O.ffprint.from European Law Systems

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GeorgNolte

De GruyterRecht ' Berlin

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III. The Structure of'thc Armed F-orces t(x) l. Thc RulesConcernrng the Carryingand Useof Arms and other Military l. The Armed Forcc'sand their Adrninistration l(x) lrquiprnerrt 129 f . Irr"olvcment ol' the process Civilian Administralion in the ol. I)titetttctttr'rrl VIll. l-egalRefcrrms with Respectto MuhinationalOperations itnd Structures 330 rri- Material and _ Supplie" t{)l L Per'linentl-egislatiorr 330 IV Soldiers'Rights and I)uties t0| l. l'}robabilityof Future Reforms 331 l. Restrictionson FurrclamentalRights of sokliers .10| J. Academic Discussion tll a. (iencrtl Aspects .t0l l\. SelcctBihlittgrrrphy J32 b. Rrlitical Neutrality of Soldiers l0l l. I)ertinentLegislation 332 c. I'rceclornol' Associatrolr .l( );l lr. MuirrStututes -r-rJ d. ('onscientrous( )bjectlolr -frcillnrcn( .10-5 h. Importarrt Decrees -1-1J e. I:quul .. _. . .. .105 l. l|,roksurrtl Articles -1 -t -1 l. ( )ther Irunclantcrrtal Rights arrd their Restrictiorrs l0(r ll. Books )-)-) I-cgalObligltions ] ol soldiers 301 b. ('ollections and Textbooks 334 3. Thc Powcr ()l'('()nlr)lrnd and the l)uty to Obey -109 c. Artrclcs 134 ,l Sr>cialIlights ol' Soltlicrsan

But, as the is alsoconsidered to be urrcrlrrlrliorr ol lhc rrrrtron.lhc ;rbout thc role of the armed lbrces and the individual soldier.A recently individual soldieris presentlyconsidered to bc u "citizcnscrvirrr rrndcr thc publishcdPhD thesis(in History),which dealsin detailwith this periodof flag".:1n. 1972Gencral Statute of the Military inclicllcs.l'urthtil.rrr.;rc. that rcccnt[;rcnch history. has cclntributed to the deepeningof this publicdebate.T "military statusrequires uncler all circumstancesdisciplinc, loyalry 11cl u spirit ll()wcvcr,no specil-icpolitical proposal has been issued, and a nrajoritywithin of sacriflce".As a result,the duties which come with this status thcrelilre tlrc populationand the Parliamentseems to considerthesc events as being "merit the respeclof all citizensand the considerationol' rhe nirtron".The lrnkeclto l veryexceptional context. strongestlink berweenthe nation and its armed rbrceshas beenc()nscription. 'lhc whichwas cstablished in I 905and cndedelrectively on 30 Novenrber100 I . , translbrmation of the F-rcncharmccl lbrces into a tully profèssionalarmy an<1 2. l)cmocraticControl and Rightsand Dutiesof Soldiers the redefinition of its role was initiated by the " Livre blant..sur la tlë/ënse,,of 1994. 'l That white Paperalso implies important changes with regardto the link rr lrt I:rL'ttrh ('onstilttliott betweenthe nation and its armed lbrces.The nceclfbr bettercommunrcation (icrnran lionr "/a I nlikc lhc Constitution, the French Constitution fiom 19,58does not gruntletnu(ile" appearsto be clecisivein this context.aand the nced to tlt'rrlurlh thc rolc of the armed lorceseither in terms of democraticlegitimircy recognisea broaderright of expressionfbr the rrrilitaryis underlinecl by an (,r il) tcInrsol's

'l'hus. Thisconception of sovereigntynaturally inllucnccs tltc I rcrrelrpositiorr with thc respect of national sovereignty may imply a certain number of regardto anykind of internationalco-operation ancl thc clrrcstiorr ol'lnrnst'crral lct;uirements.e.g. with regard to participation within multinational units or to of sovereignrights to internationalinstitutions. lt alsopllys rrrrirrrportrrnt f'unc- tlrc prcsenccof lbreign soldierson French territory. tion in the caselaw of the French Conseilconstitutionn(1. I jnlikc the German Constitution. the FrenchConstitution doesnot contain (blserl In one ol- its carlierdecisions, the r'onstitutiotutr,/nrrrtlc rr rlistrrrction pnrvisions dealing directly with the rolc of the armed forces,their mission, or "limitations between of sovereignty",which it considercclto bc lllowecl.uncl thc rights and duties of the soldiers.The }.-renchconcept of del-enceis defined "transfèr ('orrstitution.rl of sovereignty"which it hcld to be contraryto thc rrr tlrc rrrdinance o1-7 January 1959"portant organisatiott générale de la dëfen,se" Stronglycriticised, this distinctionwas decisivelyabar.rdoned by a clccisionin *lrich is an act adopted by the executive,but which has legislativevalue because "Maastricht April 1992,known as l".rr In this decision,the Consail(on.\tttu- ,rl ils rirtillcution by Parliamcnt (according to fbrmer Article 92 of the Consti- "tr:rnsfèr 'I-his îionnelinaugurated a new approachbased on of compctcnces".Since Irrtiorr). ordinance determines the basic principles of organisation of "the then.it has consideredthat: respectof nationalsovereignty does not pre- tlt'lr'rrcc.lclving the determination of any more detailed description of the role vent F'ranceliom concluding,on the basisof the dispositionsof the prcamble r'l llrr'Jilllctl lbrccslo the executivepowcr. from 1946and subjcctto reciprocity,international agreements in order to par- ,\ceording to a policy definition fiom the Ministry of Fbreign Alïairs, the ticipatein the creationor in thc developmentof a permanentinternational Irt'nclr conccption of delènce is a comprehensiveone, setting three goals for organisationhaving legal pcrsonality and being invcsted with decisional ||rt t orrlrIt'y'sclelènce: powers by virtue of transl-crof' competencesconsented to by the Member l) Io dclcrrcl F-rance'svital interests,which are defined by the President of States". tlrr' l{eprrblic irnd include particularly its people, its territory. and thc liecdom When it is called to vcrify. accordingto Article 54 of thc Constitution, I. t\t'rtiçc ils sovcrcignty.In this regard,the 1958Constitution assignsthe role whether"an internationalcommitmcnt containsa clausecontrary to the Con- ,'l I'rrrllrrtor ol-tcrritorial integrity to the Presidentof the Republic(Article 5) stitution", the Con.yeilt'otr.ttitutiontrcl now appliesa three-steptest. An agree- ,rr(l nrirkcsIrinr ('ommander-in-Chiefof the armed f-orces(Article l5). At the ment will indeedbc to bc hcld cclntraryto thc Constitutionnot only if it con- \,un('llnlc. linrncc nrust also protect its strategicintcrests at the international tainsa clausewhich is incompatiblcwith thc Constitution.but alsoif it alïects Ir'rtl rrlrilst contributing to conf-lict prevention. keeping and restoring peace, the constitutionallyguarantccd rights or ll'ccdoms,or if it inliinges on the .in(l ('n\ulir)s rcspcctlbr internationallaw and democraticvalues in the world. "esscntial conditionsol'thc cxcrciseol- nationalsovcrcignty".rr The senseof Irr llrr'rr'rrrcrrs.lir-irncc's status as a permanentntember of the United Nations ('r.,rr.l'ell: this apparcntlyroguc conccpt has becncxplainecl by thc it relèrsto the \i ( url\ ( orrncil givcs it both prerogativesand responsibilities. "cnsure '; duty of the stateto rcspcctlbr thc institutionsof the Republic,the con- lo uork lirr.tlrcdcvclopmcnt of the Europeanenterprise and the stability tinuity ol' thc nation'scxistcr.rcc, and thc guarantecof the citizcns'rights and ,'l llrt l ur()l)citncontinent. lrranceopted fbr this policy at the end of World 'lhe ('on.yeil li'cedonrs".rr also indicatcdthat thc transfèrralof competenccs \\.rr ll lrr clroosin!,to participate actively in the Western "essential may alïcct the conditionsof the excrciseof national sovercignty" r\\ | t t llre Nolth Atlrrntic 1-r'eatyOrganisation (NATO), and the Conference "naturc" "ntodalities" either by their or becauscof the which are chosento ,rrr \r'rrrrrlr rrrrtl('ooyrcration in [..ulope(CSCE), which in December 1994 accomplishthem.rs l'(,.rr( tlrr'()r!'rrrrrsrrtion lirr.Sccurity and Cooperationin Europe(OSCE). i) l,) rnl)lr'nlt'ntl c()nrpr-elrcnsivcconccpt of delèncewhich is not limited r,, nrlrt.u\ (on(r'trrs.Irrtlccrl. it c()ulttry'ssccurity and stabilityare dependent rr DécisionNo. 76-71 DC. 29 et 30décembre 1976. r,'r ,,rl\ (,n rt\ iurrrctllirrecs lrrrtl policc. but alsoon its socialorganisation, edu- rr DécisionNo. 92-3011 DC, Traité sur I'Union européerrne. , rtr,'11,11.\\l( nr. :rrrtlsocilrl coltcsiort. l'lte cortcept ol- delcncc is, r/e./àr'ltr. inex- 'lhc rr Seethe mostrecent Décision No. 89-408DCI liorn 22 January1999, Traité portant trr, rl'lr lrrrl.r'rlurllr lllrl ol tlrc nlrtion. .s

(ioyernntent h. The ol the Fillh Republic rcrrllybe qualifiedas "presidential".It is morc or less"parliamentary", and at I lrcrrrost "semi-presidential". Witlr lcgarcl to thc governlnent ol thc V. Republic. onc has to distinguish be- 'l'hus. F-renchdefence policy partiallydepends on whetherthere is political twccri lirur pcriods (1958 to 1962. 1962 to 1986. 1986ro 2001 and after1002) ",olrtrhitrttion" or a situation of concordant majorities. In 1995, political rundtu,'o political situations which havc occurrcd in practicc since 1986(conc6rd- irncetrl' pofiticul nrajoritics ,rntl "utltuhiIutittti'). tlrrngc occurredwhen fourteenyears of socialistrule came to an er.rdwith thc l)rcsidentialvictory of centre-rightRPR leader JacquesChirac. With Bclblc 1961.thc Prcsidentol'the Rcpublic was n()t directly elccted.'the I'rcsrtlentand Governmentonce more of the same political party, Chirac prirrciplcol-dircct and univcrsalclcctions ol'thc l)rcsiclcntwas introducedby a rrrrtlhis dcl'enceminister Charlcs Millon establisheda StrategicCommittee strongly criticisccl constitution-anrending relbrcndum ol' 28 October 1962. rrr .lulv lt)9-5to undertakea second maior review of defencepolicy (the which hacl bccn hcld at dc Gaulle's rcquest (according to the procedurc of Irrst wirs in 1972).The review was completedand its findings made public Articlc I I which normully applicsonly to strrtutcs).This changcof coursealter- rrr l:cbrtrirry1996, when Chirac unveiledUne DéfënseNouvelle 1997 2015. ed thc nuture o1'thc political system cstablishcclby thc (-ogstitution in 1958. slrrch sorneconsidcred the most radicalshake-up of defencepolicy sincede Thc arnbiguity introducecl by the 1962 amendnrent has olicn bcen underlined '[he t i;rrrllc packageincluded the phasedending of conscriptionby 2002, by legal cxpcrts. Georges Vedel, itn or-rtstandirrgspecialist ol Frcnch constitu- t rrrlirrr.rrrror-c than 200 yearsof policy continuity,and a far-retlchingrestruc- tional law, contendeclthat there arc now two (inconrpatible) constitutions:one rurnr iur(l down-sizingof thc Frcnch armed fbrces.It included also thc l'rom l958 and tlle second fiorn 1962.r('-l'hcrcfercndum ol' 1962coulcl be con- rr'orrrrnislrtionof the armed forcesaround a "new model army,"centred on sidered as the first step awly fiom a parliamcntary systern (according to thc l,'rrr on the nucleardeterrent; prevenlion the wording of the Constitution)and towards a prcsidentialsystem (in practicc). rrrrssions'.dis.suusion based ,r\()r(lrncclncl defusing of threatsto national intereststhrough intelligence From 1962 to 1986. there were :rlways concordant political nrirjor.ities. .rrrtfIirrcc prcpositioning, power projecliort the capacityto projectlbrces of llence. the President.whosc position had bcen strcngthenedby thc strongsense rrp lo 50 60,000 personnelinto theatresaround the world for purposes ol- democratic lcgitimacy conferred upon hinr by clirect election. also received lr()nr(irrll'Wrr-type scenarios to peace-keepingand humanitarianinterven- political support l}om "his" majority in l)arliantent. This situltiol irlloctedthe ll()fr.iilr(l thc dcfènceof F-ranceagainst , drugs, and so firnction of tl.rcPrime Minister who was degraded to play thc rolc ol'a "/irse" Jtntlt'r'lion which the Presidentcould replacc whcnevcr he wanted. It ulso allcrcclthe distri- lrtl1;1 \ltr'r'rrrr irritiirl honeymoon, Chirac's presidencytèll into rapid decline. and bution of conrpetenccsin practice. In 198I thcle uls thc llrst "ultr't.rrtstte"wit]n rn rlrt'rprinr ol' 1997a new socialist government under Lionel Jospin was elect- thc socialist Irrançois Mittcrand succeeclingthc consclvutivc Vrrlr,r'r'Giscard "cohabitatrorr". Pres- d'l:staing.This cvcntdid not. Itowcvcr.altcr thc politicll pt'irctiec. , rl rrl11'r1i111thc Itilih Republic's third term of Ordinarily. r(l(r)trirl t1on11111111.. would be expectedin delèncematters. but the weaknessand Sincc l9tt6. the V. Rcpublic has expericnccda cliflcrcrrrpolrliell situa- "'cly 'liris ,lrrlt rrl ( lrrrrrc(r'csulting inler alia fiom the disintegrationof his personal tion. During thlce pcriods,a new cclnligurationhus ir1'rpcrrretl. las been 1r1151.tlrvisions in his political party. political scandals,and low public called "rrrlraôitutioti', bccausea President antl u l)r'irncMinislcr'. qlr6 llrve been 1,,,r,i1s ,rl\l)r,l\,rlnrlirrrs) ccdcclconsiderable latitude in defence matters to Jospin's efectcdby oppositc political majorities,will Iiavc to lirr: togcllret 1",,,1111bi1gt"1. -I'hc ( '('\( nur(r)l rrrrrlAlrrin Richard. Minister of Defence.Accordingly, the annual lrrst irrstunccsappcirrcd to be cxccptionrrl(l()l{6-l()fifi. I'r.rsitle nr l\litterand withJacqucs('hiracandl993l995witlrl:tlorurltl IJrrll;rtlrrr).pt.trrrrrrl,onlyl-or ,1,lr rrrr' lrrrtllet rn l()97 trinrnrcclthe spendingprojected by the 1997-2002Loi l, tttilitttirt'.Ihcrc was only a minimal consensuson important a sltortpcriocl at thc end of the prcsidcrrtilrlrrrrrr,lrrlt ,,l st\(p \(..rr, llowever. l,t,'t,t,ttttrtrttti,'tr rrrrlrr,rr\r\\u('\. \\lrrelr nrirtlc il (litlicult to inrplemcntthe reform projectswhich thc situationoccurred again in 1997whcrr l)t.csitlcttl( lrir;rt tlt.r.rtlttllp jisrolua ',,,11,11ri1a1i111i' lr r,l,rlr(,r(l\ l)('('n tlccirlctl ttrrtll.t.l the Nationaf Asscmblyalicr only two yctrt'sirr ollicc Srrrr'ttlrtrr llrrr. .r l)r(ll('(lol ir rrcu'l-rr-otnrntnutlic military statute(loi de progranttna' sc-emsto havebecotnc l morc nttrnlrl silLurliort.\\ ir r('\ull.rlrrrrrrr, ;,1.1.1gd5 6f . , tlti!tt,ntt)lor tlrr'pr'riotll(X)l l(X)liu'hich hacl bccn prcparcd by the govern- colubiluliotrthe Constitutionis intcrplcletlin ir \\ir\ \\lrrtlr prrt, tlr, ,rr'ccnton its parlilntcrttaryclenlcnts. Accor-tlirrglr. (lrc I rr'ntlr prrlr11,,rl.\ ,1,1rcannot

r ,!rrl'.rr I l.rll.rrll, l)r'ltrr:t n.rlr(!n.rl(r'l tolltbtlltliott (lttitt ltoùl 1997).(1997) St'c(i \i'tlcl. Ir'srlr'ttr(()r\lrlltlr(rn\l, ll,'rt,l, l(l lrrr,u\ l') \ ',tl,, lt, l,rrr, 1' {' 284 .liirg (ierklirtlr Military Law in France 285 mcntof LionelJospin. was adopted withirr thc ( ourrcrl,rl Nlrrrr:(crs()n Jl July [].cccntdevelopnrents. especially the transitionto a lllly profcssionalarrny ' 2001.but not immediatelypresented to theI)lrlianrcr)r. trll ccrtainlyintluence the publicopinion of the l"'rencharmcd forces. although The Constitutionof 1958having been moclillcd by rcrt'rcrrrlrrrrr.r'24Scp- rro sharp break secrnsperceptible yet.r0 A survey illustratesthe position of tember2000, the duration of the presidcntialnrirndrte \\irs slrorlcncdliom 7 l:r'cnclrpublic opinion. 59"1'of the l*'renchhave pronouncedthemselves in ("septennat")to 5 years("quinquennal") in clrdcrto nrirkci( collesnonclwith l;rrtrtrrof a common Europeandefence. J4"l' of the F-renchapprove of the the mandateof the NationalAssembly. The llrst tcst ol'this rrcwsystcm. which Ircnclr rnilitaryengagement in externaloperations in general.The supportis certainobservers already call the "VI. Republic",have becn thc clcctions(presi- ( \er)stronger when the objectiveis to assista populationin danger(90'2,). or to dentialand parliamentary)in spring2002. After long discussiorr.thc timctable r('irclto an aggressiondirected against a NATO or EU memberstate (76'2i,). for lhese electionshad been modilled so that the electionol' thc l)resident I lrcsrrnre survey also shows. however, that 48"/oof the Frenchbelieve that such (April May 2002) preceded(ts it usuallydid) the elecrionol- rlrc Narional .ur r'ngrgcmcntshor-rld result only from a vote of Parliament,against 42"/, in Assembly(June 2002), in order to maintainthe supremacyof' thc presiclential l,rrotrrol thc Presidentialprerogative. Finally. the surveyshows that thereis u election. l,rtkol'inlirrmation on theexact role of the F'renchParliament. 5l'Zr clf'French ( rrr,/er)s sinrply do not knowwhether the Parliamcnt must be consulted or not.rr c. French Public Opinion

