FRENCH LEGAL SYSTEM AND THE FRENCH COURTS

I- French legal system

1. The origins of the French legal system

2. The making of law
3. The two branches of French law

II- The French Courts

1. The Composition of Courts

1.1. A Single Judge or a Panel of Judges?

1.2. Serving as a Judge: a Profession or a Mandate?

2. The Specialization of Courts

2.1 - Judicial Courts

2.1.1 Courts of first instance

2.2.2 Criminal Courts
2.2.3 Courts of Appeal
2.3.4 Cour de cassation

2.2 - Administrative Courts

I- French legal system

1- The origins of the French legal system

F​rance has a legal system based on Roman law and based on ​codified laws​. ​The civil code
was written in 1804 under Napoleon I.

Nevertheless, judges have a duty to interpret the law and decisions of higher courts have
some influence on lower courts ​even if they are not bound by any decision of a higher
cour​t.

Unlike English-speaking countries, which use a system of "​Common Law"​, France has a
system of ​"Civil law​".

France is a civil law system which means it places a greater emphasis ​on statutes as found
within various codes​, instead of case law. The idea of stare decisis does not come into play
in civil law systems as each case is decided on an individual basis according to how it relates
to the codified law and how the judge chooses to interpret that law. Thus, two cases on the
same topic could have very different outcomes.

So , the common law systems are ones that have evolved over the ages, and are largely based
on ​consensus and precedent​. Civil law systems are largely based on a Code of Law.
Worldwide, Common Law forms the basis of the law in most ​English-speaking countries​,
whereas Civil law systems prevail in most of the rest of the world, with some exception of
many Islamic nations and China.

The basis of the French legal system is presented in a key document originally written in
1804, and known as Civil code or ​Napoleonic code ​which defines the rights and
obligations of citizens, and the laws of property, contract, inheritance​, etc.. Essentially, it
was an adaptation to the needs of nineteenth-century France of the principles of Roman law
and customary law. The ​Civil Code ​remains the cornerstone of French law to this day, though
it has been updated and extended many times to ​take account the evolution of the society​.
There are other codes, including the criminal code, which defines criminal law.

2- The making of law

Laws in France, as in other democratic countries, are generally ​proposed by the

Government​, and must be passed by the two houses of the French Parliament, the National
Assembly and the Senate. They become law as from the date on which they have been
passed by Parliament, signed into law by the President, and published in the Official Journal.
Statutory instruments (​décrets, ordonnances​) become law on signing by the minister(s), and
being published in the ​Official Journal

The fifth French Constitution was promulgated on October 4, 1958. ​The Constitution is the
highest norm in the internal hierarchy. The Constitutional Council in 1971 cited the
Constitution’s Preamble and the Declaration of the Man and of the Citizen (1789) as texts
included in the Constitutional Principles. Moreover, the Fundamental Principles of the
Republic expressed by the Constitutional Council and the Environment Charter of 2004 are
also part of the “​constitutional block​”.

The French Constitution was fundamentally changed on 23 July 2008 by the constitutional
revision bill of modernization of the institutions of the Fifth Republic. All branches of
Government are affected by this reform. First, the exercise of the Executive power is
changed. Indeed, it recognises the supremacy of the President of the Republic while it limits
his prerogatives. Secondly, a set of measures is devoted to the legislative power with the goal
to restore to favour the role of Parliament. Thirdly, the constitutional revision deals with
judicial power and citizens rights and certainly the most noticeable provision here is the
introduction of a new form of a posteriori constitutional review of legislation.

The Constitutional Council has the power to interpret the highest French and
International norms​; it also guarantees that the Constitution, the Constitutional Texts and
Principles are respected.

The 1958 Constitution establishes a Democracy based on the Separation of Powers​. The
Executive branch is headed by the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic. The
President of the Republic is directly elected for a 5-year term renewable one time. He is the
Head of State and the Commander in Chief of the Army. His powers are defined by the
Constitution. He appoints the Prime Minister and puts an end to the appointment when this
one resigns. On the proposition of the Prime Minister, the President appoints the other
members of Government.
The President of the Republic promulgates the laws after their adoption by the Parliament. He
can dissolve the National Assembly and call for early elections.
The Legislative branch is bicameral. The National Assembly is the main legislative chamber.

