No attempt has been made to treat the subject comprehensively, but rather to give a summary of the general ideas which dominate the public and administrative law of France. At the same time, the author endeavors to present a work of a scientific character, and in this respect he has succeeded. There is no other book where one can find in so few pages the general principles of French constitutional ⚫ and administrative law so clearly presented and so logically arranged. He discusses in turn the general theories of constitutional law, the organization of the public powers, the theory of the public function, elections, suffrage, functionaries, the organization of the administration, administrative jurisdiction and administrative courts, local administration, the public domain and public finances, special attention being given to the theory of the public function and the administration of the national domain. He bestows deserved praise upon the Council of State, the most respected of all the French political institutions, and declares, what must be the opinion of every careful student of French administrative law, that it is an admirable and impartial tribunal above all suspicion and that there is no other tribunal in the world that administers better justice (p. 116). He dwells upon the new and liberal jurisprudence which it has developed in the interest of individual rights, and shows that it is more favorable to liberty than is the Court of Cassation (pp. 103, 111, 116). No one has stated more clearly than he the principles which underly the separation of justice. and administration in France and the reasons for confiding to special tribunals the determination of administrative controversies. Rarely expressing his own opinion on controverted points, he occasionally indulges in criticism where it is clearly justifiable. Thus he says of the subprefects that they are useless for purposes of administration and that their principal preoccupation is that of political agents (p. 138). His dislike of prefects is even more pronounced. They exercise an ownership over the functionaries from the point of view of politics and make it their chief duty to see that the electors vote for the candidates favored by the government. This is regrettable, he adds, since it completely "denatures" the legal character of prefectoral functionaries. This is the reason for the widespread demand for the suppression of prefects as the first step in the direction of administrative reform (p. 141). The control which they exercise over the Communal authorities, he remarks, is very objectionable and is often in the interest of national politics. In regard to municipalities which are favorable to the government the prefects close their eyes to all illegalities and

neglect their power of control, leaving injured individuals to address their complaints to the Council of State in the form of recourse for excess of power. This is why many persons insist that there can be no thorough going decentralization as long as the prefectoral office is maintained (p. 160).

J. W. GARNER.

Traité du Pouvoir Judiciare, De Son Rôle Constitutionnel et De Sa Réforme Organique. Deuxième Edition. By JULES COUMAUL. (Paris: Larose et Tenin. 1911. Pp. 500).

The first edition of this book appeared in 1895. The new revision brings the subject matter up to date and puts it abreast the recent literature relating to the Judiciary in France. The work is divided into two parts, the first of which deals with the general principles of the judicial power and the causes which, according to the author, have prevented the French judiciary from fulfilling its true mission. The second part treats of needed reforms in the organization, jurisdiction, and procedure of the courts, and contains a discussion of the various solutions which, it is claimed, are necessary to enable the judiciary to occupy its proper place in the constitutional system of France. The author deplores the fact that the judiciary in France is wholly ignored by the constitutional laws of the Republic and that its dependence on the executive power has reduced it to a position of inferiority. He is an outspoken adversary of the administrative jurisdiction which has constantly been extended by the decisions of the tribunal of Conflicts and to a less degree by the Council of State. Contrary to the opinions of most French writers, he maintains that the administrative jurisprudence is less liberal and less favorable to individual rights than that of the judicial tribunals, that its aim is to enlarge the power of the state, and that the judicial tribunals alone should be the guardians of individual liberty. Indeed, he argues, the penal code, as well as various provisions of the civil code, to say nothing of the most ancient traditions, show conclusively that individual rights were placed under the protection of the judicial power but that it has been deprived of this protection by an unwarranted extension of administrative jurisprudence. Thus the tribunal of conflicts has, not only by its decisions. handed over to the administrative courts, a large class of cases involving controversies between individuals and the state, but also between

individuals on the one hand and the departments and communes on the other. All this was done under the name of the principle of the separation of powers, but in reality it has involved the violation of this sacrosanct principle. He discusses the arguments commonly advanced in support of the theory of administrative jurisdiction and the necessity of withdrawing from the judicial tribunals the determination of controversies between individuals and the administration, but those arguments do not appear to him to be sound and well justified. Incidentally he eulogizes the American system where no separation of administrative and judicial competence is recognized, and where the judicial tribunals exercise the power of declaring null and void acts of the legislature which are repugnant to the constitution. He devotes two chapters to the discussion of the relations between the judicial power and the executive power, and between the judicial power and the legislative power, his general thesis being that the judicial power occupies a position of too great dependence and inferiority.

