It has been nearly two years since the author came to Montpellier, a famous city in southern France, and studied in a law school in Montpellier. First of all, I would like to share my experience in studying law in France.
First of all, there are three main difficulties for international students to study law in France, and they have to go through Sandao Pass. The first is the language barrier. The second is the system. The third is thinking.
The first level is the language level.
French is famous for its complex and varied grammar. Legal French is very different from common spoken English. Generally speaking, students in China mainly begin to learn French in adulthood, while most students who come to France only have a limited understanding of French in their daily oral communication. Even for ordinary people, legal French is eloquent. I believe that as long as I have contacted students majoring in law, I must have a deep understanding of this. Law is a rigorous system, and French is a rigorous language. The combination of strength and strength can be imagined. Many nouns commonly used in spoken English are two completely different concepts in French. For example, the word FONCTIONNAIRE means civil servant. Refers to a public official who is officially appointed by the competent authority to work full-time. However, the meaning of civil servants in common spoken language is much broader than that of civil servants in administrative law, generally referring to all staff working in administrative institutions. Just like being a plaintiff or a defendant, because the courts have different levels and titles, insiders only look at the titles to understand the level and process of the case, while laymen, like reading a gobbledygook, can't even get in the door. Today, even in some academic works, mistakes often appear. The accuracy of legal French can be seen.
In addition, French education is mostly dictated by professors, and there are few blackboard writing, which depends entirely on student secretaries. Therefore, the first and most important step in studying French law is the language barrier. Here, the author recommends TERMES JURIDIQUE published by French Daruz to students who are new to French law. In addition, there is a book "French legal vocabulary" written by Professor Capitan, which is necessary for entry. After you have a basic legal vocabulary, you can talk about further research.
The second level is the system level.
Although French law and China law belong to the continental law system. But it is unique in the judicial system. The main performance is that the administrative court system and ordinary court system are independent of each other. Accordingly, French legal education is divided into two categories: public law and private law, and then into many sub-disciplines. Students who want to further their studies must know. Although the direction of public law and private law has been divided in MAITRISE, and the contents that students have learned in DEUG for two years are basically the same, the direction of in-depth counseling courses chosen by individuals in LICENCE has basically determined the future development direction of students. Although the distinction is not absolute, students majoring in public law can also switch to private law in the future, but they need to work harder. This is an indispensable way for students who are interested in learning French law.
Many students, especially those who have graduated or are studying in Huada University, are often reluctant to start with DEUG when applying for a degree, and blindly seek high and fast. Without DEA, the worst thing is to start with MAITRISE. The author privately believes that this practice is not desirable. France's legal education system is closely linked (so is other countries, especially France), and the legal education conducted by DEUG is the most basic knowledge. If it is suddenly inserted in the middle, it will inevitably become a tree without roots, and it is difficult to do in-depth research and choose the research direction. Even if I am lucky enough to get a degree, I am more worried that painting a tiger will not turn into painting a dog.
In my experience, if students have perseverance, starting from scratch is of course the best strategy, but French law schools implement a strict elimination system. It is stipulated that DEUG's two-year study must be completed within three years at most. The elimination rate of law schools is generally around 50%, and some schools are even higher. However, LICENCE and MAITRISE have no such worries. However, because MAITRISE must choose the direction from the beginning, schools often ask students to drop one level from the degree they applied for because they are worried about their ability, so the author suggests starting with LICENCE. There are not too many omissions. It's never too late to mend (you can take important courses of DEUG such as constitutional law, legal research methodology, etc. ).
The third level is thinking.
Before coming to France, the author preconceived that France belongs to a statutory country, and legal education must be based on theory. The case is for reference only. You only know the big fallacy when you enter the water, and you are not shallow when you scold a pedant.
French legal education, though still based on code theory. In general legal theory, cases are only regarded as substantive sources, but cases, especially those of final appeal institutions such as the Supreme Court, the Court of Power Conflict, the Supreme Administrative Court and the Constitutional Council, account for a large proportion in law school education, which outsiders can't imagine. Although after the French Revolution, in view of the negative attitude of judges to the revolution under the old system, revolutionaries generally had distrust of judges, so the role of judges was strictly stipulated in the compilation of the civil code, and judges were forbidden to use the principle of equity to make judgments.