3- The two branches of French law

The judiciary is independent of the executive and legislative branches. There are several
categories of courts divided into two main branches, ​a judicial branch known as private
law applies to private individuals and private bodies and an ​administrative branch.
Public law defines the principles of operation of the state and public bodies. ​This law is
applied generally by public law courts.
II. The French Courts

Introduction

The organization of courts in France resembles in effect a diptych with, on the one side, the
so-called judicial courts, organized hierarchically under the authority of the highest judicial
court, or Cour de Cassation , and, on the other, the administrative courts, organized under the
authority of the highest administrative Court, or Conseil d’Etat .
With the law of 24 May1872, that the dualism of the French court system really took shape.
This law recognized in effect the Conseil d’Etat ’s autonomous judicial authority, and thus
marked a transition from a ‘retained’ to a ‘delegated’ justice, in which the last word was no
longer left to the executive branch. Remarkably, the same law created a Tribunal des conflits
, in charge of settling disputes that could arise between the two hierarchies of courts but
which is not a supreme court . The Conflicts Tribunal is composed of equal numbers of
members of the Cour de Cassation and of the Conseil d’Etat . There thus exist in France two
orders of usual courts - judicial courts and administrative courts - though the former, it should
be noted, dispense both criminal and civil justice.

1. The Composition of Courts

1.1. A Single Judge or a Panel of Judges?

For many, French law embodies ​the principle of collegiality . A decision can only be
rendered if a certain number of judges, generally three, were present at the hearings and
participated in the deliberation. The advantages of such a system are several. First of all,
collegiality helps ensure impartiality and a high quality of justice​. Deliberation by a panel
normally permits digging deeper into difficulties, encourages reflection, and helps overcome
prejudices and biases. ​Collegiality also supports judicial independence​, since judicial
responsibility is shared under conditions of the utmost secrecy. This is also why French law
is so attached to the anonymity of the collegial judgment and to the prohibition on the kind of
dissenting opinions that are allowed in other systems, notably the common law. Judges are
thus indirectly protected against threats, grudges and reprisals. ​Yet, the opposite single
judge system is not without merit​. The single judge surely cultivates in magistrates ​a sense
of personal responsibility​, while concentrating judicial activity reduces the operating costs
of the judicial apparatus, which is decidedly in the public interest. This quite pragmatic
consideration helps explain the current growth in single-judge panels. I​t is true that court
organization in France has always known both single judge as well as multi-judge
panels. Some examples of single-judge courts go far back, including ​the judge for summary
interlocutory proceedings (juge des référés ), ​the bankruptcy judge (juge commissaire en
matière commerciale ), ​the former justice of the peace (juge de paix ), and ​the district
court (tribunal d’instance ). But use of the single-judge panel has undeniably expanded, in
recent years. The rise is observable in civil matters, as shown by the creation of ​the juvenile
judge (juge des enfants ) in 1945, ​the expropriation judge (juge de l’expropriation ) in
1958, ​the guardianship judge (juge des tutelles ) in 1964, ​the judge in charge of
enforcement of judgments (juge de l’exécution ) in the period from 1972 to 1991, ​the
family judge (juge aux affaires familiales ) in 1993, and the proximity court (juridiction de
proximité ) in 2003, not to mention the increased authority of chief judges, and in particular
the president of the principal court of first instance (tribunal de grande instance ). Notably,
judges sitting as single judges are, with very rare exceptions, professional judges, what brings
us to another aspect of
judicial organization.

1.2. Serving as a Judge: a Profession or a Mandate?

The French system relies pre-eminently on professional judges, but at the same time leaves
room for part-time judges, who are lay judges, mostly for reasons grounded in history, but
often reinforced by budgetary constraints. Several rules of judicial organization reflect this
pre-eminence. First, while professional judges may be totally excluded from certain
specialized courts (e.g. , the commercial court, or tribunal de commerce) , they necessarily
reappear as appellate judges entertaining appeals from decisions of such courts, since courts
of appeal are composed entirely of professional judges. That said, the exclusion is sometimes
only partial. Thus, although the labour court (conseil de prud’hommes ) does not in principle
include a professional judge, when a vote among the members of that even-numbered court
(which is composed, in principle, of two employers and two employees as judges) results in a
tie, the court reconvenes under the presidency of a professional judge, called the
‘tie-breaking’ judge (juge départiteur ), who is in fact a judge of the district court (tribunal
d’instance ). In certain cases, there is a system known as échevinage , in which the court is
composed of lay part-time judges chaired in all cases by a professional judge. This is the case
with social security courts (tribunaux des affaires de sécurité sociale ) and mixed courts for
rural leases(tribunaux paritaires des baux ruraux ).

