Chères lectrices et lecteurs,
Dear international colleagues and students,
I am delighted to announce the launch of a new course at the Grenoble Faculty of Law: Electoral Law, taught in English. Please find the syllabus below!
| Title | Electoral Law |
| Semester of instruction | Spring |
| ECTS credits | 4 ECTS |
| Lecturer: Quality: Areas of expertise: | Romain RAMBAUD Professor of Public Law Electoral law and the law of referendums; law of political campaigns, political parties and political finance; electoral litigation; French constitutional and administrative law. Author of Droit électoral (LGDJ, 2nd ed., 2026) and editor of Le Blog du droit électoral (blogdudroitelectoral.fr). |
| Context of the course within the legal field and others | Electoral law lies at the crossroads of several branches of French law: constitutional law (the right to vote, the principles of suffrage, the role of the Conseil constitutionnel), administrative law (organisation of polling operations, electoral litigation before the administrative courts), local government law, and criminal law (electoral offences). It is also increasingly shaped by international and European law, notably Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the standards of the Venice Commission, and EU law on European Parliament and municipal elections. The course uses the French system as its main case study while adopting a comparative and European perspective suited to international students. A key objective of the course is to involve students actively by asking them to present and explain the electoral systems of their own countries, so that the class can ultimately carry out genuine comparative analyses of electoral law. The course is relevant to students considering careers in public administration, political advisory roles, election observation, international organisations or litigation, as well as to students in political science interested in the legal framework of democratic competition. |
| Aims of the course / Learning outcomes | By the end of the course, students should be able to: – understand the theoretical foundations and the normative sources of electoral law (constitutional, international, European and legislative); – describe and compare the electoral systems used for the main French political elections, and assess their effects on representation; – explain the general rules governing elections: voter registration, candidacy, organisation of polling operations, electoral campaigns, and political finance; – understand how electoral disputes are handled (pre-electoral, electoral and financial litigation) and identify the competent courts and their powers; – compare French solutions with European standards (ECtHR case law, Venice Commission Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters) and with selected foreign systems; – critically analyse current electoral reforms and debates in a structured written or oral argument. The approach combines theoretical analysis with a practical dimension (case studies based on decisions of the Conseil constitutionnel and the Conseil d’État, analysis of electoral reforms and current elections). |
| Course content | Part 1 – Foundations and sources of electoral law – Theoretical foundations: representation, sovereignty, universal suffrage; the right to vote and the right to stand for election. – Normative sources: the 1958 Constitution, organic and ordinary laws, the Electoral Code; international and European sources (Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 ECHR and key cases such as Mathieu-Mohin and Clerfayt v. Belgium, 1987, and Hirst v. United Kingdom (No. 2), 2005; EU citizens’ electoral rights; Venice Commission standards). Part 2 – Political elections and electoral systems – National elections: presidential (with particular attention to the 2027 election), legislative and senatorial elections; European Parliament elections. – Comparative perspective: electoral systems and their effects, illustrated by selected European examples. Part 3 – General rules of electoral law – Organisation of electoral operations: electoral rolls, candidacy, eligibility and incompatibilities, voting and counting, proclamation of results. – Law of electoral campaigns: equality between candidates, media and broadcasting rules, opinion polls, online campaigning and disinformation. – Political finance: financing of parties and campaigns, spending limits, campaign accounts and the role of the Commission nationale des comptes de campagne et des financements politiques (CNCCFP). Part 4 – Electoral litigation – Pre-electoral, electoral and financial disputes; the respective roles of the administrative courts, the Conseil d’État and the Conseil constitutionnel; electoral offences. – The judge’s powers: annulment, reformation of results, ineligibility; the criterion of the influence of irregularities on the outcome. Teaching method and resources Students are required to read the course materials posted online (Moodle) for each topic and to prepare, on the basis of their own legal system, elements relating to the issues under study. Class sessions are devoted to discussions comparing the French system with the students’ own systems. |
This course will be offered to the Faculty’s international students. It will follow a flipped-classroom approach: students will read the written course materials on French law beforehand and, in class, will be invited to compare them with their own legal systems. A great opportunity to deepen reflection and research in comparative electoral law!
Ce cours sera proposé aux étudiants internationaux de la faculté. Il se déroulera en pédagogie inversée : les étudiant.e.s devront lire en amont le cours écrit relatif au droit français et en cours, seront invités à comparer avec leur propre système. L’occasion d’approfondir les réflexions et recherches en droit électoral comparé !
Romain Rambaud
