Study guide: Justice and Judicial Systems

📋 Course Outline

1. Access to Justice Principles
2. Courts, Enforcement and ADR
3. ADR Methods and National Rules
4. Jurisdiction and Court Competence
5. French Courts and Appeals
6. United Kingdom Supreme Court
7. Judicial and Legal Professionals
8. Civil and Criminal Proceedings

📖 1. Access to Justice Principles

★ Must-know

• Everyone, regardless of nationality, age, gender, culture, education level or financial status, has the right to access justice.

• The right of access to justice includes having a case heard by an independent and impartial judge and being judged under the same rules and procedures as everyone else.

Further detail

• A person has the right to speak their own language and, when necessary, receive assistance from a translator or sign-language interpreter.

• A person has the right to be assisted or represented by a defender of their choice.

• The principles of access to justice are set out in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen of 1789, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950, and articles of the French Civil Code governing court procedures.

📌 Under Article 4 of the French Civil Code, judges must decide cases that fall within their jurisdiction when required to do so.

📖 2. Courts, Enforcement and ADR

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Alternative dispute resolution: A set of non-judicial mechanisms for settling disputes, available in civil matters and also in some criminal matters.

★ Must-know

• Legal rights and duties may remain ineffective without a strong framework for enforcement.

• Effective enforcement mechanisms are essential to the rule of law.

• Courts have jurisdictional competence to adjudicate disputes and resolve conflicts according to established laws and principles.

Further detail

• Sanctions provide authority and help ensure compliance with legal duties.

• The majority of civil disputes are settled without judicial intervention, with emphasis on voluntary settlements between parties.

• ADR mechanisms are recognised for their efficiency, flexibility and confidentiality, and courts increasingly endorse them.

💡 Memory Hook

Courts adjudicate; ADR lets parties settle outside court.

📖 3. ADR Methods and National Rules

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Mediation: A voluntary, structured negotiation in which a neutral mediator facilitates communication while the parties retain full control over the outcome.
• Conciliation: A voluntary, amicable process in which a neutral conciliator helps restore dialogue and may propose solutions.
• Arbitration: A formal, private adjudicative process in which the parties appoint one or more arbitrators.

📝 Essential Points

• In France, conciliation is governed by the Code de procédure civile, Articles 21 and 127–131, and may be judicial or conventional and often free; in the UK, ACAS Early Conciliation under the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 is free and mandatory before tribunal claims.

• In France, mediation is governed by Law no. 95-125 of 8 February 1995, subsequently amended to implement Directive 2008/52/EC, and the mediator facilitates without imposing solutions; in the UK, mediation is voluntary and encouraged by courts.

• French arbitration is regulated by the Code de procédure civile, Articles 1442–1527, while UK arbitration is governed by the Arbitration Act 1996; awards are binding in both systems, and UK awards are enforceable.

📖 4. Jurisdiction and Court Competence

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Material competence: Determined by statute according to the nature of the case.
• Territorial competence: Determined by statute according to territorial divisions and, in some cases, at the claimant’s discretion.

★ Must-know

• France has two orders of jurisdiction: the administrative order and the judicial order.

📌 Exclusive competence assigns disputes in a specific matter to only one court, whereas special competence is shared among different jurisdictions depending on the amount at stake.

Further detail

📌 Civil courts compensate victims and have jurisdiction determined by the nature of the dispute, whereas criminal courts punish offenders on behalf of society and have jurisdiction determined by the seriousness of the offence.

💡 Memory Hook

Material competence asks what kind of case; territorial competence asks where.

📖 5. French Courts and Appeals

★ Must-know

📌 From 1 January 2020, the French judicial court has exclusive competence regardless of the amount for family cases, citizenship, literary and artistic property such as copyright, and real estate; it also hears other civil cases above 10,000 EUR.

📌 From 1 January 2020, the proximity court has exclusive competence for consumer credit regardless of the amount and special competence for other civil cases below 10,000 EUR.

• The Business Court has exclusive competence over:
  • disputes between traders
  • disputes between traders and non-traders
  • disputes between traders and companies
  • disputes concerning commercial acts

📌 The French Labour Court has exclusive competence over disputes between an employee or trainee and their employer concerning the formation, execution or breach of the employment contract.

📌 A French Court of Appeal re-examines a case in fact and law, whereas the Court of Cassation reviews legal matters without re-examining the facts and is not a third-degree jurisdiction.

Further detail

📌 The judicial court and proximity court generally use the defendant’s domicile as the territorial basis, subject to exceptions; for real estate, the competent court is where the building or land is located.

📌 The French Business Court generally uses the defendant’s domicile or registered office as the territorial basis, subject to exceptions.

• For a permanent employment contract, the French Labour Court generally has territorial competence where the work is performed, subject to exceptions.

📖 6. United Kingdom Supreme Court

★ Must-know

• The UK Supreme Court is the ultimate court of appeal for civil cases throughout the UK and for criminal matters in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Further detail

• The UK Supreme Court hears cases of public or constitutional significance.

• The UK Supreme Court began work on 1st October 2009.

📖 7. Judicial and Legal Professionals

★ Must-know

• England and Wales has a split legal profession distinguishing barristers from solicitors.

Further detail

• French magistrats du siège are independent and protected by security of tenure (inamovibilité), and their principal entry route is competitive recruitment through the ENM.

• Spanish jueces and magistrados are independent and subject only to the Constitution and the law, and judicial careers are principally entered through competitive selection based on merit and ability.

• Hungarian judges are independent and subject only to law, and are formally appointed by the President of the Republic following a regulated selection procedure.

• French magistrats du parquet are hierarchically organised; the Minister of Justice directs criminal policy and may issue general policy instructions, while prosecutors have statutory safeguards concerning individual cases.

• Spain’s Ministerio Fiscal is a constitutionally recognised institution with functional autonomy that promotes justice and protects legality, citizens’ rights and the public interest, and it is not part of the judiciary.

• Hungary’s Ügyészség is a centralised and constitutionally independent prosecution service headed by the Prosecutor General.

• French avocats provide legal advice, drafting, representation and advocacy, while in-house juristes are not members of the barreau.

• Spanish abogados provide legal advice, defence and advocacy, while procuradores form a separate profession principally responsible for formal procedural representation.

• Hungarian ügyvéd attorneys have full representation rights, while kamarai jogtanácsos are registered in-house legal counsel.

💡 Memory Hook

France’s barrister-like avocat and England and Wales’s barrister/solicitor split are not the same professional structure.

📖 8. Civil and Criminal Proceedings

★ Must-know

• Criminal law aims to punish offences against individuals and society, whereas civil law regulates relationships between individuals and between individuals and organisations.

• A criminal action is commenced by a public authority, whereas a civil action is commenced by an individual or organisation suing another individual or organisation.

• In criminal cases, the public authority must prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt, whereas civil claimants must prove their claim on the balance of probabilities.

Further detail

📌 A criminal proceeding results in conviction or acquittal, whereas a civil proceeding determines whether the defendant is liable to the claimant.

📌 Criminal proceedings may result in a state-imposed punishment, whereas civil proceedings may award damages or specific performance.

💡 Memory Hook

Criminal law punishes offences; civil law resolves claims between parties.

📊 Synthesis Tables

Criminal and Civil Proceedings