2. Specialization of Courts

2.1 - Judicial courts

2.1.1 Courts of First Instance

Within the regular judiciary there coexist both civil and criminal courts. The organization of
the civil courts is relatively simple. At the first instance, the main civil court (tribunal de
grande instance to be compared with High Court or Landgericht ) is the pivot, stemming
from the fact that it is a court of ordinary and general jurisdiction, the Tribunal de grande
instance (TGI) is competent in civil matters valued at over €10,000 as well as all cases
(regardless of the amount of money involved) in family law (marriage, divorce, adoption,
successions), seizure of immovables, patents, trademarks and dissolutions
Its territorial scope of jurisdiction is the French department (département ). But departments
may have several tribunaux de grande instance , depending on the size of the population, the
volume of judicial activity, and the communications network. There are 173 tribunaux de
grande instance in all. Alongside these courts may be found courts of special jurisdiction that
hear only those matters specifically determined by statute.
Another first instance court is the district court (tribunal d’instance) which is the successor to
the former justices of the peace and is competent to hear small civil claims (such as disputes
with neighbours, landlease cases,and litigation over debts of less than 10 000 € ). From this
year , ​the new Paris Court House will house all divisions of the ​Tribunal de grande
instance (Court of first instance), ​the Tribunal de police (Police court), and the ​Tribunaux
d’instance ​(District courts), previously dispersed throughout the city. ​These proximity
courts also have jurisdiction over injunctions to pay (injonction de payer , to be compared
with mahnverfahren ) or ​to perform up (injonction de faire) to the same monetary amount.
The proximity court is in theory a full-fledged court. But, if it finds itself faced with a
‘serious legal difficulty relating to the application of a rule of law or the construction of a
contract binding the parties ,’ it may refer the case to the district judge to act on its behalf, as
if it itself were the proximity judge itself (CPC, art. 847-4).
The commercial courts ​(tribunaux de commerce ) are the oldest courts in the French judicial
organization, dating back to the end of the Middle Ages. Today they number 135. A
specifically French institution, the commercial court is a collegial court that has jurisdiction
over commercial cases, broadly defined as disputes between merchants, but also disputes
over commercial acts (such as bills of exchange), even if they are not the act of a merchant,
and over controversies involving commercial corporations, as well as bankruptcy proceedings
involving commercial and craft enterprises.
The labour court ​(conseil de prud’hommes ), whose origin dates back to the beginning of
the 19th Century, resolves individual disputes arising out of an employment or apprenticeship
contract. It first attempts conciliation, but if conciliation cannot be achieved, the dispute will
be resolved by a judgment. Members of the labour court are elected, with an even number of
judges. Half the members represent employers, and half represent employees.
Two other courts of specialized jurisdiction, both staffed entirely by ordinary citizens (and
known as juridictions échevinales ), were created in the middle of the 20th Century. These
are (i) the social security courts (tribunaux des affaires de sécurité sociale ), numbering 116,
and having jurisdiction over disputes involving social security, such as participation in a
social security plan and payments of contributions and benefits, and (ii) the mixed courts for
rural leases (tribunaux paritaires des baux ruraux ), numbering 305, and, as their name
suggests, having jurisdiction over cases involving rural leases among landowners and
farmers.
2.1.2 Criminal proceedings

French criminal proceedings are mainly inquisitorial, however they also include adversarial
elements so as to reach a balance between the rights of the defence, the rights of the victim
and those of society as a whole. The main ​principles are defined in the introduction of the
Code of Criminal Procedure: - ​equitable and adversarial proceedings, - information and
guarantee of the victims’ rights, - presumption of innocence and rights of the defence​.

The public prosecutor supervises the criminal investigations department (police judiciaire)
The public prosecutor must be immediately informed of all offences committed as well as
whether the police judiciaire is holding persons in custody for the purpose of its
investigations. The public prosecutor ensures that custody in the police station is carried out
in compliance with the law and may authorize its extension beyond 24 hours for a maximum
duration of 48 hours. When someone has committed an offence, it will result in an
investigation (preliminary investigation or investigation of flagrancy) conducted by various
police departments. The offices of the prosecutor will then look at the case and decide on the
charges and what direction to give at the case. The prosecutor may decide to close the case or
prosecute, according to the principle of prosecutorial discretion.

