saisines

Saisine is the act of formally presenting a matter to a competent authority for consideration and decision. The term is rooted in the verb saisir, meaning to seize or bring before an authority, and is commonly used in civil, administrative, and constitutional law in several Francophone jurisdictions.

Scope and use

Saisine is widely employed in systems influenced by civil law, notably in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Quebec. It describes the process by which an individual, a public authority, or a professionally empowered body brings a case or request to a court, tribunal, or administrative organ to initiate proceedings or obtain a ruling. The concept covers petitions, complaints, or referrals that initiate formal examination, not merely informal inquiries.

Content and procedure

A typical saisine is a formal document that identifies the parties, summarizes the relevant facts, states the legal basis for the request, and specifies the remedy sought. The initiating party may be a private person, a public agency, or an institution empowered by law. Upon receipt, the body decides on admissibility and, if admitted, proceeds to examine the merits and issue a decision, order, or further procedural steps. A saisine is distinct from an appeal, which challenges an existing decision, and from other informal complaints.

Examples of contexts

In France, saisine is used when matters are referred to bodies such as the Conseil d’État (administrative decisions) or the Conseil constitutionnel (constitutional review). It is also used in administrative law to route matters to appropriate tribunals or ombuds procedures, and in private law to file certain procedural requests with courts.

See also

Saisine in constitutional and administrative law; petition and referral processes; Conseil d’État; Conseil constitutionnel.