Glossaire anglais de la loi du 30 septembre 1986 relative à la liberté de communication

 

 

Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel

 

The Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel, is an independent administrative authority that was created by the Law of January 17th, 1989 to guarantee broadcasting freedom in the conditions laid down by the modified Law of September 30th,1986.



Nine Conseillers are nominated for a period of six years by presidential decree. Three of these members including the President are designated by the French President, three by the President of the Senate, and three by the President of the National Assembly.

Three of the mandates are renewed every two years and the functions of the members of the Conseil are incompatible with any other term of office, the civil service or any other professional activity.

 

For further information, please consult the following site:

(http://www.csa.fr/english/introduction/eng_intro.php)

 

 

Minister of State

 

Members of government fall into several categories: ministers of State, departmental ministers, ministers and secretaries of state. Nowadays, ministers of state are no longer differentiated from other ministers other than for reasons of formal protocol. Ministers may be assigned to a departmental minister or (more rarely) to the Prime Minister, or they may be without portfolio. Secretaries of state, unlike ministers, attend meetings of the Conseil des ministres [Council of Ministers] only rarely.

For further information, please consult the following site:

(http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/en/p.cfm?ref=6785)

 

 

Assemblée Nationale

 

The 577 députés, or members of the National Assembly [Assemblée nationale], are elected in parliamentary elections based on universal franchise held every five years, or following the dissolution of the Assembly. The election comprises two ballots and is won by candidates with the majority of votes.

 

For further information, please consult the following site:

(http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/en/p.cfm?ref=6788)

 

Sénat

 

The 321 senators are elected for nine-year terms, with one-third of all senators standing for re-election every three years. The elections for the Senate are based on an indirect voting process: electors vote in their territorial départements to designate members of electoral colleges who then vote for the senators. This special feature stems from the Senate's historical role of representing local communities.

The polling procedure itself varies according to the size of the population in a given département: the ballot is of first-past-the-post type in départements electing fewer than five senators, and proportional in all other cases.

Unlike the National Assembly, the Senate cannot be dissolved.

 

For further information, please consult the following site:

(http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/en/p.cfm?ref=6788)

 

 

Parliament

The Parliament is composed of two chambers (Assemblée nationale and Sénat). It has two main missions: voting on legislation and oversight of government measures.

For further information, please consult the following site:

(http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/en/p.cfm?ref=6788)

 

Garde des sceaux

 

Historically, the Minister of justice is called by this name.

 

 

Conseil de la concurrence

 

Is an independant agency responsible for analysing and regulating market competition.

The Conseil de la concurrence was set up by the Ordinance of 1 December 1986, which laid down the general principle of freedom in pricing and competition.

The Council's role is to advise Government, Parliament and legal entities

representing the public interest on various matters, including concentration.

 

 

Court of appeal (cour d'appel)

 

The Civil and criminal Divisions of the Court of Appeal completely re-examine the cases already judged by a court of first instance: The courts of Appeal have jurisdiction over several departements (genrally 2 to 4). There are 35 in France.

 

 

Cour de cassation

 

In France there is a judge who rules on the legality of the court décisions: The Cour de Cassation at the head of the ordinary court structure (comparable to judicial review by the divisional court in the UK or the Supreme Court in the U.S.A.).

 

 

Conseil constitutionnel

 

The Council's remit is essentially that of a court, and far exceeds that of a consultative body. Indeed, the Council has only two types of consultative duty, either occasional (issuance of an opinion on the organization of the ballot in certain elections) or exceptional.

Its judicial responsibilities lead the Conseil constitutionnel to hand down judgements on electoral and constitutional matters.

 

Decisions taken by the Conseil constitutionnel are binding on all public, administrative and judicial authorities. Moreover, there is no right of appeal against them.

 

If the Council declares that a given law is incompatible with the Constitution (a pronouncement of non-compliance), it is censured accordingly, either in part or in whole. For that reason, it cannot be enacted (or indeed enforced) in its original formulation.

 

For further information, please consult the following site:

(http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/en/p.cfm?ref=6779)

 

 

Tribunal de grande instance

 

There are 183 Tribunaux de Grande Instance, i.e. at least one in each French departement and lie somewhere between the English High Court and county courts. They have both a civil and criminal jurisdiction. In civil cases, the court settles disputes between private individuals which are not attributed to another jurisdiction and which generally involve amounts greater than FRF 30,000. In cases like status of persons (civil status, lawful descent, change of name), family law (divorce, custody, inheritance, etc.),civil liability (accidents, building defects, etc.), this Court this Court has sole jurisdiction.

 

 

Haute autorité de la communication audiovisuelle

 

See: Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel