Right room in Alsace and the Moselle

The local Right in Alsace and the Moselle is a legal mode created in 1919 after the end of the First World War which applies to the French departments of the the Low-Rhine, of the Haut-Rhin and the Moselle; it is resulting from the following provisions:

of the French laws of before 1870 not repealed by the German administration;
of the German laws made by the German Empire between 1871 and 1918;
of the provisions specific to the Alsace-Moselle adopted by the local bodies of the time;
of the French laws occurred after 1918 but applicable to the three departments.

In addition certain French laws occurred between 1870 and 1918 were not taken again in the Alsace-Moselle after 1918.

The choice between the local Right and the French general Right was done by a Commissaire of the Republic which had as a task to give the Administration on the way, these provisions in the beginning were conceived to be temporary (certain texts are still in German). The Law of the 1 {{er}} June 1924 made them permanent.

History

See also: the Alsace-Moselle

As of 1870, after the defeat of the French Army on the face of the East, the territories which occupy the German armies in the areas (known as German-speaking) of the old provinces of the Alsace and the Lorraine, are annexed de facto by the invader. The signature of the Traité of Frankfurt which intervenes on May 10th 1871 between the French Republic (proclaimed the September 4th, 1870) and the German Empire (proclaimed in the Galerie of the ices in Versailles the January 18th, 1871) was the negotiation object rough. In addition to the payment with the German Empire of a war indemnity of 5 billion Gold franc guaranteed until its payment via a territorial occupation by the winners, it is agreed the abandonment with the Germanic Empire of the Alsatian departments of the the Low-Rhine and the Haut-Rhin (except the district of Belfort) as well as part of the Lorraine grounds of the the Moselle, Meurthe and the Vosges. The inhabitants of these areas which refuse to live under a Germanic government are authorized, under certain conditions, to choose France and to leave. After the signature of the Treaty, recognized of swears by the other Nations, it is not juridically more question of speaking about annexation for these territories which become Ground of Empire then. If the French civils servant are replaced there by German civils servant and that the laws and payments of the Germanic Empire are applied there, the germanisation of the daily life of the " Alsatian-lorrains" is not made in a brutal way (at least in the first years). In 1911, the Alsace-Lorraine becomes a German Land with the creation of a constitution ( Landtag ).

Of 1877 with 1914, the German Empire modernizes its Civil law by various laws which apply of course to Alsace-Lorraine: the Hunting, the sick-benefit funds obligatory, Compulsory insurances in accidents and disability old age, Chambers of commerce, the Professional code, Social security, the Residence of help, Regulation of the work of the minors, Sunday Rest, the Social Security.

After the Armistice of November 11th, 1918, and the projection of the allied armies until the the Rhine, these territories become again French " de facto " .

With the signature of the Treated of Versailles on June 28th, 1919, and the rehabilitation of these territories in the French State poses the problem of the return to the French Laws and particularly to the Civil code French very late on the civil code of the German Empire. The inhabitants of these departments do not accept that the return at the French State causes a regression, the loss of more useful or advantageous provisions that those envisaged by the French Civil code. Some go until refuting some Laws voted in France between 1871 and 1918 like the Laws of 1905 on the Separation of the Church and the State and require the maintenance of the certificated Régime…

Two decrees of the December 25th 1919 reintroduce the Penal code French but by maintaining some provisions of the local Droit (thus of the preceding Right, that of the Germanic Empire) relating mainly to the Hunting rights, the economic life, the communal Right and the Social right.

After much of tergiversations, two laws of June 1st 1924 (civic law of introduction and commercial law) ratify these local provisions.

They will be practically the only texts to create this local Right.

It is remarkable to note:

that the contents of this local Right forever published to the Official journal and that so divergences of interpretation occurred, it was expected that the lawyers were to refer to the German texts;
that certain provisions of the Right of the Germanic Empire were very in advance over the time; for example, the Civil law general French created the civil Faillite personal only one century later;
that this local right is often called “Law of Empire of 1908” whereas:

one forgets to specify " of Empire germanique" ;
the Law of 1908 relates only to one small portion of the new provisions and does not constitute, with it only, the Civil code of the Germanic Empire which saw more than one ten laws adding to it new provisions between 1877 and 1914.

