Expertise Categorie: Public law

The decentralised organisation of the French state, enshrined in Article 72 of the Constitution, is an asset for rebalancing the Jacobin structure. However, it has become too complex and difficult to interpret for citizens and businesses as a result of successive decentralisation laws. The latest laws have not remedied this complexity.

Our team of lawyers specialising in local authority law works for the main French metropolises as well as for various public bodies for intercommunal cooperation (EPCI- Établissement public de coopération intercommunale). Our constant concern is to support the effectiveness of administrative action by providing legal guarantees, while maintaining a pragmatic approach capable of guiding our work towards practical solutions.

The complexity of France’s decentralised organisation

The general competence clause for departments and regions (partially abolished by the RCT reform of 2010) was reinstated by the law of 27 January 2014 on the modernisation of territorial public action and the affirmation of metropolises (MAPTAM) but was again abolished by the law of 7 August 2015 on the new territorial organisation of the Republic (NOTRe). This confers new powers on regions, strengthens the role of departments in terms of solidarity and reinforces intercommunal bodies. The Engagement et proximité Act of 27 December 2019 strengthened the role of local authorities within intercommunal bodies, and the 3DS Act of 21 February 2022 sought to strengthen the powers of local authorities in certain areas, but its implementation is uncertain at this stage.

Our team of lawyers with expertise in local authority law

Our team of lawyers specialising in public law acts in support of communes, départements, regions and various EPCIs such as groupings of communes, of conurbations, urban communities and metropolises. We work on behalf of France’s main metropolitan areas.

We also act for EPCIs with no tax status of their own: single-purpose intercommunal associations (SIVU), multi-purpose intercommunal associations (SIVOM), mixed syndicates and various types of specialised public bodies. We provide our expertise to assist and support local authorities in the exercise of their powers, while guaranteeing the legal security of their actions.

Faced with the growing complexity of France’s decentralised state organisation, our team of lawyers specialising in local authority law assists local authorities in the exercise of their powers. We are committed to putting our expertise and pragmatism at the service of effective and secure public action.

Decentralisation is a fundamental pillar of France’s political organisation, but its application has given rise to a degree of complexity. Local authorities have acquired more and more powers, creating specific legal challenges. Our team of lawyers specialising in local authority law is on hand to help local authorities secure their actions and find practical solutions.

France’s decentralised state organisation, an asset in rebalancing the Jacobin structure

France is renowned for its decentralised organisation, enshrined in Article 72 of the Constitution. This organisation provides for solidarity between the State and local authorities. However, it has become overly complex and unclear to citizens and businesses as a result of successive decentralisation laws. In this context, our team of lawyers specialising in local authority law works in support of communes, départements, regions and various EPCIs such as groupings of communes, of conurbations, urban communities and metropolises.

Assisting local authorities

We are lawyers specialising in local authority law. We work on behalf of France’s main metropolitan areas and various types of specialist public bodies such as single-purpose intercommunal associations (SIVU), multi-purpose intercommunal associations (SIVOM) and mixed syndicates. Our team works to support the effectiveness of administrative action, providing legal security while maintaining a pragmatic approach aimed at finding practical solutions.

Contact our lawyers specialising in local authority law in Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Lyon, Montpellier, Nice, Nîmes and Paris to assist you with all your legal issues.

Abeille Avocats, your partner in public procurement. Our lawyers specialising in public procurement have been working for many years with clients in the public sector, including local authorities, public bodies, and businesses. This extremely important part of the French economy, now governed by a specific code, is geared towards facilitating access to the market and ensuring the efficient use of public funds.

A team specialising in public procurement law

Our lawyers specialising in public procurement law put their expertise at the service of our clients, from the definition of the need to the selection of the contractual arrangement and even the drafting of the contract itself. Our expertise covers all types of contracts: supplies and services, works, intellectual services and specific design-build contracts.

Our litigation expertise

We also support our clients in a wide range of litigation matters, from the execution stage, in particular pre-contractual and contractual summary proceedings, to proceedings on the merits, such as appeals challenging the validity of the “Tarn et Garonne” contract, appeals for the resumption of contractual relations under the “Béziers 2” contract, appeals under the “Transmanche” contract and others. Our expertise also covers disputes relating to performance (late payment penalties, defects, final statements, contractual and post-contractual guarantees, amicable or judicial expert appraisals).

Alternative dispute resolution methods

We are also trained in alternative dispute resolution methods, in particular amicable procedures such as consultative committees for the settlement of public procurement disputes, mediation and conciliation.

Our lawyers specialising in public procurement law are available to assist you in Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Lyon, Montpellier, Nice, Nîmes and Paris.

Abeille Avocats covers all areas of administrative law, including civil service law. This is a particularly broad area in which the firm intervenes on any issue that may be referred to it.

Despite the changes that have profoundly affected it in recent years, civil service law remains a key issue for the French State and local authorities. Governed by the three major statutory laws of 11 January 1984 on the state civil service, 26 January 1984 on local government and 9 January 1986 on hospital civil service, as well as various implementing texts, civil service statutes govern the day-to-day lives of more than 5.5 million civil servants in France.

