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  | cours = [[Introduction au droit]]
  | cours = [[Introduction to law]]
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*[[Définition du droit]]
*[[The definition of law]]
*[[L’État]]
*[[The State]]
*[[Les différentes branches du droit]]
*[[The different branches of law]]
*[[Les sources du droit]]
*[[The sources of law]]
*[[Les grandes traditions formatrices du droit]]
*[[The great formative traditions of law]]
*[[Les éléments de la relation juridique]]
*[[The elements of the legal relationship]]
*[[L’application du droit]]
*[[The application of law]]
*[[La mise en œuvre d’une loi]]
*[[The implementation of a law]]
*[[L’évolution de la Suisse des origines au XXème siècle]]
*[[The evolution of Switzerland from its origins to the 20th century]]
*[[Le cadre juridique interne de la Suisse]]
*[[Switzerland's domestic legal framework]]
*[[La structure d’État, le régime politique et la neutralité  de la Suisse]]
*[[Switzerland's state structure, political system and neutrality]]
*[[L’évolution des relations internationales de la fin du XIXe au milieu du XXe siècle]]
*[[The evolution of international relations from the end of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century]]
*[[Les organisations universelles]]
*[[The universal organizations]]
*[[Les organisations européennes et leurs relations avec la Suisse]]
*[[European organisations and their relations with Switzerland]]
*[[Les catégories et les générations de droits fondamentaux]]
*[[Categories and generations of fundamental rights]]
*[[Les origines des droits fondamentaux]]
*[[The origins of fundamental rights]]
*[[Les déclarations des droits de la fin du XVIIIe siècle]]
*[[Declarations of rights at the end of the 18th century]]
*[[Vers l’édification d’une conception universelle des droits fondamentaux au XXe siècle]]
*[[Towards the construction of a universal conception of fundamental rights in the 20th century]]
}}To search for the source of the law is to search for the point by which it came out of the depths of social life to appear on the surface of the law.
}}
 
To search for the source of the law is to search for the point by which it came out of the depths of social life to appear on the surface of the law.


The sources are divided into two categories:  
The sources are divided into two categories:  
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Custom is the set of legal rules resulting from a use established in a community and held by it as legally binding; it is a direct source of unwritten law.
Custom is the set of legal rules resulting from a use established in a community and held by it as legally binding; it is a direct source of unwritten law.


Custom is the oldest form of law formation, it is the almost exclusive source of law. Gilissen shows that between the 10th and 12th centuries, custom was the main source of law in Western societies. Basically, for 200 years, custom has not been widely used.
Custom is the oldest form of law formation, it is the almost exclusive source of law. Gilissen shows that between the 10th and 12th centuries, custom was the main source of law in Western societies. Basically, for 200 years, the custom has not been widely used.


Customs are there to supplement a written law. They arise from the practices of a particular group, they can change if the practice changes and they can disappear by repeal or obsolescence.
Customs are there to supplement a written law. They arise from the practices of a particular group, they can change if the practice changes and they can disappear by repeal or obsolescence.
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The law only puts in writing the experience gained from custom. Today, custom only plays a secondary and subsidiary role when the written law is deficient.
The law only puts in writing the experience gained from custom. Today, custom only plays a secondary and subsidiary role when the written law is deficient.
   
   
[[Fichier:Code civil suisse - article 1.png|vignette|center|700px|[http://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/19070042/201307010000/210.pdf Code civil suisse] - [http://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/19070042/index.html#a1 article 1]]]  
[[Fichier:Code civil suisse - article 1.png|vignette|center|700px|[http://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/19070042/201307010000/210.pdf Code civil suisse] - [http://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/19070042/index.html#a1 article 1]]]Customary law within the meaning of the Swiss Civil Code of 1912 is customary law at the level of the Confederation. The judge applies a custom throughout Switzerland as long as it does not contradict a certain region of Switzerland.
 
Le droit coutumier au sens du Code civil suisse de 1912 est un droit coutumier à l’échelon de la Confédération. Le juge applique une coutume à l’échelon de toute la Suisse pour autant qu’elle ne soit pas en contradiction avec une certaine région de Suisse.
Custom often opens the way to law that only puts custom in writing.
 
La coutume ouvre souvent la voie à la loi qui ne fait que mettre la coutume par écrit.
== The law ==
The law is the general and abstract rule setting out rules of law, obligations and prohibitions.
 
