December 2013

Duality of the Justice system

Judicial stream

Administrative stream

Court of conflicts

Judicial stream1/First level of jurisdictionCivil courtsCriminal courtsSpecialized courts: employment

tribunal, commercial tribunalJuvenile justice

2/Second level of jurisdictionCourt of appealFacts assessment + law

application

3/Supreme CourtCour de cassationNo facts reassessment; law

application; unity of case law

Administrative stream1/First level of jurisdictionAdministrative courts

(persons/authority; public person/public person)

2/Second level of jurisdiction

Administrative appeals court

3/Supreme CourtConseil d’Etat (Council of

State)Acts of government;

appeals; unity of administrative case law

Traditional architecture

Modern architecture

The Judge’s robesat the Court at the Court of Appeal

The Prosecutor’s robesat the Court at the Court of Appeal

The Lawyer’s robes

Established in 1958 under the name of National Centre of Judicial Studies.

Current name adopted in 1970.

Located in Bordeaux, in the south west of France.

Contributes to the initial and life-long training of foreign judges and prosecutors.

Several ways of becoming a judge or prosecutor

After 4 years of law studies, 31 years old maximum

Civil servant for 4 years

Have worked in a company for 8 years, aged 40 maximum

Article 18-1: 4 years of experience, 4 year law degree, aged 31 minimum and 40 maximum

Competitive recruitment

French judges’ training31 months

Studies27 weeks of studies

Internships22 weeks in private practice1 week with police officers2 weeks in jail10 months as a trainee judge in a

court7 weeks in a foreign country or in a

French firm

Final rankingPreparatory class for our first

judicial appointment

Judges in civil lawJuge d’instance (First

instance judge)Juge aux affaires familiales

(Family Court judge)Juge des enfants (Juvenile

judge)

Judges in criminal law Juge d’instruction (Investigating

judge) Juge des libertés et de la détention

(Judge in charge of custody and release)

Juge de l’application des peines (Judge in charge of prison sentences)

Juge des enfants (Juvenile judge)

Prosecutors- Subordination in the chain

of command

- Indivisibility of the prosecution service

- Unchallengeable legitimacy of public prosecutors