France - Interaction between French law and European Union law

Last month, the French Conseil d'Etat (Council of State), which is the highest administrative court in France, further clarified the interaction between French law and European Union law. Specifically, on February 8, 2007, the council decided two cases [press release, in French] that set the basis for the council's new approach to EU law.

The first case determined the judicial approach in cases where the conditions for translating a European directive seem to run contrary to provisions in the French Constitution. In such cases, the council set forth, administrative judges should first determine whether the constitutional provision in question had a counterpart in European law. If this was the case, a judge would then have to ascertain whether there is a serious challenge to the European directive. If yes, according to the council, the judge should ask the European Court of Justice to review of the legality of the directive by means of a reference for a preliminary ruling. The EU Law Blog has more about this case.

The second case concerned the question of State responsibility for violations of international law. The council held that if the French government violated international law in general, and European law in particular, and if this violation resulted in individual harm, the government would have to pay damages to the individual harmed. In the case at hand, the council determined that the French government was liable for violating the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms [text].