There is a broad consensusamong Frenchcitizens of all politicalinclinations ll. llasic RulesConcerning the Use of Armed Force about the role of the armed l'orces.This defence"consensus" llows liom struc- tural elementssuch as France'sgeoglaphy and from Frenchhistory particul- l. I lrc }lission of the Armed Forces arly the FrenchRevolution and its altermath.which forge

, l ll l( \ l( \\ \ Irr:t nrt'nlror)()l ll)e rolc ol' tltc ltttttccl lttrccs is to bc found in Article l2 of lE See J. Isnard, Déception et âmerr.me dans les armées l'ançaises. Lt, Montle. L I \') l)r'tl.rr,rtrrrrr. ulrclr srrystlrlrt thc pr()tccti()nof individualrights le- 8 February 2002,p. 14.The preparationof this projectcontirrues norv. after the re-elec- tion ol'JacquesChirac, under the supervisionof the new Ministerol'Delènce. Michèle AIliot-Marie.see J. lsntrcl. La progranrmationmilitaire remise en chan(ier.Lt, lllorttlt,. , ll 1t,,.rr, ,\ \l | \l.r:lrr l r;rrrttlrr tlrt llrroes,tl l:prreh-Mirkirrg('hlrngc. in '1 June2002, p. 17. i I r \1,,,f,, r,,l.t llt, l'r':trttr',l,tttlltlrr,ttr(()rlirI1l.J{)ll0).pp.5ltt.ttt1t1. r')See policy planning S. Gregory.vers u'e délènsenouvelle: Delènce ancrReview in (.LrlLljrl' \..,rrrl,l,r'\.rlton,rlr' li'r1'1,,,11tlutlt'ttttttlttt,t rVr .l/,\.5tltt ll /i'rritr l0OO. France,( 1998) . 29 f)isurnruntenrI)ipktnucr,, , l, l,f l'.rrll.lrll(..ur 1,.It.rtrç,rt,l.t|), l,ttr, n.tllr)n;rl(ttlttr',lc(lttl)ltfl(lllettl". 286 Jiirg(ierkrath Military Law in France 28'1 quiresa "public fbrce,"and that thislbrce is "cstlblishctllirr t1l. ,.1u',lrtugeof all urtlilcct thleals; by defènding and protecting thc rrational tcrritory, airspace. and not for theutility of thoseto whomit is attributcrl."'lhis r.r'rrs ol'course an ,rntl wutcrs liom a variety of threats including terrorism. 'Ilt importantchange brought about by the F-rcnchRevolution to cstlblisha close ctnrtrihule 1o the securit.r' ufid de.fenceof Europe and the Medilerranean, link betweenthe nationand its army.A dccrecfrom 6 I)cccrrrbcr.1790, defined rrirlr tlrc prospe(t of'tlrc ultinrute inplenretrtation of a &)t,tnon Europeatt de'/t'nce thepublic force as being "the junction of thelbrces ol'all thccitizcrrs".rl t,,'litr by preventingthe developmentof any threat.and by contributingto sta- A secondindication derives tiom Sectionl5 of thc prcirurblclirrnr It)46.The l,rlitv in lJurope and its surroundings. particularly in the Mediterranean and secorrdsentence of Sectionl5 establishesthat the "ljrench Rcpublicshall not \lrtldlc l:lst: by helping to prevent or solve crises.particularly by participating enter into war for reasonsof conquest.and shall never usc its armed lbrces rrrrrrilitrrry actions. of varied nature, intensity,and duration; by cncouraging the againstthe liecdom of any people."This Sectionl5 is the only constitutional rI rekrpnrcot of a E,uropeandefence identity. and by strengtheningcooperation rule which limits the useof the Frencharmed forces.In practice,however. it has .rrtl cxchangc with our partners in the . in all llelds; neverbeen referred to. In any case,there is no possibilityofjudicial rcviewof a l,r |rrrticipating in the defence of Europe, within the North Atlantic Alliance. decisionto engagethe armed fbrcesabroad. The Con.seilt'ott.stitutioturel has rrrtlre cve nt clf aggrcssion. indeedonly a very limitecl.jurisdiction contpared to the German Bundesyer- lir t ttrttribttte lo ut'tit;tts ctnrlut'ive Io peoce und tlte re.tpe(î o.f itrlerrtoliorrtl Jh.sxtng.sgericlrt. /,rrr lrv rrsscrlingF'rance's presence in the world, by ensuring that its sovet-cignty Besidesthese two rules.which do not fix preciselimits lbr the use of the r'' rt':pcctcd wherever it is exercised.and by protecting its citizcns and its intcr- armedlbrces nor put obligationson the institutionsin chargeof defencepolicy. ' \l\. l)iutrcularly its sources of supply; by honouring its delènce and coopera- the FrenchConstitution contains some other articlesdealing with the alloca- rr()n irlr'ccnlcnts: by being ready to participate in peace-keepingand law en- tion of powersand the responsibilityfor defencepolicy. l,'rr,"r.|l, opcrations.whether under the auspicesof the United Nations or The ordinanceNo. 59-141from 7 January 1959(Article l). delinesthe ,'llrr'rr.orrrpctcnt international organisations: by participatingin humanitarian "objective"of defencein very generalterms: "to ensureat all times,under any .rrlr()ns rrs |cc;ucstcdby international organisationsor at the requestof the circumstances,and againstany form of aggression,the securityand the integ- .t.rlr's :r rrtl ctlttnlrics concerned. rity o[ the territoryas well as the life of the population".Further principlesof 1,, 1,1v,r'rtttt prrhlit',çert,ic'etasks, parlicuktrl.r by.strengthening mearts and defenceare determined by the authoritiesas invested by the Constitution. ',t\',uu\tttit)n.\ norntull.t,respon.siblefttr the civil de/ënce oJ tlrc counlrl,: by partic- The missionsof the Frencharmed fbrces as definedby the FrerrchMinistry rt,,itnrl irr tlrc protection of civilian organisations.installations, or facilities of Defenceaccording to the 1994White Paperrrarethe following: n,((\\,rrv lirl nraintaining activitiesessential to the lilè and defenceof the To protect the yitul interestsof' F'ranceuguittst all .fttrms of aggre,ssion:by 1',,gr1r1,1111r11.bv tuking preventive measuresfor civil protection and rescue guaranteeingl-'rance's terr-itorial intcgrily. the lieedom of its citizens,and the ,!l'(r,rtr()r)\ irl thc rcqucst ol' competent authorities,in order to plotect the Nation'ssovereignty and meansof developn.rent,and maintainingthe credibil- 1','|111,11r()nun(lùr'rrll circumstances (natural or technologicaldisasters, ity of cleterrencethrough the interplayof nuclearand conventionalresources; rr.l.,r I'r p:rrliciplting in the prolection of public authoritiesand public ser- by contributingto the maintenanceof the continuityand freedomof actionof r,( , \\lrr'n ncccssirry.by participating in action taken by the State at sea, institutionsand the governmentunder all circumstances,faced with all director ,.lr, rlrt r rt lrc prcvcntion.policing. or lil-csaving;by participatingin assistance. , rr,lr .rrrrllrlcs:rlirru opcl'irtions lirr lircralt in distress." rr Seealso the l79l Constitution.Art. 107:"The general armed forces of'the Republic arecomposed of theentire people." .' l\'rrrrissiblt'()prrations rr In March1994 the Government of Balladurpublished the second Livrc Blancsur lu Défensecrf the Fifth Republic(the lirst waspublished in 1912l'.The Lilre Bluncis tr I ,1,r tlr, l r, ntlr ( orrslilrrtiorrlul(l n)()r'cgcncrllly undcr Iircnchntilitary law. detailedand extensive document which describes at lengththe Frenchview of thenew r rL | ,r \{ r\ \\r(r(r;rrrlt'ol ()1tcrirli()r)\ulriclt cltn hc clrrriccltlut lcgallyby thc geostrategiccontext and the threatstherein, the objectivesof Frenchdelènce policy, rrrr,,llr'rr, . llr,rt ,rrt'rrrlrrrrllr n() lr'ncrill ot spcciltlprohibitions cxprcssctl Frenchdefence resources, and the relationshiphetween delènce and society.It is address- ed primarilyto the Frenchpeople and is a rlescriptiverather than prescriptivedocument. I rrr 1,1;1r,rllitr rrrlr'r ,'l rrrlltl)(lr'r)(r',rtttl l()tttt;tl rctlttircttlcltts ltr slttisl'y ilt SeeLlvrt, hkmc sur lo dë/art,sc,La documentationlrançatse March 1994. , I l,' lt rrr ,tt,lr ùl)( t.tlt()n\ ( 'til(ltt(tr',1 lrf lllt'itllt)C(ll()t(eS. 288 .liirg (Jerk lrrth Militarv Law in lrrance 289 a. C'risisMungettrenl Ahroud lrtrrrsibility ol the Pre./ëts(lbrmerly called ('ontntissaires de la Républiquel.They r('l)r'escntthe state on the level of the del-encezones, regions, and departments. Crisismanagement abroad is certainlypermissiblc undcr l:rcnchlaw. There ure l)1'111,7' No.83 321 of 20April 1983"relutif uu.rpoutoirsdestommissuiresdela evenspecial "pre-positioned lbrces" on the territory ol' lirreignstutcs such as lii'lttrltlitlue en matière de dé/ënse de t'uractère non militaire" determines the (3013soldiers), Senegal (1163). Chad (971),(iaborr (5lt.l). ancl Ivory ol tlte Préfet,s. Coast (572).which can carry out such opcraticlns.Thcre ulc ulso,of eourse, l)()\\'crs ( )nc particular fleld of co-operation concerns the fight against terrorism. A unitsof thc ForcignLcgion stationed abroad. rrrrrristcrialinstruction from 7 February 1978.elaborated by the SGDN (Sëcre- r,ttitrt.qttftrul de la défënsenationale) on the basisof the ordinance of 7 January b. HunrunitarianAid ul Honteand Abroud l'):'). cstablishedthe "plan Vigipirale" in order to prevent terrorist attacks. The is classifiedas confldential and was updated in 1995 and 2000. The deci- Within the contextof externaloperations the Frencharmecl ltlrces carry out t,l;rrr .l()n ()n whether to implement this"plan Vigipirate" belongs to the Prime Min- what they call "uctiottscivilo-milituirc,r"'(ACM). According to a dircctivcfrom r'.t(r lts inrplementation is based on instructions delivered by the Minister of I I July 1997,these ACM areactions carried out by the armedfbrces engaged in ll,,n1ç'\11",1t'stothePré/'ets of thescvendefencezonesandtothe"Prë/ètsde a theatre.They make it possibleto take into accountthe interactionbetween ),,.,tt)tr rrrrd thc "Prë/èt.sde départenrent".ln practicc. the armed fbrces would thesel-orces and tl.reircivilian environmentand to facilitatethe realisationof l,, tlo:cly ussociatcdwith the police in order to strengthen the surveillanceof civilianand military objectives.These actions may consist of thrcetypes of mis- ,rI | r11l1liçcstablishments. sions:missions to the benefitof thc forces.missions to the bcncfitof thc civil- ; ian environment,and humanitalianmissions. In Kosovo,tbr instance,these ACM consistof dclivcringmcdical supplicsto a hospital in Kumanovo or , \/{//('.\ ttf litrrergetr'.vat Honte renclvatingschools in Pazomaand Vucitrn.ra ( (,n((r'ninltstatcs of cmergencyat home, three main situationsmust be distin- r'r rr.ltt'ti tn I:titt'tcc: t'. Conthinul Operutionswith CiviliuttAid Orgturisuti \1rl l!. \) 290 Jiirg Gerkrath Military Law in France l9l

The Stateof Urgency(étut d'urgertce) is regulatedby a statuteliom 3 April It Ltt'o/ the Arnrcd Fitrcesin Other Cuses. No. l5 April 1960.Like the "ërat de 1955.modified by ordinance 60-312liom \.ctrr.rlingto Article l7 of the ordinanceof 7 January 1959:the Minister of in the Council of Ministers,and its siège."it is establishedby a decreetaken ll()r)rc Atlairs rcceives tbr the developnrentand the engagementof his means prorogation by Parliament.There is extensionl2 days requiresauthorisation tlrc support o1'the servicesand the infrastructure of the armed lbrces and. no generaltransfer of powersto the military authoritics.but delegationsare , 'pccillly in order to preserve the public order. if necessarythe assistanceof possible. rlr, rrrilitary lbrces. Thus, in F-rance.the armed forces may contribute to what governed the constitutionor Thesethree different situations. which are by tlrr'orclinance liom 1959calls "civil delènce". can be placed within the wider theory ol "circonslun('ese.\rcp- by statutes, I hc arnrcd t'orceswill be engagedon the basis of a simplc demand emana- The of such exceptionalcircumstanccs is dctermined by rionnelles". existence trrrr'lirnr the civilian authorities fbr any provision of serviceswhich do not judge. circumstances,the normal ruleson compe- the In the caseof exceptional , (,nr'rln the maintenancc of public ordcr (e.g in the case of natural disasters). on form and substanceof administratlveacts tenceas well as the requirements lrr tlris case.general plans on the organisationof rescue(ORSITC) will apply, of theseexceptional situations does not are modified.r5The existenceof any rrr,i llrescdcmands for assistanceure g(rvernedby a simple inter-ministerial on this imply.however, the authorisationto usethe armedfbrces. The decision rrr'.tnrtlionliom l8 January1984.r1 question to push through underexceptional is still separate,but can be easier lrr the lleld tlf upkeep of public order. there are strongr'r rcquircrncntsto tul- circumstancesthan undernormal circumstances. lrl llrc rrlnrcd tbrcesmay interverreonly upon a lbrnral rcquisitionlollowing tlr, rrrlcsllid down by a statuteliom 179I and DecreeNo.95-571 lrom 2 May l. Nutural Di.saster:;or Hununilarian Cataslrophesal Honte l')')\ iul(l cxplained by an inter-ministerialinstruction lionr 9 May l995.rs \,,,,rtlrru.lto Article 2 of this dccree,the armcd f-orcesnray take part in the part "civil defence"defined by Thesesituations are certainly of the conceptof rr,rr)t(nllrcc ol'public order only if legallyrequestcd to do so. A rcquisitionfbr ordinanceNo.59-147, Article 17. The armed forcesare for instanceperma- tlrr, |11;1'11vsçnray be general, particular, or complcnrentary,depcnding on plan POLMAR. executingcontrol missionsin order to nently involvedin the .rlr,tlrr'r lhe use of coercion or weaponsis requested.LJse ol'heavy weapons preventpollution line.Atier the shipwreckoÏ the Erika.'an on the I'rench coast r({luur'\:r sl.rccialauthorisationby the Prime Minister,an exceptionbeing made oil tankcr which sank at the end ot' 1999near to the coast of Bretagne,the !,'l llr( \\cll)(rrrsol- the Gendurntaric. on the seaand on the beachin F'rencharrmcd lbrccs engaged over 2000soldiers \n rrtcr-nrinisterialinstruction No. 500/SGDN/MTS/OTP of 9 May 1995 orderto assistthe population. ,' l,trn, ;t l(t purticiputiut dcs fitrcc.sunnëcs uu trtuintien dc I'ordre" governs the L, rrl ,llrrrsbvthcarnredtbrcesinthefieldofupkeepof publicorder(Articlcs g. Evututttiono.f u State'.sNulùtnul.s I ll) lrr lhc cusc ol.''uttroupcnrcnl,r"(riots or turrnoil) accordingto Article I rl i \( l'. lhc rrrntcclforces may exercisea kind of "collcctive" right of legiti- severalOPEX (opërationsexlërieures) rn the French troops have conducted rr, Llr'lr'ntc lhc luwlirlncssclf thc use of tbrcc is governedby the clrdinary past in order to rescueor evacuatel-oreign nationals, either on their own 1 rrrl l,rN( \rliclcs lll-;l to 122-7NCP). (Chad in January1992, Central African Republicin January1997), or together with Belgiantroops lbr instancein Zaire (September1991, January 1993 and April 1997).in Rwanda and Burundi (April 1994),and in Côte d'lvoire (2002)16.

