ABSTRACT
The fact that we decided to devote an entire chapter of this work to court procedure is explained by more than a desire for the systematic marshalling of subject matter. It also reflects the attachment of French legal circles to this aspect of the law, which is greater than on this side of the channel. In France – and in continental Europe generally – there are not a few academic lawyers who call themselves ‘proceduralists’, whereas in Britain, very few teachers and commentators of the law would lay claim to such a qualification. To this must be added the fact that the formal distinction between the procedural law and the substantive law is much greater in France than in England – if only because there are several codes which are entirely devoted to this branch of the law (Code de procédure civile, Code de procédure pénale, etc).