In the second part of his treatise Monsieur Coumaul discusses the conditions essential to the independence of the judicial power, such as the mode of appointment, removability of the judges, etc.; reforms of organization; procedural reform; and the importance of judicial forms. He favors a modification of the principle of plurality of judges which has always been a fundamental principle of French judicial organization, and suggests that better results would be attained if the tribunals of first instance were constituted with a single judge instead of three, and the courts of appeal with three judges instead of five, as is now the practice. He also makes a plea for the extension of the jurisdiction of the justices of the peace and a general improvement of these much neglected though very important tribunals. It may be remarked here that a beginning in this direction was made in 1905 by the enactment of a law framed by the minister of justice Cruppi-a law which not only enlarged the jurisdiction of the justices of the peace, but provided certain guarantees concerning methods of appointment and advancement of the magistrates.

J. W. GARNER.

Les Methodes Juridiques. Lecons faites au Collège Libre des Sciences Sociales. By MM. F. LARNAUDE, H. BERTHÉLEMY, TISSIER, H. TRUCHY, E. THALLER, PILLET, E. GARÇON, Professeurs à la Faculté de droit de Paris; E. GÉNY, Professeur à la Faculté de droit de Nancy. (Paris: V. Giard et E. Brière, 1911. Pp. xxiv, 231.)

This is a collection of studies in juridical methods delivered in the form of lectures before the Collège Libre des Sciences Sociales of Paris in 1910, the initiative being due to Professor Raymond Saleilles, who organized the course. M. Paul Deschanel, a distinguished French publicist, formerly President of the Chamber of Deputies, contributes a preface in which he dwells upon the importance of the question of judicial methods in the social life of today. Three facts, he says, contribute to the importance of the question in France. First, the antiquity of the French codes and especially of the civil code. The method of literal interpretation, once so easy, no longer suffices, since a host of new questions now come before the tribunals for which the code makes no provision. Second, the peculiar character of French administrative legislation. Never having been codified it lacks the unity which is characteristic of the civil law. It has, therefore, been left to the jurisprudence of the Council of State to develop principles and juridical constructions, and this it has done in an admirable manner. Third, the introduction of the social and economic sciences into the law faculties has given a new character to judicial studies, so that the jurist today must preoccupy himself with a method of interpretation in harmony with actual needs and existing ideas. Professor Saleilles contributes an introductory paper in which he develops the idea of M. Deschanel that the French codes are out of date. The civil code, in particular, he remarks, was made for a society essentially individualistic, while the French society of today is moving more and more in the direction of collectivism.

Professor Larnaude's paper, perhaps the most important in the group deals with the conception and methods of public law; Professor Berthélemy treats of the method applicable to the study of administrative law, showing how an efficient administrative system may be consistent with a wide and well-protected individual liberty; Professor Truchy discusses methods in political economy; Professor Tissier, the social and economic rôle of civil procedure; Professor Thaller, method in commercial law; Professor Pillet, method in international law; Professor

Gény, the procedure of elaboration of the civil law; and Professor Garçon, the methods employed in criminal law. Next to Professor Larnaude's paper those of Professor Tissier and Professor Garçon possess the most general interest. Professor Tissier dwells upon the economic and social significance of a simple, expeditious and inexpensive procedure in the administration of justice, and shows that the existing French procedure lacks all three of these elements. There is about it, he says, too much réglement, too much formalism, and too much. expense. Among the reforms which he suggests is to give the judge a larger power of direction in the trial, simplify the forms of procedure, and reduce the fees to which litigants are subject. Professor Garçon's paper deals mainly with the nature of the criminal law, theories of punishment and criminal statistics. Regarding the methods of combatting crime he affirms that the more rational and effective procedure is not hanging or imprisonment but the removal of the causes.

J. W. GARNER.

The Greek Commonwealth. Politics and Economics in Fifth Century Athens. By ALFRED E. ZIMMERN, Lecturer at the London School of Economics and Political Science. (Oxford Clarendon Press, 1911. Pp. 454.)

In this book we have a most attractive presentation of two interesting phases of the history of Athens in its best period. There are three parts to the book, the first, comprising fifty-one pages, on the sea, the climate, and the soil of the Mediterranean Area. This geographical section is clear, suggestive and interesting, and is quite the best part of the book. It forms, however, in the author's mind, only the background and stage against and on which to put the drama of fifth century life in Athens. In the section entitled Politics, therefore, various elements must play their parts to bring about the ideal of citizenship. Fellowships, or the rule of public opinion, custom, or the rule of the family, efficiency, or the rule of the magistrate, are chapters in early Athenian politics, and the available source of material for them, though scanty, is handled satisfactorily. The next four chapters, gentleness or the rule of religion, law or the rule of fair play, self-government or the rule of the people, and liberty or the rule of the Empire, are much too idealistic in treatment, and suffer accordingly.