The Governments of Europe Part 28

One other function the two chambers sitting conjointly possess, i.e., that of electing the President of the Republic. Under normal conditions, the chambers are called together in National a.s.sembly to choose a President one month or more before the expiration of the seven-year presidential term. In the event of vacancy by death, by resignation, or by reason of any other unantic.i.p.ated circ.u.mstance, the meeting of the a.s.sembly takes place forthwith, without summons.[491]

Election is by ballot, and by absolute majority of the members. All meetings of the National a.s.sembly are held, not in Paris, but in the old royal palace at Versailles, which indeed was the sole seat of the present republican government until 1879. No elective session may exceed in length the five months allotted to an ordinary legislative session.

[Footnote 491: Law of July 16, 1875, art. 3. Dodd, Modern Const.i.tutions, I., 291.]

*356. Legislation and Special Powers.*--The two chambers possess concurrent powers in all that pertains to the initiation, the enactment, and the amending of laws, save that money bills must be introduced in and pa.s.sed by the Chamber of Deputies before being considered in the upper branch. Except for this limitation, measures may be presented in either house, by the ministers in the name of the President, or by private members. The vast fabric of Napoleonic law which has survived to the present day in France has narrowed perceptibly the range of legislative activity under the Republic.

During the first generation after 1871 few great statutes were enacted, save those of a const.i.tutional character. In our own day, however, the phenomenal expansion of social and industrial legislation, which has been a striking feature of the public life of most European nations, has imparted a new vigor and productiveness to French parliamentary activity.

Each of the chambers possesses certain functions peculiar to itself.

Aside from the initiation of money bills, the princ.i.p.al such function of the Deputies is the bringing of charges of impeachment against (p. 329) the President or ministers. The Senate possesses the exclusive power to try cases of impeachment. It is given the right to a.s.sent or to withhold its a.s.sent when the President proposes to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies before the expiration of its term. And by decree of the President, issued in the Council of Ministers, it may be const.i.tuted a court of justice to try any person accused of attempts upon the safety of the state.[492]

[Footnote 492: Y. Guyot, Relations between the French Senate and Chamber of Deputies, in _Contemporary Review_, Feb., 1910.]

II. POLITICAL PARTIES SINCE 1871

*357. Republicans and Conservatives.*--In its larger aspects the alignment of political parties in France to-day dates from the middle of the nineteenth century. In the National a.s.sembly of 1848--the first representative body elected in France by direct universal suffrage--the line was sharply drawn between the republicans of the Left, who wished to maintain the Republic and with it a liberal measure of democracy, and the reactionaries of the Right, who began by insisting upon a restoration of clerical privilege and bourgeois rule and ended, in the days of the Legislative a.s.sembly, by clamoring for a restoration of monarchy itself. After the _coup d'etat_ of 1851 both groups were silenced, though even in the politically stagnant era of the early Empire they did not lose altogether their ident.i.ty. With the revival, however, after 1860, of a vigorous political life the two worked together, and with success, to accomplish the overthrow of the personal government of Napoleon III. Upon the collapse of the Empire in 1870 the original cleavage reappeared. The National a.s.sembly elected in 1871 was divided broadly into Republicans and Conservatives (which name gradually replaced that of Reactionaries), and during the five years covered by the life of this extremely important body these two great groups struggled continuously over the supreme question of the day, i.e., the style of government which should be adopted permanently for France. Each of the groups comprised a variety of elements. To the Republicans belonged the Radical Extreme Left of Gambetta, the Left of Grevy, Freycinct, and Loubet, and the Centre Left of Thiers and Jules Simon. To the Conservatives belonged the Legitimate Extreme Right, an Orleanist Centre Right, and, eventually, the Imperialists. Following the definite establishment, in 1875, of the republican const.i.tution, the lines by which these various elements had been marked off grew less distinct, and Republicans and Conservatives acquired in each case a more h.o.m.ogeneous character.

