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Courts of France

Two separate court systems: ordinary courts for civil and criminal cases, administrative courts for disputes with the state. A Constitutional Council and a Tribunal of Conflicts stand outside them.

Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

Ordinary courts (civil and criminal)

Court of Cassation (Cour de cassation)Checks the law, not the facts
Courts of Appeal (cours d'appel)
Judicial Courts (tribunaux judiciaires)Plus specialised first-instance courts

Administrative courts

Council of State (Conseil d'État)
Administrative Courts of Appeal
Administrative Courts (tribunaux administratifs)

Stands apart from the chain of appeals

Constitutional Council (Conseil constitutionnel)Reviews laws
Tribunal of Conflicts (Tribunal des conflits)Decides which system has jurisdiction
Appeals travel up the arrows. Boxes with a heavier border are the top court of each track.

Worth knowing

  • The split between ordinary and administrative courts is a defining feature of the French model and was copied in many countries.

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Read the France profile in the Legal Families Atlas →

Sources

Other systems

African Court on Human and Peoples' RightsArgentinaAustraliaAustriaBangladeshBelgiumBrazilCanadaChileChinaColombiaCzechiaDenmarkEgyptEngland and WalesEuropean Court of Human RightsEuropean UnionFinlandGermanyGhanaGreeceHong KongIndiaIndonesiaInter-American Court of Human RightsInternational Court of JusticeInternational Criminal CourtIranIrelandIsraelItalyJapanKenyaMalaysiaMexicoNetherlandsNew ZealandNigeriaNorwayPakistanPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSaudi ArabiaScotlandSingaporeSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSpainSri LankaSwedenSwitzerlandTaiwanThailandTurkeyUnited Arab EmiratesUnited StatesVietnam

TheLawToKnow Tools’s court-structure diagrams are simplified on purpose and are not legal advice. Report a mistake.