Saint Martin (French part)

• The Organic Law on the overseas collectivities, which sets out local powers
• Decisions of the Territorial Council in its fields, including tax and planning
• French law, including the Civil Code, in other matters

• The Court of Cassation in Paris, the final court for ordinary cases
• The Court of Appeal in Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe
• A local court, linked to the courts of Guadeloupe

A French law degree and the French bar course, with admission to a French bar, often in Guadeloupe.

• One island is divided between French and Dutch law.
• Its law on tax and some other matters is made locally.
• English is widely spoken, though the courts work in French.

France, Sint Maarten, Saint-Barthélemy

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Saint Martin (French part) as: Civil law. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria.

• JuriGlobe: world legal systems (University of Ottawa)

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.