onseil d'État (France)

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This article is about the French Council of State. For other Councils of State, see Council of
State.

The Palais-Royal in Paris, home of the Conseil d'État

In France, the Council of State (French: Conseil d'État, [kɔ̃sɛj deta]) is a

governmental body that acts both as legal adviser of the executive branch and as
the supreme court for administrative justice. Established in 1799 by Napoleon as a
successor to the King's Council (Conseil du Roi), it is located in the Palais-
Royal in Paris and is primarily made up of top-level legal officers. The Vice President
of the Council of State ranks as the ninth most important civil servant in France.
Members of the Council of State are part of a Grand Corps of the French
State (Grand corps de l'État). The Council of State mainly recruits from among the
top-ranking students graduating from the École nationale d'administration.

Contents

 1Composition
 2History
 3Advisory role
 4Administrative justice
o 4.1Original jurisdiction
o 4.2Appellate jurisdiction
o 4.3Court procedure
o 4.4Major rulings of the Council of State
 5French Institute of Administratives Sciences
 6See also
 7References
 8Further reading
 9External links

Composition[edit]
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A General Session of the Council of State is presided over by the Prime Minister or,

in his absence, the Minister of Justice.[1] However, since the real presidency of the
Council is held by the Vice-President, [1][2] he usually presides all but the most
ceremonial assemblies. This is also done for obvious reasons pertaining to the
separation of powers.
Other members of the Council include, in decreasing order of importance:

 Department heads (Présidents de section)

 Councillors ordinary (Conseillers d'État ordinaires)
 Councillors extraordinary (Conseillers d'État en service extraordinaire)
 Masters of Requests (Maîtres des requêtes)
 Master of requests extraordinary (Maîtres des requêtes en service extraordinaire)
 Senior masters (Auditeurs de première classe)
 Masters (Auditeurs de deuxième classe)
The Vice-President is appointed by Order-in-Council on the recommendation of the
Minister of Justice and is selected from among the Council's department heads or
councillors ordinary.[3] Division heads are similarly appointed and selected from
among the councillors ordinary.[4]
Councillors ordinary, masters of requests, and senior masters are appointed based
on seniority from the preceding rank. [5] Appointees from outside the Council may
include administrative law judges[6] or may come from outside the justice system.
[7]
 Masters are recruited from among the graduates of France's National
Administration Academy.[8] The Council sits in the Palais Royal located in Paris.
The Council is divided into 7 divisions:

 Administrative Claims (section du contentieux) — see below.

 Report and Studies (section du rapport et des études): writes the annual report,
conducts studies and helps to oversee judgments and verdicts are carried out.
 Finances (section des finances), the Interior (section de l'intérieur), Welfare and
Social Security (section sociale), Public Works (section des travaux publics) and
Administrative Issues (section de l'administration, created by a March 2008 order) review
any and all Cabinet-issued orders and statutory instruments and examine and sign off on
all Orders of Council (décrets en Conseil d'État). These reviews, though mandatory, are
not binding. The Council of State also studies legal issues and problems brought before
the Cabinet.[9] In addition, it is responsible for carrying out administrative court
inspections.[10]

History[edit]
The Council of State originates from the 13th century, by which time the King's Court
(Curia regis) had split into three sections, one of which was the King's Council (Curia
in consilium, later Conseil du roi), which too broke up into three distinct parts:
the Conseil secret 'Privy Council', the Conseil privé 'Private Council', and Conseil des
finances 'Council of Finances'. Reorganized under Louis XIV into two major
groupings, the Conseil d'État privé, finances et direction that was the direct ancestor
of the Council of State. It brought together legal advisors and experts to advise the
King on claims against the Crown. Officially established in 1557, this was the largest
of the King's Councils made up of France's High Chancellor, lords of peerage,
Ministers and Secretaries of State, the Comptroller-General, 30 Councillors of State,
80 masters of requests, and the Intendants of Finance. The judicial portion of the
Council was known as the Conseil d'État privé or Conseil des parties.
The kings, who had the power to dispense justice and hand down judgments as the
court of last resort, delegated this judicial power to royal courts and parlements. But
the French king still retained the power to override them at will. Specifically, French
kings maintained their privilege to decide major issues and hand down judgements
when administrative acts were in dispute. The judgments of the King's Council of
State were regarded as being issued under the King's residual proper jurisdiction
(justice retenue), that is, the sovereign's reserved power to dispense justice in certain
matters. Leg