r5See Conseil d'Etat. 28 June l9l8: Heyriès.Les grundsurrêts udnrinistrati/.s (Paris. l' rr,lrrr. tlrr. r"rr. sLc \l \\'lrtrrr ,\rrlt'rr:rrtl. Si'crtlitô uttéricru-e:plLrrlrlité et c()lnplé- 1999),p. 193. r rl, ,1, l,'r,,.,1t)'1,'ll lltt)tlr'l /)r'lr'rtrr.lr15. () 16Fbr a list of such operations.see Moskos, "The PostmodernMilitary" supnrn.)0. I r,L, tr,rr rrl( rnrr\l(tttllr' \o \l)o/S(;l)N/Nll)S/()'l'l'tltr rruti l()()5rclltlivc à ltt pp.2'79ar.scqq. l' rlr,,IrlL l('t(( ,,il1il({...iltnl.illlt( il rlr'Irrtrltc 292 Jôrg (ierkrath Military Law in France 293

3. Limitationson OperâtionsUndertâken Jointly with the Armed F'orces .rrbrrrittedto countersignature by the Prime Minister and, eventually, the re- of AnotherCountry ,l'orrsibleministers. In tàct, the question whether the President,as chief of the ,rrnrcd fbrces, could decide alone on thcir engagement depends morc on the There are no spccificlegal limitations in this llcld, as long as suchoperations t,,,liticalsituation than on the Constitution.The powers deflned by Article l6 arenot carriedout with an intentionof conquestor againstthe fieedomof any .rnrl lhc engagementof nuclear lbrces arc specialcases. people(Section I 5 of the Preambleof theConstitution of 1946).

t' I lrc llnrcrs of the Gorcrnntertt

4. ConstitutionalPowers I lrt ( iovcrnment implements measurcsdecided upon in councils and commit- t, Ls clrrircd by the Presidentof the Republic. Thus, its role scemsto be subor- Though one might considerFrench constitutional law about the arn.redfbrces ,lrnrrlc. IIowever, Article 20 provides that "The Government shall detcrmine to be rathercursory. there are severalconstitutional rules concerning the distri- rrr,ltorrcluct the policy of the Nation. It shall haveat its disposalthe civil ser- bution of compctcnccsamong the organsof the statewith regardto the regula- r rrr' :ill(l the armed fbrces." tion of dcl-ence.The distributionof competencesamong Parliament.the Presi- llrc l)rime Minister. responsible lbr National Defènce (Article 2l of the dent.:rnd the Prime Minister in the flcld of dcf-cnceis not organisedin a fully t ,'rr:lrtrrlitln),controls how defèncemeasures are implemented;hc does this satisfyingmanner by the constitution.Espccially thc division of powersbe- rlr()u1rl)thc S(iDN (Secretariat-Generallbr National Defènce).Thc SGDN is tweenthe two main actorsin the Governmentdepends in practiceon the po- ;,l.r,r'tlurrdcr the authority of the Prime Minister, but its main function is to fitical situation (coltahitationor not). F-urthermore,the I'irenchParliament r 'urr' ir pcrnranent and close link betweenthe President and thc (iovernntcnt. appearsto play a secondaryrole, being merely consulted by the Prime Minister | .r,lr rrrrrristcris responsiblefbr thc preparation and execution of defèncemeas- without havingthe possibilityto vote lbrmally on the engagementof French 'rL . rr) be carried out by his department;a senior delèncecivil servantassists armcdlbrccs in rnostof thecases. l,rrrrrn llrrs.ancl it is laid down in Article 2l that the Prime Minister shalldirect rlr( {)l)(nrtionof the Government. He shall be responsiblcfbr national defènce. '.rrl,tr'r't to Article 13,he shall havepower to make regulationsand shall make u. Tlte Po.sitiono/ the Hcud o/ Stutc l,l',,rr)tnrcntsto civiland militaryposts." Accordingto the Constitution."[t]he Presidentof the Republic(...) shallbe the ll, rrtt.. thc division of competencies between the President and the Prime guarantor ol national inclcpcndence,tcrritorial intcgrity, and observanceof \lrrrr.rtr.rrsitisorganisedbytheconstitution,appearstoberatherambiguous. treaties"(Article 5). tle shallmake appointments to the civil and military posts \,,,'1q1111!lo thc wording of the Constitution. both, the Presidcntand the of the State(Article l3). and he "shall be Commander-in-Chiefof the Armed I'r rrr, \lrrrrstcr Irold impclrtant prcrogativesin the lreld of dcfènce policy. () Forces.He shallpreside over the highernational defence councils and commit- \rrr, l( ol thc orclinanceliom 7 January 1959 even seemsto attribr-rtethe tees"(Article l5). ,irrrr'role lo thc l)rintc Ministcr.r')Originally, in applicationof Article 2l of Thus,according to the text.the Presidentof the Republicis to be considered ( ',r\rrtutr()n.tlrc l)rinreMinister was mcant to hold thc main responsibility as the supremehcad of delèncepolicy. He is responsible.lurthermore, lbr ensur- rl , lr, ltl ,l tlcli'rrcc.'l'lrisoriginal schemchas, however, bcen altered by more ing that nationalindependence and the country'sintegrity are maintained,and r l,r1r111 115 ol'1.)|'rrclicc. I)uring this pcriod, the compctencesof thc Presi- that treatiesare rcspectcd. He is the Clommandcr-in-Clhicfof the Armed Forces, and is the only personempowered to give the order to engagenuclear fbrccs (DecreeNo 96-520du I2 June 1996portant délernritruliottdes reslxtn:;ubilitts l'r rctt(ernent les.fitrce.s nucléaires). The nrain del-encedecisions are made by the tttt,r nrru\lr( r(\l)()r)\:rl)l!tlt'llr tlcli'rrscrlttiotltlc cxcrcela directiongétrérale 1 ' 1r,,ri ,\ Presidentof the Republicin councilschaired by him (Council of Ministers. ttttltl.tttLrlr'l;t tlilr'ttst'. tr'1rlrc.il lirrnrulclcs tlirectives générirles pour ,', Lrlr,,n' (()tt(Lttt.tltl lrt rlt'lr'ttsr't'l sttrl lr' tl['vcloppcnrcttttlc ccs néuociations. Councilof Delènce.and RestrictedDelènce Committee). , l, ,1, l.r lrr(ll.rl.rlr()lrLl rlt lrt (()r)(lurl(:rr;ri'rrcrtrc tlcs oyri'rirliortsct assttrcltt His competencesdellned by Articles5, l3 and l5 do ncltbelong. howevcr. to Lr rlr,'r ,lr l ,r,Irrrl( ( n nr.rlr(r( rlr'rlt lr'nsc rlL' l'crrscrnlllr' rlcs tli'nltrlcrncttts rnirri- his"compctences propcr". According to Articlc l9 ol'the ('onstittrtiorrthcy rrrc 294 Jôrg (ierkrath Military Law in France 295 dent have becomemore and more substantial,while thc prerogativesof the l,rllowcdby a debatein Parliament.This proposaldid not give rise to an PrimeMinister have been shown to be merelyfbrmal.r" ,rrrrcrrclrnentof Article 35. The reasonsfor this evolution are numerous.The influenceexercised by liurthermore,Parliament has the competenceto authorisemartial law Generalde Gaulleas llrst Presidentof the Fifih Republicand the 1962amend- tt trrtde.r'iège and ëtat d'urgencc).This stateis decreedin the Councilof Minis- ment ot' the Constitution.which introducedthe directelection of the President. r(r\. but its extensionbeyond twelve days must be authorisedby Parliament areonfy two of them.In 1993,the "('omitë Vedel'ntadethe proposalto amcnd t \rticlc36). Article 2l of thc Constitutionin order to coordinatethe text with the prrtcticc. lrr the fleld of externalmilitary operations,the role of the Parliamentis vcry According to this (abandoncd)proposal. the Primc Minister would havebe- lrrnrlerl.raThe procedureof oral questionsor motion of censuremay be usedas come"responsible lbr the organisationof the nationaldelènce".rr rrr,rrrv ficld of action of the Government.The Governmentmay also ask for ry,lrrrrvulf'or a military operation,as it did in the caseof the Gulf War, and nr()rclcccntly in the caseof operationsin Kosovo,but thereis no lcgalobliga- c. The Partitipalion of Porliatrtentin the Deci:;ionIo Deplo.t'lheArtned Force's I r()ll l() (l() sO. The F'renchParliament (National Assemblyand )does not have an \cvcrtheless.French armed forces have taken part veryactivcly in many UN important role to play in this fleld. The decisionon the deploymentof the 1',,r,e-kceping missions. In 1995,F-rance provided the most"blue helmets", and armedlbrces can be takenwithout any participationof the Parliament.Only in ;,,rrtrtiputcclin 8 out of l7 operationsin 2002with a total of almost700 pcr- the caseof a declarationof war is an act of Parliamentrequired. The deploy- ,'r\ \cnt abroad.r5The most important military participation(with 250 sol- ment of the armed fbrces.abroad or at home,is an executiveprerogative in ,lrr'rr)concerns the FINUL ().l.'rench troops havealso conductcd F-rance.The consultationor infbrmingof the Parliamentis lelt up to the good- , r, rrl OI)llX (opératiotrsextërieure.s) in order to rescucor evacuatclbreign will of the Government.which actsas thecircumstances direct.rl r rlrotlills(scc abOve,2.9.).,n 'A Article 35 of the Constitutionprovides that declarationof war shallbe Irrrllrcrmore,and besidesthe participationin the SecondGulf War (with authorisedby Parliament",but since1945, no suchauthorisation has ever been l') (l(X) s()ldiersat the peak), F'rancehas taken part in operationsof peace required.lt is not evenknown whetherthis authorisationmust be givenin the nlt,r((nlclrt under internationalauspices: e.g. operation "Southern Watch" t-ormof a statuteand accordingto the legislativeprocedure. or if it could result 1rlr,'lrt(()ntrol over the territoryof lraq, since1992), IFOR (lmplementation tiom a sirnplcresolution. As Article 35 is placedunder Title 5 of the Constitu- l,'r,r' l)ccember1995 to December1996, Bosnia), and "SANTAL" (East tion (on the rclationsbctween Parliament and the Government).it seemsto be I rrrr,,r.rrrrlrl I 5 January2000;.rr the Governmentwhich would be authorisedto dcclarewal but suchan inter- lrr '(X)1.lircnch troops were engaged in threeimportant multinationalmili- pretation is in contlict with the practiceof the V. Republic(presidential su- ,ri r,p1'1;1ti1y11s:Sl.'OR (with approximately3,100 French military personnel in premacy).ln thc caseof applicationof Article l6 by the President,Article 35 rlr \lrrllrrrrrtiorralDivision Southeast), KF-OR (about 5,200French military would becomemeaningless.rr In 1993.thc VedelCommittee made the proposal to add a secondphrase to Article 35 providingthat everyintervention of the armed lbrcesabroad obliees the Governmentto issuea declarationwhich is { l, \''\( nrl)l('c rurtionulc. Iiltplurt d'in/ôrnrutiotr No. 2)37 sLo'le tontrôle parlementaire t t tlttrttu\t \t(triuu'(s. prescntépar Ir. Lamy,8 March 2000. \ ,,,r(irr1'to thc Minister ol' lirreign Af'Lrirsand the Minister ol Defènce,French 'o topic seeO. Gohin. l-eslirndements.luridiques de la délènsenatiotrale, Regardingthis .Lr.()rr,(n(lrnlcsrrrcpirrlicipatinginthel'ollowingoperations: ONUST(l-1 observ- ( l)ë/en.sa,p. 4. l99l) I Droir ar I' r , ,rilrr').Nl( )N t llK 19trbscr'"ers, Irilq Kuwait), MONUA (Angola), MINURSO rr SeePropositit'rns pour unerévision de la Constitution.Cornité consultatil'pour la révi- \\, rrrr olrst.r\ers. Srrlrrrr.r).MINLlllll (125 gendarntes,Bosnia), MIPONU[{ (24 sionde la Constitutionprésicié par le doyenGeorges Vedel, l5lévrier 1993.La docutren- i rrrr, , ll,rrlr).NllNt ll{( A (('ctttrrrlÂlj-rca). and MONU(i (5 observers,(ieorgia). 1993.p. 39. tationtiançaise , , ,, ' ,'l rrrtlr (tl)(lirlr()r)\.(()ntl):rrc N'loskos.'Thc Postmoclern Military',supran.20. 'r CompareC KiefTer,L'eng:igement des lirrces armées r\ I'extérieurdu territoire.(199!t) I , pp. M. Conan,Cadre juridique des forces en opéraliorts Droit et Dëlcnse. l4 et seqq.and | , rtr,,\,r\r(\\(,1 ,rl)l)r()\nnirl('lr \Olrcnth()l'l.Xin l999scc:Assenthli'cNationale. extérieures.(2002) 202 Rcvuede lu (iaulurnrcricnulittttulc. pp. 66 70. 'l////i. t iltl,,int,tttt'il\r, "i ,lrt,\ ttt,il\ l)li.scntt'p:rtlillrrrçtlis L:tntV sttr lCCtln- rrCcrmpareT.RenouxetM.deVilliers.('oiL'ttttt.stitttliortrtr'l.(l'rtris. 1994).pp l65 166. rtl, trrr ( I trl.rttrrlr',,r|1 1.111,111..\l( |( il1(\. l)l) lS Cl \('(l(1. 296 JôrgGerkrath Military Law in France 29'7 personnelsince June 1999;liom I October2001, KFOR has beenundcr the rrrlernrtional relations),the GeneralDelegate for Armament (studies.research. commandof the l'-renchGeneral Marcel Valentin),and "Task FbrceHarvest" .rrrtlproduction), the Secretary-Gencralfbr Administration(DSF l"inancial (sinceSeptember 2001 in Macedonia (FYROM), 550 Frcnch military have Ser.r,iccsDirectorate. DFP Personnell.-unction Directorate. DAG General taken part in a multinationalbattalion under Frenchcommand together with \tlnrinistrationDirectorate), the Chief'sof StâfI for the Army, the Navy,and 400German and 150Spanish soldiers). tlrc Air F-orce,the Director of thc GendurnerieNaîionale. and the Director Even in 1991.when strong French armcd lbrcestook part in the Second responsible lor StrategicAfïairs. Gulf War, the governmentconsidered there to be no needfbr a declarationof' I'hc Ministerof Defèncecombines the tasksdelegated to him by the Prime war becauseit wasmerely participating in an operationof collectivcsccurity. \lirristcr with thoseattributions which are definedas his by decree(Decree There are, however,at least two other procedureswhich make it possibleto \o 62 8ll liom l8 July 1962,as modified). He is clearlyplaced under the au- givc the FrenchParliament a role in the decisionon the employmentof the rlr.1l1yof the Prime Ministerand is responsiblefor the implementationof the armcd fbrces.The first is basedon Article 49 (l ) of the Constitution,and was ,lt'll'rrccpolicy which is determinedby the Councilof Ministers.He assiststhe uscdby then-PrimeMinister, Michel Rocard,on l6 Januaryl99l . Articlc 49 ( I ) I'rirrrcMinister in the field of the organisationof the armed fbrces.He is a authorisesthe PrimeMinister "after deliberationby the C--or-rncilof Ministers". p,rliticrrlauthority as well as the chief of theadministration of hisMinistry.r') to "make the Government'sprogramme or possiblya statementof its general policy an issueof its responsibilitybefore the National Assembly".The state- , l ltt llole of the Militarl, Leader,ship ment of generalpolicy madeby Michel Rocardon the issueof the engagement ol-l-'rencharmed forces in the Gulf wasapproved by a largemajority (52-1 votes llre nrilitaryleadership is underthe direction of a Chief of theArmies'Head- lgainst43). rlililllc|s or ('hicf of the Def-enceStaff (che/'d'ëtutnrujor des arnëes, CEMA). The secondprocedure results tiom Article 132of the "Règlementitrtérieur" llr' rrssiststhe Minister of Def-encein his attributionsrclative to the employ- of the National Assemblywhich allowsthe Governmentto presenta declara- nrr'nl()l thc armed forcesand their organisation;he cxercisesthe command- tion to the Assembly(fbllowed by a debateor not). Sucha declarationmust not nr('nl()l thc military operations,and he may suggestmilitary measuresto the be fbllowedby a vote of any kind. This procedurewas usedin spring 1999by ( rrt\t tlllllCDt. Prime Minister Lionel Jospinto presentthe government'sdecision to partic- I hc ('hicf of the Delènce Stalï (CEMA). who is military adviser to the ipatein the air strikesagainst Serbia. More recently(on 3 October2001). Jospin ),,,\('ilil))cnt.has three primary llelds of responsibility: l..fbrce deplo.vment:he usedthe sameprocedure in order to organisea debateon an engagementof ,lr'lrrrcstf)c concept and commands all military operations; 2. preparingfor the Frencharmed lbrcesin military operationsagainst Al Qaida and the ttrttut'.l)c pr'oposcs.primarily to the Minister of Defence, the measuresneeded rt regimein . l,r , s'',,,. ctrlrcrenccin planning and programming activities 3. international t,l,ttrrtn.:.hc is lcsponsible fbr relations with foreign , and directs the ,{ lr\rtit'sol'thc armed forcesin d. The litnt'tions of tlte Minister o./ Delence this area.The attributions of thc CEMA are ,1,lrrrr'tl rrr rlctuil by a clecrccof 8 February 1982.a0 The Minister of Defenccis not mentionedby the Constitution,but therehas lr rlre crcrcisc ol- his firnctions, thc Chief of the Defence Staff (CEMA) has alwaysbeen a ministerin chargeof the armed fbrcesor more gencrallyof the rlrr l.llorrinu plincipal organisationsat his disposal:the Central DefenceStafÏs defènce.The ordinanceo1'7 January 1959, detlnes his rolein Article 16. ,l \l \). ulriclr civc hinr stall support acrosshis entire rangeof responsibilities, The Minister of Defenceimplements the military defèncepolicy (organisa- rr,l *rrlrrrr uhich curr bc lirund the Joint operations Centre (colA) which is tion and training of the armed fbrces.recruitment and managementof per- , l'(,r)\rl)lelirr u'itlr thc concluctof'operations, the DefenceIntelligence Direc- sonnel.armaments and intiastructureprocurement). He is assistedby the Chief ,r rr, (l)ltl\l).r',hiclrisrrlsoclircctlyresponsibletotheMinisterofDct-cnce,the of Staff o[ the Armed Forces(use of forces,preparing for the future,military

l,'r ,l,t,ul.:r't.ll ( lrrzr't.lcnrrrlslle tlellrtl['lc'lrse.(1998)l Droitetdélënsc.p.4. 's Cp. A.-S. Firion, l.e fbndement juridique de I'intervention armée en Alghanistan. 1,,, r( I \(, xr I lS rlrr ti li'rrrr'r l()fil. llrrrnt les attributions des chefs d'état-major ,) )) (l(X)l ) 'l Dntit ct l)llansa. pp. .ll 41. l' rlr | l(.\| t(.t l()!i 298 Ji)rgGerkrath Military Law in France 199

