French Droit v. American Law

I can't even begin to explain the difference between studying law in France and studying law in the US- unless you have a point of reference on one side or the other. There are many differences I still don't understand. Maybe it would be helpful to make a list illustrating the differences. You know I love to make lists....

In France:

1. Law is divided into public and private law. I am not entirely clear yet on the difference. I get the big picture- but the difference between the two often seems arbitrary. (At least in the classes I have taken) Generally, public law involves the state and private citizens- where private law is between private citizens. This should not be confused with the criminal/civil distinction.
   
2. Private law is based on the Civil Code system- the Napoleonic Code to be precise. The civil code has been around since 1804. It is interesting because the code was written just after the Revolution of 1789. It is always important to keep the context in mind when interpreting a provision of the code.
   
3. We NEVER talk about the Constitution- it is all about the codes. I assume the public law side gets to talk about the Constitution- but I can't be sure. I still don't know the source of individual rights. As far as I know, the French Constitution only provides a constitutional right for a victim of a tort to receive compensation.
   
4. Lectures are very passive. They are given in outline form. No one asks questions or discusses law. They are quite boring- even if the subject is interesting. You don't have to read before coming to class. They tell you exactly what they want you to know. Your job is to memorize and recite.
   
5. There are no text books- or case books for that matter. Since it is a civil law system- cases are not treated as precedent. However, there are many "principes" that stem from jurisprudence and -in essence- do create law. I am still trying to comprehend the judicial branch- it's quite complicated. But as far as books, you just have to find a book on the topic of your class and hope that it corresponds with the material covered in class.
   
6. You always have to keep in mind how the EU law applies/affects the laws in France. International treaties take precedent over internal law- however sometimes internal law is more strict. However, the treaties are very new and sometimes the national law has not caught up with EU law.
7. There is no "Law School" here. They start studying law from the first year of university. Becca and I are jumping into the fourth year of the program.
   
8. In France, there are "juristes" who don't have to take the bar- I am not really sure what they can do... But most people in my class are planning to be a juriste. There are also avocats- who do take the bar.

There is more... but that is enough for now.

In the US:

1. There is no private/public law division. Save a for few specific exceptions, you don't specialize in any particular area of law. The only main distinction is civil/criminal law. The civil/criminal distinction exists here as well. However, a private citizen can bring a criminal charge. In the US, only the state can bring criminal charges.
2. In the US, all law (essentially) stems from the Constitution. We have a system of checks and balances. The legislatures make law, the executive enforces law, the judge interprets the law. The judge can declare the law unconstitutional. In the US, the judge is seen as the defender of the constitution- the protector of individual liberties. I am not sure if that is true here or not.
   
3. Lectures in law school are not really lectures. They are discussions that are led by the students under a method called the "Socratic Method." It is very scary- but it makes you work very hard. You don't want to be caught unprepared in class. You spend hours to prepare for class becuase you never know when you will be called on to lead the class and you don't know what questions will be asked of you. So you must know everything! (Before coming to class)
   
4. In the US, law students rely heavily on their case books/code books to learn the law. Granted they are very heavy and expensive- I find that I miss reading the law directly from the source. Instead, (in France) we spend a lot of time talking about the principles/theories behind the law- not the actual text of the law. We also do not spend much time talking about how the law is applied in practice. I never thought I would miss the case books.
5. In the US, International treaties are not law. They can be persuasive- or secondary law- but not actual law. However, the EU/France relationship is kind of similar to our federalist system in the US, in terms of the supremacy of the laws. So there are some parallels, but on a larger scale- not directly relative.
   
6. In the US- we have law school. (Obviously) It is graduate school. Anyone can go-if you can score high enough to get in- no matter what you studied for your Bachelor's degree. It lasts for 3 years. It is not unusual to go back to law school after working for a few years out of university.
7. In the US- you have lawyers... and then people with a JD who don't practice law. There is no equivalent to a juriste. (Unless you count government jobs- maybe lobbyists? But lobbyists don't exist in France...)
   

In the end, I know that being able to understand and practice in two completely different legal systems will be beneficial to me in many ways. I can tell it has made me grow as a person and a student. I feel lucky that I have this opportunity- even though it is hard to break away from the system that I know.
PS Red= Common Law systems
Blue= Civil Law systems

Yeah, Becca and I will be trained in both. Africa, here I come!