*358. Rise of the Radicals.*--After the first election under the (p. 330) new const.i.tution--that of 1876--the Senate remained in the control of the Conservatives, but the Chamber of Deputies was found to contain a Republican majority of more than two to one. From that day until the present the Republican ascendancy in the lower house has been maintained uninterruptedly; and since 1882 there has been likewise always a Republican majority in the Senate. It is to be observed, of course, that Republican control in both chambers has meant regularly not the absolute dominance of a single compact party group, but the preponderance of a coalition of two or more groups broadly to be described as "republican." During the early eighties there sprang up a flouris.h.i.+ng group which, reviving the original programme of Gambetta, a.s.sumed the name Radical, and in the elections of 1885 this group acquired such a quota of seats in the Chamber (150) as to render it impossible for the Republicans alone to retain control. Thereafter there were three princ.i.p.al party groups--the Conservatives and the two republican groups, the Republicans proper and the Radicals. No one of the three being sufficiently strong to obtain a majority which would enable it to rule alone, the politics of a long succession of years turned upon the adoption of one or the other of two lines of tactics--the coalition of the two republican divisions to the end that they might rule as against a Conservative minority (the so-called policy of "republican concentration"), and the allying of one of these groups with the Right against the other Republican group (spoken of commonly as a "pacification"). The first "concentration" ministry was that of Brisson, formed in March, 1885; the first "pacification"

ministry was that of Rouvier, formed in 1887. In the middle of the nineties some attempts were made to create and maintain h.o.m.ogeneous ministries. The Bourgeois ministry of 1895-1896 was composed entirely of Radicals and the Meline ministry of 1896-1898 of Moderate Republicans. But at the elections of 1898 the Republican position in the Chamber broke down and it was necessary to return, with the Dupuy ministry, to the policy of concentration.

Meanwhile, in the early nineties, from the Conservative and Republican extremes respectively had been detached two new party groups. From the ranks of the Conservatives had sprung a body of Catholics who, under papal injunction, had declared their purpose to rally to the support of the Republicans; whence they acquired the designation of the "Rallies." And from the Radical party had broken off a body of socialists of such consequence that in the elections of 1893 it succeeded in carrying fifty seats.

*359. The Bloc.*--A new era in the history of French political (p. 331) parties was marked by the elections of May, 1898. Some 250 seats, and with them the effectual control of the Chamber, were acquired by the Radicals, the Socialists, and an intermediary group of Radical-Socialists.

The Moderate Republicans, to whom had been given recently the name of Progressives, were reduced to 200; while the Right retained but 100.

The Socialists alone polled nearly twenty per cent of the total popular vote. The remarkable agitation by which the Dreyfus affair was attended had the effect of consolidating further the parties of the Left, and the _bloc_ which resulted not only has subsisted steadily from that day to the present but has controlled very largely the policies of the government. The first conspicuous leader and spokesman of the coalition was Waldeck-Rousseau, premier from 1899 to 1902, and its first great achievement was the separation of church and state, accomplished through the means of the Law of a.s.sociations of July 1, 1901, the abrogation of the Concordat, December 9, 1905, and the law of January 2, 1907, restricting further the privileges of the Roman Catholic Church in France. A socialist now appeared for the first time in the cabinet. At the elections of April, 1902, the policies of the Government were vindicated by the return of 321 avowed "ministerialists"

and of but 268 representatives of the opposition.

