droit

Droit is a French noun with several related meanings. The primary sense refers to the set of rules that govern a state or community—the law. It also denotes rights or entitlements, as in les droits de l’homme (human rights) or droits privés (private rights). As an adjective, droit can mean straight, upright, or oriented toward the right in masculine form, with droit appearing in various composite phrases. The word ultimately derives from Latin directus, meaning straight or direct, and was shaped through Old French to acquire its legal sense.

In a legal context, droit describes the body of rules that structure social life, regulate relationships, and define duties and penalties. In many countries, especially those with civil law systems, these rules are codified in comprehensive statutes. The civil law tradition emphasizes written codes and systematic classification of rules, a development strongly associated with the Napoleonic Code (Code civil) of 1804 in France. Other branches of droit include droit pénal (criminal law), droit civil (private law), droit administratif (administrative law), droit constitutionnel (constitutional law), and droit international (international law). Legal interpretation in these systems combines statutes, doctrine, and, where applicable, judicial decisions, with jurisprudence often playing a clarifying or supplementary role.

Droit is widely used in Francophone jurisdictions beyond France, including Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec, and many African countries. It is also a subject of academic study and professional practice, encompassing lawyers, judges, notaries, and scholars who analyze and apply the law, rights, and public institutions in contemporary society.