Joint Plannin_sStafïs (EMIA) which prcparcoperational plans. ancl the Special ,,1 l)rrrliament.Thus: "Statutespassed by Parliamentshall determine the rules OperationsCommand (COS), a commandstructurc of overseasrcpresentatives, (('r)ccrning'the obligationsimposed lbr the purposesof nationaldefènce upon both within and outsideF-rench territory. French forces engaged in an opera- ( rtircnsin respecto[ their personsand their property;the fundamentalguaran- tion, regardlessof the serviceto which they belong,come under the command tr'cssranted to civil and military personnelemployed by the State;Statutes also ''lrrrll of CITMA. determinethe fundamentalprinciples of the generalorganisation of The most obviouspattern of the Frenchsystem is the constitutionalcen- Ir,rlr()naldelènce." tralisationof defèncepolicy in Presidentialhands, which results(even in periods It shcluldbe noted. however,that especiallywith regardto the "general ol' cohabitution)in power being cxcrcisedthrough the Seoëturiot Gënéralde ()rrinlisationof nationaldefence" the real role of the Parliamentof the F-ifth la DëJënseNutionale. subject to little oversightor external inlluencecven from Itr'ptrblichls beenrathcr small. one ot'the most importanttexts. the ordinance Parliament.as will be clarified below.This appearsto be anachronisticand \ir 59-147of 7 January1959 ("portanr orgunisariott génërule de lu dë/èn,se").is unworthyof a Statewith profoundlydemocratic traditions. Thus. it has been rrrtlccda text which has the lbrceof an Act of Parliament.but which has been suggestedthat "Francecould uselbllyopen up its processesin at leastthree 'r,lop1c(lby the executiveaccording to Article92 of the Constitution.irF-urther- ways: first. it could empower the checksand balanceswithin the political il)()r.e.\ever{l important decrees.which go fitr beyondthe purposeof simplc systemto exercisetougher oversightand accountabilityin dcfencematters. n)r'irsuresof application.have bcen adopted in this tleld.rt secondly.it could provide greatcrtransparency with respectto defencepro- lirr{hhouses have created pe rmanent parliarnentary commissions in order to granlmesand expenditure,to facilitateoversight and accountability;and third, lr.rntllcthe lirnctionsol irrlbrmationand parliamentarycontrol. TIre commis- it could widen the baseof those involvedin debatinsdelènce matters at the 'r()n\nrly also createspecial "missions of inlbrmation" to collcctinfornration highestlevels".al ,'r;r pitrticularsituation. In practice.however. these commissions have never ( \! r'ciseclstronu control over the government.rJ I hc gcncralprocedures of censurcand qucstioningaccording to Articres48 5. ParliamentaryControl to i0 1yl'thcConstitution also apply in thefield of delèncepolicy. l;inrrlly.Parliament has to authorisethe ratificationof diflèrentkinds of a. The Parliument'.tPon'ers to Control /he Armed Fortes rr)lr'rrirlionaltreaties. which might concernthe lleld of delèncepolicy. Accord- rrrrrlo Article 53. peacetreaties and treatiesor agreementsrelating The powersof the l--renchParliament to control the armed lbrcesare vcry lèw. to internil- rr.rr;11111g',nisation. or exchangeor addition of territory. may Parliamentmakes laws to dcflnehow detènceis organised,the nteansdedicated be ratifled or ,rl,l)r()\c(lonly by Parliament. to it, constraintsimposed on citizens(e.g. the National Servicecode), linance lrr lrrc(.tltc only possibleway lor the FrenchParliament to laws(annual budget lbr the armed forces).and military progranrminglaws, in exerciseetlective , rr11r11.'l()\'cr thc armcdltlrces would be to cut detènceexpenditures. which it periodicallymakes statements about the main orientationof France's Thus,espe- , r'rllrirr thc frcldo1'external operations, Parliament is conflned military policy(equipment for the armedforces over several years). to exerciseits ,,r11111vftt prt.srL'rirtri.'lhe ('ttttseil (on.\riluriorlttt,/ has recentlycorroboratecl this The divisionbetween the competenceol- the Parliamentto enactlegislation 'rL \\ ilr rrdccisiorr on thc rclbrmof'the specialtirnds considering par- and the power of the cxecutiveto regulateby decreercsults from Articles 34 that the and 37 of the FrenchConstitution. These two articleslimit the areasof parlia- mentarylegislation to thr-matters listed in Article 34, while all the restis open I , . 111ç51111'5légrslrrti',es ttécessaires i la nriseen place des institutions to regulationby the executivepower. The Frenchsituation is thusalmost oppo- et..jusqu'ii cette ,r L ( r l)lr(c. :rtr lirnctiorrrrcnterrttlcs pouvoirs publics seront prisesen Conseil clesntini_ "Geset:esvorbehalt" (iermany. siteto the principle of known in rr, ,rl)r(\;trts tlu ( orrsciltl'l:tut. pur ortlonnancesayant lbrce de loi". This transitory Article 34 of the Constitutionplaces several fields within the realmof statu- 1r1',',111,v11 lrrrbt'crrtcpclrlcrl br':rnurlerrclmenlof lheConstitutionin 1995 t){r tory law.There are essentially three domains which haveto be govcrnedby acts I ,lr't111 \1r il{)tlrr ll lttitt l()()(r"p()rtunt tlétermination cles responsirbilitéscon- 'r, rrrl l, l,,r((\ illt(l(.,ilt(.\" '',, | | .rll.rrllt l :r ruts'it,ntl'rrrlilrrlrliorr pitrlcntentaire et le contrôlede l'actrongou- {r (iregory, rl, See S. Vers LIne Délènse Nouvelle: l)elènce Polrcy Planning and Revierv in r)l(rrl rl( rl')')l'i) .' l)trttt t t llilttttt'. P.1.{. uçil,.dgfgnse.gouv.fr/clef natio/clefènse& l'r:rttcc,(l99ll) 29 l)i.utntrturtt'rrtIlipltttntt. ,rl,t lrturl 300 Jôrg Gerkrath Military Law in France 301 liamentcannot "intervencin the retlisationof ongoingoperations" bccrrr-rse it \rrvy. Air ['orce.and Genduntrerie.and the GeneralSecretariats tbr Admin- mustrespect the prerogativesof theexecutive in thc lleld of natignaldelènce.r5 rstlution.Health Services. ûnd PetrolServices. 'l'here are about 99,000civilians working in the Ministry of Defence.They riork in all sectorsof the Ministry.such as centraladministration, armies and h. litrnrs o.f'Parlionrcnlur.)' Conlrol overthe Mililur.t',Otnbudspersott.s Special r'()nrmonservices, and generalarms delegation. Today, most of themare lecruit- The general "ombudsperson" itt France (le Mëdiureur de lu Rëpubliqueldoes ,'tllrs civil servants(including those who havethe status of "militaryworkers"). not havc competertcein the tlcld of conllicts which may occllr between the adrninistrationsand their staffs(Statute No.73-6 of 3 January1973. Article 8). In 1977.there was a propositionto establisha specialmilitary !. Involvementof the Civilian Administrationin the Processof Procurement ombudsperson,but it was unsuccessfuland has never been fbrmally reintro- of Material andSupplies duced. The Mëtliateur de la Républiqueis not a parliamentaryombudsperson, but an independentadministrative authority (autorirëudministrutite indépen- llris task is fulfllled by the generalarms delegation(procurenlent agency). tluntel.He is nominatedtbr 6 yearsby the Council of Ministers.Since May nlrich is part of the Ministry of Defence.without any involvementof the civil- 1998.this fur.tctionhas becn exercisedby Bel'nardStasi. An inl-ormational r,rrr rrrlrninistration. reportpresented recently by twg membersof the parliamcntaryconlmission for nationaldefence and the armed forcesreintroduced a suggestionto institutea lor the military.a(' specialMédiuteur l\. Soldiers'Rights and Duties

c. Courl of Auditorsund ContpurultleInstitutbns I . llcstrictionson FundamentalRights of Soldiers of Auditors ((.'ourcles comples) has a generalcompctence to The French Court ,t (ir'trcrulAspecls control the budgetof the State(central administration. public establishments, territorialunits, etc.) and their expenditures.In Junc 1991,a specialreport on lr lrrncc, tlndamental rights do not enjoythc samelevel of protectionas in -[he the budgetary managementand the program of the DefenceMinistry pointed (,r'ilil1n!. protectionol' "fundamentalrights" or "human rights and out severalhelds of misadministrationand formulateda severecritique.rT l,rrlrlrtlibcrtics". which is the terrnmore commonly used in l'-rance doesnot 'lu,ns tlcrivcfrom thc Constitution.Not all publicliberties have constitutional .,rlrrr'rrr f :rirncc. However. thc caselaw of the ('rn.teil('onstilulionnei has widen- III. The Structure of the Armed Forces (l rlrr'sc()pcof a numberol'rights and libertiesguaranteed by the Declaration ,,t l,'s9 ol lhc preambleof the Constitutionof 1946,or rightsrecognised as l. The Armed Forcesand their Administration Ir\\| rllcnprinciplcs. \((()r(lingto Articlc34 of the Clonstitution."Statutes shall detcrmine the Thc whole military administrrtionis organisedunder the rcsponsibilityof the l(. (()ncen)ir)gcivic riglrts and thc fundarlentalguarantees granted to citi- Minister of Defence.The Ministry is dividedinto dilTerentstructures. such its n, l1)rthe crcr.cisc ol'their publicliberties". Therefore, whilc the "lindamen- the General Staff, the ProcuremcntAgency. the General Statls of the Army. | ,rr,rr:rrrlccs"crrn only be tlctcrminedby Parliament,any other rule which 1,,, rrot (()llccr.r)thcsc firnclrrrncntal guarantees may be establishedby simple r , rL, ( r' llrc l{l)(iA ((iencrll Rcgulltionon Disciplinein theArmed Forces, 15 No. 2001-456DC du 27 décembre2001, "loi de llnancespour 2002". Décision I t , rLr \r, 75-(r75ol'lfi .luly 1975). point45. \,,,,1i11111'ttr.\rticlc (r ol tlrc(icuclul Stltutc of thcMilitary (Statutc of l3 r,'SeeAsser.nblée Nationale. Rupytrt d'injitrnutittrr Nt,.)190 du 22 juitt;1(i(/(/"présenté par | ') ' \( grantcd BernardGrassel et CharlesCova sur les actionsdestinés à renlbrcerle lien entre la | . I ;l\l ;. soltlrcrscr)l()y irll thc riglrtsitnd libcrties to citizcns. Nlti()n et sortArmée. p. 15 r'l ,tr'r7. rr rl)(..,rnr( rrrlrr'lt' rrtltls. "llrr' errltisc ol sorncol- thcm is cithcrtilrbiddcn or rr ('omparc. 1rrrrri rl un(l(r llrt rolrtlrlron:ol llttsllru."'lltc clttcstiottwhcthcr this statutc, 102 .lôrg Gerkrath Militarv Law in Fnrnce .t0-l which imposesimportant restraints on the exerciseof severalrights or liberties. rrrrrny association of politicalcharacter (Article 9 SGM). If theywant to stand is fully consistentwith theConstitution might be discr.rssed.But asthe question s rr candidatein an election,this prohibitionis simply suspcndedduring the hasnot beensubmitted to the Con.seilCon.stitutiorutcl within the periodof time \.u))pilign.This doesnot makeit impossibleto be electedin localelections. but allowedfor disputingstatutes. its conlbrmity with the Constitutioncan not be , er tlinly in nationalones, because the list of candidatesare determined by deci- challengedanymore.rx .r,rrrswithin the politicalparties long befbrethe beginningof the olhcial cam- The statutoryposition of soldiersin Franceis therelbreofien qualifiedas tr,rrg.n.lndividual candidatesdo not havea real chanceto be electedon the "runtonnement.juridique".which may be translatedas "legalcontainment".a') This rr,rlionallevel without beingsupported by a politicalparty. expressionmeans that soldielswlro serveas voluntecrs (whcther on â cAreeror ir ,,\rticlel0 ol the General Regulationon Disciplinein the Armed Forces contractbasis) agree to be submittedto specialduties and serviceobligations rl(lXiA) t'urtheradds a generalduty of the military nol to compromisethe which come with their status.Article I SGM puts it this way: "Military stâtus rreLr(r'llity of the armedtbrces in the philosophical.religious. political, and pro- rcquiresunder all circumstancesdiscipline, loyalty. and a spirit of sacriflce.The l,:sional (tradeunion) t'ields.:1Furthermore, within all rnilitaryestablishments, dutieswhich it involvesand the submissionswhich it impliesdeserve the respect rr r: lirrbiddento organiseor to participatein uny demonstrationsor propagan- of the citizensand the considerationof the nation".'0This article signifles ,l,rrrctions in thesefields (Article 10 (3)). lirrthermorethat soldiels'rightsand fieedomsmay be restrictedby law.5r ,\rticlc l9 RDGA. whichgrants a right tbr specialleave in orderto takepart There has not bcen any noteworthypublic discussionor criticism with rrrrcliqious ceremonies, does not mentionpolitical meetings and no otherdispo- regardto the restrictiorrof soldiers'rights. The only issuewhich seemsto raise ,rrr()r)suarantees such a right. Military personnelmay attendpolitical meetings somediscnssion is the soldiers'right to liee expressit.rn.A numberof recent .r',lonq as they are in civiliandress and their military stittus is ntrtmentioned.55 tr'rublicationsconcern this very question.5r I he clistributionof politicalleaflets would làll underthe very generalprohi- 1,1111r;11rf'Article l0 RDGA (prohibitionol'demorrstratitrns or propagandain rlr, politicaltleld). Publications which are intended to damagenrorality or dis- h. Politicul Neutrulit.r'of Soklier.s , r1,11s1çin the arnred lbrces may be prohibited (Articlc 2l RDGA). From 1872to 1945.jrFrenchsoldiers were deprivedof the exerciseof their lin:rlly. there are cersesof incompatibilityand ineligibility.Soldiers who political rights (to vote and to stand as a candidate).Since 1972. F'rench ,\.rnl t() bccome.lbr example,a Memberof Parliament.or of a local council soldiers have again been able to exercisetheir political rights. but several irrrrrrrrcipul.departmental. or regional),will be placedin the positionof "re- constraintspersist. which make the effectiveexercise of theserights difTicult. l' ,r:r"'.lvhich means that they will losepay. This hasthe ellectof preventingthe Soldiersin activeservice are not allowedto enrolin politicalparties. or indeed ,'l,lrtrll'or.nacccptingalocalpoliticalmandate.becausethesedonotcarrysuf- I r, rr'r)lrclltLlncration. litstrictions on thc eligibility of soldiers also derive l}om the general legal rxRegardingthisissue,seeJ. Robert. Libertéspubliquesetdéfense. (l97TlRDP,p.95l. r, '.r: (('orlt trlectttrul) according to which an olllcer of the lrmy may not be i" SeeF. Dieu. Le ciurtonnenlentjuridique. (2002):01 Rcvucla lu (icnlunrrcricnutitutrtlt, 1,,tLrj lirr lny political position within the boundaries of the district which pp.ll6 l2l. 1rll. (or Ir'llr.r'ithin thc pirst6 months) under hiscommAnd.s" n) "L'état militaireexise eu toutecirconst:rnce discipline. loyalisme et espritde sacritlce. Lesdevoirs qu'il comporteet lessujétions qu'il impliqueméritent le respectdes citoyens et la considérationde la nation." \rrrt lc l0 l{cspcct rle lir neutrllité des urmées. Conformément à la loi. le militaire a 'l SeeJ.DufIar,Le"solclat-citoyen",(1995)2DntiretDé/ërt.se,p.lSandJ.Robert.Liber- 1 .,,rr tlt r)ù l)lrs p()rtùr llttcinte i\ la ncutralité des armées dans les domaines philoso- téspubliques et défense.(1977) RDP. p.936. r, rt lrr'rcur.PolititlLre ou svnrlical.(...)". 'r SeeM. Jacob.Le besoind'expression collective des militairesest-il satislaitpar les \rrrrlt lll l:"l.cnrrlitairecnucti.,'iti'descrvicenedoitpass'affrlieràdesgroupement instituticrnsactuelles'}. ( l9t)E) Reyue udntiili.\lfttti,,,e, p. 285t AssembléeNttionale. Ru1tport , .r'(r,rlron\ir cirrirclcrùprrlitic;ue ou syntlical.ll peut, par contre, en tenue civile, d'in/itnttutionNo. 2490 lu )2.juin -?000.présenté par BernardGrasset et CharlesCova sur t r ,r rlIr r( lltttot)\ lltrblitltrcsott prir'écs rt),lttltutl carttctère polilique. sous réserve lesactions destinés u renlirrcerle lien entrela Nation et son Armée.p.25; B. Mignot. I rr, .,'rll),r\ lirl (l;rttlr.lr tlrr;rlilr'tlcrttilitrrirc". ( Lien armée-rralionel expressiontles mililaires. 1998)I)i,/an.ra nutitnulc. p. 82. . t ,'rlr'r'ltttor,rl.\rtrtlr'. I () l\l5. .r()().L. 195-5.lll-3 lntl 3.10.D. Dutrieux. '' Act of Purlilnrerrt.l7 .lulv1871. ordinancc ol' I 7 Au!:ust19.1.5. I t',lrlf(ll\.rlrln(lL\rnrlrl,rr(\.rl.rrltrttor'lrlrt'l()eirlr'.(l()t)lil l/)rrrit rt l)ttli'tt.tt',f't.7J. .r04 Jiirg Gerkrath Military Law in France 105