Criminal courts
● Police Court – “Tribunal de police”: These courts deal with minor offenses , classified
under French penal code as "contraventions" (like minor violences, driving offenses
etc.) punishable only by fines up to 3000€ and no time in prison. The Tribunal of
police is composed of a single judge. A Prosecutor represents the accusation before
the Tribunal of police.
● Criminal courts – “Tribunal correctionnel”: The Correctionnal Tribunal handles
misdemeanors such as theft, serious offenses classified under French penal code as
"délits" which in France are punishable by up to ten years in prison. The
Correctionnal Tribunal is usually composed of three judges. A Prosecutor represents
the accusation.The Criminal court constitutes one of the Chambers of the High Court.
● Jury court – “Cour d’assise”: Jury courts handle felonies, which are the most serious
offenses classified under French penal code as "crimes" and punishable by criminal
imprisonment between ten years and life in prison.. Every French department has a
jury court. A jury court is composed of 3 professional judges and six jurors. A special
Prosecutor called the General Advocate ("Avocat Général") represents the accusation.
The administration of proof under French criminal law

Pursuant to the principle of the presumption of innocence, the burden of proof is on the
plaintiff, i.e. the public prosecutor in general, and sometimes on the victim when he or she
claims damages. The public prosecutor must produce evidence that the offence was
committed and the person being prosecuted was involved. He/she must collect elements of
proof both in favour of the prosecution and in favour of the defence. The defendant does not
have to provide proof of his or her innocence and is in no way obliged to collaborate in the
search for evidence. The standard for a criminal conviction is proof “beyond reasonable
doubt”. Any doubt must benefit the defendant. All types of evidence – written, oral
testimony, confessions, and scientific examinations – are admissible if they have been
collected and produced in compliance with the French Code of Criminal Procedure. Under
French law, there are no varying degrees of evidence: it is up to the discretionary judgment of
the sitting judges to determine the value of the evidence submitted in each case.

• ​Juge d’instruction

The French judicial system includes specialist judges, known as investigating judges juges
d’instruction, who oversee investigations in the most serious and complex offences. The
process is known as the ​judicial investigation information judiciaire. ​Cases are referred to
the juge d’instruction ​by the public prosecutor or b​y a victim who wishes to bring a civil
claim for damages within criminal proceedings​. His or her role is to gather all the
information that may incriminate or exonerate a person accused of an offence. The juge
d’instruction does not reach any decision about a person’s guilt or innocence. As part of the
investigation, the judge may interview any person, call upon the assistance of the police to
require witnesses to attend for interview, issue warrants, take statements from persons
bringing claims for damages and from suspects, appoint experts, carry out searches and
seizures, order telephone tapping, etc.

Pre-trial detention may only be ordered by a judge for freedom and detention Juge des
libertés et de la détention. When the investigation ends, the investigating judge may refer the
accused to a court tribunal or Cour d’assises for trial (if there is sufficient evidence) or
discharge the matter (if there is not enough evidence).

In order to encourage teamwork ,91 pôles de l’instruction (each one staffed by several juges
d’instruction) have been in operation since 2010. They investigate complex offences.

2.2.3 Courts of Appeal

The right of appeal had very early beginnings, but its rationale has varied over time. Under
the Ancien Régime , before the French Revolution (1789), the appeal was essentially a
response to preoccupations of a political nature​. Due to the variety in levels of courts
(royal, feudal, and ecclesiastical), a judicial decision could be subject to a multitude of
successive appeals designed to gradually bring cases within the immediate sphere of the royal
power.The appeal thus served a political purpose, as an instrument for the consolidation of
royal power against both the aristocracy and the Church. Afterwards the appeal came to
represent a ​guarantee of good justice​, and for that it would be sufficient that the case be
tried twice. The appeal permitted reformation or nullification of the judgment against which it
was brought. And so it was usually brought before a court higher than the court of first
instance, namely the Court of Appeal.
It examines previously-judged litigation, for example from the correctional tribunal or a
tribunal ​de grande instance​. ​When one of the parties is not satisfied with the verdict, it can
appeal​. While communications from jurisdictions of first instance are termed judgments, a
court of appeal renders a verdict, which may either ​uphold or annul the initial judgment​. A
verdict of the court of appeal may be further appealed ​en cassation​. If the appeal is
admissible at the ​cour de cassation​, that court does not re-judge the facts of the matter a third
time, but may investigate and verify whether the rules of law were properly applied by the
lower courts.