Little by little, the importance of this local Right decreases in front of the new French general Laws which almost systematically contain a provision applying them to the departments of the Low-Rhine, Haut-Rhin and the Moselle and like thus to the wire of time, of many laws are amended or brought up to date, the local Right is far from being a fixed right. It is estimated today that it accounts for approximately 5% of the applicable Duty in the Alsace-Moselle.

Some specific provisions

Bank holidays

Under the terms of an ordinance of the August 16th 1892, the Alsatian and the Mosellans have two additional bank holidays: the Saint-Etienne (celebrated the December 26th) and the Good Friday (which precedes Sunday by Easter) in the communes having a mixed church or a Protestant temple.

The Prefect of the Moselle under the terms of the capacity which the law of December 31st 1989 entrusted to him can, by decree, to authorize or prohibit the opening of the commercial establishments the Good Friday and this in a uniform way in the department, independently of the presence of a protesting temple or a mixed church in the communes.

Social security

the Reichsversicherungsordnung of 1911 was an obligatory complementary mutual insurance company. Today still, the basic rate of the social security Alsatian-native of the Moselle region is of 90 % and of 100% for the hospitalization. This complementary mode is balanced (alternation between overdrawn and surplus period).

the maintenance of remuneration in the event of absence: as in certain professional branches in the remainder of France, the Alsatian ones and Natives of the Moselle region do not suffer from the waiting period three days of the Social security in the event of sick leave.

The civil bankruptcy

Alsace and the Moselle had a framing of the civil Faillite during more than 80 years; indeed, the possibility was given to the debtors who are neither tradesmen, neither craftsmen, nor farmers to go bankrupt.

Associations

The religion

See Legal settlement in the Alsace-Moselle

The craft industry

The local Code of the Professions - resulting from the Gewerbeordnung - governs the Artisanat.

An activity is artisanal not when the company which exerts it is low-size (general right: 10 paid maximum), but because work is completed there according to nonindustrial methods and by having recourse in a dominating way to professionally trained employees.

The training is subjected to a different mode, it is developed much more in the Alsace-Moselle and can be sanctioned by a specific diploma: the Patent of Companion.

Social security

According to the law of the May 30th 1908, the communes are obliged to help the people without resources. Currently the people not profiting from the Minimum wages of insertion (RMI), in particular those old from 16 to 25 years, can profit from the social security. Each commune fixes a ceiling of resources in-on this side which the assistance is granted, it also chooses the forms of the assistance (in cash, in kind, housing, food, etc).

The law of social modernization of January 17th, 2002 repealed it and integrated specific provisions in the new code of the social action and the families (articles L 511-1 and following).

Hunting

In the Alsace-Moselle, the game is an inheritance to be managed (and not a LMBO nullius of the general right).

The hunting rights is thus withdrawn to the landowner (except field of a surface higher than 25 ha) and managed by the commune which proceeds every 9 years to adjudications.

The hunting rights is then reserved to the contractor who will have to pay with the commune the rent of hunting and to respect an hunt plan. Since the reform of the local right of the hunting, occurred in 1996, the tenant in place profits from a priority right for the re - letting of his batch of hunting.

The land book

Land publicity is not, as in the remainder of France, ensured by the service of the Land Registry (service depend on the head office of the taxes); in the Alsace-Moselle, it is the service of the land Livre, present in each Magistrates' court, which is in charge of this task. A project of computerization is under development, whose completion is planned for 2008.

Communal right

The communes have to be able more, they can in particular apply a tax on the residents to the start-up costs of the communal ways tax of residents .

Pharmacies

The Numerus clausus for the creation of a Pharmacie is of 3500 inhabitants, whereas it is from 2500 to 3000 for the remainder of France.

Some repealed or modified provisions

the laws of the May 6th 1991 and of the July 16th 1992 repealed the local law of the May 30th 1908 as regards insurance by integrating into the Code of the insurances several provisions of this law for the risks located in Alsace and the Moselle. Nevertheless some provisions remain still in force in these departments in particular as regards fire insurances and insurances of people. The local provisions more favorable to are ensured out of matters of payment of disasters in fire or it integrates the cut expenses in its totality. The concept of rule proportional is also very restrictive and cannot be systematically applied. to see title IX of the Code of the Insurances. Specific measures applicable to the departments of the high Rhine, the Low Rhine and the Moselle.

the law of the January 8th 1993 (article 27) repeals as from the January 9th 1998 the local mode of the undertaking.

External bond

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