Conseil D'état Reports (Former Conseil D'état Studies and Documents Collection)
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Cet ouvrage a été traduit en anglais avec le soutien financier de la Fondation pour le droit continental 2 __________ Conseil d'État Reports (former Conseil d'État Studies and Documents collection) Founder René CASSIN Steering Committee Jean-Marc SAUVÉ, Vice-President of the Conseil d’État. Bernard STIRN, Henri TOUTÉE, Bernard PÊCHEUR, Philippe MARTIN, Christian VIGOUROUX, Maryvonne DE SAINT PULGENT, Jean-Denis COMBREXELLE, Section Presidents, Catherine BERGEAL, Secretary General of the Conseil d’État. Jacky RICHARD, Deputy-President and General Rapporteur of the Report and Studies Section. Publication Director: Maryvonne DE SAINT PULGENT, President of the Report and Studies Section. Editorial Secretary: Corinne MATHEY, Secretary of the Report and Studies Section 1 Publications of the Conseil d’État by the same publisher. “Conseil d’État Reports” collection (former “Conseil d'État Studies and Documents” collection, EDCE) - Legal security and complexity of legislation (EDCE No. 57), 2006. - The French Administration and European Union: What influences? What strategies? (EDCE No. 58), 2007. - The contract, a public mode of action and production of legal rules (EDCE No. 59), 2008. - Right to housing, housing law (EDCE No. 60), 2009. - Water and its law (EDCE No. 61), 2010. - Consulting differently, participating efficiently (EDCE No. 62), 2011. - Agencies: new public management? – Annual Study 2012, No. 63. - Flexible law – Annual Study 2013, No. 64. - Digital Technologies and Fundamental Rights – Annual Study 2014, No. 65. - The Economic Action of Public Persons – Annual Study 2015, No. 66. “Conseil d'État Reports” Collection - Prior obligatory administrative appeals, 2009. - The revision of the bioethics laws, 2009. - Public institutions, 2010. - Developing mediation within the European Union, 2011. - Towards the establishment of a European public prosecutor, 2011. - The rescript: securing initiatives and projects, 2014. - The application of the new principle “silence by the administrative authority constitutes acceptance”, 2014. - Government commissioners in enterprises, 2015. “Rights and Debates” Collection - European human rights law, No. 1, 2011. - Developments in mediation, No. 2, 2012. - The economic valuation of public persons’ properties, No. 3, 2012. - Environmental democracy, No. 4, 2012. - Consulting differently, participating efficiently No. 5, 2012. - The intangible assets of public persons, No. 6, 2013. - Health and justice: What responsibilities?, No. 7, 2013. - Agencies: new public management? No. 8, 2013. - The legal issues of the environment, No. 9, 2014. - The decentralisation of social policies, No. 10, 2014. - 1952-2012: The French asylum judge, No. 11, 2013. - Correct, balance, direct: A renewed vision of economic regulation - Tribute to Marie- Dominique Hagelsteen, No. 12, 2014. - Penalties: juxtaposition of viewpoints of the Conseil d’État and Court of Cassation, No. 13, 2015 - What is the State becoming? - Volume 1 and Volume 2, (forthcoming) - Taxes and contributions, (forthcoming) “History and Memory” Collection - Vincent Wright conferences - Volume 1, No. 1, 2012. - The role of the Conseil d’État in the economic development of France in the 19th century, No. 2, 2014. - Making choices? Public officials in the Europe of the dictatorships, 1933-1948, No. 3, 2014. “Case Law” Collection - Case law of the Conseil d’État 2012-2013, 2014. 2 Summary FOREWORD ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������5 IN SHORT ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������9 THE ECONOMIC ACTION OF PUBLIC PERSONS �������������������������������������������23 INTRODUCTION �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������25 Part One WHAT PLACE IS THERE FOR THE ECONOMIC ACTION OF PUBLIC PERSONS? ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������29 1.1. The transfer of major macroeconomic levers to the European level still leaves a large scope to pursue national economic policy ...................................29 1.2. The economic action of public persons, in order to retain its scope, must take into account the requirements of an open economy ..................................50 1.3. The dispersion of economic action in public policies does not exclude overall coordination ............................................................................................69 Part two WHAT ARE THE LEGAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE ECONOMIC ACTION OF PUBLIC PERSONS? ................................................................................................87 2.1. A flexible constitutional