Regulatory texts: prioritization

Understanding the hierarchy of regulations (international, European, national) is crucial. International laws and European directives are transposed into French law via decrees and orders.

Marie Faucon
EHS Consultant
Update : 
12.09.2025
Publication: 
05.12.2019
Contents
Example H2
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Faced with the number of environmental and safety regulations applicable to your sites, it can be difficult to find your way around.

This month, we present an overview of the different levels of regulation (international, European and national) and how they relate to each other.

Let's start with a diagram to clarify the links between international law, European law and French law.

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International law

International treaties, conventions and agreements establish rules that apply to several countries. These rules are not directly applicable to companies, but once they have been ratified, they are implemented in each signatory country, in order to fulfill the commitments made.

For example, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international agreement aimed at banning twelve highly toxic pollutants. Signed on May 22, 2001 by 152 countries, it became legally binding on ratifying member states when it came into force on May 17, 2004. The European Union subsequently adopted Regulation (EC) no. 850/2204 to implement the Convention, which came into force on May 20, 2004 and is directly applicable in all EU member states.

European law

There are several types of regulatory texts. The main ones are directives and regulations:

  • The European regulation is an act of general application, binding in its entirety and therefore directly applicable to companies;
  • A European directive is a legal act addressed to member states, setting targets to be achieved. States are free to decide on the legal means to be put in place to achieve them. Consequently, a directive must be transposed into national law in order to be applicable to companies.

Let's take a concrete example: the Document unique d'évaluation des risques professionnels. Occupational risk assessment is a key stage in the prevention process. It consists in identifying and assessing the risks to which employees are exposed. The results of this assessment are formalized in the Single Document, which is made available to employees, members of the CSE (formerly the CHSCT), the labor inspector, the occupational physician and other occupational health professionals.

At European level, Directive 89/391 of June 12, 1989 lays down the general principle of mandatory risk assessment. As it is a directive, this obligation was transposed into French law by Law no. 91-1414 of December 31, 1991. This law was codified in the legislative section of the French Labor Code in article L. 230-2. Decree no. 2001-1016 of November 5, 2001 then made it compulsory to formalize this risk assessment in the Single Document, by including it in article R. 230-1 of Part4 of the French Labor Code. Lastly, a DRT circular dated April 18, 2002 specified the procedures for producing the Single Document.

    • A concrete example: the Document Unique d'évaluation des risques professionnels (single document assessing professional risks)

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  • Since recodification, the provisions of articles L.230-2 and R.230-1 have been included in articles L.4121-3 and R.4121-1 to 2. Note: when the Labor Code was recodified in 2007, article L.230-2 was renumbered L.4121-3 and article R.230-1 became articles R.4121-1 to R.4121-2.

National law

In France, the Constitution is considered the first text in the French legal hierarchy. It is important to note that the Charter of the Environment has been integrated into it since 2005.

Next come laws and ordinances:

  • Laws are passed by Parliament (National Assembly and Senate);
  • Ordinances are acts issued by the government in areas normally covered by the law. The process is as follows: an enabling law must be passed by Parliament to authorize the Government to issue the ordinance; once issued, Parliament must pass a ratification law to make it valid.

Generally speaking, laws and ordinances define broad principles and do not contain operational requirements. They may apply immediately, or require an implementing decree.

A decree is a regulatory act issued by the President of the Republic or the Prime Minister. It is issued in application of a law or ordinance, and may be supplemented by a decree.

There are other regulatory texts such as circulars, notices and decisions: these are not binding on the company, but always contain useful information for businesses. For example, the recent circular CIR-14/2018 "Actualisation des modalités d'instruction de la reconnaissance des accidents du travail" sheds interesting light on the management and investigation of an industrial accident.

The majority of legislative provisions and regulatory texts are grouped by theme in codes (labor, environment, public health, etc.), which facilitates monitoring and regulatory compliance.

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