A distinction must be made between:


== La loi ==
*'''Substantive''': an act setting out a rule of law, or a set of rules of law, enacted by a competent body in accordance with due process (example - Charter of the United Nations).
La loi est la règle générale et abstraite fixant des règles de droit, des obligations et des interdictions.
*'''Formal''': this criterion does not focus on the content of the law, but on its drafting procedure, hence the use of the adjective "formal", which refers to the forms and conditions of its drafting process. This conception comes from the revolutionary period of the 18th century, the law must be the work of the sovereign people or their representatives, because the free man is the one who obeys laws that he gives himself unlike the slave who suffers the law of the despot. The law in the formal sense comes from the legislator, who can be national (federal) (Federal Parliament), cantonal (Grand Council), communal (Communal Council). It is only the legislative body that enacts it through its creative function of law. These are the laws of the Nation's elected parliament.
Il faut faire une distinction entre :
*'''Matérielle''' : acte énonçant une règle de droit, ou un ensemble de règles de droit, édicté par un organe compétent selon une procédure régulière (exemple – Charte des Nations Unies).
*'''Formelle''' : ce critère ne s’attache pas au contenu de la loi, mais s’attache à sa procédure d’élaboration d’où l’emploi  l’adjectif « formel » qui a  trait aux formes et aux conditions de son mode d’élaboration. Cette conception provient de la période révolutionnaire du XVIIIème, la loi doit être l’œuvre du peuple souverain ou de ses représentants, car l’homme libre est celui qui obéit à des lois qu’il se donne à la différence de l’esclave qui subit la loi du despote. La loi au sens formel provient du législateur qui peut être à l’échelle nationale (fédérale) (Parlement fédéral), cantonal (Grand Conseil), communal (Conseil communal). C’est uniquement l’organe législatif qui l’édicte à travers sa fonction créatrice de droit. Ce sont les lois du parlement élu de la Nation.  
   
   
En Suisse, il n’y a pas seulement le Parlement qui adopte des règles de droit. L’exécutif peut très bien édicter des lois au sens matériel. Ces organes ne sont pas législatifs, ce qui ne permet pas de parler de loi au sens formel. Il faut aussi noter que la majorité des lois sont édictées par l’exécutif.  
In Switzerland, it is not only Parliament that adopts legal rules. The executive can very well enact laws in the material sense. These bodies are not legislative, which makes it impossible to speak of a law in the formal sense. It should also be noted that the majority of laws are enacted by the executive.  
   
   
[[Fichier:Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse du 18 avril 1999 - article 182.png|vignette|center|700px|[http://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/19995395/index.html Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse du 18 avril 1999] - [http://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/19995395/index.html#a182 article 182]]]
[[Fichier:Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse du 18 avril 1999 - article 182.png|vignette|center|700px|[http://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/19995395/index.html Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse du 18 avril 1999] - [http://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/19995395/index.html#a182 article 182]]]
   
   
[[Fichier:Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse du 18 avril 1999 - article 163.png|vignette|center|700px|[http://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/19995395/index.html Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse du 18 avril 1999] - [http://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/19995395/index.html#a163 article 163]]]
[[Fichier:Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse du 18 avril 1999 - article 163.png|vignette|center|700px|[http://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/19995395/index.html Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse du 18 avril 1999] - [http://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/19995395/index.html#a163 article 163]]]However, an order is not a rule of law, because it is not general and abstract in nature, which does not prevent it from being enacted by Parliament.
 
Cependant, un arrêté n’est pas une règle de droit, car il n’a pas de caractère général et abstrait ce qui ne l’empêche pas d’être édicté par le Parlement.
It is not a law in the material sense, but in the formal sense because it is enacted by Parliament even if the order is not a rule of law.
 
Ce n’est pas une loi au sens matériel, mais au sens formel parce qu’édictée par le Parlement même si l’arrêté n’a pas caractère de règle de droit.  
While the law in the formal sense is, with few exceptions (federal decrees), a law in the material sense, the law in the material sense is much less often a law in the formal sense. 
 
Si la loi au sens formel est, sauf rares exceptions (arrêtés fédéraux), une loi au sens matériel, la loi au sens matériel est bien moins souvent une loi au sens formel.
= The substantive sources of law =
 
== The case law ==
Case law refers to all decisions made by courts and other law enforcement authorities; it also refers to the solutions adopted in its decisions.
 
