science studies into the contemporary crisis of democracy in the West. Based on a analysis of institutional reforms of party state relations such as party laws, constitutions, and electoral laws in France, Italy, and Germany over the course of the 20th century, this article demonstrates how, other than the democratic problem which it is considered to be today, the entanglement of party and state not only had long historical roots but also made a major contribution to the democratization of Europe.

Religion, discrimination, the head scarf and labour law

Religion in society and religion in the workplace have recently become highly debated topics in many European countries such as Belgium, France and Germany. The focus of this paper is on religion in labour law in France and in Belgium from an EU law and from a labour law perspective. The main focus will be put on considering the recent headscarf cases in the case law of the European Court of Justice from March 2017 in a broad and comparative perspective. The author underlines the need to find a new balance, in the work context, of conflicting fundamental rights.

Mohamed X and Another v. Fettouma Z

Diplomatic relations — Diplomatic agents — Immunity from jurisdiction — Action by domestic servant employed at residence of diplomatic agent — Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, Article 31(1) — Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963, Article 43 — Whether employment within scope of official functions — Whether commercial activity — Whether diplomat and wife immune from suit — Whether domestic courts competent to hear dispute — The law of France

The Second World War as a social trauma: a comparative analysis of Russian and French legislation

««Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Право» — международный научно-теоретический рецензируемый журнал, публикующий материалы в следующих рубриках: Публичное и частное право: прикладные исследования Криминология Криминалистика Судебная экспертиза Исследования права с позиций социальных и гуманитарных (неюридических) наук Правовая жизнь: научно-практические заключения, комментарии и обзоры Сравнительное право Зарубежное право

Marital Status and Retirement: An Empirical Study for France

We argue that retirement from work may affect marital status according to the predictions of quite standard economic models of marriage and divorce. Retirement may make singles less marriageable as well as impacting negatively marriage stability for married people. We exploit retirement laws in France to instrument the effect of retirement on individual marriage status, using Census data. While we cannot claim causality, we find that retirement correlates negatively with the marriage probability of men, and the more so for men with less than high school education.

Goodbye, ‘temporary’ transvestites – hello, new girlfriend! Ozon’s transgenre and transgender crossovers in Une nouvelle amie (2014)

ABSTRACTDeparting from the premise that, prior to the passage of the marriage-for-all law in France, the representation of transgender identities in mainstream French cinema had been limited to the cross-dressing farce of comic film, this article studies Une nouvelle amie/The New Girlfriend (François Ozon, 2014), conceived, produced and premiered at the height of the gender-theory and marriage-for-all debate, as a potential change of direction in cinematic representation of transgender identities. It argues that Ozon’s mise en scène of a male-to-female gender transition not only engages both camps of the debate, but also challenges the conventional cross-dressing film narrative, proposing a new aesthetic and political vision for transgender visibility and mobility in mainstream French cinema. Beginning with a discussion of cross-dressing in Ozon’s oeuvre, this study situates Une nouvelle amie in the cross-hairs of the gender-theory and same-sex marriage debates. Drawing on the film’s mise en scène, it then analyses key scenes that stage gender transition in terms of performance, performativity and alternative modes of becoming, whilst engaging with the highly normative discourse of psychoanalysis, which remains pivotal to the heart of the debate, and marshalling it as a point of departure for other forms of expressing transgender identities.

Changing modalities of action to address social inequalities in health in international and French policy recommendations

This article describes the changing modalities of action designed to address social inequalities in health recommended in France, in the light of WHO and other international guidelines. Content analysis of policy recommendations identified eleven categories of actions and five types of changes as a function of target populations and the resources deployed. Recommendations have evolved from interventions designed to improve access to primary care to interventions on the social determinants of health, from reinforcement of individual capacities to global empowerment, from interventions on target populations to social inclusion of everyone, from promotion of health investments to increased financial regulation, from a favourable public health policies approach to a health approach in all policies.Multiple modalities of action have been proposed in France, but have remained poorly implemented. They have evolved over time, usually in response to international reference texts with a certain time gap. Internationally recommended interventions differ considerably from interventions focussing on individual capacities, while the new public health law in France reintroduced targeted behavioural interventions. These findings raise a number of other questions, especially concerning the way in which research into social inequalities in health influence public decisions and the institutional treatment of health in all policies.