framework whose requirements for economic action must not be under-estimated ..................................................................87 2.2. Conventional legal rules that are more structuring than binding in the economic field and of which it is possible to take better advantage ....................108 2.3. A block of legality favourable to economic action of public persons subject to a thorough judicial review ............................................................................129 Part three WHAT CONDITIONS FOR EFFECTIVE ECONOMIC ACTION? ������������������147 3.1. The action must be conducted by a limited number of closely coordinated actors ................................................................................................................147 3.2. Decisions better prepared and verified in order to adapt them to the complexity and the temporality of economic issues .........................................169 3.3. Choosing the tool best suited to the objective pursued ............................189 CONCLUSION���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������203 3 The Conseil d’État’s 2015 annual study was written by Charles Touboul, maître des requêtes, and deputy rapporteur général, under the supervision of Maryvonne de Saint Pulgent, President of the Report and Studies Section and Jacky Richard, Deputy-President of the Report and Studies Section. The annex entitled “What remains of Colbertism?” was written by Camille Pascal. As part of their training placement period in the Report and Studies Section, Marius Amiel, Céline Bévillon, Morgan Bunel, Aurélie Maugran, Anass Mourjane, Etienne Seche and Christopher Smague contributed to the work, in particular to the documentary research. 4 __________ Foreword by Jean-Marc Sauvé, Vice-President of the Conseil d'État Firmly defended since the start of the free-market revolution of the nineteen eighties, but never actually fully adhered to, the idea that in the economic field, public persons should refrain from acting or, at the very least, confine themselves to the most indirect and the least intrusive forms of regulation in market mechanisms has clearly been in retreat in the past few years. The recent crisis, first financial and then economic, has confirmed that States, including those which are considered to be the most free-market, have real power to intervene to correct systemic malfunctions, stimulate the competitiveness of their country and defend their strategic activities and that, when appropriate, they are determined to use them. Today, still less than in previous times, it is not a question of putting one’s trust in an illusory “invisible hand” to ensure economic processes run efficiently and support sustainable economic growth. A closer look reveals a transformation of the instruments of public action over nearly fifty years: behind the “State as a rescue service” and beyond “the Welfare State”, there has indeed been a “strategist State”, proactive and firmly committed to promoting national interests whose actions are felt. Its action has not receded from the economic field; on the contrary, it has been reorganised into new channels, with new priorities, as trade and production methods have been globalised and European integration has deepened. Far from opposing each other, the roles played by the State as “regulator” and “interventionist” complement each other, just as, without being absorbed, the national framework fits into the European and international framework. This reorganisation does not reflect a distortion of the fundamental missions of the public persons, but it is testimony to their ability to adapt to the new challenges they must meet. However, their economic action has become considerably more complex and diversified, in an environment that has itself become more fluid and complex. In this report, the Conseil d’État therefore seeks to clarify and secure the foundations and the scope of this action, but also to evaluate how it should be implemented. By doing so, our institution fulfils its role: with respect to these issues, it provides a twofold vision in its capacity as advisor to the public authorities and the supreme court over administrative matters, striving to be a useful source of analyses and proposals. As such, it contributes a certain doctrinal voice to the public debate, 5 the fruit of its experience and its ability to listen to the various national and European stakeholders. According to this approach, which aspires to be interdisciplinary, the study covers the whole spectrum of the economic actions of public persons – whether they intervene within the market, as sponsors or economic operators, with regard to its operation, as regulatory authorities or