The Role of the “Ordonnance” in the Hierarchy of Legal Norms in France

Abstract

In the past years in France, the decree issued by the Council of Ministers (ordonnance) is one of the most popular codification tools, which strengthens the government’s legislation and the role of the decrees. Nevertheless, the role of this source of law in the hierarchy of legal norms has raised many questions. This paper comprehensively analyses these dilemmas: first, it describes the structure of the French hierarchy of legal norms, given that the French legal hierarchy is very complex and partly different from the Hungarian hierarchy of legal norms. The second part of the study examines the decree issued by the Council of Ministers (ordonnance): its notion, its types, its purpose, its prerequisites, its process, its role in the hierarchy of legal norms, the frequency and benefits of its application. It should be noted that the Constitutional Council and the Conseil d’État play an important role in clarifying certain elements of the hierarchy of legal norms and their characteristics, including the decree issued by the Council of Ministers (ordonnance).