France

• The Constitution of 1958 and the principles in its preamble
• Codes and statutes, such as the Civil Code, the Criminal Code and the Commercial Code
• European Union law, which takes priority in its area
• Court decisions (jurisprudence) and scholars' writing (doctrine), which are persuasive and influential but not formally binding precedent

• Ordinary (judicial) courts: the Court of Cassation at the top, then courts of appeal, then first-instance courts
• Administrative courts: the Council of State (Conseil d'État) at the top, with administrative courts of appeal and first-instance administrative courts
• The Constitutional Council (Conseil constitutionnel), which checks laws against the Constitution

A law degree and a master's, then an entrance exam and a year or more of professional training at a lawyers' school, then the title of avocat. Judges are trained separately at the National School for the Judiciary.

• Two top courts: one for private and criminal law, one for disputes with the state.
• Judges are not strictly bound by earlier decisions, though in practice the top courts' decisions are followed.
• The Court of Cassation's judgments have traditionally been short and formal, though they now explain more than they used to.
• Scholars (the 'doctrine') have real influence on how the code is understood.

Germany, Bulgaria, Canada, Japan, Russia

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists France as: Civil law. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria.

• Court of Cassation (English pages)
• Conseil d'État (English pages)
• Constitutional Council (English pages)

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.