L'Administration Consultative. By Yves Weber. [Paris: Librairie Générale de Droit et de Jurisprudence. 1968. 326 pp. F. 43.90.] - Le Recours pour Excès de Pouvoir depuis 1954. By Pierre Landon. [Paris: Librairie Générale de Droit et de Jurisprudence. 1968. 182 pp. F. 26.90.] - La Découverte du Régime Presidentiel. By Bernard Gilson. [Paris: Librairie Générale de Droit et de Jurisprudence. 1968. 412 pp. F. 49.90.]

Abstract

La Dicouverte du R6gime Presidentiel. By BERNARD GILSON. [Paris: Librairie Ge'nerale de Droit et de Jurisprudence. 1968. 412 pp. F. 49.90.] CONSULTATION-or " participation"-is a fashionable word today, but the French have been using consultation as a part of their administrative process for years; many bodies have been established solely for the purpose of providing a means of consultation, but hitherto there has been no detailed study of the subject The number of councils, committees and commissions at the central level is given (see pp. 3 and 4) by Dr. Weber as being 4,700 (as compared with the figure given for Britain of 700, which should probably now be more like 900); and this takes no account of the many organes consultatifs at the local level, against which Great Britain can instance but a few consumer councils-and those of only doubtful value. Consultation is seen by the authoc as a necessary preliminary to the taking of many administrative decisions, a process which has been formalised to a much greater extent in France than in this country. After an historical and general introduction, Dr. Weber shows how this process has been detailed in legislation. The method of choice of members of consultative agencies (the bodies themselves may be much larger than in Britain') depends on the constituent legislation, and it may take various forms. Dr. Weber points out that consultation cannot of itself give rise to grief sufficient to found proceedings before the administrative courts (p. 185), but irregularities in the process may amount to a cas d'ouverture, as might have been the result of our own case of Thorneloe & Clarkson v. Board of Trade. 1 The juridical nature of an act of consultation is then considered in detail and the view is expressed that this unilateral act in the law has an executory character. Consultation as part of the process of subordinate-or even principallegislation is a familiar feature in Britain; in France the Conseil d'Elat participates very considerably in the legislative process, and consultation where desirable becomes a natural result; moreover, as the making of a rule by a subordinate administrative body is an acte adminisiratif, the administrative court can ensure that proper procedures are followed. Dr. Weber's is an interesting book, logically arranged; the fact that it has been written shows the extent to which the topic has been developed in modern France. As the author says in his conclusions, there is a danger that consultation by an administrative agency with specialised interests may conflict with the basic principles of representative democracy. We see the same conflict in .our student troubles; the ttudiants enrages wish to "* participate," but they are not always prepared to use the democratic machinery already available. In administrative matters, Dr. Weber is confident that the law will be strong enough to confine the process of consultation within its proper limits. The second book here reviewed is really a case study of the decisions of the Conseil d'Etat, en matiir...