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judicial departments (called "circonscriptions"), corresponding generally to the principal cities. Thus Amiens, Bordeaux, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, Montpellier, Paris, and Rouen, and other important cities, are local centers of a judicial system that spreads out to the outlying smaller cities and country districts. At the head of each of these systems there is to be found a court of appeals, and at Paris sits the Court of Cassation, which is the supreme court of France.

Our interest is in these two. It is hardly worth noting the appellate jurisdiction of the "Tribunal de Première Instance," a court of original jurisdiction, which holds a sort of appellate term to hear appeals from the justices of the peace and the "Conseil des Prudhommes" (an industrial court of employers and employees). These latter courts hear cases of a petty character and are of a very limited jurisdiction, and the poverty of the litigants or the small amounts involved seldom justify any appeal whatsoever. But from the "Tribunaux de Première Instance" there come the bulk of the appeals of the "Cour d'Appel" in every ju

and these appellate courts play a very important rôle in the transaction of public business and the development of French jurisprudence. They are often presided over by men of great ability, who have been promoted from the court below, and who have some thirty or forty years' judicial experience behind them; for the judiciary in France is a profession or calling, separate and apart from that of the bar. A candidate for judicial office having made his election at the beginning of his career, and beginning at the bottom as a petty magistrate, is promoted step by step to the end of his public service.

A "Cour d'Appel" is presided over by a first president of the whole court and a president for each chamber, who sit with a number of assistant or associate judges called "conseillers" ("counsellors of appeal"), and who are called upon according to the amount of judicial work there is to be done. These "conseillers," or appeal judges, are numerous-in Paris there are upwards of seventy-two, and smaller cities, like Rouen, Grenoble, and Dijon, may have some ten or fifteen. They sit in chambers or parts in rotation, according

to a plan arranged each year, much like the system of assignment of judges adopted in the United States generally. A court of appeal consists at least of two chambers, civil and criminal, each of which has in principle a president and six judges, of which five must participate. There is a movement to reduce these to three.

In addition to hearing appeals from the "Tribunal de Première Instance," these courts of appeal hear appeals from the Tribunal de Commerce, from arbitrations, and from orders granted by a single judge. They also hear appeals referred to them by the Court of Cassation for a second or rehearing under circumstances hereafter described.

Coming now to the procedure on appeal, we find great latitude as to who may appeal, and find that either party to the suit, who feels aggrieved as to the form or to the extent or to the implication of the judgment, may appeal. For example, a plaintiff, whose claim has only partially been allowed, or a defendant, whose counterclaim has been rejected in whole or in part, or the Minister of Justice, who believes that the public interest has been adversely affected, or a minor, who has since become of age, or a wife of a party to the suit, who has a matrimonial interest by virtue of her community rights, or marriage contract, all these have a right of appeal. An ordinary judgment must be appealed from within two months from the time that the judgment is served, except where immediate execution is accorded, when the appeal must be interposed within eight days. To this time the adverse party outside the territorial jurisdiction of the court is entitled to what are called delays of distance, according to the distance from France of the country where he is residing.

The notice of appeal interposed is much the same as ordinary notices of appeals in Anglo-Saxon countries-reference being made to the judgment rendered by the court below, giving the grounds of appeal, and served upon the adverse party by a sheriff. Thereafter the procedure is much the same, the notice of appearance by "avoué," or attorney, especially appointed and specializing in appeal proce

dure, the answer or reply of the respondent, and a subsequent distribution to one of the appellate chambers or parts for argument or disposition. There are no printed briefs or printed appeal records. The case goes up on the original "dossier," containing all the evidence considered by the court below. Although a change of attorney or "avoué" is obligatory, the same advocate or barrister who made the oral argument in the court below may, and generally does, appear to represent his client on the appeal.

Not only is there considerable informality in the appeal procedure, but great latitude in the amendment or modification of the relief demanded. These new demands or prétentions may substantially change. the issues adjudicated by the court of first instance. For example: The claim for damages may be increased, and relief of a more comprehensive character may be demanded, and the appellant may also claim as an heir or executor what was allowed to a decedent or a party to the original suit; but, of course, there must be an essential identity of the cause of action. It is rather the novelty of method sought to be invoked for the attainment of the relief prayed for, to the end that justice may be done, that is tolerated. And this extends to the introduction or presentation of new evidence or proof, and new defenses or counterclaims may be interposed by the respondent. And either party may demand new and incidental relief caused by the change of conditions that may have taken place since the rendition of the original judgment. All this is good sense and makes for justice.

The judges have equally broad powers as to the form of the judgments that they may render. They may deny the appeal on the ground that it is improper as to form, or decide that, although the matter is appealable, the judgment of the court below is affirmed, or affirm the judgment with modifications, or sustain the appeal in some respects and deny it in others, or affirm the result, but on grounds other than those set forth in the original judgment.

Another important part or function of the "Cour d'Appel" must be mentioned,