Article 7 SGM guaranteesthe freedomof opinion and belief.57The soldier's rrrcs.Article 13(8) RDGA prohibitsany kind of collectivedemonstration, peti- flle must not containany referenceto suchopinions and thc gradesassigned to Ir()nor complaint.('l him by his superiorsmust not ref'erto hisopinions (Article 26 SGM). l'inally, accordingto Article I I SGM. the right to strike is incompatible Though guaranteedby Article 7 of the GeneralStatute. freedom of expres- u ith rnilitarystatus. sion is restricted.Opinions and beliefi may be expressedonly when ofÏ--duty ("en dehorsdu service").and with the self-restraintrequired by military status. ,l ('ottscienliou.s0bjection An exceptionis the freedomof religion.Article 7 SGM statesexplicitly' that the fieedom to attend religiousscrvices is guaranteed.This includesthe right to I hcreis no right of conscientiousobjection for Frenchsoldiers.6r lf a service stay away liom olïcial religiousceremonies. Furthermore, Article l9 RDGA nrcurberdesires to leavethe armed forcesaltogether, he or she will haveto be grantsa right for specialleave in order to take part in religiousceremonies. In ,lrsrnissed.Dismissal is governedby Articles 80 et set1q.SGM. An olltcer's somecases, preliminary authorisation is necessaryif a soldierwants to express ,lcnrandto be dismissedhas to be acceptedby decreeand can be rejectedby the himselfin publicon politicalquestions (Article 7 (2) SGM). \linister of Defence.In somecases dismissal will be acceptedonly lbr "excep- trorrirlconsiderations". This is the case.for instance,if the servicemember has reccivcda specialisededucation during the periodof servicehe engagedfor. As t . l-'rctth,ttt oI A.t:;ttcitttitttt tlre (irrr.seild'Êtut recentlydecided. a relusalto dismissneeds simply to be The right of associationis strictly limited within the French armed fbrces. rrrolil'11sdby a legitimateservice need, and docs not place the military in a Article l0 SGM prohibitsthe existenceof "professionalgroupings with trade .rtLrrlionof "forced labour" accordingto Articlc 4 E,CHR.6rIn any casethe union character".and holdsthe membershipof soldiersin suchunions as being rrrhts to a pensionmight be lost. "incompatiblewith military discipline."This generalinterdiction seems to be Il'a soldierdesires not to takepart in oneparticular opcration 1-or reasons of anachronisticand contraryto Article ll of the ECHR as well as to the French \()r)\cicnce.he may ask to be excusedfrom serviceconcerning that particular (-onstitution.5ERecently. during a EUROMIL meeting,members of the French ,'|c|rrtion,but thereis no right not to be sentto a theatreof combat.Refusal to Parliamentseemecl to be interestedin the German experienceand the DBwV.5') ,'hçy116 order to go would exposcthc soldierto disciplinarysanctions. In practicethere have been transgressions of the interdictionsformulated by Article l0 SGM. On l3 April 2001"fbr example.the F'irstAssociation fbr the , l.t1trulTrettlrnenl Defènceof Soldiers'Rights (ADEF-DROMIL) was createdby an officer on activeduty.('0 llre prcambleof the FrenchConstitution of 1946contains in its Scction3a .,i Article l0 RDGA turthermorestrongly restricts the right of liee assembly. nùr'll principleof cqual treatmentof men and women in any field, which Within all militaryestablishments. it is forbiddcnto organrscor ro pilrricipatc rrrrslbc cnsurcdby the law.Accordingly, the GeneralStatute of 1912does not ,,Jntirin joining in any demonstrationor propagandaaction in the abovementionedtlelds any restrictionon women thc armed forces.However, until (Article l0 (3)). Concerningthe right to complain againstdisciplinary meas- r,t t rrtl1,.such restrictions resulted in practiccliom a numberof decreeswhich ,l, tr'rnrincthc statusof the differentcorps of officers.These decrees used to lililrl \u)r)lcn'sacccss by lixing a maximumpercentage of womento be recruited .', lr Vcl||'.('1 'r "Les opinionsou croyancesphilosophiques, religieuses ou politiquessont libres". ir SeeSyndicat national de la magistrature.(2001) 164 Ju,sticc, p.21 . | , ,, rrrrrrilli'stutrons.pétitions ou réclamationscollectives sont interdites. 1']EUROMIL. the E,uropeanOrganisation of Military Associations.is a union ol fiee democraticassociations representing the interestsof military personnel.Any association lr' 1'.ir(lin!thc right ol'ohycctionof'voung men who havesubmitted to corrscriptiorrin (1991) that representsthe interestsol'citizens employed in the delèncesector. their dependants, l',r\r.\ec .l l)rrllrrr.l-'objcction de conscicnceen droit lrançais. RDP,p.657. '.,, or survivingdependants can becomea memberof EUROMIL. Until veryrecently. there ( l.lf cbrrrrrrl(X)l:M.lli'rrrngcr'.(l(X)l)l0l('uhicr,tdelu./itnttionpuhlitluc,p.Sl. '',, was only an associzrtioncll former servicemenin France:Association Ntrtionale et , r' l)ttrec No. 75-ll(X) ol ll [)cccrnber'1975 (portant statut pnrticulierdu corps (larrière Irédéraled'Anciens Sous-C)lllciers de de l'ArrnéeIrrançarise (ANFASOCAF). ,'llrrrcrr tlts rnlrr'ts tk l'rrrrtti'ttlt lclte ) .,\r'trclcl. A rninisterialdecisittn cletermined ('(' , SccLa Tribunedes Sous-Ofllciers. No. 155.1001. r lr l)o\tlt()|l\ t 0ttlrl lrt lt( l(l l)\ \\()ttl( tl 306 Jôrg Gerkrath Military [-irw in France .107

This situationwas altered by DecreeNo.9tl-86 of l6 F'ebruary1998, which ,rtcommodation.The military commandermay restrict soldiers'lieedom of modillcd the l7 decreeslixing the statusof the dillcrcnt corpsof ollcers. All rrror"ementif necessary(Articlc l8 RDGA). He may also oblige thc service remainingquantitative limitations on the ernploymentof women have been rrrcrrrberto residewithin certaingeographical limits or insideof the military removedfrom thesedecrees.('s Exceptionally. women may still be excludedliom ,lonrain(Article 20 RDGA). somefbrms of militaryemployment il' theirexclusion is justified by the palticu- lar natureor the specificrequirements of thcscen.rplclyments. Exceptions lre ,l[arriage(Article l4 SGM): determinedby dccisionof the Ministerof Defènceenumerating these employ- Itclirre1972. F-rench soldiers had to requcstan authorisationfiom the Minister ments.Thus. the F'renchlaw appearsnow to be fully compatiblewith the EC rrrorcler to get married.This obligationhas been removed by the GeneralStat- directiveof 9 February1976. and the caselaw of the tCJ in Johnston.Sirdar, rrlell'crnr 1972. An authorisationis, however,still necessaryin two cases:when and Kreil. tlrc lirture spousedoes not have F'renchnationality, or when the soldierwho In spiteof the legalsituation. it is obviousthat in the Frencharmy, women u rslrcsto marry is a Foreignerserving in the Frencharmed lbrces. The (bn.çeil are not equalto men.This was undcrlinedin a recentreport put togetherby a ,l ll;ruthas recentlyindicated that only interestsof nationaldefence could be mixed working group of olllcerscallecl "G2S" ("Grouper/elr.r.re.res")."('One rrrrokcdby thc ministeras motivationto refusethe authorisationto get mar- might add that it is signilicantthat a woman is cxercisingthe function of the r t, tl."t Minister of Delèncetbr thc llrst time in Mav 2002.and the Frencharmed fbrcesare still comprisedof only 8.5'Zrwomen. l)ittcution ( Article 30 ( I and -10(2 ) SGM ). There is no speciallegal text regulatingthe situationof homosexualsin the ) lirencharmed forccs.As long as the generalduties are respected,they do not ( .nccr soldiers may benefit from measuresof profèssionalorientation -fhe suflèrdiscrimination. introductionof gay or lesbianmagazines could fall r\rticlc 30 (l)) or liom specialleave for instructionin order to preparefor under the prohibitionof Article 23 RDGA (protectionof morality and disci- r( ( ntry into civilianlilè (Article30 (2),"congé.s rle rectnvcrsion"). pline)if they had pornographiccharacter, but that would also be the casecon- cerningany heterosexualpublication of suchkind. Accordingto the Chief of the Army's public relationsolïicer, General Revel."homosexuals have their J. l,egalObligations of Soldiers placcwithin the army". and the flrst associationof gayand lesbiansoldiers was foundedin 2001.67 \,'ltlicr'sduties and obligationsare determined on the one hand by the General \r.rlulcol-the Military ol 1912,and on theother hand by theGeneral Regula- Irr,11 1v11 I)iscipline in theArmed Fbrces of 1975. /. Otlrcrlindunentul Rightsawl tlrcir Restrictitttts \ccording to Article I SGM, "military statusrequires in all circumstances Freetrutyement ( Articles l2 and l3 SGM ): ,1r.,rplrnc. loyalty. and a spirit of sacrifice.The dutieswhich it involvesand the rrl,nliç1ir.rtrrwhich it impliesdeserve the respectof the citizensand theconside- Soldiersmay be calledto serve"anytime and anywhere".They may needolï- rrr,rrrol thc nation"."eThe followingspecific duties are deflned by the General cial permissionbelbrc leavingthe nationalterritory for a dcstinationoutside ''r.irulcol' l-j.luly 1972:obligation of loyaltyand sell--restraint(Articles 7 and 8 the frtl. or one in certainforeign countries listed by the Ministry of Defènce. ',r,\l). rrndu clutyto serveat all timesand in all places(Article l2 SGM). Fur- F'requentchanging of residenceis part of their job and may therelbrejustify ' , rn()rc. soklicrsmust obcy thc ordersof their superiors,and are responsible special subsidiesin case of particular diftlcultieswith rcgard to personal ,r tlrt crccutionol'missions assigned to them(Article l5 SGM). They must ,r lrt ,v1r.1"r'"l'1to clo uncl they must not carryout actswhich arecontrary to the {" CompareS. Le Gall-Sampaio.L'accès des fèmmes à la lbnctionpublique militaire. ( p. 1998)2 Dntit et Délcn.sa.21. ( I l r I )t tt rrrbcr-l(XX). Ncrzi{. J. Isnard. Dans les "('See arméesliançerises, la fèrnmen'est l'égalede I'homme.Lc | , Lrt rnrlrtrrrrt'r'rigt't'rrl()ulc cilc()nstirrrccdiscipline. loyalisme et espritde sacrifice. p. Monda,25 May 2002, l. ,1,\.il\ (lu rl (oilll)()rl(tl lts srrli'liorrrt;rr'il irrrplic;ue nréritent le respectdes citoyens ('- SecI-c Mrtnlc..l May 2000and 2T.lirnuuryJ001. p. ti. "il .r(l( t.rl t' 'il rlr' l.t il.tl t, 'tt 308 Jôrs(lerkrath Military Law in France law and customsof war or internationalagreements. or whichconstitute crimes ;rnrtcctionof moralityand discipline.It prohibitsthe introductioninto military or infiactions("délits"). especially against the safètyand the integrityof the t'stlblishmcntsof publicationswhich damagethe morality and/ordiscipline of state. thc troops,the organisationof gamesor lottcries,and the introductionof alco- They also have to respectsecrecy and the duty ol discretion(Article l8 lrol.drugs, or explosiveswithout authorisation.Article 24 governsthe duty of SGM). and mustobserve a prohibitionon the excrciseof any profitableprivatc rlrscretion.Article 25 concernsdetention and the carryingof weapons.F-inally, activityor the holdingol any interestin companieswhich are under their con- \rticle 34 establishesthe right and the duty to report fàults committedby trol or surveillance,or with which they ncgotiatecontracts. There is alsoa duty ,lrrcctsubordinates or pcrsonnelof a lower rank, and to requesttheir punish- to declareany prolèssionalactivity cxercised by their spouses(Article 35 SGM). r)lclt [. 'l-here The dispositionsof the Gencral Regulationon Disciplinein the Armed are no spccialduties concerningthe behaviourof soldiersabroad. Forces(RDGA) deîlnethe specialduties and responsibiliticsof soldiersin a I lrcrcis also no duty of comradeshipcomparable to that which existsin Ger- more detailedmanner. Thc RDGA distinguishesprinciples (Article l), duties rrrrrry.Such a duty could be included,however, under the generalduty of disci- and responsibilities(Articles 6-10) and servicerules (Articles 2l-25). Article I de- plinc.Thc sameis trueconcerning the issueof becomingintoxicated during ser- finesthe principlesof military discipline.Discipline is loundedon the principle r rccand fbr absencewithout leave. of obedienceto orders(Article I (2)) and is exercisedin the frameworkof strict rreutrality(Article I (4)).Chapter II of the RDGA ("Detoirset responsobilités 'l'he du nilitaire") specifieslour categoriesof duties and responsibilities:gcneral t. Powerof Commandand the Dutv to Obev duties,dutics of the superior,duties of thesubordinate, and dutiesin combat. Thc generalduties are enumeratedby Article 6 RDGA. They comprisethe llrc obligationto obey is understoodvery strictlyin I-renchmilitary law.The dutiesof thc soldierto obey legalorders, to behaveuprightly and with dignity. ,rrrtlrorityof the supcriorand his power to commanddepend purely on hier- to observemilitary regulationsand acceptthe restraintsissuing from them, to .u. hicalposition and comewith it automatically.The dualityof order-obersance respectthe ruleson secrccyand expresshimself with due reserve,especially , ,rrrnutbe easily disrupted. rvhenconcerning military subjects,to take care of materialsand installations l'he GeneralStatute from l9]2 statesin Article l5 (2) that soldiersmust belongingto the armedfbrces, to provideassistance to the public forcesif they ,'l'e y ordersgiven by their superiorsand are rcsponsiblelbr the executionof legallyrequest aid. to instruct himself in order to hold his post with compe- rrrrssiousentrusted to them. Nevertheless,acts which are contrary to the law tence,to train himselfin order to be elÏlcientin action,and to preparehimself r/,,ir).ç11516.ary law of war, or internationaltreaties, or which constitute physicallyand morallyfior combat. rr)rcsol'inliingements, especially against the securityand the integrityof the Further specialduties are describedin detailby Articles7-10 RDGA, such r,rlù.nr-lst not be commandedand mustbe disobeyed. as the dutiesof the superior,duties of the subordinate,and dutiesin combat. \rticlc 8 (3) RDGA addsthat the subordinateshall not executeany order Duties of the superiorand dutiesof the subordinatewill be describedbelow. '.Irrrh is rnanitèstlyillegal or contrary to the rulesof internationallaw which Dutiesin combatresult mainly from Article 9, which concernsthe duty to par- 't,l,lr during armedconflicts. or to internationaltreaties which havebeen prop- ticipatein action.even at the risk of life, until the missionhas beenaccom- rlr rrrtillcdor approved.If the plea of illegalityis. however,presented merely ',,,rr,ritl plished.and the duty to respectthe rules of internationallaw which apply thccxecution of theorder, thc subordinateexposes himself to discipli- during armed conflicts(Article 9 (l), introducedby DecreeNo. 82-598,fiom ,r\ iur(l pcnal sanctionsfbr refusalto obey a lawful order. Frenchpenal law l2 July1982). trrrr:rrislresthrcc typcsof unlawful behaviour:crimes, infractions ("délits"). The GeneralRegulation on Disciplinein the Armed Fbrcesalso outlinesa i,l ( (,nlrirvcntions.According to Articlel5 SGM and 8 (3) RDGA, anyillegal numberof specialduties which 1àllunder the headingof "ServiceRegulations" r,l,r rrrusItlrcrcfirrc be consideredas lbrbiddenand the subordinatemust not ' (Clhaptcr I{ "R?g/cs de service"). These service regulationsmay be lurther r rrrtlrirt crrsc. In any case,the subordinateis requiredto provideproof of detailedaccording to the specialneeds of the unit or the corps.Article 2l con- tl,, tr'tjinitirrtivc ("i/ tlrtxhc ù lùirepreurc d'initiative réfléchie", Article 8 (l) 'l)(, cernsthe wearingof the unilbrm (duty of strictcorrcctness) and hair or bcard \) cut (duty to respectthc rcquirementsof hygieneand sccurity).Article 22 con- \rrrrrtflfrr.tlo llrc (icrrclrrl ('rirrrinlrl Luw (r'orlr,pénul, Article 122 (4)) the ccrnsthc rnilitarysalutation which is oweclto supcriors.Article 23 relatesto thc ,rr .r\(()nll)li\lttttr',rtrir(l ulr(l('rllle (()nlr))iul(lof'thc lcgitimatcauthority is il0 JôrgGerkrath Military Law in Frunce ll I not responsible(in the penal sense)tbr thal act unlessthe act is rnanifèstly Leisureactivities fàll under serviceregulations which arc proper tbr each illeual. T0 ;rrmyand eachestablishment(règlernent intërieurl. There is only a generalregu- lrrtionon serviceliom I967 (De<'reeNo.67-l26lJ du 26 détenbreI967 "portdnt rù,qlerrrentdu servicede garnixtn") which mentionsin Article l2 the useof com- 4. Social Rightsof Soldiersand their Families rrroninstallations like the mess,library, hotels. club. lobby, and gym. With regardto soldierson missionsabroad. there seems to be a lacuna.Sol- Articles20 To24 of the GeneralStatute liom 1972describe the socialrights of tlicrssent abroad on OPEX areindeed covered by the protectiongranted by the soldiers.Besides the coverageof certain typesof insurancelbr specialrisks 'ocill securityscheme of the arnredfbrces. but only "during service".In order encounteredby soldiers(Article 2l SGM), the main social advantageis the to avclidproblems occurring from theexact delimitation of what is to be under- right to receivetreatment by the health servicesof the armed torces(service de 'lood by the terms "in service"during a missionabroad. the administration santéde.s arntées\.11 and to receiveassistance fiom the Social Action Serviceof ('r)couragessoldiers to contractpersonal insurance, like any ordinarytourist.Tr the Armed Fbrces(Article 22 SGM). I hc CSFM has recentlydeliberated on this question.and the Minister of Soldierslàll under the generalsocial security plan for F-renchcivil servants l)clcncehas agreed to createa workinggroup which will makesuggestions. He and benelltfionr specialpension regulations (Article 20 SGM). lr.rsrrlso ensured that thesekinds of situationswill be e.xaminedwitlr theclosest Soldiersalscl receive special protection by the statewith regardto any kind ,rttcntion.il of dangeror attacksin the excrciseof their llnctions (Article 2,1SGM). The With respectto the soldiers'tàmilies.Articlc 2-l of the GeneralStatute sim- stateis obligedto repairany damagecaused by suchdangers or attacks.The t,lr rnentionsthat thisquestion is regulatedby dccrcc.This hasbeen done as 1àr statcis lurthernroreobliged to grant supportin legalproceedings if a servrce ,r' thc healthservice is concerned(Decree No. 78-19.1ll'om 24 February1978). nrernbcris the sub.lectof penalproceedings because of factswhich do not have ln luct.this decreedistinguishes two kindsof bencllciarics:those who havepri- thecharactcr ot'a personalfàult (Article24 in.fineSGM). ,rrt! like thesoldiers themselves and thosewho will bc treatcdwithout prior- Thereis no rcgulationwhich establishesa general right to educationfbr sol- rt\ likellmily membersof soldiers(but also civilians working for theMinistry diers,but a right to educationprior re-enteringcivil life doesexist. ,'l l)ct'cnce).In practice,all civiliansasking lor rredicalattention are treated by Pastoralcare is organisedwithin the armedfbrces on the basisof a statute tlreSSA. datingfrom 8 July 1880,in spiteol- the dispositionsof the Statuteof 9 Decem- ,\ccordingto Article 22 of the GeneralStatute tiom 1972."the military are ber 1905,which recognisesthe separationof Church and State.and which indi- , rrtrtlcdto receivetreatment by the army's hcalth service".r'A decreeof 'l catesthat the Stateneither recognises nor tlnancesany religiousservice. The I cbruary1978 deterrrrines the conditions and the benetlciariesol'treatment GcneralStatute of 1972only declaresin Article 7 that the lieedomof thought l,r tlre ".srrlite de.santéde.s uunëes" (SSA). Detailsare ruled by instructions and belief doesnot hinder the tiee exerciseof religionwithin military enclo- 'r\r'nby thc Ministerof Defènce.7('Thedecree liom 1978distinguishes between suresor on shipsof the navy.A decreeof I June1964. determines the statutory r',neliciirries who must be treatedwith priority (Article 3). and other benefi- situationof the military ministers("rnrntôniers trrilitaires"). Three religions- rrrres(Article 5). Soldiersnot only havethe right to be treatedby the SSA. CatholicChristianity. Protestant Christianity, and Judaism arerepresented by rlr\\ ir'ù irctuullyrequired to approachthe SSAfor all medicaltreatment. Only ministerswho can haveeither military or civiliztnstatus. In the threedepart- r r.r:c()l irbsolutenecessity ("ftne nrujeur"\.and if theircondition so requires mentswhere the Concordatol l80l still applies.the ministershave a special ,rr,, tlrcy bc trcatedby civilianmedical services (Article 4). statusdetermined by theC--oncordat.r:

r )r llr\ poirrt rcli'r to E.-J. I)uval. Protection sr>cialedes militaires et banalisation des ., ,1.. (l'.)')())) l)ntit t't I)Utrr.:a.y>.56. rr) "N'e(t pts pénalenretttresponsable la personne qui accornplit un acte comnrandé par | ,r)rl)lr'rtrrLlrrsr.rrlhttit;Lre tlc lu (rlùnte sessiorrdu CStrM du 27 novcnrbreau ler l'autorité légitime. sauf si cet acte est manifèstementillégal". , rrrlrtr''O(l(l 7r See Decree No. 78-194of 24 February 1978. I , . rrrrlrl.rrrc:orrl tlroit ilu\ s()tnsdtt scn,iccdc sitntédes armées." rr See B. Cruzet. l-'exercicedes cultes dans les armées.(1995) 4 Droit ct Défànse.pp.28 ,, rlr'rrr'l,'i'i I().ltltr .)-lli'rttct l()7Slcl:rlil :ru\s()il.ts:tssurésparleservicetlesantédes et.\eq. ï2 Jôrg Gerkrath Military Law in France 313

Accorclingto the Decreeliom 1978.soldiers'Èrmilies (spouses and children 1001in orderto satisfytheir requcstsfor equitywith the situationof the nation- which are supportedby the household)may benefitfiom the "SSA'subjectto rrl policelbrces. l-bllowing this, the Ministerof Defenceentered into a wider the prior satisfactionof the needsof the personsfalling within the categoryof discussionwith all the armed forcesand adopted,in February 2002,a "plon de Article 3. In practice.the treatmentof làmily membersis alwaysensured. tltleloppementde la condirionmilitaire".78 A seriesof thc measureslaid out in 'l'he military medicalsystem (SSA) is permittedto treatcivilians. In fàct, the thisplan havebeen adopted since April 2002,in order to improvethe "military military hospitalsreceive more civiliansthen military personnel.Collaboration condition".r')These texts aim to compensatesome of the specialconstraints on betweenthe military hospitals,which belongto the SSA and the civilianmedi- rrrilitarypersonnel by grantinghigher supplements to the basicsalaries. cal systemis organisedby the DecreeNo.74-43 I ol l4 May 1974.Military per- sonnefmust usethe làcilitiesof the SSA (Article 4. Déoet 78-194du 24 F-évrier lt. Holidovsand SpecialLeave 1978relati/'au.t soinsassurës por le servicede sanlédes arnrëes). An instruction of the Ministerof Defèncedetermines the conditionsof collaborationif a ser- I Iolidays(oflicial leaveor permittedleave) are regulatedby Articles53 SGM vicemember has to receivetreatment f'rom a civilianestablishment.Tl rrncll4 et seqq.RDGA. Article 53 SGM distinguishes5 typesof ofÏcial leave Military doctorsare subordinateto the generalrules governing the exercise l"congës")'.sickness rest (up to 6 monthsin a yearwith pay).maternity leave or of the medical professions(Code de la santépublique). Some dilÈrencesexist :rdoptionleave (under the sameconditions as fbr any othcr employee),leave in however.According to |he dëtrel 8l-60 du I6 jantier l9<\l "/ixuttt les règlesde the interestof service(eg for educationor lbr personalconvenience, with pay déonlologieapplicubles au,r nëdecinseî aux phurnracienschimi.sles des armées'". irrthe flrst case,without pay in the secondcase), and leaveat the end of service fbr example,they do not needto registeras civiliandoctors in order to exercise ()r'lt theend ol a campaign(maximum 6 months). their profèssion. fhe RDGA providesfbr long term speciallypcrmitted leave and for specially pcrmittedleave fbr fàmily events.In any case.thesc pcrntissions must take into .rccountthe needsof the service.lf the circumstancesso require,the military 5. RulesGoverning Working Time ,rtrthoritymay recallsoldiers on leave(Article l4 RDGA). During campaigns ,rr'OPIIX, the regulationof permittedleave is determincdby the Minister of d. Working Time and Compensationfor Overtime | )clcnce. l'crmissionof long durationcan be takenfbr 45 daysper annum.The right The generaltexts (SGM and RDGA) do not containany regulationconcerning ro lslsu.a military installationon permissionis acquiredin slicesof 4 daysper working hoursor overtime.As the servicemember may be askedto serveat any rrronthof service,which meansthat after I month of servicein the military the time (Article l2 SGM), the idea of overtimedoes not make any sense.They .,,ltlicrmay take 4 daysot}. Short-termpermissions lbr làmily eventsare gov- may benefitfrom specialleave if this is compatiblewith the needsof the service , rncd by specialinstructions (Article l6 RDGA). (Article19 RDGA). During OPEX, the French military receivehigher wages(indenmitë rle ser- 'viceen ('untpctgne,ISC or indemnitëde sujétionsde serviceù l'ëtranger,1SSÈ). t,. l,cgal Remedies,in ParticularRights to File a Complaint consistingof 150'2,of their normal pay.They also acquirethe right to special restal theend of campaign. \,eortlinsto Article l3 of the DecreeNo.75-675 of 28 July 1975(General Confronted with a crisisamong the personnelof the Gendurnreriewhich led ll, r'trlrrtionon Disciplincin the Armed Forces.modilled by DecreeNo. 85-914 sevcrafhundreds of getulunnesto manifcsttheir dissatisfactionby paradingin ,r 'l Âugust198-5. and DecreeNo.200l-537 of 28 July2001), soldiers have a public and in unitbrm,the governmentadopted special measures in December

:,, 1.lsnlrrtl. Itour la prernièrefiris, les gendarmes en colère manifestent en tenue, Le \l (t gendarmes le gouverne- r7 Les conditions dans lesquellesle servicede santé des armées prend ert charge lcs mili- tr,lr'. l)cecnrber 2t)01.p. ll; .1.Isnard. l.a l'ronde des oblige , taires et personnes indiqués ci-dessus,qui, pour des raisons de fbrce maieure. ont dû lll .r l()u\rrrlcdiltlrtg.ttc.Lc lllortlt llDeccnrbcr200l,p.ll. recevoir les soins que nécessitaitleur état en dehors de toute intervention de ce scrvice. l,,rrr rltr'rr't'srrrrtl lhrlt'crt lrrtcli's*'erc lrtlopteclon 24 April 2002 and publishedin the sont l'ixéespar une instruction du rninistrechargé des lrrnées. tt tli l r,l ) \l;rr .'oll' lt4 Jiirg Gerkrath Military Law in France 315 generalright to t'ilea complaint againstdisciplinlry r)rcrsr.rrcswhich allèct 7. Rightsof InstitutionalRepresentation them. Furthermore,according to Articlel3 (l) RD(iA (intnrcluceclby l)ccreeNo. In France.there is nothing similar to the "DeutscherBurulesw'ehrverband." but 85-914of 2l August1985), soldiers may applyto thc gerrclalinspcctols with rnembersof the FrenchNational Assembly seem to be interestedin the right of any questionconcerning their personalsituation. the conclitionsol' thc cxercise rrssociationas it is practisedin Germany.During a EUROMIL meeting,they of service,or the Iifèwithin the militarycommunity. rvcreparticularly interestedin the relationshipoî the "DeutsclterBurulesv'ehr- Besidesthese internal rights of complaint,soldicrs ciur usethc gcncrallegal verhattf'withthe GermanGovernment and the Ministry of Defence. remediesin order to contestadministrative measures which aflect thcm. The The right of associationis not granted to active servicemenin France. Conseild'Étttt has incleedprogressively accepted its compctcnccto dccidc on I lowever, the armed forces were restructed into a professional army in measureswhich. until severaljudgements in 1995,it uscdto considcrinternal l00l-2002 and due to this developmentthe right of asscoiationis now being measures.E{) rliscussedby F'renchpoliticians. As it hasbeen stated. "The way is probablystill Sincel September2001. a new procedureapplies in the Iicld of'military liti- rr long one before the French public will get used to the idea of the right of gation.trThis procedureis governedby a decreeof 7 May 2001.f:which imple- rrssociationlor military personnel".8l mentsArticle 23 of a statuteof 30 June2001.8r According to this decreethe There is nothing similar to the German spokesmanin the Frencharmed new procedurerequires the exerciseof a preliminaryadministrative complaint lirrceseither. The only institutionalrepresentation is realisedthrough category ("recours adnrinistratif-préulable"l against all acts which allect the personal lrresidents("prësident.s de catëgories").participuting commissions("cont- situationof the servicemembeq except those matters concerning their rccrutt- rtti.ssionsparticipatites"). and the councilsof the military function("t'onseils de ment. the exerciseof disciplinarypower. or measurestaken on thc basisof the Itt lônctiortntilitaire". CF-M) proper to each corps of the armed forces(army, "uxle relutif uu.t pensiotr.snrilitaires d'inyuliditë". The new rulcs thus apply to rlrvy. air force and gendarnterie\,and, at the top, The"Conseil Supérieurde la litigationin the fleldsof promotion.grading, transferral, etc. litttt'tionMilitaire", (CSFM) which hasbeen in existencesince 1969.85 Beforebringing a claiminto court, the servicemember must go to a commis- SinceOctober 2001, Category President thoseinside each unit who repre- sion which will examinethe complaint.The commissionis constitutedof olï- scnt the three categoriesof soldiers(ofïicers, sub-ofïicers, and private soldiers) cers,and will issuea simplerecommcndation to the Ministerof Defènce,who hasbeen an electedoffrce.86 The conditionsof the electionof theseCategory has the competenceto rejcctor to admit the complaint.Any action brought I'rcsidentsand participatingcommissions result from an "urrêté" and an directlyto theadministrative courts would haveto be declaredinadmissible. rrrstructionadopted in April 2001.r'7This "aggionnmentd'within the French Finally. Article l3 (8) RDGA prohibitsany kind of collectivepetition or .rrnredforces had beenstrongly desired by the membersof an army "whose complaint.This dispositionis part of the rulesconcerning complaint against rnoralehad beenafïected" according to PresidentChirac himself.88 This reform disciplinarymeasures. lts fbrmulation,however, seems to indicatethat it applies rcrnainshowever quite modest, as the listsof candidatesare subject to approval generally.

