AGLC4 Rule 17.1: France: Cases

French cases are cited by court, then the appeal, decision or case number and the full date, followed by the words reported in and the report citation where one exists. There are separate forms for the Cour de cassation, the Conseil constitutionnel, the Conseil d'État and other courts. A European Case Law Identifier, prefixed ECLI, may be added after the case number, and a popular name for the case may lead the citation.

AGLC4 page 228

Format

Quoted from the Guide, page 228
Cour de cassation [French Court of Cassation], Appeal Number, Full Date reported in (Year of Publication) Abbreviation of Publication no Number of Volume/Issue, Pinpoint.
Conseil constitutionnel [French Constitutional Court], decision no Number of Decision, Full Date reported in JO, Full Date of Publication, Pinpoint.
Conseil d’État [French Administrative Court], Full Date reported in [Year of Publication] Rec Lebon Pinpoint.
Name of Court (Including City), Case Number, Full Date reported in Report Series Citation, Pinpoint.

A boxed element is filled in with the source's details; everything outside a box is written exactly as shown.

Formatting

  • No case name is given unless the case has a popular name; a popular name comes first, in italics, followed by a roman comma.
  • The court name is in French, roman, followed by its English translation in square brackets.
  • Each French element that is translated is followed by its English translation in square brackets, roman (rule 26.1.1).
  • Commas separate the court, the number and the date.
  • No comma separates the date from the words reported in.
  • Cour de cassation reports take the year of publication in round brackets, then the series abbreviation, then n with a superscript o and the volume or issue number, then a comma and the pinpoint.
  • Conseil constitutionnel decisions put the word decision and n with a superscript o before the decision number, and are reported in JO followed by a comma, the full publication date, a comma and the pinpoint.
  • Conseil d'État decisions give no number, and the report year goes in square brackets before Rec Lebon, with the pinpoint following after a space and no comma.
  • An ECLI, where included, sits after the case number with a comma before and after it and begins with the letters ECLI.
  • Report series abbreviations are roman; the full series titles in the table are italic.
  • For the Cour de cassation, the appeal number is generally the number that follows no de pourvoi on the decision.

Examples

Quoted from the Guide, page 228
  1. 1
    Cour de cassation [French Court of Cassation], 06-81968, 5 December 2006 reported in (2006) Bull crim no 304, 1095.
  2. 2
    Conseil constitutionnel [French Constitutional Court], decision no 2005-527 DC, 8 December 2005 reported in JO, 13 December 2005, 19162.
  3. 3
    Demoiselle X, Conseil d’État [French Administrative Court], 28 May 1971 reported in [1971] Rec Lebon 409.
  4. 4
    Cour d’appel de Toulouse [Toulouse Court of Appeal], 2003/05292, 7 March 2005.

French report series and their abbreviations, by court

Quoted from the Guide, page 228
CourtReport SeriesAbbreviation
Cour de cassation — civil mattersBulletin des arrêts de la Cour de cassation, Chambres civilesBull civ
Cour de cassation — criminal mattersBulletin des arrêts de la Cour de cassation, Chambre criminelleBull crim
Conseil constitutionnelJournal officiel de la République françaiseJO
Conseil d’ÉtatRecueil des arrêts du Conseil d’État statuant au contentieuxRec Lebon

See also

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Formats, examples, passages, tables and the forms marked Not are quoted from the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed, Melbourne University Law Review Association, 2018), with the page of the Guide they appear on. Titles, summaries and explanations are our own.