France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, and some other civil law countries, a circulaire ( French), circolare (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

) or omzendbrief (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

) consists of a text intended for the members of a service, of an

enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

, or of an

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

. Within the French and Belgian civil service, a ''circulaire'' originates from a ministry with the aim of giving an interpretation of a legal text or of a

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...

, ''arrêté'' or

Royal Order In Belgium, a Royal Decree (RD) or Royal Order () (Dutch), Arrêté Royal (French), or Königlicher Erlass (German) is a federal governmental decree exercising legislation, or powers the legislature has delegated to the King as secondary legisla ...

), with a view to applying such a regulation consistently. As such, a ''circulaire'' depends on the general principles of law, but carries more weight than mere administrative acts. ''Circulaires'' provide recommendations: they apply only to employees of the civil service. In certain cases, ''circulaires'' introduce new rules (''circulaires réglementaires''); such that under certain conditions one can appeal against

abuse of power Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

. The body of

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

relating to ''circulaires'' has developed extensively. In principle, ''circulaires'' exist only to comment on existing law and to explain its application in concrete terms. The contentious side of ''circulaires'', of ''notes de services'' and of ''instructions'' has brought about several legal responses, varying according to several criteria and according to the type of text involved: * the regulatory nature of the text * the character of the measure of internal administration * the regulatory power of Ministers within their Departments * Government decisions The '' Conseil d'État'' (French) or '' Raad van State'' (Dutch) thus far retains a unique criterion for determining whether to bring a disputed decision in front of a judge: the imperative character of the decision.CE 18 December 2002, Section, Mme Duvignères, N° 233618
. See the conclusions of Madame Pascale Fombeur in RFDA 2003.280. If this condition applies, judges examine the legality of the text. This has been the case for the Peeters directive in Belgium, restricting the use of French in officially Dutch-speaking municipalities.

References

{{Authority control Law of France Belgian legislation pt:Circular