Approche du paysage en droit français
Philippe GUTTINGER

Cahiers d’économie et sociologie rurales, n° 84-85, 2007

Philippe GUTTINGER *

The concept of landscape in French law
Summary – The study of the correlations between yesterday and today’s juridical rules and types of landscape is still to be made. Nevertheless, the association “right and landscape” can provoke more theoretical thoughts to the jurists. The term “landscape” appeared in French law in 1906. More recently, the law of January 8th 1993, named “Landscapes Law”, confirms the landscape as a value to be promoted to the biggest benefit of the individuals and the Society. However the jurists still agree to wonder how the Right takes possession of the landscape.
First, two questions will be examined: the juridical definition of the landscape and its juridical qualification, that is to say the operation to enter a fact into the categories of Right and, consequently, to assure it a full reception in the legal system. However, the Napoleonic Civil Code specified the juridical categories of the property law used in French law and the category “common heritage” is hardly satisfactory.
Then, the internal tensions present in the rules applicable to landscapes will be assessed: they can be explained by the burst of these rules and mostly by the multiplicity and the variety of the persons subject to feel concerned by the future of the very landscape.
Private possession, public possession and common possession are indeed likely to express themselves, and the promoters of a public policy centred on the protection or the management of the landscape have to keep this fact continually in mind. More precisely, we evaluate if French law considers the wish of common possession of the landscape, a tendency highlighted by the Council of Europe in its European Landscape Convention.
Key-words: landscape, property law, common heritage, public policy, sustainable development

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