This is the law that emerges from the sentences and rulings of the courts. In the absence of written rules, the judge must refer to the decision made by a fellow judge in a similar case. The judge may also distance himself from the previous decision and decide the case in a different way due to circumstances as well as new conditions.
 
In this case, it is said that the judgment sets a precedent. Case law solutions that play an important role in the Swiss legal system are also called praetorian solutions.


= Les sources matérielles du droit =
== The doctrine ==
Doctrine is the set of opinions expressed on the law by persons whose main activity is to practice or teach law.


== La jurisprudence ==
The scientific quality of the doctrine can vary considerably. At the moment, we are witnessing a period of legislative inflation; at the same time, there is a considerable increase in doctrinal production, which is increasingly concerned with sticking to the legal reality and adapting to the immediate event. This tendency to immediacy causes him to lose his long-term vision. Doctrine no longer has enough distance and a panoramic vision that would allow weighting.
La jurisprudence désigne l’ensemble des décisions rendues par les tribunaux et autres autorités d'application du droit; il s’agit aussi des solutions retenues dans ses décisions.


C’est le droit qui se dégage des sentences et des arrêts rendus par les tribunaux. En l’absence de règles écrites, le juge doit se référer à la décision prise par un collègue juge dans un cas semblable. Le juge peut également se distancer de la décision prise précédemment et trancher le cas d’une manière différente en raison de circonstances ainsi que de conditions nouvelles.
Doctrine is made up of many types of so-called doctrinal works: 


Dans ce cas on dit que le jugement fait jurisprudence. Les solutions jurisprudentielles qui jouent un rôle important dans le système juridique suisse sont aussi appelées des solutions '''prétoriennes'''.
*the treaty: systematic and in-depth presentation of the whole of a subject or field;
*the manual or précis: it is a subcategory of the treaty in the form of a synthetic book written for didactic purposes intended mainly for teaching;
*the commentary: analytical presentation of a judgment, a law, a doctrinal text, etc.;
*the monograph: scientific study of a specific question (law thesis);
*the article: a short study of a legal text published in a specialized journal or collective work;
*official editions of legal texts: commented collections of laws.
Today, doctrine is an authority, but history shows that doctrine can be a direct source of law.


== La doctrine ==
In Rome, in ancient times, the science of law was written as a formal source of law. In the digest was collected in a set of opinions and excerpts edited by prestigious authors who, in Rome, were considered as direct sources of law.  
La doctrine est l'ensemble des opinions émises sur le droit par les personnes dont l'activité principale est de pratiquer le droit ou de l'enseigner.
   
   
La qualité scientifique de la doctrine peut varier considérablement. Actuellement, nous sommes les témoins d’une période d’inflation législative ; parallèlement on assiste à une augmentation considérable de la production doctrinale qui est de plus en plus soucieuse de coller à la réalité juridique et de s’adapter à l’évènement immédiat. Cette tendance à l’immédiateté lui fait perdre sa vision à long terme. La doctrine n’a plus suffisamment de recul et une vision panoramique qui permettrait la pondération.
[[Image:EugenHuber.jpg|right|thumb|100px|Eugen Huber.]]Over the centuries, great jurisconsults and legal personalities have produced outstanding literature.
 
La doctrine est faite de nombreux types d’ouvrages dits doctrinaux :
Domat and Pothier, authors of the old regime before France adopted a system of codification of civil law, through their doctrinal works, promoted the unification of law.
*le '''traité''' : exposé systématique et approfondi de l’ensemble d’une matière ou d’un domaine ;
 
*le '''manuel''' ou '''précis''' : c’est une sous-catégorie du traité sous forme d’ouvrage synthétique rédigé dans un but didactique destiné principalement à l’enseignement ;
Until the 18th century, France was subject to different codifications. With the Revolution, the law in France was unified, so that everyone could recognize it. Domat and Pothier worked to unify private law.
*le '''commentaire''' : présentation analytique d’un arrêt, d’une loi d’un texte doctrinal, etc.  ;
*la '''monographie''' : étude scientifique d’une question déterminée (thèse de droit) ;
*l’'''article''' : étude de nature courte d’un texte de loi publié dans une revue spécialisée ou un ouvrage collectif ;
*éditions officielles des textes légaux : recueils de lois commentés.
Aujourd’hui, la doctrine est une autorité, mais l’histoire montre que la doctrine peut être une source directe du droit.
À Rome, dans l’Antiquité, la science du droit était rédigée en source formelle du droit. Dans le digeste était recueilli en ensemble d’opinions et d’extraits édictés par de prestigieux auteurs qui, a Rome, étaient considérés comme source directe du droit.
[[Image:EugenHuber.jpg|right|thumb|100px|Eugen Huber.]]


