In
French law, judges cannot create
legal norms, because of the principle known as "la prohibition des arrêts de règlement" of Article 5 of the
French civil code: "Judges are forbidden from pronouncing in a generally dispositive and regulatory fashion on the matters submitted to them." They can only put into evidence and interpret existing norms. This general principle underlies the state of existing law, which is merely uncovered by the judge.
The general principles of law, principes généraux du droit, PGD are rules of universal scope which:
Traditionally, the general principles of law have a very minor role in
civil law, which is essentially codified, and a much larger role in
administrative law, which is largely based on
case law,[4] since for a very long time, very few texts of general scope covered all, or even most, administrative activities.
These general principles, and particularly their
judicial interpretation, have been debated in
legal theory. The expression "general principles of law" was consecrated after the
Liberation of France by an arrêt[5] about the rights of defendants. (principe des droits de la défense)[6] The
Tribunal des conflits cited
this principle, in its decision of 8 February 1873, titled Dugave et Bransiet.[7]
^Mejía-Lemos, Diego (2022), Kammerhofer, Jörg; Arajärvi, Noora; Merkouris, Panos (eds.), "Custom and the Regulation of 'the Sources of International Law'", The Theory, Practice, and Interpretation of Customary International Law, Cambridge University Press, pp. 137–160,
doi:10.1017/9781009025416.008,
ISBN978-1-316-51689-8
^Revue générale du droit, 'Conseil d’Etat, Assemblée, 7 février 1958, Syndicat des propriétaires de forêts de chênes-lièges d’Algérie et autres, requête numéro 39269, rec. p. 74, ' : Revue générale du droit on line, 1958, numéro 17174 (www.revuegeneraledudroit.eu/?p=17174)
Revue générale du droit, 'Conseil d’Etat, Assemblée, 7 February 1958, Syndicat des propriétaires de forêts de chênes-lièges d’Algérie et autres], requête numéro 39269, rec. p. 74
Revue générale du droit on line, 1958, numéro 17174 (www.revuegeneraledudroit.eu/?p=17174
^CE, Ass, 28 May 1954, Barel et autres, Rec. (Recueil des arrêts du Conseil d'Etat p. 308 concl. Letourneur, GAJA (grands arrêts de la jurisprudence administrative) n° 77