1. Source of law applicable to maintenance

The texts of interest to maintenance managers vary widely: European directives, European regulations, laws, decrees, ministerial, prefectoral or municipal orders, administrative circulars, standards, general terms and conditions of sale or purchase...

They can be divided into three categories:

• texts issued by political authorities (European bodies, French Parliament, government, prefect, mayor); these are legal texts;

• other texts of various origins: government departments, standards bodies, professional associations, for example; what they have in common is their professional nature;

• the contract, which constitutes the private "law" of the parties.