The 2019 law: renewing the framework and practices of social dialogue

The latest major law transforming civil service (no. 2019-828 of 6 August 2019) is designed to renew the framework and practices of social dialogue in the civil service and extend the use of contractual workers. It also deals with mobility and career transitions for civil servants. It reinforces the exemplarity of administrations in terms of ethics and professional equality. It overhauls the human resources management framework.

Measures inspired by private law

Some of the measures introduced are inspired by private law, such as social committees, project contracts, short-term contract bonuses and contractual termination.

Our services in civil service law

Our lawyers specialising in civil service law defend and assist local and regional civil servants, public employers, administrative officers, contract employees and part-time employees, both in advisory and litigation matters. We handle a wide range of disputes, particularly in the following areas: disciplinary matters, psycho-social risks, functional protection, moral harassment, as well as disputes relating to promotion, staff reports, trade union rights and multiple employment.

Our lawyers specialising in civil service law in Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Lyon, Montpellier, Nice, Nîmes and Paris are available to help you with all your legal issues.

Public domain and property are closely related issues that require cross-disciplinary skills. They are often intertwined and fall within the scope of different areas such as property law, public procurement, town planning, development, the environment, administrative and criminal liability, among others. Our lawyers specialising in public property law will guide and assist you through the complexity of the various legal issues specific to this field.

Expert lawyers to meet your needs

Abeille Avocats has a team of lawyers who are experts in public property and real estate law. Our lawyers specialising in town planning, development, and expropriation law, as well as our lawyers specialising in expropriation procedures, are able to defend you before the French Court of Cassation. We also work with other complementary professionals such as notaries, surveyors, and land experts.

A varied client base

For many years, we have been assisting a wide range of clients, including local authorities, public bodies, public companies, and companies holding service, works or development concessions. The firm has dealt with a wide range of issues relating to the classification of property, the choice of occupation method, classification or declassification, and the payment of fees.

Lawyers at your service

Our lawyers have extensive expertise in public property and real estate law. We are able to assist you in eviction proceedings against unauthorised occupants and, more generally, in litigation involving the occupation of public domain.

Our lawyers specialising in public property and our lawyers with expertise in planning, urban development and expropriation law are available to assist you in Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Lyon, Montpellier, Nice, Nîmes and Paris.

Abeille Avocats handles complex administrative liability cases, both in advisory and litigation capacities, in order to defend your interests and provide solutions tailored to your needs.

Abeille Avocats, a leading firm in liability law

Abeille Avocats has historically been recognised as a leading firm in liability law. This cross-disciplinary area is practised by all of our departments, each of which is an expert in its own field.

The public law department: specialising in administrative liability

The public law department is involved in administrative liability law on a daily basis. This covers:

• public works damage caused to users or third parties ;
• liability arising from the unlawful acts of local authorities and the State;
• the liability of the departmental fire and rescue services (SDIS), the SMUR, and the 15 centres;
• the responsibility of mayors under their police powers.

Our clients also include companies with public works concessions and public service concessions, in particular network operators (motorways, electricity, urban transport, waste).

Call on our lawyers specialising in administrative liability law in Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Lyon, Montpellier, Nice, Nîmes and Paris are available to help you with all your legal issues.

Since the second half of the 20^th century, spatial planning and the management of urban development have been a major concern for public authorities. However, current environmental considerations mean that this matter, and the legal issues it raises, are truly central to the management of local authorities, hence the need for support from lawyers specialising in urban planning.

Assisting developers and urban planners

There is no shortage of subjects to study, including the need for new densification, the mirage of eco-construction, the relevance of eco-neighbourhoods, the hopes for the Smart City, the concepts of zero net and gross artificialisation (ZAN and ZAB) and the hope of a virtuous city.

Lawyers specialising in town planning law: expertise in litigation defence

We assist all those involved in planning and urban development, from conception to litigation. As such, we are able to produce notes and studies upstream of the launch of projects, at the global reflection stage. Our agility enables us to integrate project teams and mobilise the necessary resources very quickly. Aware of the need for clear, precise yet easy-to-understand information at all levels, we produce computer graphics or diagrams based on legal design where appropriate.

Local knowledge for effective action

Litigation defence is also at the heart of our business and remains a necessity, as well as an exercise that we enjoy. As such, our lawyers work on the defence of all types of planning permission, as well as appeals: PLU (Local town planning), planning permission, development permission, refusals, declarations, PPRI (Flood risk prevention plan), etc. We appear before all French administrative courts, including overseas.

Lawyers specialising in town planning law: expert advice to anticipate disputes

The firm also brings its expertise to bear before the criminal courts for breaches of planning regulations, both on behalf of local authorities that are civil parties and on behalf of defendants who have been summoned.

Our specialist town planning lawyers are available in Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Lyon, Montpellier, Nice, Nîmes and Paris to provide you with practical, innovative solutions for all your legal needs.