*360. The Elections of 1906.*--June 3, 1902, the longest-lived ministry since the Third Republic was established was brought to an end by the voluntary retirement of Waldeck-Rousseau. The new premier, Combes, was a member of the Radical party, and the anti-clerical, radical policies of the preceding government were maintained throughout the ensuing two and a half years, as also they were during the premiers.h.i.+p of Rouvier (1905-1906). In March, 1906, a new ministry, in which Clemenceau was actual chief, was formed with the Radical Sarrien as premier, and at the elections which came two months later the groups of the Left won another signal victory. Prior to the balloting the majority in support of the radical policy of the Government _bloc_ could muster in the Chamber some 340 votes; afterwards, it could muster at least 400. The Right retained its numerical strength (about 130), but the extreme Left made decided gains at the expense of the moderates, or Progressives. The number of Progressive seats, 120 prior to the election, was reduced by half; while the aggregate of Socialist and Radical-Socialist seats rose to 230. On all sides Moderate Republicanism fell before the a.s.saults of Socialism. At the same time it was demonstrated unmistakably that the anti-clerical measures of the recent governments were in substantial accord with the will (p. 332) of the nation. October 25, 1906, Clemenceau a.s.sumed the premiers.h.i.+p.

*361. The Elections of 1910.*--The Clemenceau ministry, which survived until July, 1909, adopted a programme which was more frankly socialistic than was that of any of its predecessors. It added to the system of state-owned railways the Great Western Line; it inaugurated a graduated income tax and put the measure in the way of enactment at the hand of the Chamber; it carried fresh and more rigorous legislation in hostility to clericalism; and, in general, it gave free expression to the unquestionable trend of the France of to-day away from the individualism of the Revolutionary period in the direction of the ideals of collectivism. The Briand ministry by which it was succeeded followed in the same lines, three of its members, indeed, being active socialists. Prior to the elections of April-May, 1910, there took place some readjustment of political forces, but, on the whole, no change of large importance. The _bloc_, however, more than once showed signs of breaking up, and the majority of the party groups arrived at the electoral season devoid of harmony and paralyzed by uncertainty of policy. The Radicals were divided upon the question of the income-tax; the Socialists, upon the question of the party's att.i.tude toward trade-unions; and all parties, upon the issue of proportional representation. That the voters were no less bewildered than were the party leaders appeared from the fact that in 231 const.i.tuencies--almost an unprecedented number[493]--second ballotings were required. With the issues so confused, the results could hardly prove of large significance. The lines which separate party groups to-day in France are not infrequently both ill-defined and s.h.i.+fting, with the consequence that it is not possible to express party strength by exact numbers, as may be done in the case of the parties of Great Britain or of the United States. A deputy may even belong to two groups at one time. The composition of the Chamber following the elections of 1910 can be stated, therefore, only approximately.

Composing the Right were (1) the Right proper, 19; (2) the Action Liberale Populaire--organized originally to combat the radicalism of Waldeck-Rousseau, 34; (3) the Progressives, now to be identified with the Right, 76--a total of 129. Identified with the Left were (1) the Republicans, 73; (2) the Radicals, 112; and (3) the Radical-Socialists, 149--a total of 334. Comprising the Extreme Left were the Socialists (Independent 30; Unified, 75), aggregating 105. Finally, of Independents there were upwards of 20. The continued preponderance of the Left was a.s.sured, although to prolong their mastery of the situation the Radicals and Radical-Socialists fell under the (p. 333) necessity of securing the support of either the Republicans or the Independent Socialists.[494]

[Footnote 493: Absolutely so, save for the _scrutin de liste_ election of 1885.]

[Footnote 494: The political history of the period since the elections of 1910 has been remarkable by reason chiefly of the absorption of public attention by the issues of electoral reform and labor legislation. Embarra.s.sed by interpellations with reference to its ecclesiastical policy, the Briand ministry (reconst.i.tuted in November, 1910) retired in February, 1911. The Monis government which succeeded lacked coherence, as also did the ministry of Caillaux (June, 1911 to January, 1912).

The cardinal achievement of the Poincare ministry has been the carrying of the Electoral Reform Bill of 1912 in the lower chamber. See p. 323.]

