Contenu du sommaire : Les produits juridiques de l'appareil judiciaire comme objet sociologique.

Jurisdiction and Jurisprudence : two aspects of judicial activities. Based upon studies carried out within the context of CERCRID's activities, the author aims to develop from a methodological point of view, the distinction between two types of regulation which result from the workings of the institutional infrastructure of law — regulation by judicial precedent and regulation by jurisdiction (individual decision). The author suggests methodological orientations enabling the development of knowledge at both levels.

Judicial Civil Statistics, product of « répertoire général des affaires civiles ». Judicial civil statistics are the result of a technical mechanism designed to create information. Variables, nomenclatures and instructions are some of the procedures enabling the processing of raw material into statistical data. The author here describes the statistical System introduced into civil courts since 1980.

The Geographical Mapping of Divorce Cases as represented through Judicial Statistics. In presenting the geographical distribution of divorce cases in France, the author wishes to show the implications of procedural rules and the existence of judicial practices which vary greatly from one court to another. The distortions observed illustrate the limited control exercised by married couples over a type of legal procedure which is managed by legal practitioners as though they were dealing with mass litigation. The explanation of the geographical mapping of divorce lies in the sociological analysis of the Bar rather than of the family.

Legal Norms, Statistical Categories and Social Actions. The aim of this article is to provide a reflection upon the status of data obtained from judicial statistics, the reflection being considered as a methodological prerequisite to the use and subsequent analysis of such data. Taking as an example the case of rental litigations, the authors analyze the structure of the juridical mechanism devised to enable rental price fixing, illustrating how the statistical instruments both reflect and contribute to the construction of the social representations of law, representations varying in accordance with the times.

Labour Disputes front and beyond Statistics The use within the past few years of judicial statistics has noticeably enriched knowledge concerning civil litigation in the field of labour relations. Whilst the application in this field of statistical techniques brings out their shortcomingd, it nevertheless suggests their possible combination with other practical procedures. Use of judicial statistics nonetheless provides valuable information concerning the distribution of cases amongst the different categories of jurisdictions and of the various subjects of enquiry submitted to labour courts, as well as results of these enquiries and the exercising of grounds of appeal.

Development of Law in Central and Eastern Europe : a Renaissance of « Law and Development »? With the fall of the Berlin wall and the lifting of the Iron Curtain in 1989 the relationships between Western Europe and the countries in Central and Eastern Europe have undergone a fundamental change from System competition to multiple forms of cooperation. This situation has prompted the large-scale transfer of Western economic, organisational and legislative models to the East. The « local » conditions of the applicability of the laws are, however, often not sufficiently taken into account. This situation recalls the doubtful experiences made with « Law & Development » exported from the US in the 50s and 60s and the partial post-war failure of US economic policy to encourage the development of US anti-trust legal structures in Europe and occupied Germany.

The "Feminization" of the French Magistracy : a particular or a commonplace event ? Women were permitted to enter the French magistracy in 1946. Almost half a century later, this profession is in the process of becoming female-dominated. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect that the increased presence of women may have upon this professional milieu. Do they, through their personal characteristics, contribute to a change or renewal of the magistracy or rather is their presence homogeneous to ongoing activities ? How does their integration into the magistracy take place ? Is it a commonplace event or does it present particularities in terms of for example the division of work or differing career opportunities ? The question raised is therefore that of establishing wether gender remains a pertinent variable for the description and analysis of the French magistracy today.

Jurists facing Society 1975-1993. On the occasion of the translation into Italian of his book Les Juristes face a la société, the author recalls the main events which have marked the relationship between law and society during the last two decades. He notes that law becomes increasingly uncertain in a time when the building of European unity introduces the notion of pluralism, both in its juridical and cultural sense, with legal culture as it appeared in the 1980s taking into account both institutional and alternative ways of conflict resolution. Law is no longer situated within the field defined by « modern » legal philosophy but tends rather towards a post-modernist understanding and treatment of legal relationships. Taken in this perspective, law appears both paradoxical in nature and uncertain in its object. These reasons explain to some extent the discredit thrown upon both justice and judges, and the state of confusion in which jurists find themselves.