French Legislation In English

Search, Read and Apply French Law. In English.

20+ full codes, 2,400+ articles translated and updated. Case law linked to every article. Read the actual text before you ask a lawyer about it — free, no login required.

Try: L.227-1 SAS governance, L.145-9 bail commercial renewal, L.223-18 gérant removal SARL

20+

french codes

Fully translated

2,400+

articles in English

Updated regularly

480+

court rulings linked

Per article

Free

full access

No login required

Showing 5160 of 3398 articles for Art. 19 déc. 2012

French Code of civil procedureIn force
Section VII: The defence.

Article 19

The parties shall freely choose their defence counsel either to be represented or to be assisted as permitted or ordered by law.

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of civil procedureIn force
Chapter III: Personal appearance of the parties.

Article 192

The personal appearance shall take place in the presence of the defenders of all the parties or those called.

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of civil procedureIn force
Chapter III: Personal appearance of the parties.

Article 197

The judge may summon minors and protected adults subject to the rules relating to the capacity of persons and the taking of evidence, as well as their legal representatives or those assisting them.He…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Civil CodeIn force
Section 2: French nationals by birth in France

Article 19

A child born in France of unknown parents is French. However, he or she will be deemed never to have been French if, during his or her minority, his or her filiation is established with regard to a fo…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Civil CodeIn force
Chapter IV: Applications for nullity of marriage

Article 194

No one may claim the title of spouse and the civil effects of marriage unless he or she represents an act of celebration recorded in the civil status register; except in the cases provided for in Arti…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Civil CodeIn force
Chapter IV: Applications for nullity of marriage

Article 192

If the marriage has not been preceded by the required publication or if the dispensations permitted by law have not been obtained, or if the prescribed intervals between the publications and the celeb…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Civil CodeIn force
Chapter IV: Applications for nullity of marriage

Article 190

The public prosecutor, in all cases to which article 184, may and must request the nullity of the marriage, during the lifetime of both spouses, and have them ordered to separate.

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Civil CodeIn force
Chapter IV: Applications for nullity of marriage

Article 191

Any marriage which has not been contracted publicly, and which has not been celebrated before the competent public officer, may be contested, within a period of thirty years from its celebration, by t…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Civil CodeIn force
Chapter IV: Applications for nullity of marriage

Article 193

The penalties imposed by the preceding article will be incurred by the persons designated therein, for any contravention of the rules prescribed by article 165, even if such contraventions are not dee…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Civil CodeIn force
Chapter IV: Applications for nullity of marriage

Article 197

If, however, in the case of articles 194 and 195, there are children from two individuals who have lived publicly as husband and wife, and who are both deceased, the legitimacy of the children cannot…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
Common Questions

French legislation in English — Q&A

Our translations are produced and reviewed for accuracy, but the only legally binding version of French law is the French original. For court, registry or contractual use we offer lawyer-reviewed or sworn certified translations on request.

Articles are synced with Légifrance and updated as soon as a reform is published in the Journal Officiel, so you always read the version in force — and can see when each article was last amended.

Each article is linked to the key court decisions (Cour de cassation, Conseil d'État, courts of appeal) that interpret it, so you can read the text and its case-law application side by side.

Yes — every article has an AI plain-English summary, and you can order a lawyer-reviewed explanation of how it applies to your specific situation, with next steps.

No. Reading and searching the codes is free with no login. Paid services — certified translation and the legal application report — are entirely optional.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In French Corporate Practice

English · French · Russian

Ready When You Are

Talk To A Lawyer
In France.

A 20–30 minute call, in English, to scope the engagement. No obligation, no preliminary fee. You will leave the call with a clear view of what the work will cover and what it will cost.

First EngagementFixed Fee

Talk to a French lawyer.

Reply within 24 hours.

Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

Continue

Related legal services

01 / Read

Browse the French codes

20+ full codes and 2,400+ articles in English, with the key court rulings linked to every article — free to read.

Read More
02 / Apply

Legal application report

A lawyer-reviewed report explaining how the relevant articles apply to your situation, with case-law analysis and next steps.

Read More
03 / Act

Talk to a French lawyer

Scope your matter with a Paris-Bar avocate — incorporation, contracts, disputes — handled bilingually, end to end.

Read More