*362. Changes since 1871.*--"The political history of France since the beginning of the Republic," says a scholarly French observer, "presents, instead of an alternation between two parties of opposing programmes, like those of Belgium or England, a continual evolution along one line, the constant growth of the strength of parties which represent the democratic, anti-clerical tendency."[495] The fundamental division of Conservative and Republican persists, but both of these terms have long since lost their original definiteness of meaning. The Conservatives have ceased, in large part, to be "reactionaries." Few of them are even royalists, and the old distinction of Legitimist, Orleanist, and Bonapartist has disappeared entirely. The Right is essentially "republican," as is evidenced by the further fact that the majority of its members in the Chamber are Progressives, whose forerunners composed the real Republican party of a generation ago. The Republican groups of to-day comprise simply those numerous and formidable political elements which are _more_ republican--that is to say, more radical--than are the adherents of the Right. Among themselves, however, they represent a very wide gradation of radicalism.

[Footnote 495: C. Seign.o.bos, The Political Parties of France, in _International Monthly_, Aug., 1901, 155.]

*363. French Socialism.*--The history of socialism in France since 1871 has been stormy. During the seventies proselyting effort was directed chiefly toward the influencing of the trade-unions to declare for socialism. In 1879 the general trade-union congress at Ma.r.s.eilles took the desired step, but in the congress of the following year at Havre there arose a schism between the "collectivists" and the "co-operatives" which in reality has never been healed. During the eighties and nineties the process of disintegration continued, and there came to be a half-dozen socialist parties, besides numerous local groups of independents. During the years 1898-1901 continued effort was made to bring the various socialist elements into some sort of union, and in 1900 a national congress of all French socialist parties and organizations was held at Paris. An incident of the (p. 334) Dreyfus controversy was the elevation of an independent socialist, etienne Millerand, to a portfolio in the ministry of Waldeck-Rousseau, and this event became the occasion of a new socialist breach. The Parti Socialiste Francais, led by the eloquent Jaures, approved Millerand's opportunism; the Parti Socialist de France opposed. In 1905, however, these two bodies were amalgamated in the Parti Socialist of the present day, with a programme which calls for the socializing of the means of production and exchange, i.e., the transforming of the capitalistic organization of society into a collectivist or communistic organization. The means by which the party proposes to bring about the transformation is the industrial and political organization of the working cla.s.ses. In respect to its aim, its ideals, and its means, the French Socialist party, while ready to support the immediate reforms demanded by laboring people, is to a greater degree than the German Social Democracy a party of cla.s.s struggle and revolution. In 1885, when the French socialists waged their first campaign in a parliamentary election, the aggregate number of socialist votes was but 30,000. By 1889 the number had been increased to 120,000; by 1898 to 700,000; and by 1906 to 1,000,000. At the election of 1910 the popular vote was increased by 200,000, and the number of socialist deputies was raised to a total of 105. Within recent years socialism, formerly confined almost wholly to the towns and cities, has begun to take hold among the wage-earners, and even the small proprietors, in the rural portions of the country.[496]

[Footnote 496: The best accounts in English of the French parties and party system are Lowell, Governments and Parties, I., Chap. 2; Bodley, France, Book IV., Chaps. 1-8; and C. Seign.o.bos, The Political Parties of France, in _International Monthly_, Aug., 1901. The last-mentioned is brief, but excellent. A valuable work is P. Laffitte, Le suffrage universel et la regime parlementaire (2d ed., Paris, 1889). Among useful articles may be mentioned: J. Meline, Les partis dans la republique, in _Revue Politique et Parlementaire_, Jan., 1900; M. H. Doniol, Les idees politiques et les partis en France durant le XIXe siecle, in _Revue du Droit Public_, May-June, 1902; and A.

Charpentier, Radicaux et socialistes de 1902 a 1912, in _La Nouvelle Revue_, May 1, 1912. On socialism in France see J. Peixotto, The French Revolution and Modern French Socialism (New York, 1901); R. T. Ely, French and German Socialism in Modern Times (New York, 1883); P. Louis, Histoire du socialisme francais (Paris, 1901); E. Villey, Les perils de la democratie francaise (Paris, 1910); and A. Fouillee, La democratie politique et sociale en France (Paris, 1910).]

