sboghossian Citation Format — French Civil Law (Dalloz / JurisClasseur)
When to use this
Apply French civil-law citation style when:
- The output is a memo, brief, or opinion for a French-trained practitioner.
- The jurisdiction is France (FR) or a francophone civil-law jurisdiction where French legal culture is dominant: Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia.
- The document cites French case law (arrêts) from the Cour de cassation, Conseil d'État, or lower courts.
- The output will appear in a French legal publication (Dalloz, JurisClasseur, Recueil Lebon).
Do not apply this format for DIFC/ADGM (use OSCOLA), US (use Bluebook), or purely Arabic-language MENA output (use MENA conventions).
Case law (arrêts)
Cour de cassation
The Cour de cassation is divided into chambers. The standard citation format:
Cass. com., 7 mars 2018, n° 16-23.000, D. 2018, p. 700.
Components:
- Court abbreviation:
Cass.followed by the chamber abbreviation - Date: day + month (written out) + year, no comma between
- Pourvoi number:
n°followed by the case number (format: YY-XX.XXX) - Publication reference: journal abbreviation, year, page
Chamber abbreviations:
| Chamber | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| Chambre commerciale | Cass. com. |
| Chambre civile (1re) | Cass. 1re civ. |
| Chambre civile (2e) | Cass. 2e civ. |
| Chambre civile (3e) | Cass. 3e civ. |
| Chambre sociale | Cass. soc. |
| Chambre criminelle | Cass. crim. |
| Assemblée plénière | Cass. ass. plén. |
Publication references:
| Journal | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| Recueil Dalloz | D. |
| Bulletin des arrêts de la Cour de cassation | Bull. civ. I (or II, III, etc.) |
| JurisClasseur Périodique (La Semaine Juridique) | JCP G. |
| Revue trimestrielle de droit civil | RTD civ. |
| Actualité juridique de droit administratif | AJDA |
Conseil d'État
CE, 28 sept. 2016, n° 388135, Lebon p. 412.
Format: CE, date, number, publication in Recueil Lebon.
Courts of appeal (Cours d'appel)
CA Paris, 15 janv. 2020, n° 18/12345.
Format: CA [city], date, case number.
First-instance courts
TGI Paris, 3 ch., 12 févr. 2019, n° 17/00123.
Format: TGI [city], chamber (if relevant), date, case number.
Statutes and codes
French statutes are cited by their date of publication in the Journal officiel (JO):
Loi n° 2016-1547 du 18 novembre 2016 de modernisation de la justice du XXIe siècle.
For codified provisions, cite the code and article:
C. civ., art. 1134. (Code civil)
C. com., art. L. 210-1. (Code de commerce)
C. trav., art. L. 1234-1. (Code du travail)
Note: articles in the new codified codes are numbered with letter prefixes (L. = législatif, R. = réglementaire, D. = décret).
Doctrine (academic works)
Books:
G. Viney, Traité de droit civil. Introduction à la responsabilité, 3e éd., LGDJ, 2008, n° 123.
Format: Initials Surname, Title in italics, edition, publisher, year, paragraph number (n°) or page.
Articles:
P. Dupont, « Le droit des contrats en question », D. 2020, p. 1234.
Format: Initials Surname, « Article title in guillemets », journal abbreviation, year, page.
Lebanon-specific adaptations
Lebanon's legal system follows the French model closely; the citation style is the same with these adaptations:
- Lebanese Cour de cassation:
Cass. lib., ch. civ., [date], n° [...], Rev. jud. lib. [year], p. [...]. - Lebanese official gazette:
J.O. lib. n° [X], [date]. - Lebanese laws are cited as:
Loi n° [X] du [date] relative à [subject].
Key differences vs common-law citation
| Dimension | French civil-law | Common-law (Bluebook/OSCOLA) |
|---|---|---|
| Case name | Not in citation (cases named by court + date) | Central element (party names) |
| Date format | Day + month written out | Year only (OSCOLA) or in parenthetical (Bluebook) |
| Pin-cite | Page number after journal reference | Page number after reporter |
| Party names | Not cited in French case references | Always cited |
Caveats and currency
French law is subject to frequent legislative reform. The Code civil was substantially reformed in 2016 (contract law), and commercial and employment codes are regularly updated. Always verify article numbers against the current version of the code on legifrance.gouv.fr before citing in a formal document.
Related skills
- [[output-citation-format-bluebook]] — for US-trained audiences
- [[output-citation-format-oscola]] — for UK/DIFC common-law audiences
- [[output-citation-mena-conventions]] — for Arabic-language MENA citations
- [[output-creac-structure]] — the analytical structure that uses these citations