2.3.4 The Cour de Cassation

The principle of the so-called ‘double level of litigation’ entitles the litigant to have the case
tried, in law and in fact, a second time. However, a further mean of recourse to France’s
highest court in civil, commercial and criminal matters (Cour de Cassation ) guarantees the
litigant the right in any event to have the decision that was rendered by the lower courts
examined for conformity with the rules of French law and, in an appropriate case, annulled.
Recourse to the Cour de Cassation (le pourvoi en cassation ) is in principle ​extraordinary​,
in the sense that it is available only in cases specified by statute. When so authorized, the
Cour de Cassation ​censures non-compliance with law of judgments rendered by trial
courts​, whether at the first level or on appeal. The Cour de Cassation , It is the Court of last
resort which sits in the Hall of justice in Paris. It succeeded to the Tribunal of Cassation
created in 1790. It is the only court at its level, much as is the Conseil d’Etat within the
hierarchy of administrative courts. A judge of the law only, the Cour de Cassation may only
verify the correctness of the lower court’s construction of the rule of law and of its
application to the facts found by the lower court, facts that the Cour de Cassation has no
authority to review as such. ​Its role is limited to ruling on the legality of the challenged
judgment and not on the merits of the case. It is often said that it is not the dispute as such
that is submitted to it, and that its role is therefore not to re-examine the case as would a court
of appeal, but only the final decision rendered by the court below. The Cour de cassation is
not a supreme court in the American sense. In addition to performing this judicial function in
cases submitted to it, the Cour de Cassation plays a broader role. Its rulings are meant to ​‘be
authoritative’ (or, in French language, faire jurisprudence ), that is to say, serve as a point
of reference for all courts. This is not to say that they are binding, in the manner of a
precedent as in common law systems, or in the manner of the ​‘law-making rulings’ (arrêts
de règlement ) known under the Ancien Régime in pre-Revolutionary France. ​Ensuring the
uniform interpretation of the law is also one of the Cour de Cassation ’s prime missions​.
This is a mission necessitated by the principle of the equality of citizens before the law.
From a judicial point of view, the Court of Cassation is comprised of divisions to which
appeals are referred in line with case-review criteria that are laid down by the Court of
Cassation Bureau. The number of divisions has gradually increased from the original three
(Civil Division, Criminal Division and Chambre des requêtes [a division which ruled on the
admissibility of appeals before they were examined by the Civil Division and which was
abolished in 1947] to six. A Commercial Division (Chambre commerciale, économique et
financière), a Labour Division (Chambre sociale) and a Criminal Division (Chambre
criminelle) have been added to the three strictly speaking civil divisions : the First, Second
and Third Civil Divisions.

2.2 - Administrative Courts

Building permits, tax rates, GMO regulations, or orders to leave the French territory all acts
by the administration may be challenged by citizens. 42 administrative tribunals, 8
administrative courts of appeal and the French Conseil d’État rule on disputes between
individuals and public authorities (the State, local authorities, independent administrative
authorities and public institutions).

Constitutional principles enshrine the existence of the administrative justice system, its
jurisdiction and its independence. In accordance with these principles, only an administrative
court may quash or, on occasion, revise decisions taken by the State, local authorities or
public bodies operating under their authority or control. Administrative courts may also order
a public legal body to pay compensation, particularly where a wrongful act by that public
legal body has given rise to damage or loss. On a dayto-day basis they safeguard human
rights and civil liberties, in accordance with public interest. They are the guardians of the rule
of law in relations between citizens and public authorities.

Administrative tribunals, administrative courts of appeal, Conseil d’État: the three

levels of the administrative justice system

Administrative tribunals, first-instance courts

In France there are 42 administrative tribunals (31 in continental France and 11 in overseas
territories). In the event of a dispute, the administrative tribunal which in principle has
jurisdiction is the one located in the geographical area where the authority which has taken
the decision at issue has its headquarters. In 2008, administrative tribunals heard over
183,000 cases. The expected average waiting period for decisions, which stood at over 20
months in 2000, has been reduced to less than 13 months.
Administrative courts of appeal, appellate courts

Approximately 16% of judgments rendered by administrative tribunals are appealed before

the administrative courts of appeal (for some disputes, it is still the Conseil d’État that hears
appeals). The eight appeal courts of Bordeaux, Douai, Lyon, Marseille, Nancy, Nantes, Paris
and Versailles heard approximately 27,000 cases in 2008, and the expected average waiting
period for decisions – which in 2000 was over three years – is now less than 13 months.