CHAPTER XVIII (p. 335)

JUSTICE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

I. FRENCH LAW

The law of France is of highly composite origin. Its sources lie far back in the Roman law, the canon law, and the Germanic law of the Middle Ages. As late as 1789 there had been no attempt at a complete codification of it. Under the operation of a succession of royal ordinances, criminal law, civil and criminal procedure, and commercial law, it is true, had been reduced by the opening of the Revolution to a reasonable measure of uniformity. The civil law existed still, however, in the form of "customs" (_coutumiers_), which varied widely from province to province. A code of civil law which should be established uniformly throughout the realm was very generally demanded in the cahiers of 1789, and such a code was specifically promised in the const.i.tution of 1791.

*364. The Code Napoleon.*--Toward the work of codification some beginnings were made by the first two Revolutionary a.s.semblies, but the development of a coherent plan began only with the Convention.[497]

In the period of the Consulate the task was continued and progress was rapid. The governmental mechanism under the const.i.tution of 1799 was c.u.mbersome enough, but it was not ill adapted to the prosecution of a project of this particular character. To a special commission, appointed by the First Consul, was intrusted the drafting of the codes, and the ultimate decision of difficult or controverted questions fell to the Council of State, over whose deliberations Napoleon not infrequently presided in person. March 31, 1804,--less than two months before the proclamation of the Empire,--the new _Code civil des Francais_ was promulgated in its entirety. September 3, 1807, the instrument was given officially the name of the _Code Napoleon_. By a measure of 1818 the original designation was restored; but a decree of March 27, 1852, revived the Napoleonic nomenclature. Since September 4, 1870, the instrument has been cited officially simply as the _Code Civil_. In arrangement the Code resembles the Inst.i.tutes of Justinian. In (p. 336) content it represents a very successful combination of the two great elements with which the framers had to deal, i.e., the ancient heterogeneous law of the French provinces and the law which was originated, or which was given shape, during the course of the Revolution.

[Footnote 497: H. Cauviere, L'idee de codification en France avant la redaction du Code Civil (Paris, 1911).]

With the progress of time certain defects have appeared in the Code, and since 1871 more than a hundred modifications, some important and some otherwise, have been introduced in it. Upon the occasion of the celebration, in 1904, of the centenary of its promulgation there was created an extra-parliamentary commission charged with the task of preparing a revision of the instrument.[498] In the main, the faults to be corrected are those which have arisen inevitably from the growth of new interests and the development of new conditions since 1804, in respect, for example, to insurance and to labor. In Belgium the Code Napoleon survives to this day, and the codes of Italy, Spain, Portugal, Holland, and many of the Latin American states are modelled upon it.

[Footnote 498: The task of revision has not yet been accomplished. See La Code Civil, livre du centenaire (Paris, 1904)--a volume of valuable essays by French and foreign lawyers.]

*365. Other Codes.*--Aside from the Civil Code of 1804, containing an aggregate of 2,281 articles, the larger part of the law of France to-day is comprised in four great codes, all drawn up and promulgated during the era of the Consulate and the Empire. These are: (1) the Code of Civil Procedure, of 1,042 articles, in 1806; (2) the Code of Commerce, of 648 articles, in 1807; (3) the Code of Criminal Instruction, of 648 articles, in 1808; and (4) the Penal Code, of 484 articles, in 1810.[499] The last two codes were submitted to a general revision in 1832, and various supplementary codes,--e.g., the Forest Code, of 226 articles, in 1827,--have been promulgated. But the modifications introduced since Napoleon's day have involved princ.i.p.ally mere details or the addition of subjects originally omitted. No one of the codes represented at the time of its promulgation a new body of law. On the contrary, all of them, and especially the fundamental Civil Code of 1804, merely reduced existing law to systematic, written form, introducing order and uniformity where previously there had been diversity and even chaos. By the process the law of France was given a measure of unity and precision which it had never before possessed, with the disadvantage, however, that it lost the flexibility and dynamic character that once had belonged to it. Throughout the past hundred years the whole of France has been a country of one written law--a law so comprehensive in (p. 337) both principles and details that, until comparatively recently, there has seemed to be small room or reason for its modification. The history of French parliamentary a.s.semblies has been affected perceptibly by the narrowing of the field of legislation arising from this circ.u.mstance.[500]

[Footnote 499: M. Leroy, Le centenaire du code penal, in _Revue de Paris_, Feb. 1, 1911.]