Au cours des siècles de grands jurisconsultes et personnalités du droit vont produire une littérature marquante.  
In Switzerland, Eugen Huber wrote an important work of doctrine with his book "History and System of Swiss Private Law": he systematically studied all methods and texts of Swiss law in order to draw general frameworks accepted by all. It is a question of establishing a uniform law that is accepted by all. It will unify the private legislation of all the cantons in order to codify private law through the Swiss Civil Code in 1912. To defend his work, he was Federal Councillor in Bern between 1911 and 1912.


Domat et Pothier, auteurs de l’ancien régime avant que la France ne se dote d’un système de codification de droit civil, par leurs œuvres doctrinales, ont favorisé l’unification du droit.  
Thus, doctrine has fully played its role as a direct source of law, today it plays an authoritative role. The influence of doctrine on the development of law cannot be denied.  


Jusqu’au XVIIIème siècle, la France était soumise à des codifications différentes. Avec la Révolution, le droit en France a été unifié, afin que tout le monde puisse le reconnaitre. Domat et Pothier ont œuvré afin d’unifier le droit privé.
== General principles of law ==
The general principles of law constitute a set of guiding principles which, without having the precise and concrete character of the rules of positive law, serve as guidance in the application and development of the legal order.
En Suisse, [http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F4533.php Eugen Huber] a rédigé une œuvre importante de doctrine par son ouvrage intitulé "Histoire et système du droit privé suisse" : il a fait une étude systématique de tous les méthodes et textes de droit suisse afin d’en tirer des trames générales acceptées par tous. Il s’agit d’établir une loi uniforme et acceptée par tous. Il va unifier la législation privée de tous les cantons afin d’aboutir à la codification du droit privé à travers le Code civil suisse en 1912. Pour défendre son travail, il sera conseiller fédéral à Berne entre 1911 et 1912.
Ainsi, la doctrine a joué pleinement son rôle de source directe de droit, aujourd’hui elle joue un rôle d’autorité. On ne saurait nier l’influence de la doctrine sur l’élaboration du droit.


== Les principes généraux du droit ==
Adages or brocades are proverbs of the law, legal maxims expressed in a concise sentence.  
Les principes généraux du droit constituent un ensemble de principes directeurs qui, sans avoir le caractère précis et concret des règles de droit positif, servent d'orientation dans l'application et les développements de l'ordre juridique.  


Les '''adages ou les brocards''' sont des proverbes du droit, des maximes juridiques énoncées en une phrase concise.
*'''Adages''': a short formula that often expresses a principle of law.
**''Audiatur et altera par'': that both parties be heard;
*'''Adages''' : brève formule souvent latine qui exprime un principe de droit.
**''Iura novit curia'': the court knows the law;
**''Audiatur et altera pars'' : que les deux partis soient entendus ;
**''In dubio pro reo'': doubt benefits the accused;
**''Iura novit curia'' : la cour connaît le droit ;
**''Iustitia est constans et perpetua voluntas jus suum cuique tribuendi'': justice is a constant and perpetual will to give everyone what is due to them;
**''In dubio pro reo'' : le doute profite à l'accusé ;
**''Nonbis in idem'': the judge may not be seised twice for the same case;
**''Iustitia est constans et perpetua voluntas jus suum cuique tribuendi'' : la justice est une volonté constante et perpétuelle de rendre à chacun ce qui lui est dû ;
**''Nullum crimen sine lege'': no crime without law;
**''Nonbis in idem'' : le juge ne peut être saisi deux fois pour la même affaire ;
**''Lex posterior derogat priori'': the most recent law derogates from the previous law;
**''Nullum crimen sine lege'' : pas de crime sans loi ;
**''Lex specialis derogat generali'': the special rule derogates from the general rule;
**''Lex posterior derogat priori'' : la loi la plus récente déroge à la loi antérieure ;
**''Pacta sunt servanda'': commitments must be respected, i.e. good faith obliges the person who has undertaken to keep his commitment.
**''Lex specialis derogat generali'' : la règle spéciale déroge à la règle générale ;
**''Pacta sunt servanda'' : les engagements doivent être respectés c'est-à-dire la bonne foi oblige celui qui s'est engagé à tenir son engagement.
    