s('See X. Latour, L'évolution de la jurisprudencc du (i,n.rt'il r/ Lrrrt sur les mesuresd'ordre ' Scc E,UROMIL meeting in April 2000. http://www.hod.dk/Euromil/Today/APR 'o( intérieur en matière de défense:les arrêts Marie et Hardouin. (1995) 2 Droit et Dalènse. X). htnr. p. 31. Sccl-oi No. 69-1044.du 2l Novembre1969. Er See R. Rialland. Réfirrme de la procédure des recours contentieux rnilitaires et créa- Scc.l.lsnard. Les armées seront appelées à éliredes représentants dans chaque lbrma- tion de la cclmmission d'examen rrréalable des recours, (iu:t'tte du Pulois. ltl August rr,'11 f11ç11f 9.Le Monde,T May 2001. 2001.p.28. ( ()nrPrrre présidents sr Arrètédu I 2 avril2001. relatif à la désignationdes de catégorieet DécretNo.200l-407 du 7 mai2001 "organisant la procédurede recours adrninistratif l, \ nrùnrbrcstles commissions participatives; Instruction No. 201400/DEF/SGA/DFP/ préalableaux recourscontentieux lbrmés ii I'encontred'actes relatif s à la situationper- | \ll tlrr (r seplernhre1001. relative à l'électiondes présidents de catégorieset desmem- sonnelledes militaires". r' . rltr r'()nlllilssi()il\plrrltetplrliVes. juridictions ''orit'ls" " Loi No. 2000-597du 30 iuin 2000rclative au rélérédevarrt les rdministnr- \,t .f fsrlrrtl. I)t's tllrrs l'irrntéc (le terre française, Le Monde, l6 October tives. lr rl 316 Jôrg ( iclk r;rth Military Law in France 3r7 by the colonelat thc hcadof cachrcgimcnt.'llrc rrrt'rrl'r'r: ol llrt'sc.,'cn('[iM theirexecution. He mustnot deliverorders contrary to the law.He must respect andthe CSF M continueto beselected by cllawirrgk't' the rightsof the subordinates. The C'SFMis to be consultedin orderlo givcir(l\rr'r'()rr (lur'\lr()r)\ i'()nccrn- Article 8 RDGA affectsthc dutiesof the subordinates.Subordinates must ing tlremilitary fuuction.')o According to u.juclgerrrerrt rrl tlrt ( tttr:t'iltl l.'ttrt,il loyallyexecute the ordersreceived and are responsiblelor their execution.If it mustbe consulted on anyquestion of generalnirlule torrtt'rrrurt ertlrcr thc urili- turns out to be impossibleto executeâ givenorder, the subordinatewill report taryfunction or thecondition and the status ol' thc nrililrrrr.' assoon as possibleto the superior. Thel4 membersof theCSFM representthc clilll'r'crrt rrrrlrlrrr rrnks and the differentcomponcnts of the armedforces. The ('SliM hrrsir Drrrullcorrsultative functicrn:its flnction is determir.redby an "arrërt,"ol l() .lirrrurrr\)l(l(|. "pttrturtl 2. Subordinationof Soldiersto the Commandof a Superiorof l'oreignArmed règlernerttintërieur du CSI-M et des CFM". Forces

The questionwhether soldiers may be placedunder the commandof a foreign V. The Relationshipof the Superior to SubordinatePersonncl superiordoes not seemto createserious legal problems under Frenchmilitary lrrw.Any conrmandpower derives finally f}om thc powersof the Presidentof l. Legal RulesConcerning the Relationshipbetween Superior and Suhordinate thc Republic who is Chief of the Arrrredl-brces lnd is exercisedin his namc by the entitled commânder.Thus. a simple decisionof the Presidentmay The relationshipbetween superior and subordinateis vcry strictlyclelined by accomplishthis objective. the relevanttext: the DecreeNo. 75-675 GeneralRegulation on [)isciplinein ln practice.however. and up to now Frenchsoldicrs have not beenplaced the Armed l'brccs.The organisationof the armedforces is bascdon hielarchy clirectlyunder the commandof a tbreignolllccr. Thcrc is alwaysan intermedi- and authority. which are flunctionalimperatives (Articles J and 4 RDGA). irte Frerrchcommand in the operationsthcatre ((ltttttrtutuletuertt de.s élënrertts Article 3 dehnesthe military hierarchyand Article 4 determinesthr-- conditions lruncai.s.COMELEF). Only the French (commanding)ofllcer will thus be for thc cxcrciscof authority. Hierarchy of gradesis determinedby the General placeddirectly under foreign command. He will rccciverrn irrstruction to co-op- Statuteof the Military oï 1972.The ptrrticularhierarchies which may existin cratefrom the F'renchCEMA. Only operationalcornnrand will be transferred. eachcorps and its correspondencewith generalhierarchy is determinedby the Article -5of the RDGA. as modifledby DecrccNo. 2001-517,now explicitly particularstatus of the corps(e.g. for otïicersof the army DecreeNo. 75-1206 inclicatesthat for each C)PEX.three levelsol'comnrarrd authorities must be of 22 December1975).'rr The exerciseof authority normally comeswith rank, tlctermined."'As tirr as simplemeasures of administrativeand technicalsurveil- and respectsthe hierarchicalorder unlessit is exercisedby the holder of a "ser- lrrnceare concerned,an "unêtë" of the Ministerof Det'cnceof I I May 2000, vice letter" or a "commandletter", or if specialinstructions have been issued irrdicates"Le.s contmanùnts organiquesdes élhnents .froncuis de fbrce rnultina- (Articlc 4 RDGA). tionule"as the only competentauthorities. Thc dutiesof the chiel and the suborclinatesare determinedby Articles 7 Disciplinary power, as well as the power to give grades ("pouvoir de and 8 RDGA. Article 7 indicatesthzrt the superiormakes decisions and cx- rrttttttirtri'lwill in any caseremain with nationalauthorities. The Conseiltl'Etur pressesthem by orders.He assumesthe entireresponsibility for the ordersand hrrsindced decided, that "the statecan not cedethe powerto accorda rank to ,rrrcof its agentsto a third countryor to a lbreignorganisation".')a There can be rrrrcloubl that the positionof the (irr,r'eild'Etat would be very similar with E')See B. Cruzet,Le Conseilsupérieur de la lbrrctionmilitaire, (1995) 2 Dnit ct D[/en.se, rcsrrrdto lhe powerto takedisciplinary measures. p- 23; M. Jacob,Le besoirrd'expression collective des militarres est-il satislhit par les institutitrnsactuelles l. ( 1998)302 Reyue udnrinistrutivc, p.)85. 'x) ''\u SeeGeneral Statute of theMilitary, Article I andDecree No. 99 122u,.10 Decernber sein de chaque armée. formation rattachéeet organisme interarmées,y compris en I999. ,'Pt'nrtiorrsextérieures. sont en outre déterminéesles lbnctions comportant pour leur titu- 'r CE27 October 1978. Larnende, Rec. CL,. p. 394. l,rnc lcs pr'érogativestl'autorité militaire de premieq de deuxième et, éventuellement,de ')r tr.rrsii'rlrcuirclrLr rl['llnrcs p:rr le présentrèglenrent." C()mpirre Code pratique tle la lbnction publiquc. Îlmc Vlll. Fonction mililrire. Sla- luts p:rrticulicrs (lcsc()rps nrilitlrircs. ( P:rris. I 990). ( rlrltl)iu('(| ||()tl,rlrLtl()()(). M.(lrllcl:r. 3r8 JôrgGerkrath Military Law in France 319

F-oreach multinational operation, the rulesof cngirgcnrerrt rrntlthc SOIA or Accordingto Article 34 RDGA, thereare threelevels of commandwhich are a specialexecutive agreement will determinethc dctails.'lhcrc rrlc rro other spe- investedwith disciplinarypowers: the military authority of the first level(lbr- cial rules(constitutional or simplestatutory rulcs) lbr thc lckrtiorrslripol-supe- merly the chief of corps).the military authority of the secondlevel, and the rior to subordinate.or for the rieht to command soldicrsot'othcr lirrcesin Minister "in chargeof the armics"or the military authority of the third level. one'sown country. The disciplinarypowers of the Ministerof Defènceare in pructiceoperated by eightauthorities of the centraladministration: the threeChiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces.the Director Generalof the .the Dele- 3. ServiceRegulations and their Legal Nature gate Generalof Armament, the Director of Legal Affairs. and the Central Directorsof the Healthand PetrolServices. Each of them exercisesthe power There is a generalregulation on servicefrom 1967(Decree No. 67-l)68 du 26 of the Ministerwithin his own fieldof competency. "portant dét'entbreI967 règlententdu servicede garni,son",RSG). liurther scr- Professionalsanctions (Article 27 (2) SGM)and the conditionsunder which vice regulationsare specilic to each army and each establishment(règletnent thcy can be pronouncedare determined by decree.Thcy can consistin a partial intérieurl.The generalregulation fiom 1967determines, for example.the or- or total. temporaryor permanentwithdrawal of a profèssionalqualitication. ganisationof servicewithin a garnison,security measures, control measures, Only personnelhaving such qualifications and cxcrcisingspecific activities e..ç military ceremonialsand military honours,etc. on board of submarines,linked to the movingof aeroplanes.or in the medical Interministerialinstructions (prepared by the SGDN). instructionsof the lleldcan be subjectto theseprofessional sanctions.')7 "circuhires" Ministerof Defenceor the L,MA determinethe detailsand indica- Statutorysanctions are enumerated by Articles48 SGM (lor careersoldiers) tc how to apply theserules. With respectto the legal nature of thcscregulations and 9l SGM (for non-careersoldiers). According to Article 48 SGM. they can "circu- one shouldbear in mind that decreesand instructionsare bindins. while bc pronouncedlbr prolèssionalinsufliciency. habitLral rnisbehaviour, senous laire.s"are not. fault in serviceor againstdiscipline, fault againsthonour or condemnationto inrprisonment.The (brrseilI'Erut has recentlydecidcd that a soldicl who by negligenceexposes the men placedunder his authority to dangercommits a VI. Sanctions seriousfault whichjustilles a statutorysanction.')s l. DisciplinaryLaw h. (.ritninal Law and Dist'iplinary Lav, a. Dist'iplinar.\,Pov'er .\ccordingto Article 27 SGM, military personnelfall underthe commonpenal Disciplinary power and measuresare regulatedby threemain texts:the General lrrwas wefl as under the dispositionsof the " Codetle justice militaire". Without Statuteof the Military from 1972.the DecreeNo.75-675 of 28 July 1915- prc.judiceto penalsanctions, faults committed by soldiersexpose them to disci- Regulationof General Disciplinein the Armed Fbrces(RDGA),.)5 and the plinarypunishments. professional sanctions and statutorysanctions. Code of Military Justice(details are regulatedby a long list of secondarydc- Article 30 RDGA establishesthe sameprinciple: the samefault may engen- creesapplying in the differentcorps of the armed forces). tlcr cumulativelya disciplinarypunishment. a professionalsanction, a statutory Article 27 SGM indicatesthat "without prejudiceof penalsanctions which 'rrnction.and/or a penalsanction. they can engendeqfaults committed by soldiersexpose them to: l. disciplinary I)isciplinaryaction is independentfrom penal action, which meansthat a punishments.2. prolèssionalsanctions, and 3. statutorysanctions. pcnul sanctiondcles not necessarilyprovoke a disciplinarysanction, but the Disciplinarypunishments can be takenonly by the Minister of Defenceor ,rhscnceof'penal proceedingsdoes not preventa disciplinarypunishment. Dis- the military authoritiesspecially nominated in every unit lbr that purpose.')(' ( rl)linaryarrest is not subtractedfrom imprisonmentunder penal law.

'5 Whichhas recently been modifled by DecreeNo. 2001-517 of 20June 2001. e('('ompare ('. BenArnor, L'exercice du pouvoirdisciplinaire au seindes armées. (1999) 2 Src IJ. lhtrnrrrsl\rll.Statulclcsmilitaircs.(1996) 195 Juris-Classeuradninistruti/.p. 15. I)ntit ct DI/cn:a, o. 11. ( onlt)ilt('( 1 . I I tlrrrr:rrrl(X)l. l'honuts. -r20 Jritr'(rt thr,rllr Militarv Law in France )11 c. ThePurpose o./' Disciplinurr Luw e. Disciplinar.t,Lurr atul îhe Europeun('onvention on Hunran Righls

Thedeclaredpurposeofl'renchnrilitlrrrtltsttltlttt.ttr Itrr t lrr|11111511llcgllgellce Francehas issucd a rcscrvationto Articlcs5 and 6 ECHR concerningthe disci- or failuresin duties(Article 30 (l) Rl)(i,\) " llr( ( ,,//\{tl 'l l r,trtlr'trtlctltltrtt in plinary regimcwithin the armedforces. This reservationindicatcs that Articles lt'tr' l'r''rr ilt sct'- order to come underdisciplinary law. lr llrtrltttttt:l "'tllttttttctl 5 and 6 shallnot be understoodas preventingFrance from applyingArticle 27 vice or must be likely to have an inlltrcltcc ot) ll)t st'tt tt r' SGM and Article 315Code de iu,vticenrilituire. d. Disciplinurl Measures f. Tlrc Disciplirutrt' Procetlureand Legal Renredies

According to Article 3l RDGA. therearc two listsol tlrstrplrr:rt\ l)ut)ishrttcnts. The main elementsof the disciplinaryprocedure are fixed by Articlesl3 to 39 according to military rank. For ofiicers, lbur rlrlli'rcrrt nr('ir\ur('\ rrlc rtvttilable: of DecreeNo. 75-675of 28 July 1975- GeneralRegulation on Disciplinein the warning, reprimand. arrest, and blame. For otclinrttl soltltt'ts ("rtrilitttirt'.sdu Armed Forces,which has recently been modilled.ror Severalguarantccs are rang"). the availablemeasures are: warning. conllncll)clll.;ttrtl :rtlcsl. Articlc 32 givento soldiersby Articlc ai RDGA. r(rr RDGA adds turthcrmore the withdrawal ol "flrst clrrss"tlislirrr'ltott rttttl lcduc- The disciplinaryproccdure starts with thc discoveryof a fàult. Everysoldier tion of rank. which can be pronounced in addition to lhc rli:erplirrrrrypunish- has the right and eventhe duty to point out laults committedby his subordi- ments in the caseof vcry seriousfaults committed by ortlittrtty soltlicls. natesor by soldiersplaced below him in the rankingand to requesttheir punish- The duration of the arrest which may be appliccl tlcl-rctttlsotl the lcvcl of ment.There is no right to point out wrongdoingsol peersin rank or superiors. authority taking the decision (seeArticle 34 RDGA). Arrcst Irtrtylrrst trp to 40 The demandof punishmentis sent to the Chief of Corps of the personwho days (if decided by the Minister of Delènce himsell). arlcl crttt be tlotrbled by committedthe fault.After hearingthe soldier,the Chief of Corpswill verifythe isolation for half of the arrest time if the fault was vcry scri()uslnd lllls under accuracyof the facts and determinethe ground for the accusation.He can penal laq or if the service member constitutes a dangcr to his comrades decidefor himself on the punishment.within the limits of his disciplinary (DecreeNo. 85-914of 21 August 1985). powers,or submita demandof punishmentto a supcriormilitary authority. Besides these disciplinary punishments, there are also statutory sanctlons The soldier has the right to defènd himself before any punishmentis which may be pronounced, according to Articlc 48 SGM, f-or prolèssional applied.This right to defencemay be exercisedorally, or in written form if the insu{Ticiency,recurrent misbehaviour, serious fàult in service or against disci- disciplinarymeasure is takenby an authorityplaced above the Chief of Corps. pline, fault against honour or in caseof a sentenceof imprisonmcnt not imply- Punishmentsmay be appliedonly accordingto a chart fixed by edict.The sol- ing the loss of grade. Three types of sllch statutory sanctions arc dclined by dier hasa right to complain(droit de recour.s).which is establishedby Article l3 Article 48 SGM for career soldiers: removal liom the promotion schcme. with- RDGA and constitutesthe procedureof appealin the lleld of disciplinary drawal of occupation by placing in the situation of forccd leave (lbr a maxi- measures.There is alsothe possibilityof hierarchicalcontrol of thedisciplinary mum of three years.see Article 49 SGM), and removal from the cadresby disci- measure. plinary measure (Article 50 SGM). In case of serious fault by il career soldier. Accordingto the caselaw of thc administrativecourts, soldicrs also havea he can be immediately suspended(Article 5l SGM). right to bring an action againstdisciplinary measures which are registcrcdin Slightly different sanctions apply to volunteers (Article 9l SGM). They can their individualfile.r{)r Measures which are not registered,however. like a simple de degraded or even dismissed.A career soldier sentencedfor a crime will auto- warning,cannot be challengedby sucha claim.r0l maticafly lose his rank (Article 79 SGM and Article 384 Code de.iu'ttirc ntili- tairel. r"rConrpare Decree No. 2001-537 ol'20 June 2001. JORF 23 June 2001, p. 9999. rirrCp. S.Salon. Militaires: r.rouvelles garanties. (2001) 205 Calùer,sde lu futnctionpubli- t1ua.pp.21 25.