[Footnote 500: J. Brissaud, History of French Private Law, trans. by R. Howell (Boston, 1912).]

II. THE COURTS

*366. The Ordinary Courts: Justice of the Peace.*--In French practice the distinction which is drawn between private law and public law is so sharp that there have been built up two hierarchies of courts--the ordinary and the administrative--each of which maintains practically exclusive jurisdiction within an independent field. The ordinary courts comprise civil and criminal tribunals, together with certain special tribunals, such as the _tribunaux de commerce_. At the bottom stands the court of the justice of the peace (_juge de paix_) of the canton. This tribunal was created by the first of the Revolutionary a.s.semblies and it has existed continuously to the present day. The justice of the peace takes cognizance of disputes where the amount involved does not exceed 600 francs, and of contraventions of law punishable by a fine not exceeding fifteen francs or imprisonment not beyond five days. In civil cases involving more than 300 francs, and in criminal cases involving imprisonment or a fine exceeding five francs, appeal lies to a higher tribunal.

*367. The Courts of First Instance.*--Next above the court of the justice of the peace stands the _tribunal de premiere instance_, or _tribunal d'arrondiss.e.m.e.nt_. Of such courts there is, with a few exceptions, one in each arrondiss.e.m.e.nt or district. Each consists of a president, at least one vice-president, and a variable number of judges, three of whom form a court with full powers. To each is attached a _procureur_, or public prosecutor. This tribunal takes cognizance of all kinds of civil cases. In appeals from the justices of the peace, actions relating to personal property to the value of 1500 francs, actions relating to land to the value of sixty francs per year, and all cases of registration, there lies no appeal from its decisions. The jurisdiction of the court in penal cases extends to all offenses of the cla.s.s known as _delits_ (misdemeanors), i.e., offenses involving penalities which are heavier than those attached to the contraventions dealt with by the justices of the peace, yet less serious than those prescribed for crimes. When sitting as a criminal court, the court of first instance is known as a _tribunal (p. 338) correctionnel_, or "correctional court." All of its judgments in criminal cases are subject to appeal.

*368. The Courts of Appeal and of a.s.size.*--Above the courts of first instance are twenty-six _cours d'appel_, or courts of appeal, each of which exercises jurisdiction within a territory comprising from one to five departments. At the head of each is a president, and each maintains an elaborate _parquet_, or permanent staff of officials, in which are included several _procureurs-generaux_ and _avocats-generaux_.

For the transaction of business the court of appeal is divided into chambers, or sections, each consisting of a president and four _conseillers_, or judges. The primary function of the court is the hearing of appeals, in both civil and criminal causes, from the courts of first instance. Original jurisdiction is limited and incidental.

Closely related to the courts of appeal are the _cours d'a.s.sises_, or courts of a.s.size. These are not separate or permanent tribunals. Every three months there is const.i.tuted in each department, ordinarily in the chief town thereof, a court of a.s.size consisting of a specially designated member of the court of appeals within whose jurisdiction the department lies and two other magistrates, who may be chosen either from the remaining _conseillers_ of the court of appeals or from the justices of the local court of first instance. The courts of a.s.size are occupied exclusively with serious offenses, such as in the Penal Code are cla.s.sified as crimes. In them, and in them only among French tribunals, is the device of the jury regularly employed. A jury consists of twelve men, whose verdict is rendered by simple majority.

As in Great Britain and some of the American states, the jurors determine the fact but do not apply the law.