    
*'''Brocards''' : c’est un adage vulgarisé sous une forme populaire.  
*'''Brocades''': it's a popularized adage in a popular form.  
**''À l’impossible nul n’est tenu'' : le contrat est nul si sa mise en œuvre est impossible ;
**''To the impossible no one is bound'': the contract is null if its implementation is impossible;
**''Le mort saisit le vif'' : au moment de la mort, les héritiers sont investis immédiatement de la succession ;
**''The dead grabs the living'': at the moment of death, the heirs are immediately invested with the estate;
**''Le Roy et mort vive le Roy'' : cela implique qu’il n’y a pas de rupture de règne, au moment où le défunt est mort son héritier débute son règne.
**''The King and dead lives the King'': this implies that there is no break in the reign, at the moment when the deceased died his heir begins his reign.
Allows the legal system to ensure a certain coherence and systematic unity in the middle of the disorder of positive rules.


Permet d’assurer au système juridique une certaine cohérence et une unité systématique au milieu du désordre des règles positives.  
These principles express the philosophical values on which the legal system of our Western States is based. They play a role in the interpretation of the law and serve, among other things, to fill gaps. However, these principles are not direct forms of law unless they have been enshrined in the Constitution.


Ces principes expriment des valeurs philosophiques sur lesquelles repose le système juridique de nos États occidentaux. Ils jouent un rôle dans l’interprétation du droit et servent, entre autres, à combler les lacunes. Cependant, ces principes ne sont pas des formes directes de droit sauf si ils ont été consacrés par la Constitution .
In international law, there are a few principles that govern international law subjects, these are the Richier Principles, which are three basic principles of international law:  
 
En [[Droit International Public|droit international]], il y a quelques principes qui régissent les sujets de droit international, ce sont les '''Principes de Richier''' qui sont trois principes de base en [[Droit International Public|droit international]] :
#'''principle of equality between States''': it has equal weight in international conferences;
#'''principe d’égalité entre États''' : il pèse d’un même poids dans les conférences internationales ;
#'''independence of States''': each State is in principle autonomous, it has full jurisdiction on its territory. He only suffers the restriction of power that he wants to accept (ex-France/Switzerland, the police forces of each country have the right to intervene on their mutual territories in the canton of Geneva, Ain and Haute-Savoie);
#'''indépendance des États''' : chaque État est en principe autonome, il a sur son territoire la plénitude de la compétence. Il ne subit que la restriction de pouvoir qu’il veut bien accepter  (ex- France/Suisse, les polices de chaque pays ont le droit d’intervenir sur leurs territoires mutuels dans le canton de Genève, l’Ain et la Haute-Savoie) ;
#'''principle of non-intervention also known as non-interference''': as a result of the two previous principles, a State may not intervene in the internal affairs of another State (political, economic or military intervention).
#'''principe de non-intervention''' dit aussi de '''non-ingérence''' : résultante des deux précédents principes, un État ne peut intervenir dans les affaires internes d’un autre État (intervention politique, économique, militaire).
   
   
Entre l’application et la mise en œuvre du droit international, il y a une différence parce que dans l’État-national occidental, il y a un exécutif, un législatif et un judiciaire. S’il y a un conflit, le pouvoir judiciaire va trancher. Il y a une structure qui permet de défendre la sécurité et la paix publique aux contraires de l’organisation de l’ordre international.
There is a difference between the application and implementation of international law because in the western national state there is an executive, a legislative and a judicial branch. If there is a conflict, the judiciary will decide. There is a structure that makes it possible to defend security and public peace against the organization of international order.


= Annexes =
= Annexes =
*Université de Genève. “Introduction Aux Droits De L'Homme.” Coursera, https://www.coursera.org/learn/droits-de-lhomme.


= Références =
= References =
<references />
<references />



Version du 6 avril 2021 à 07:47


To search for the source of the law is to search for the point by which it came out of the depths of social life to appear on the surface of the law.

