General principles of French law
In French law, judges cannot create legal norms, because of the principle known as "la prohibition des arrêts de règlement" of Article 5 of the French civil code: "Judges are forbidden from pronouncing in a generally dispositive and regulatory fashion on the matters submitted to them." They can only put into evidence and interpret existing norms. This general principle underlies the state of existing law, which is merely uncovered by the judge.
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