Principles of French Law

This text provides an account of the major features of French law for students and lawyers from a common law background. Offering a comprehensive introduction to the French law and legal system in terms which a common lawyer can understand, the authors give an explanation of the French institutions, concepts, and techniques, and provide the reader with a clear sense of the questions which French lawyers see as important and how they would answer them. The treatment of the material, both as to the French legal system and the substantive law, focuses where appropriate on the principles and values underlying the law, though the rules themselves are also provided. Considerable use is made of the relevant French juristic literature and of examples from French case law. The book should be of use to students studying French law, at both undergraduate and graduate level, and as preliminary reading for students about to study law in France. It will be an initial point of reference for scholars embarking on a study of aspects of French law.