The sources are divided into two categories:

  • formal (direct) sources of law: these are the obligatory forms that give rise to a rule of law, i.e. the forms that the law must take in order to impose itself as rules of law.
  • the material sources (indirect, real, substantial) of the law: are the sources that embrace all social phenomena and contribute to the substance, the subject matter of the law.
Languages

Formal sources of law

The formal sources of law vary according to time and place. The more organized a society is, the less the role of custom becomes and the role of the law becomes more important. The legal system of our societies is made up of written rules of law.

The custom

Custom is the set of legal rules resulting from a use established in a community and held by it as legally binding; it is a direct source of unwritten law.

Custom is the oldest form of law formation, it is the almost exclusive source of law. Gilissen shows that between the 10th and 12th centuries, custom was the main source of law in Western societies. Basically, for 200 years, the custom has not been widely used.

Customs are there to supplement a written law. They arise from the practices of a particular group, they can change if the practice changes and they can disappear by repeal or obsolescence.

The constituent elements of custom are:

  • Long use: it requires a use followed by the subjects as a support for a subjective right in a prolonged and repeated way of about forty years. The formation of custom develops with the practice of adopting a particular solution according to a problem. It comes from the people or from an authority in the context of conflict resolution.
  • Opinio necessitatis: conviction that the use of custom is mandatory. Individuals must be firmly convinced that there is a rule of law. Thus the use must be implemented in a community.

The custom emanates from the popular will and adapts to the customs. However, custom lacks certainty, because it is oral and proof of its existence is difficult to provide, it is the one who evokes a custom who must provide proof. In this respect, custom is against the law. But the judge always knows the law according to the principle iura novit curia.

The law only puts in writing the experience gained from custom. Today, custom only plays a secondary and subsidiary role when the written law is deficient.

Customary law within the meaning of the Swiss Civil Code of 1912 is customary law at the level of the Confederation. The judge applies a custom throughout Switzerland as long as it does not contradict a certain region of Switzerland.

Custom often opens the way to law that only puts custom in writing.

The law

The law is the general and abstract rule setting out rules of law, obligations and prohibitions.

A distinction must be made between:

  • Substantive: an act setting out a rule of law, or a set of rules of law, enacted by a competent body in accordance with due process (example - Charter of the United Nations).
  • Formal: this criterion does not focus on the content of the law, but on its drafting procedure, hence the use of the adjective "formal", which refers to the forms and conditions of its drafting process. This conception comes from the revolutionary period of the 18th century, the law must be the work of the sovereign people or their representatives, because the free man is the one who obeys laws that he gives himself unlike the slave who suffers the law of the despot. The law in the formal sense comes from the legislator, who can be national (federal) (Federal Parliament), cantonal (Grand Council), communal (Communal Council). It is only the legislative body that enacts it through its creative function of law. These are the laws of the Nation's elected parliament.

In Switzerland, it is not only Parliament that adopts legal rules. The executive can very well enact laws in the material sense. These bodies are not legislative, which makes it impossible to speak of a law in the formal sense. It should also be noted that the majority of laws are enacted by the executive.

However, an order is not a rule of law, because it is not general and abstract in nature, which does not prevent it from being enacted by Parliament.

It is not a law in the material sense, but in the formal sense because it is enacted by Parliament even if the order is not a rule of law.

While the law in the formal sense is, with few exceptions (federal decrees), a law in the material sense, the law in the material sense is much less often a law in the formal sense.

The substantive sources of law

The case law

Case law refers to all decisions made by courts and other law enforcement authorities; it also refers to the solutions adopted in its decisions.

This is the law that emerges from the sentences and rulings of the courts. In the absence of written rules, the judge must refer to the decision made by a fellow judge in a similar case. The judge may also distance himself from the previous decision and decide the case in a different way due to circumstances as well as new conditions.

In this case, it is said that the judgment sets a precedent. Case law solutions that play an important role in the Swiss legal system are also called praetorian solutions.

The doctrine

Doctrine is the set of opinions expressed on the law by persons whose main activity is to practice or teach law.

The scientific quality of the doctrine can vary considerably. At the moment, we are witnessing a period of legislative inflation; at the same time, there is a considerable increase in doctrinal production, which is increasingly concerned with sticking to the legal reality and adapting to the immediate event. This tendency to immediacy causes him to lose his long-term vision. Doctrine no longer has enough distance and a panoramic vision that would allow weighting.