*369. The Court of Ca.s.sation.*--At the apex of the hierarchy of ordinary tribunals is the Court of Ca.s.sation. This court sits at Paris, and in all matters of ordinary private law it is the supreme tribunal of the state. It consists of a first president, three sectional presidents, and forty-five judges. Attached to it are a procurator-general and six advocates-general. For working purposes it is divided into three sections: the _Chambre des Requetes_, or Court of Pet.i.tions, which gives civil cases a preliminary hearing; the Civil Court, which gives them a final consideration; and the Criminal Court, which disposes of criminal cases on appeal. It is within the competence of the Court of Ca.s.sation to review the decisions of any tribunal in France, save those of an administrative character. It pa.s.ses, not upon fact, but upon the principles of law involved and upon the competence of the court rendering the original decision. A decision which is overruled is said to be _ca.s.se_, i.e., annulled. The purpose of the Court of (p. 339) Ca.s.sation is not alone to further the interests of justice, but also to preserve the unity of French jurisprudence.

*370. Appointment and Tenure of Judges.*--All judges attached to the ordinary tribunals are appointed by the President of the Republic, on the recommendation, and under the responsibility, of the Minister of Justice. With the exception of justices of the peace in France, and of judges of all grades in Algeria and the colonies, tenure of judicial office continues during good behavior; and, outside of the cla.s.ses mentioned, no judicial officer may be dismissed without the consent of the Court of Ca.s.sation. There is, however, an age limit, varying with the official grade, at which retirement is expected and virtually required. Justices of the peace and Algerian and colonial judges maybe dismissed by the President. Salaries range from 1,600 francs per year in the case of the justice of the peace to 30,000 in that of the President of the Court of Ca.s.sation.[501]

[Footnote 501: The best treatise upon the French judicial system and upon proposed reforms of it is J. Coumoul, Traite du pouvoir judiciaire; de son role const.i.tutionnel et de sa reforme organique (2d ed., Paris, 1911). See Vicomte d'Avenel, La reforme administrative--la justice, in _Revue des Deux Mondes_, June 1, 1889; L. Irwell, The Judicial System of France, _Green Bag_, Nov., 1902.]

*371. Administrative Law and Administrative Tribunals.*--Actions at law arising out of the conduct of administration are brought, not in the regular courts connected with the Ministry of Justice, but in special administrative tribunals connected with the Ministry of the Interior.

Administrative courts exist for the application of administrative law, and administrative law may be defined in brief as that body of legal principles by which are determined the status and liabilities of public officials, the rights and liabilities of private individuals in their dealings with the official representatives of the state, and the procedure by which these rights and liabilities may be enforced. The idea underlying it is that the government, and every agent of the government, possesses a body of rights, privileges, and prerogatives which are sharply marked off from those of the private citizen, and that the nature and extent of these rights and privileges are to be determined on principles essentially distinct from those which govern in the fixing of the rights and privileges of citizens in relation one to another. This conception is foreign to the English-speaking world, and neither Great Britain nor any nation of English origin possesses more than here and there an accidental trace of administrative law.

Among continental European states, however, the maintenance of a body of administrative legal principles--uncodified and flexible, but (p. 340) fundamental--is all but universal. In some states, as Belgium, the rules of administrative law are interpreted and enforced by the ordinary courts; but in others, as in France, they are dealt with by an entirely separate hierarchy of tribunals, made up of officials in the service of the government and dismissable at any time by the head of the state. "In France," as one writer puts it, "there is one law for the citizen and another for the public official, and thus the executive is really independent of the judiciary, for the government has always a free hand, and can violate the law if it wants to do so without having anything to fear from the ordinary courts."[502]

Although not without precedent in the Old Regime, the distinction between ordinary and administrative law in France was first clearly established by Napoleon in the const.i.tution of 1799, and the system of administrative courts erected under that instrument has survived in large part to the present day.[503]

[Footnote 502: Lowell, Governments and Parties, I., 58.]