"'' "Le manquemcnt au devoir ou la négligenceentraÎnent clespunitions clisciplirtarres "' See('[: Ass.l7 February1995. ]lardouin. CE l2 July1995. Mauffroy. r(rr('lr. 1l .lunuurV199.1. M. I Iottc. "r ('lr li Ijehlrrrrr 1999.M I:tiennc. 322 Lrtt'(,ttl.t,rllr Military Law in France 123

r.t , I trr llr' ( ,l l'-t.tl. According to Article 28 RDGA. statutory sanctionsalways require the This is clue to itn imp()rtllnt clllltlll('ltl lltr "l "tt\t'tl interventionof a council of enquiry ("rotrscild'ent1uête") and prolèssional Until 1994. the CB considerc(ltlistilllrrr:rl\ |tllrl'lrrrr' rrl I rrrl(rrr'rl lr)r'il\Lll'cs" sanctionsrnust be precededby the consultationof a particularcommission ("ntesures d'ttrdre intérieur"). It rceclrllr ,tlr.tttrl'rl)'ti llrr It" lll('ll l)()wcvcr. 'l'he ("contntissionpurticulière"). organisationand the llnctioning of these taking into account the fact that clisciplilrrlt\1rttrtt'lttrt' rrl rrr'r\'rllr'r I 'r soltlier's lll{ 'rl 11'tl 'rtrrtttpot'trtt.tt councilsand commissionsare governed by specialdecrees.ro? rightstoa significantextent. Articlc l'l ol llre I( " 1'1 rOle in the argtrmentatiOn develttpc(l bv lll(' (.,/,//,//\\,///, ,1, t'ttt(tt'ttt(ttt(ttl Patrick F'rydman in order to convincc tltc ( i,rrrr'i/,l I r,tr t,' ,lt,tttlr' Il\ ltlllspt'Ll- It. Lleuxrr<'sof ('otttnrcttdutiorr dence. The change introducecl by a .judgcrl('r)l r) tlr( ll,url()urtt r'itsc ol Thereis a longlist of measuresof commendationwhich may beawarded accord- l7 January 1995. concerned a soldier in tltc rrrrrt rrlr,' lr.r.l l)((r \ul)tllittccl to ing 26 29 decoration, congratulation.diverse l0 daysof arrestfor havingbeen drunk. to Articlcs to RDGA: citation. insignia, to llrst of the soldier'scorps. certifi- The complaintmust be lodgedwith the rrtlrrrrtttsltrrltr((()urls II'rihtrtrul diplomasor nominâtion the class udminislratif\and directedagainst the decision ol' pruusltttttttl I lte,trltttttttstra- catesetc. tivecourts will thenapply their usualcriteria ol'lcgirlrlr ,rl :rrlttttnt:(rrtrvctcts ("reuturspour e.\(ès de poutvir")- Thc judgc ntay uttttttl llte rttl l,'r bcirrgillcgal (lack of competence.violation of procedurc.ctc.) ot lirt ttt:ttttlt'slcrt'or of 2. Military CriminalLaw appreciation(" erreurmanifë,sI e d' upprée'ial ion" ).ttts a. Issues SinceI Septcmber2001, the situationhas howcvcr bccrt tttotlilictl. Now. the Generul servicemember nltlst address his complaintfirst to it"(otrtttti\'\i()trl,r<'ttlultle des F-renchmilitary criminal law traditionallyoscillatccl between two inclinations: re(,ours"before he can bring a complaintto the administralivecottt.t. I'ltc com- to ensurethat the law is the sanrelbr everybody.ancl to take into accountthe missionhas no powerto decide.but will givea recommendittiolllo thc Minister distinctivenessof themilitaly l'unction with its particularconstraints and risks. of Defence,who may eitherrcject the complairllor ilgrecttr it ctrtttPlctclyor NapoleonBonaparte relèrred 1o thc first tendcncy.saying: "l-hcre is only one 't partially.r06 -iusticein France,you are a Frenchcitizen llrst, and then soldier".r0ltNever- theless,military distinctivenessscrved fbr a long time as thc basisfor a purticu- militaryjusticc which inspired Clémcnceau(1841 1929) g. Represenlationo.f' rhe ArnreclRtrtes during Disciplirur.v Proceedittg.t lar regimeof Georgcs to makethe tlmclusremark "Military justiceis tcl.justicc what military nrusicis Disciplinarypunishments are nornally takendirectly by the military atttl.tori- to music". *('rxle tieswithout the interventionof any councilor commission.The GeneralRegu- There still is a special de lujustite ttrilituirt;'(Code of Military lation on Disciplinein the Armed Forces.however. imposes the obligirtionto Justice)which is appendedto the "('orle depxt<'adure pénule". This Code has. consulta disciplinarycouncil ("con.seil de discipline")if the military authority lrowever,undergone scveral important relbrmssince 1965 in orclerto assimilate investedwith the disciplinarypower wants to apply a reductionin rank or the the soldierto the citizen(at leastin peace-time;without harmingthe interests withdrawalof flrst classdistinction (Article 32 RDGA). The consultationo[ a of'the armedtbrces. The latestretorm was realiseclby a statutcon l0 Novem- disciplinarycouncil is also necessaryif il non-careersoldier desires to he re- ber 1999.r'r'Thisstatute has a triple objective:to irlignthc procedurewhich leasedfrom servicebefore the end of the contractualperiod due to disciplinary lppliesin thc militaryjurisdictions to theone rvhich applies in ordinarycourts, punishmenteg in the caseof one or severalperiods of arrest (Article 38 to group at one singlecourt the diflerent proceduresrelated to infiactions RDGA). The compositionof the disciplinarycouncil depends on the rank of con.rmittedby membersof the armed tbrces abroad, and to respectthc the soldier(Article 39 RDGA). lt alwayscomprises llve membersand is chaired by an oflicer. " SccDecree No.7-{-.185 ol'22 April 197-1(nrodilled by DecreeNo. 7ti-716 o1'28 June l(,)78)andf)eclee No. 79-1088ol'7 December1979. 1,,'Compare N. Bclloubet-Irrier. Conlrt'rle par le (i,rr.r.i/ tl'Et,rt ,Je la légirlitèdes sitnc- "' "l.u.yusticc une est citoyen l'rançaisavant tions disciplinairesdans les armées,( 1995)Racrreil I)ullo:. Jurisprudence.p. 3liI L'\l cr.rFrance; on d'être soldat". Loi No ()()')(r()l0 Norcnrbcr ll Novenrber1999. rr'('Scc l)ccrec No. l(X)l-;107ol'7 Mal l(nl..lORIr ll May'2(X)1.p. 7'{1i6. " 1999..1()RI' \21 .lirr1'(ietkr,rllr MilitaryLrw in France 325 minimal dispositions destinccl to gtt:ttltttlt't'lltr' 'lr''trrr(lr\( rr( " 'rl llrc ltltneci d. Ralutionsltiphetx'een Civilittn und Militar.t, Court,s forces. ')(()ll)petcnt In peace-time,the military court in Parisis onlycompetent to try infiactionscom- There is now one singlecclurt ("lt l'rilttut,tltttt\ ttttttt' t 'l' l"tr /\ mittedabroad. C)rdinary civilian courts judge all commoninfiactions committed lbr all inliactionscommitted by a ntclttbctol lltt 'rtrrr({ll(rr(t' rtbtrrlttl'The by soldierson Frenchterritory. Military infractionsor infiactionscommitted in rights of defèncein the military havc bcctt sttctrl'lltt'nttl llrr' rrllrl to rrpl'rcitlis the executionof servicefàll undcr the competenceof the specialisedchambers beforethe "cotr d'uppeldc Puri.s"wltitlr rt.r ( r\ rlr.itr( orltl exercised which havebeen created (('ode cle prot'ëdure pënole, Articles 697et seqq.). b. Relatictnto GeneralCriminal Latr e. Speciul Ruleswith respe('tto the Lagul Prur.ulurauntl Iha SonctionsSl,stem Soldiersmust complywith the ordinarypenal lrrw ittttl lltt ( otlc ol Military Sinccthe two main refbrmsof July 1982and November1999. most of the for- Justice,which contains a numberof specialcrinrcs lrttrl ntllrrtltorrs ol'ntilitary merly existingspecial rules have been abolished. Three major diflerencesper- nature,e.g. desertion. insubordination, , ctc. (Ar.licles l()7 -176).Soldiers sist:an activesoldier cannot be put under.judicialcontrol (the military author- mustcomply with both. but the dispositionsol'tlrc ( otlc ol Nlilitrtr.y.lustice ity is considcredto be able to exercisesulÏlcient control ovcr the soldiersin applyonly to militarypersonnel and to thosepersons tttctt(iottctl lrr Articlcs59 orderto makesure they will appearin court on thc day of trial),the publicmay to 66 of the Code.These are in particularcivilian nrcntbcts ol tlrcst;rll'of the be excludcd fiom judicial debates,and the popular .jury in the Cour r/'n.s^rlrt'^ç armed lbrces(Article 60). or thosewho are enlistcclott tltc roll ol'rr ship or n.raybe put asideif thereis a risk that a secrctrelevant to the nationaldef'ence (Article and prisonersol' w:lr (A rt iclc 6-j Fur- aircraftof the armedtbrces 63), ). may bc compromised. thermore.Article 65 enlargesthe competenceof thc nrilitary c()urtt() culprits Articles383 to 396Codc of Military Justicedetermine the sanctionswhich or accomplicesof inliactionsdirected against the armedlbrccs (Articlc 65). can be appliedby the military courts.Therc are only two typesol' specialsanc- tions:discharge ("destitution") and lossof rank (Articlc 385). r'. Militar.t,('rinrinul Courts SinceNovember 1999, there is only one specialmilitary court in Paris(T'rihunal /. The Militury Prosecutor auxarmëes tle Paris)which is competentonly to try transgrcssionscommitted The civilian prosecutorsÇtrocurcurs de lu Rëpublique)can exercisethcir lunc- abroadby membersof the armed lbrces. tion with regardto both civiliansand soldiers.There is no specialcategory of For the rest,37 specialisedchambers have been created within the ordinary military prosecutors.However. the prosecutor,his or her substitute,and the courtsin order to judge soldiersin peace-timetbr inliactionscommittcd in the instructingjudge at the "T'ribnul uu.r urntéesdc Puri.t" are detachcdfiom the executionof their dutiesand fbr military infractionsas definedby the Ciodeof judiciary in order to exercisctheir military.judicial functions. Their attribution Military Justice. dcpendson the Minister of Defèncealone. At the diftèrenceto the ordinary In time of war, specialcourts may be created(Article I Code of Military jurisdictions,the prosccutorin chargeof the military prosecutingoflice does There havebeen two specialmilitary courtscrcated in the past' both Justice). alsoexercise the attributions of thechief of themilitarv tribunal.rrr linkedto the AlgerianCrisis in l96l-1962. The llrst military court wascreated by a decisionof Generalde Gaulle on the basisot' Article l6 of the Constitu- tion in order to judge the culprits and accomplicesof crimesand intiactions g.. Justi/it'ution h.1,Suparior Oruler:s againstthe safetyof the stateand the military discipline.The secondone was -Ihis questionis governedby Article 122-4NCP (NouteauCode Pënal).tt) institutedby an ordinanceof I June1962, in ordertojudge "certaininfiactions committedin relationwith the cventsin Algeria".r r0 :rrSeeJ. Stern,Le Tribunalaux armées de Paris.(2002)202 Revue dc lu Gendurnarie ttrttiotrulc. p. 59. r"'N'est rrrrsee ('l'.2 ntars 1962:Rubin de Servens,ancl (-F,. l9 October l9(r2t('rtnlrl. Robin el pirs pénalement responsablela personne qui accomplit un acte prescrit ou (itrtlol. (/rtrrrrlsurrL;t.s dc ltt iuri.sprud<'nct'udruitristnttit'c.(Plrris. 1999).pp 5S(rr'l rr'r7 ,ttttorisi' prtt tlcs tlisposilions législativcsou réglenrentaires.N'est pas pénalement res- 326 Jiirg(icrkrrrth Militarv Law in France 321 h. Suttt'lion,sfir Non-Cotnplian(c v'illt Ittlt'rttuti()tt(rlllutn!ttttltttttttt I tttl Vll. RegulationsGoverning Guard Duties with internationalhumanilltt'ilrtt lltrr t: \iltrtlr()l)e(l b1' olclinary Non-compliance The regulationof guard dutiescreates a numberof legalproblems in l"rance. penal (NouvcuuCode Pénul) and by thc (icnelrrl l{crrtlrtltortol l)isciplinein law Somcof the specialmilitary regulationsappear to be (at leastpartly) contrary Fbrces.The Codc Pénul conlains rclcrcnecs l() nl()\t ol tltc elinres the Armed to the generalpenal law. At present,the rulesare determinedby the fbllowing defined by the international c()llvettll()tt\('lr llltct'lllttional and intiactions sources:the "NouveauCode Pënal" Articles 122 (1) to I22 (7), the General law but not alwaysby using thc sarttelcnns ()r'

Military guards exercisetheir competenceszrccorclittg to tltc irrslluctiouol'the 3. The RulesConcerning thc (':rrrting arrdIrse of Arms and other Military EMA of l4 May 1985 "relatit'e aur garde's('t l,dtt'()ttill(\ tltut: lts :rtttL'snrili- Equipment taires en tenrpsde pai,r". This instruction concenls cspccirrllycottdttct vis-à-vis intruders(Articlc l0 (4)),and the control at thc entnttrccsol'ruilitru'y cstablish- The carrying of arms (pcr.s.l11ql.r'.liiciirl) is govcrnedby Article 25 RDGA. which ments (Article l4). The use of errmsis allowed in thc cusc ol'rrggressitttt Weapons are normally clrllretl orrl\ whcn wearing unilbrm, unlessthere is a "sensitivc -l'hc cannot be contained by other means. Within rrlilitrrryzorles", the specialinstruction. crtttrrrrr,rl pclsonrrlarms during serviceis lbrbidden. compctences are dilïèrent (Article 25). In this casc. gu:trcls ilfc cntitled to and subjectto thc gcncrrrllrrrr otrt ol ser-r icc. zolle. deny accesswhcther thcy are themselvesinside or outsicleol'the ntilitary The question is w,lrctlrt.rtlrr'rrse .l rrrnrsby soldiers carrying out guar

At night.within an inhabitcdplacc. lcuilirrr;rlt'tltlr'rrrr'r\ lrr)\\('\'cl prcsLlntcd of its agcntsto l thirclcountry or to a foreignorganisation".rrx There can be no (Article 122-6.NCIP). doubt. thirt (hc positionot the (irrr.ri,il,l'Ét,u would be very similarwith regard to thc l.rowcrto tlkc tlisciplinaryrneasures.

VIII. Legal Reformswith Respectto Multinalioltal ( )ltcritliorts and Structures 2. Probabilitynf F'utureReforms l. PertinentLegislation Neitherthc (iovernnrcntnor the Parliamentseem to havcprojccts or proposals in prepirrationin orclerto enact speciallegislation on the participationof Francehas not enactedlny speciallegislation dcrrling citlrrr rvitlr tuullinrtttonal French armecllbrces within multinationalunits or opcrations.The Frerrch units or multinationaloperations since 1990. Accortlrrrg to tlrc Ministry ot' Governnrcntand Parliamentdo not sharcthe Ccrman pointo('view requirins Defenceand the Ministry of F-oreignAffairs, thcre sccnrs [o bc no rtwitrcttcssof suchspecilic legislation. a needfbr suchspecial legislation. Ncvcrthclcss,the F-rencharmy underwentirn important relbrm processln There is only one particularpoint which has beennrotlillcrl reccntly (June 2001 2002.making the transitionll'om a (partly)conscript army to a fully pro- 2001)in thecontext ol'a nroregeneral rrrodificatiorr ol'lltc (icttclrrll{cgrrlation lèssionalarnry. This ref-ormwas also nreiint to adapl the I:rencharmed forces to on Disciplinein the Armed F'orces( RDGA liorrr 1975).rr(' ( )ttcttl' the rnodiflca- new rcquircmentsin the fleld of internationalpeace-keeping and participution tions conccrnsthe designationof the military authoriticscnlitlecl to cxercise in multinationalunits. disciplinarypower "includingduring externalopcrations" (Article 5). This During a meeting of the "('ottseil Supérieur le lu fltnction Milituire" changedoes not have,however, â direct consequenceon the rclationshipbe- (CSFM) l}om 27 Novemberto I December2000. the situarionol the military tween Frenchsoldiers and foreign commandcrs.because I-rench militaly are abrrrad(Le milituireù lëtrutrgerlwas discusscd.and scveralproposals were afwaysplaced under French command (COMELII['-. "cttttrtrtttndamentdes élé- made lor the improvementof the materialand lcgal situationol F'renchsol- ntents fronca,,r").A ministerial edict (arrëtë ministérie[)may define fbr each diers sent abroad.rr"Thesc proposals concern in particularthe conditionsof OPEX (opératiortextërieure) the authoritiesinvested with

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