A number of interesting articles have recently
appeared on SSRN:
- JEAN-LOUIS HALPÉRIN (École Normale Supérieure (Paris) - Centre de Théorie et Analyse du Droit), "French Courts and Public Intervention in the Economy During the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries"
In France the intervention of public power in
economic relations has varied considerably at different times: there is little
relationship between the mercantilism practiced by Colbert during the reign of
Louis XIV and the state capitalism of the Fifth Republic,
which itself has changed significantly since 1958. The French economy has never
been fully nationalized and since the Revolution French law has protected
private property rights and the quasi-constitutional freedom of commerce and
industry. Thus, the courts (including administrative tribunals) were able to
establish limitations on public intervention deemed excessive. In the
nineteenth century, compensation was paid to property owners who suffered
damage caused by industries authorized by the government. Under the Third Republic,
the Council of State recognized cases of state responsibility for its
industrial activities and was very restrictive with regard to municipal
socialism by defending private interests in the name of free trade. After the
First World War, the courts had to accept the startling increase of state
intervention in the economy. It was not until the acceptance of constitutional
and treaty-based checks in the 1970s and 1980s that the Constitutional Council
and all French courts have found ways to reduce, without eliminating, public
intervention in the economic sector.
Members might look into SSRN's legal history 'e-journal'.
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