Alternative dispute resolution in French administrative proceedings

Abstract

The French system of administrative justice is traditionally attached to the administrative court (the Conseil d’É tat). That is why administrative appeal is mostly optional, even if some mandatory appeals are provided by special legislation. A small part of the doctrine inclines toward the generalization of mandatory administrative appeals, but there are still strong traditional approaches that mandatory appeals add to the procedures and that impartial judicial review is the sole venue where citizens may find their rights and interests duly heard. Many independent bodies (Autorités administratives indépendantes) combining regulatory powers with adjudicatory ones are considered at least in part as an alternative to courts, as they offer redress before individuals need to consider court action. The Ombudsman (Défenseur des droits), who succeeded in 2010 to the Médiateur de la République, still has to prove his novelty and efficiency. The transplantation of other ADR tools may though be encouraged by the European Union, and so mediation, conciliation, and transactions are making their way into the system. But the question still remains whether or not these tools will be entirely part of the French administrative culture in the coming decades.