?
Are judges considered by traditional jurists? The mouth of law? Its function is only to apply the law, and judges are strictly prohibited from making laws. (This should be inseparable from the pride of the French in the Civil Code. They once thought that a civil code could cover all social problems. In fact, due to the accelerated pace of modern social change, it is inevitable that legislators will have loopholes in making laws, so judges are playing an increasingly important role in making up for legal loopholes. In addition, in order to maintain the stability of the judgment and help the parties to make predictions, the Supreme Court tries to avoid frequently changing the case law (unless it is necessary, it will generally remain unchanged for at least 10 years). If the judgment made by the lower court is inconsistent with the precedent, it is often in danger of being CASSER (CASSER means broken in French, and the Supreme Court means LA COUR DE CASSATION in French). Therefore, in fact, the precedent of the Supreme Court has substantial binding force on the lower courts. Accordingly, law education also attaches great importance to cases. When I first came here, I asked the professor this question and attracted his attention. )
Here are some concrete experiences and suggestions on studying law in France.
The general law course mainly includes two parts.
Main course and in-depth instruction course. The main course is usually held in a classroom with hundreds of students, mainly taught by professors, and no teaching materials are specified. Students can send questions directly to the podium at any time, and it is common for handsome guys and beautiful women to jump up. Generally speaking, the main course is mainly a professor of theory, but it is usually interspersed with principled cases or the latest cases. Take the teacher's one-way input as a living.
In the course of in-depth guidance, it is completely another form, using small class system, each class is generally about 20 people, and the instructor is usually a doctoral student or an off-campus lawyer. Due to the small number of students and frequent questions (course participation accounts for 30% of the final grade), students often make full preparations before class. In-depth guidance course is based on case teaching and mixed case analysis. If the main course is regarded as dinner, the principle of departmental law is mainly taught, and in-depth counseling can be described as a small stove, with the exception of the principle of key attention. It is convenient for students to keep abreast of the latest creation of the Supreme Court.
In the in-depth instruction class, teachers are not only obliged to explain to students, but also often ask students to use the legal principles they have learned to criticize the Supreme Court's judgment. In their words. Judges of the Supreme Court are also human beings, and it is inevitable that they will be confused sometimes. Although I am a student, I sometimes wake up (note: I can talk nonsense in class, and I usually judge from the front when I take the exam. Unless you really have something new to say, you won't take any risks).
Learning suggestions:
What does Daruz publish? Selected cases of supreme court principles? A book, after a case, was given a famous review, and after learning the principle, it benefited a lot. In addition, the Supreme Court also publishes a collection of cases, which is usually read more. As for the case analysis of exams and general courses, like the domestic eight-part essay, how to open the topic and break the topic is extremely particular. After reading the introductory methodology, you can generally touch the doorway by reading more than a dozen case reviews intensively, but you must rely on experience to write beautifully. I believe this should not be difficult for China students with hundreds of years of stereotyped writing experience.
Finally, talk about the operation of the code.
Code is the bible of law school students, and a professor can generally make an accurate judgment on whether students are trying hard according to the old and new codes of students. The norms prevailing in France are mainly published by LITEC and DALLOZ. The former is blue and the latter is red, and the former is a rising star, and the price is slightly cheaper (I think the quality is not much different, but professors usually use the red version. Buying the red version is conducive to finding it quickly according to the number of pages provided by the professor, so try to buy the new version, otherwise it will be doomed to regret, and students will do what they can).
General students can take the code in the three-hour exam of the in-depth guidance course. The code not only records the provisions, but also records the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court. A case can be found by consulting related articles. If you can't remember, you can look at the last dictionary entry index, but it's a waste of time. It is suggested to remember some basic principles, which will help you save time and put precious time on the design of styles.
My superficial experience is introduced here, hoping to help everyone, and I hope more people can come to France to chew the hard bone of law together.