on how to apply new rules in the 1992 revised criminal code. Circularies are not considered sources of law in private courts, but are sometimes considered binding in administrative courts. As such, the binding circulaires règlementaires are reviewed like other administrative acts, and can be found illegal if they contravene a parliamentary statute. Case law Case law (la jurisprudence) is not binding and is not an official source of law, although it has been de facto highly influential.56 French courts have recognized their role in gradually shaping the law through judicial decisions, and the fact that they develop judicial doctrine, especially through jurisprudence constante (a consistent set of case law). There is no law prohibiting the citation of precedents and lower courts often do. Although the highest courts, the Court of Cassation and the Council of State do not cite precedents in their decisions, previous cases are prominent in arguments of the ministère public and the commissaire du gouvernement, in draft opinions, and in internal files. Some areas of French law even primarily consist of case law. For example, tort liability in private law are primarily elaborated by judges, from only five articles (articles 1382–1386) in the Civil Code. Scholars have suggested that, in these fields of law, French judges are creating law much like common law judges.82 Case law is also the primary sources for principles in French administrative law. Many of the Constitutional Council’s decisions are critical for understanding French constitutional law. The differences between French case law and case law in common law systems appear to be: (1) they are not cited in the highest courts; (2) lower courts are theoretically free to depart from higher courts, although they risk their decisions being overturned; and (3) courts must not solely cite case law as a basis of decision in the absence of a recognized source of law. French judicial decisions, especially in its highest courts, are written in a highly laconic and formalist style, being incomprehensible to non-lawyers. While judges do consider practical implications and policy debates, they are not at all reflected in the written decision. This has led scholars to criticize the courts for being overly formalistic and even disingenuous, for maintaining the facade of judges only interpreting legal rules and arriving at deductive results. Codes Following the example of the Napoleonic Civil Code, French legal codes aim to set out authoritatively and logically the