Doctrine is made up of many types of so-called doctrinal works:

  • the treaty: systematic and in-depth presentation of the whole of a subject or field;
  • the manual or précis: it is a subcategory of the treaty in the form of a synthetic book written for didactic purposes intended mainly for teaching;
  • the commentary: analytical presentation of a judgment, a law, a doctrinal text, etc.;
  • the monograph: scientific study of a specific question (law thesis);
  • the article: a short study of a legal text published in a specialized journal or collective work;
  • official editions of legal texts: commented collections of laws.

Today, doctrine is an authority, but history shows that doctrine can be a direct source of law.

In Rome, in ancient times, the science of law was written as a formal source of law. In the digest was collected in a set of opinions and excerpts edited by prestigious authors who, in Rome, were considered as direct sources of law.

Eugen Huber.

Over the centuries, great jurisconsults and legal personalities have produced outstanding literature.

Domat and Pothier, authors of the old regime before France adopted a system of codification of civil law, through their doctrinal works, promoted the unification of law.

Until the 18th century, France was subject to different codifications. With the Revolution, the law in France was unified, so that everyone could recognize it. Domat and Pothier worked to unify private law.

In Switzerland, Eugen Huber wrote an important work of doctrine with his book "History and System of Swiss Private Law": he systematically studied all methods and texts of Swiss law in order to draw general frameworks accepted by all. It is a question of establishing a uniform law that is accepted by all. It will unify the private legislation of all the cantons in order to codify private law through the Swiss Civil Code in 1912. To defend his work, he was Federal Councillor in Bern between 1911 and 1912.

Thus, doctrine has fully played its role as a direct source of law, today it plays an authoritative role. The influence of doctrine on the development of law cannot be denied.

General principles of law

The general principles of law constitute a set of guiding principles which, without having the precise and concrete character of the rules of positive law, serve as guidance in the application and development of the legal order.

Adages or brocades are proverbs of the law, legal maxims expressed in a concise sentence.

  • Adages: a short formula that often expresses a principle of law.
    • Audiatur et altera par: that both parties be heard;
    • Iura novit curia: the court knows the law;
    • In dubio pro reo: doubt benefits the accused;
    • Iustitia est constans et perpetua voluntas jus suum cuique tribuendi: justice is a constant and perpetual will to give everyone what is due to them;
    • Nonbis in idem: the judge may not be seised twice for the same case;
    • Nullum crimen sine lege: no crime without law;
    • Lex posterior derogat priori: the most recent law derogates from the previous law;
    • Lex specialis derogat generali: the special rule derogates from the general rule;
    • Pacta sunt servanda: commitments must be respected, i.e. good faith obliges the person who has undertaken to keep his commitment.
  • Brocades: it's a popularized adage in a popular form.
    • To the impossible no one is bound: the contract is null if its implementation is impossible;
    • The dead grabs the living: at the moment of death, the heirs are immediately invested with the estate;
    • The King and dead lives the King: this implies that there is no break in the reign, at the moment when the deceased died his heir begins his reign.

Allows the legal system to ensure a certain coherence and systematic unity in the middle of the disorder of positive rules.

These principles express the philosophical values on which the legal system of our Western States is based. They play a role in the interpretation of the law and serve, among other things, to fill gaps. However, these principles are not direct forms of law unless they have been enshrined in the Constitution.

In international law, there are a few principles that govern international law subjects, these are the Richier Principles, which are three basic principles of international law:

  1. principle of equality between States: it has equal weight in international conferences;
  2. independence of States: each State is in principle autonomous, it has full jurisdiction on its territory. He only suffers the restriction of power that he wants to accept (ex-France/Switzerland, the police forces of each country have the right to intervene on their mutual territories in the canton of Geneva, Ain and Haute-Savoie);
  3. principle of non-intervention also known as non-interference: as a result of the two previous principles, a State may not intervene in the internal affairs of another State (political, economic or military intervention).

There is a difference between the application and implementation of international law because in the western national state there is an executive, a legislative and a judicial branch. If there is a conflict, the judiciary will decide. There is a structure that makes it possible to defend security and public peace against the organization of international order.

Annexes

References