Law of France In academic terms, French law can be divided into
two main categories: private or judicial law ("droit privé") and
public law ("droit public"). Judicial law includes, in
particular: Public law includes, in particular: Together, in
practical terms, these four areas of law (civil, criminal,
administrative and constitutional) constitute the major part of
French law. The announcement in November 2005 by the European
Commission that, on the basis of powers recognised in a recent
European Court of Justice ("ECJ") ruling, it intends to create a
dozen or so European Union ("EU") criminal offences suggests
that one should also now consider EU law ("droit communautaire",
sometimes referred to, less accurately, as "droit européen") as
a new and distinct area of law in France (akin to the "federal
laws" that apply across States of the US, on top of their own
State law), and not simply a group of rules which influence the
content of France's civil, criminal, administrative and
constitutional law. Civil priva