Selected issues relating to the application of State aid law in France

Selected issues relating to the application of State aid law in France

Dignity and Discrimination in Sexual Harassment Law: A French Case Study

In 2012, France adopted new prohibitions on sexual harassment into its Labor and Penal Codes. That enactment, which significantly broadened the definition of actionable harassment, was based on a model of harassment law that defines sexual harassment as a form of discrimination, while the French have traditionally conceived of sexual harassment as a form of sexual violence. Cases decided under the new prohibitions, as well as additional legislation adopted in France in 2016 and 2018, the latter prompted by France’s “#MeToo” movement, suggest that the French are beginning to perceive of sexual harassment as implicating issues of both dignity and equality and that the underlying foundation for the prohibitions are affecting the ways in which the laws are being enforced. This article explores those judicial and legislative developments and discusses the implications of a focus on dignity and discrimination as the basis for sexual harassment law in France and in other nations, including the United States.

The Transposition of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive in the UK, France and Italy

The aim of this study is to investigate how EU Member States used their discretion in transposing EU Directive n. 2014/95/EU. The Directive provided the opportunity to achieve similar levels of companies’ transparency on social and environmental matters, as well as increasing trust and encouraging more sustainable corporate behaviors. The comparison of the transposition laws in France, Italy, and the UK indicates that significant differences shape company obligations at the country level.

Homoparentalité et assistance médicale à la procréation : que sait-on du développement des enfants de mères lesbiennes ?

Goals of the studyThe diversification of studies about the development of children in same-sex families, as well as the methodological advances in these studies, make it possible to better take into account the specificity of the different options available to same-sex couples to create a family. The revision of the bioethics laws in France in 2018 invites us to examine in detail research specifically analyzing the development of children of lesbian mothers conceived by assisted reproductive technics (ART). MethodWe identified and analyzed 16 international publications (published between 1997 and 2017) concerning the study of 9 cohorts of children of lesbian mothers conceived by ART. We also supplemented this analysis with, in particular, the examination of 24 publications about planned lesbian families that do not distinguish between procreation situations with and without medical assistance (i.e., ART or self-insemination), and we also considered these results in relation to studies of children adopted by same-sex couples. Results and conclusionThe studies essentially reveal a developmental homogeneity across children of lesbian mothers and those of heterosexual parents (conceived naturally or by ART) whether we focus on the developmental characteristics of children or on family relationships. These studies also specifically analyze the issues of access to donor information and the stigmatization that these families may face.

Affairs of Humanity: Arguments for Humanitarian Intervention in England and Europe, 1698–1715

Abstract Why and how did a new type of intervention, intended to prevent rulers from punishing individuals for their religious beliefs and justified using natural law, emerge in England during the first decade of the eighteenth century? This article traces its origins to the War of the Spanish Succession, when Huguenot publicists and diplomats petitioned English politicians to negotiate freedom for Huguenot prisoners in France. In campaigning for prisoners’ freedom rather than for the restoration of Huguenot corporate rights in France, Huguenot publicists and diplomats had to justify intervention in universalising, non-confessional terms. Because those prisoners were not protected by treaty law, the laws of war, or the laws of France, they cited Protestant and humanist traditions of natural law and theories of natural sociability to justify negotiating their release. In so doing, they invited European readers, politicians and monarchs to sympathise with distant strangers—and even to take political action on their behalf—not only because they shared a common faith, but also because they belonged to human society and shared a common humanity. These arguments circulated both in print and among European diplomats, altering the conduct of international affairs. In England, this article shows, Huguenot campaigns influenced debates about intervention and English foreign policy-making. Thus, this article suggests a new narrative for the diffusion of humanitarian argument in eighteenth-century western European political culture.

Professional equality between men and women in France: progress and hesitation

The purpose of this article is to present and analyze both the progress achieved and the difficulties for professional-equality policies in France. After presenting the development of the legislative framework, both in terms of equality between men and women and in terms of collective bargaining for professional-equality agreements, the article focuses on the ambiguities and difficulties that remain in implementing professional-equality policy. These concern the diversity of strategies for implementing professional equality, debates about the various justifications for these approaches, the effects of recent evolutions in collective-bargaining laws in France and, finally, the low level of judicial activism in fighting discrimination. The last section of the article focuses on key concerns for the future of these policies.

Europeanization or National Specificity? Legal Approaches to Sexual Harassment in France, 2002–2012

This paper examines whether—and if so how—a 2002 European Directive on sexual harassment has changed the practice and content of sexual harassment law in France. It finds that the European Directive shaped how French courts address sexual harassment and informed the content of a new sexual harassment law France passed in 2012. Yet, its influence has been mediated by dominant national attitudes about: (1) the nature of sexual harassment, (2) which legal institutions are best suited to address it, and (3) the character of women who claim to have been harassed. This paper further suggests that news reporting on a 2011 arrest of a French politician for sexual assault led to more positive attitudes about sexual harassment victims.

