Bruno Questel

Bruno Questel, public law attorney in Paris

Bruno Questel is a public law attorney admitted to the Paris Bar and a partner at ARST Avocats. He advises and represents local authorities, public institutions, businesses, elected officials, executives, and individuals in the main areas of public and criminal law.

Holding a master's degree in public law from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, he also has training in private law. This dual expertise allows him to understand cases where the rules applicable to public entities, businesses, and individuals intersect.

Before and alongside his work as a lawyer, Bruno Questel held numerous institutional, local, and national responsibilities. This experience has given him a practical understanding of how local authorities, Parliament, government departments, and public decision-making processes function.

Public law advice to local authorities

In his practice as a public law attorney, Bruno Questel assists local authorities, public institutions, elected officials and structures involved in a public service mission.

He is particularly involved in issues relating to:

• to the skills and functioning of local authorities;
• to the preparation and securing of public decisions;
• to the relationships between communities, their institutions and their partners;
• to the organization and management of public services;
• to the delegation of powers;
• to administrative acts and their control;
• to the responsibility of public entities;
• to relations with state services and administrative authorities.

His institutional experience allows him to assess the legal, political, budgetary and operational constraints within which public decision-makers must act.

He also works with companies, associations and private operators in their relations with local authorities and government departments.

Lawyer specializing in public law and administrative litigation

Public law attorney Bruno Questel, acting in both advisory and litigation matters, represents his clients before administrative courts.

His practice notably covers:

• appeals for annulment against administrative decisions;
• compensation claims involving a public entity;
• disputes under full jurisdiction;
• summary proceedings and emergency situations;
• disputes relating to administrative contracts;
• disputes concerning public services;
• disputes concerning administrative liability;
• the execution of decisions rendered by administrative courts.

It intervenes both to challenge an administrative decision and to defend its legality or to seek the liability of a public entity.

Before initiating proceedings, he analyzes the admissibility of the appeal, the applicable time limits, the available legal means, and the practical consequences of a court decision. He also examines the possibilities of an informal appeal, negotiation, or amicable settlement.

Public procurement and administrative contracts

Bruno Questel assists local authorities, public institutions and companies in the preparation, awarding, execution and litigation of public contracts.

He is particularly involved in the following areas:

• public procurement;
• concessions and public service delegations;
• agreements for the occupation of public property;
• partnerships concluded between public entities and private operators;
• modification or termination of administrative contracts;
• penalties, delays and difficulties in execution;
• of the liability of the contracting parties;
• of pre-contractual and contractual summary proceedings.

He can assist the public entity in securing the procurement procedure and contractual documentation. He also advises companies bidding for, winning, or unsuccessful bids on public contracts.

His knowledge of how institutions function allows him to integrate the constraints specific to public decision-making into the proposed legal strategy.

Local government law

Former mayor, former vice-president of a department in charge of investments and former member of parliament, Bruno Questel has direct knowledge of the organization and operation of local authorities.

He advises elected officials and local administrations on:

• the distribution of responsibilities;
• the functioning of deliberative assemblies;
• the preparation and adoption of resolutions;
• administrative police powers;
• the relationships between municipalities and inter-municipalities;
• the management of local public services;
• public investments and projects;
• the prevention of conflicts of interest;
• the responsibility of elected officials and staff.

His intervention aims to legally secure the decision without losing sight of the concrete conditions of its preparation and implementation.

Electoral law and election disputes

Bruno Questel advises candidates, elected officials, local authorities and other stakeholders involved in the organization or contesting of an election on electoral law.

He can accompany them in:

• analysis of the rules applicable to the election campaign;
• the preparation and control of institutional communication;
• the examination of eligibility conditions and incompatibilities;
• difficulties related to electoral operations;
• the preparation or defense of an election protest;
• disputes relating to the election results;
• questions concerning campaign financing and accounts;
• the consequences of a decision of ineligibility or cancellation.

His practice combines knowledge of electoral rules with a concrete understanding of the organization of campaigns, elections and the functioning of representative institutions.

Analysis and support of legislative and regulatory texts

Bruno Questel advises institutions, companies, professional organizations and economic actors involved in the development or evolution of a legislative or regulatory text.

He intervenes to:

• analyze a draft or a proposed text;
• explain the steps involved in its development and adoption;
• identify its legal and operational consequences;
• prepare observations or proposals for modification;
• anticipate the regulatory measures necessary for its implementation;
• to support exchanges with the relevant authorities;
• bring internal procedures and documents into compliance;
• explain the new rules to the teams involved.

His experience in the National Assembly, the Senate, parliamentary groups and a ministerial cabinet allows him to understand how texts are prepared, discussed, adopted and then implemented.

This activity remains a legal service: it consists of informing the client about the applicable law, institutional processes and the consequences of the planned reforms.

Relations with public administrations and authorities

Bruno Questel assists companies, managers, associations and professional organizations in their relations with administrations, communities and public authorities.

His intervention may focus on:

• the preparation of an application or administrative file;
• the analysis of a decision or position taken by the administration;
• the response to a request for information or to a control procedure;
• the preparation of legal observations;
• the search for an amicable solution;
• the exercise of an administrative appeal;
• the legal challenge to the decision taken.

He helps his clients identify the competent authority, understand the decision-making process, and present their arguments in a legally secure framework.

Criminal law and the liability of public decision-makers

Bruno Questel also practices criminal law. He assists elected officials, public servants, managers, companies, associations and individuals facing a criminal investigation or procedure.

It deals in particular with cases in which the following are likely to be discussed:

• the criminal liability of an elected official or a public decision-maker;
• the illegal taking of interest;
• favoritism and breaches of integrity;
• the misappropriation of funds or property;
• responsibility linked to a decision or the exercise of a function;
• offences committed against a public entity;
• the criminal liability of companies and their managers.

It intervenes from the earliest stages of the procedure, during the investigation, the preliminary inquiry and before the criminal courts.

When the facts involve an administrative, institutional and criminal dimension, its dual practice makes it possible to build a strategy that takes into account all the procedures undertaken.

An internal link can be placed to the disciplinary and criminal business law activity of ARST Avocats.

Rights of individuals and sensitive individual situations

Bruno Questel also practices personal and family law. He assists individuals facing sensitive personal situations that require attentive listening and a tailored legal strategy.

Its practice may include, in particular:

• separations and their family consequences;
• parental authority and the children's residence;
• situations of violence;
• the protection of vulnerable people;
• the procedures presenting simultaneously a family and criminal dimension.

This activity complements its intervention in public law and criminal law, particularly when the situation of an individual also involves an administration, an institution or a public service.

Institutional experience at the service of the legal profession

For twenty-seven years, Bruno Questel held various local and national mandates. He notably served as a municipal councillor, mayor, councillor and then vice-president of a department in charge of investments, as well as a member of parliament for Eure.

He has also held positions with the National Assembly, the Senate, several parliamentary groups, and a ministerial office. His career also includes experience in companies and consulting firms.

These functions do not constitute a separate activity from his current legal practice. They allow him to understand the constraints faced by elected officials, administrations, institutions, and economic operators working with public entities.

record at the National Assembly traces his term as a member of parliament for Eure between 2017 and 2022.

Today, as a public law attorney, Bruno Questel uses this experience to advise his clients, secure their decisions and defend them before administrative, judicial or criminal courts.