What two legal orders do jusnaturalists recognize?
Natural law and positive law.
Which authority-based approach recognizes only human-made law?
Legal positivism.
Who developed the pure theory of law, and what is its title?
Hans KELSEN, *théorie pure du droit*.
Which source must each norm conform to in Kelsen’s theory?
The immediately superior norm.
What does objective law consist of?
Rules of conduct imposed on members of society and enforceable by public authority.
What three functions characterize a rule of law?
It guides conduct, applies generally, and is backed by sanctions for noncompliance.
How does a rule of law address people in identical situations?
It applies generally and impersonally to a category of people, not a named individual.
What does Article 6 of the DDHC state about the law?
The law is the same for everyone, whether it protects or punishes.
What makes legal rules different from moral and religious rules?
Legal rules come from state authority and may be enforced by public force.
What does public law govern?
The organization of the state, public entities, and their relations with private individuals.
Which fields borrow from both public and private law?
Environmental, digital, and consumer law.
What stands at the top of the hierarchy of legal norms presented in the course?
The Constitution.
According to Kelsen’s hierarchy of norms, what may a lower norm not do?
Contradict a higher norm.
Which article prohibits judges from refusing to decide a case because the law is silent, unclear, or insufficient?
Article 4 of the Civil Code.
What does Article 4 of the Civil Code prohibit when a judge refuses to decide a case?
Denial of justice.
What are subjective rights?
Individual prerogatives recognized by objective law that a person may assert in dealings with others.
What distinguishes patrimonial rights from extra-patrimonial rights in monetary value?
Patrimonial rights have pecuniary value; extra-patrimonial rights cannot be evaluated in money.
Which transfer and creditor-enforcement traits characterize patrimonial rights?
They are transferable, transmissible, and seizable by creditors.
What two sources can give rise to a legal right?
A legal fact or a legal act.
How must a legal act generally be proved?
By written evidence.
How may a legal fact be proved?
By any means of evidence.
Which author describes “non-law” as social relations voluntarily escaping the reach of law?
Jean Carbonnier.
Why do individuals remain outside the reach of law in Carbonnier’s account of “non-law”?
They choose not to use the law.
What makes a rule legally binding according to Léon Duguit’s School of Public Service?
It is perceived as necessary for life in society.
What social foundation does Léon Duguit give to law in the School of Public Service?
Social solidarity and the concrete interdependence of individuals.
Which function does the executive power perform in France?
It governs.
Under Articles 49.2 and 49.3, when can a government be overthrown or a bill adopted without a vote?
A government can be overthrown by a motion of censure; a bill can pass without a vote if no motion is filed and voted on within 24 hours.
Which two houses make up the French Parliament?
The National Assembly and the Senate.
In a regime with fusion of powers, which functions does one organ combine?
Executive and legislative functions.
In the course’s account of the United States, what makes strict separation of powers mutual?
The executive and legislative branches are independent of each other.
In a strict separation regime, what can the president not do to Congress?
Dissolve Congress.
In a strict separation regime, how can Congress not remove the president?
By a vote of no confidence.
In a parliamentary regime with flexible separation, to whom is the executive accountable?
The legislature.
In a parliamentary regime with flexible separation, what power does the executive have in return?
The power to dissolve the legislature.
What rules make up positive law in a state at a given time?
The legal rules in force and applicable there.
What must a claimant prove under “Actori incumbit probatio”?
The obligation whose performance they claim.
Which thinkers are named for the ancient natural-law conception?
Plato and Aristotle.
How may a natural-law judge respond to a radically unjust law?
The judge may set it aside.
Which work is cited for Hart’s sociological and analytical positivism?
HART, *The Concept Of Law*.
What does sociological positivism say law reflects?
The collective consciousness.
How long does a rule of law apply?
Continuously until it is expressly or implicitly repealed.
What may repeated judicial solutions become when the law is silent, ambiguous, or obsolete?
Solutions that courts may follow in future cases.
What legal force do repeated judicial solutions have?
They do not have the force of law.
What is a custom in law?
A general practice perceived as obligatory by those who follow it.
Which legal fields retain custom as a source of law?
Commercial law and local law in Alsace-Moselle.
Which legal rights belong to the patrimonial category?
Real rights and personal rights, including claims for what is owed.
Which rights are examples of extra-patrimonial rights?
Personality rights and family rights.
Which constitutional theory shapes the organization of France’s public powers under the 1958 Constitution, and who developed it?
The separation of powers, theorized by Montesquieu in *L’Esprit des lois*.
Since the 1962 constitutional reform, how has the French president been elected?
By direct universal suffrage.
How long has the French presidential term lasted since the 2000 constitutional revision?
Five years.
Which constitutional articles mention the president’s own powers?
Articles 19, 8, 12, 11, and 16.
Under Article 45, which chamber can receive the final say after persistent disagreement between France’s parliamentary chambers?
The National Assembly.
Which author is credited with the concept of a hybrid or semi-presidential regime?
Maurice DUVERGER.
What combination makes the Fifth Republic a hybrid or semi-presidential regime?
It combines parliamentary features with features close to a presidential regime.
What relationships does private law govern?
Relations between private individuals or between them and the state.
What does “législateur” designate?
Any institution that participates in creating laws.
What does it mean to stipulate?
To set out in writing the scope or consequences of an agreement.
Who can stipulate?
A natural person.
What does “Ubi societas ibi ius” express?
Human groups produce rules to organize themselves.
What does “Ubi lex non distinguit nec nos distinguere debemus” require?
An interpreter must not introduce a distinction the law does not make.
When does “Specialia generalibus derogant” apply?
A special rule takes precedence over a general rule governing the same situation.
What does “Pacta sunt servanda” mean?
Agreements must be respected.
What characterizes soft law’s legal force and influence?
It is nonbinding but can influence behavior.
What must legal certainty enable people to do about legal consequences?
Know, understand, and predict them.
Who receives and establishes an authentic instrument?
A competent public officer.
What is a legal presumption based on?
A known fact used to treat another fact as true.
When does the presumption of innocence apply?
Until a judgment has been rendered.
Answer 24 questions on Introduction au droit.
1. How do jusnaturalists understand the relationship between natural law and positive law?
2. A legal theorist holds that a statute is legally valid because it was enacted by a competent human authority, even if it conflicts with an ideal of justice. Which doctrine does this reflect?
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