Tajno zaveštanje u pojedinim savremenim Evropskim pravnim sistemima

The paper analyzes a secret (mystic or closed) will, as one of the forms of the last will and testament regulated in some contemporary European legal systems. The analysis is based on the normative framework and theoretical disputes about the legal nature of the secret will in the laws of France, Germany, Italy and Russia. The author highlights the differences between these legal systems in terms of the legal conditions for making a valid secret will. Particular attention has been given to the advantages and disadvantages of a secret will. In the conclusion, the author argues for adequate regulation of the secret will in the national succession legislation.

The Aggregate Implications of Size-Dependent Distortions

This paper examines the aggregate implications of size-dependent distortions. These regulations misallocate labor across firms and hence reduce aggregate productivity. It then considers a case-study of labor laws in France where firms that have 50 employees or more face substantially more regulation than firms that have less than 50. The size distribution of firms is visibly distorted by these regulations: there are many firms with exactly 49 employees. A quantitative model is developed with a payroll tax of 0.15% that only applies to firm above 50 employees. Removing the regulation improves labor allocation across firms, leading in steady state to an increase in output per worker slightly less than 0.3%.

THE IMPACT OF EUROPEAN UNION ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ON THE FRENCH LEGISLATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

The development of legislation on environmental protection in France was significantly influenced by the legislation of the European Union. The close interaction of the legal development of its member states led to the formation of a uniform approach to the implementation of environmental activities. Within the framework of the European Community, and subsequently the European Union, seven sectoral environmental programs for the implementation of measures in the field of environmental protection were developed, which consistently replaced each other. The whole set of legal acts of the European Union and the principles of environmental legislation formed on their basis are reflected in the relevant constitutional law of France, namely the Environmental Charter, and in many other legal acts aimed at harmonizing national and European legislation.

Foreign experience and public services through the implementation in national legislation Ukraine

The scientific research is devoted to the coverage of foreign experience in the provision of public services and ways of implementation in the domestic legislation of Ukraine. Covered by law in France, the United States, and the United Kingdom regarding the provision of public services by public administration bodies. It is established that the general tendency of the European countries, aimed at ensuring the effective and qualitative realization of the rights, freedoms and interests of citizens, meeting the needs of society, is characterized by the authorities to achieve the result.The directions of improvement of the domestic legislation regarding the provision of public services in accordance with international legal standards are: development of the theory of public services, which consists in the definition of conceptual categorical provisions, principles of public services, criteria of the quality of public services, etc., in the Concept of public services; unification of legal regulation of administrative procedures by adopting the Administrative Procedural Code of Ukraine, which would clearly disclose the issue of providing public services; consolidation in the legal acts of types of legal guarantees of ensuring the legality of the provision of public services: control over the activities of public administration entities regarding the provision of public services; the prosecution of public servants for refusing to provide a certain type of public service, etc

If You Don't Use It, You Lose It: What the U.S. Could Learn From France's Law on Out-of-Commerce Books of the 20th Century

If You Don't Use It, You Lose It: What the U.S. Could Learn From France's Law on Out-of-Commerce Books of the 20th Century

Теоретико-правовое сравнительное исследование правовой природы корпоративного договора по праву Франции и США

This article deals with theoretical and legal approaches and peculiarities of the regulation of corporate contract under the laws of France and USA. One of the factors that promoted the promulgation of the shareholders agreement was the participation of Anglo-American investors in French societies, which were more accustomed to contractual relations then to the use of rigidly fixed forms of joint-stock companies. Despite the fact that one of the aims of such agreements was an attempt to get rid of excessive publicright control, such contracts could never contradict the mandatory requirements of the law and the provisions of the company’s charter. In the United States legislative embodiment of the right of shareholders to enter into various types of agreements is carried out by laws regulating activities, the procedure of the establishment and management of Business Corporations. The content of a shareholders agreement and the right to participate in such agreement is regulated by the legal regime of corporation. The agreement between the members of close corporation de facto may change the provisions of corporation’s charter relating to corporate governance and profit sharing. All types of shareholders agreements, which could be concluded by the members of Business Corporation, are considered in the present article. State law that regulates contractual relations does not apply to shareholders agreements despite the legal doctrine view that corporations are of a contractual nature. 
 The comparative analysis of the jurisprudence, legal doctrine and provisions of US and French legislation allows us to conclude that in the USA, unlike France, shareholders agreements are regulated by Corporate Law, not by the provisions of the Contract Law as it takes place in France.