The members of the administrative tribunals and administrative courts of appeal – amounting
to over 1,000 judges – form a single body, and are mainly recruited through ENA (the
National School of Administration) and competitive examinations. The law guarantees their
security of tenure and their independence. All individual measures relating to the careers,
promotion and disciplining of judges are subject to review by the High Council of
Administrative Tribunals and Administrative Courts of Appeal, made up mainly of judges,
elected by their peers, as well as qualified persons, and chaired by the Vice-President of the
Conseil d’État.

Working alongside the judges, over 1,300 clerks ensure the smooth day-to-day operation of
the administrative courts of appeal and the administrative tribunals. They are responsible for
managing casefiles: registering and forwarding applications, handing over documents in the
file between the parties, drafting and notifying of judgments, etc.

The Conseil d’État (Council of State), supreme administrative court

The Council of State, created in 1799, is the highest jurisdiction of the administrative branch.

T​he Conseil d’État is mainly a court of cassation. ​Over three-quarters of the cases brought
before it are appeals in cassation, directed mainly against administrative court of appeal
decisions and certain administrative tribunal decisions, as well as against decisions made by
specialised administrative bodies.

The Conseil d’État is also a court of appeal. Its jurisdiction to hear appeals has, however,
been gradually transferred to the administrative courts of appeal created in 1987; today, it is
mainly limited to disputes regarding municipal and cantonal elections and actions for the
determination of legality originating from the judicial courts.

The Conseil d’État is also a court of first instance ​for disputes of particular significance –
decrees, regulatory decisions by ministers, decisions by collegiate bodies with national
jurisdiction, individual measures relating to officials appointed by decree of the President of
the Republic – or whose geographical scope goes beyond the sphere of responsibility of an
administrative tribunal. In addition, the Conseil d’État rules directly on disputes regarding
elections to regional councils and to the European Parliament. Cases at first instance account
for approximately a quarter of the proceedings brought before the Conseil d’État.

Hearing approximately 10,000 cases per year, the Conseil d’État has, in common with other
jurisdictions, made considerable efforts to reduce its expected average waiting period for
decisions, which has now been reduced to less than 10 months.

The Council of State as government advisor

The oldest function of the Council of State is its role of advisor to the government. The
Council examines and gives its opinion on bills and projects of decrees and by-laws. This
consultative work represents approximately half of its work.

Specialised administrative tribunals

In addition to the ordinary courts, namely the administrative tribunals and the administrative
courts of appeal, there are specialised courts: the Cour des comptes (Court of Auditors); the
Cour de discipline budgétaire et financière (Budget and Finance Disciplinary Court); the
Commission centrale d’aide sociale (Central Commission of Social Aid); the Conseil
supérieur de la magistrature (Supreme Judicial Council), which rules on disciplinary matters
and disciplinary sections of professional bodies; and the Cour nationale du droit d’asile
(National Court of Asylum), which rules on appeals against refusals to grant refugee status.
The Conseil d’État acts as the court of cassation for these bodies.

Created in 1987, the ​administrative courts of appeal rule over appeals against decisions
delivered by the administrative courts (approximately 15% of which are appealed), except for
specific cases over which the Council of State has jurisdiction. These administrative courts of
appeal are each ​presided over by a counsellor of State, are seven in numbe​r (Paris, Lyon,
Bordeaux, Nantes, Nancy, Marseille and Douai) and are divided into chambers. The Audit
court is the appeal court for the judgments of the Regional audit courts.

There is a third unique aspect of the judiciary in France - the Constitutional Council ​(​Conseil
constitutionnel​)​. This branch oversees review of statutes before they are enacted as well as
overseeing national elections and answering questions from citizens regarding the
constitutionality of laws. The ​Conseil constitutionnel is made up of nine members. Three are
appointed by the president, three by the head of the National Assembly, and three by the head
of the Senate.