Conseil d`Etat - The Conseil d`État

ENGLISH
VERSION
THE
CONSEIL
D’ÉTAT
IN A FEW WORDS
ADVISE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES
ADJUDICATE ON CITIZENS’ CLAIMS AGAINST THE ADMINISTRATION
Protect the fundamental freedoms and rights of citizens
Defend the general interest
Monitor the quality of public governance
JEAN-MARC SAUVÉ
VICE-PRÉSIDENT
Why is the Conseil d’État
run by a vice-president?
« The Conseil d’État is chaired
by its vice-president »
(Code of administrative justice).
The term ‘vice-president’ is an historical
reference to a period when the Conseil
d’État was chaired by the head of the
Government or one of his ministers,
whohad a vice-president as his deputy.
ADVISE
PASS
JUDGEMENT
MANAGE
The Conseil d’État is the Government’s advisor in matters concerning the
preparation of draft legislation, ordinances and certain decrees. It also
handles demands from the Government for advice on aspects of the law
and, if asked, carries out surveys and studies on administrative matters
or questions relating to public policy. It can also be asked by the leaders of
either house of parliament (the National Assembly or the Senate) to give its
opinion on draft legislative bills emanating from Parliament.
The Conseil d’État is also the final arbiter on any question relating to the
administration: it is thus the ultimate judge of the actions of the executive,
of local government, of independent authorities or of any other public
administration establishment which possesses prerogatives of public power.
With its dual function, both jurisdictional and consultative, the Conseil d’État
ensures that French public administration remains strictly within the law.
It is thus an essential part of the mechanism defining the French rule of law.
Finally, the Conseil d’État is the managing authority in France for the
country’s administrative tribunals, its administrative appeals courts and
the National Court of Asylum.
1 100 opinions issued by the Conseil d’État
190 000 judgements handed down by the administrative tribunals
29 000 decisions taken by the administrative appeals courts
39 000 decisions from the National Court of Asylum
9 000 decisions taken by the Conseil d’État
3 600 members, judges and clerks
DISCUSSION OF A BILL
IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ROOM
THE LITIGATION ROOM
FROM THE LAWYERS’ BENCH
Advising public authorities
Passing judgement on public administration
Historically, advising the Government
has been the primary mission of the
Conseil d’État. The Conseil d’État’s
opinion is mandatory for all draft
legislative bills and ordinances, but
also for certain proposed decrees.
Either house of parliament can seek the
Conseil d’État’s opinion in the drafting
of any legislative bill. The Conseil d’État
examines any proposed text to ensure
that it complies with the law, and may
also pass an opinion on the relevance of
the proposed measures as regards the
desired objectives. Texts are examined
by one of five different administrative
sections depending on their respective
field of competence. More complex
proposals, especially the majority of
draft bills and ordinances, are examined
by the General Assembly, the Conseil
d’État’s highest consultative level.
As in the majority of European countries,
France has two distinct jurisdictions
- one administrative and the other, judicial. Administrative justice protects the
fundamental rights and freedoms of the
individual. It ensures that public authorities always act in strict compliance
with the legislation that covers their
areas of activity. As can be seen from the
range of activities that the jurisdiction
is competent to handle – the actions of
national and local authorities, public
hospitals, the civil service, taxation,
urban planning, environmental protection, public health, economic controls,
etc. – the administrative jurisdiction
is right at the heart of the relation
between the citizen and public authorities. Its existence and its independence
are guaranteed by the Constitution.
There are three levels in the administrative jurisdiction: the administrative
tribunals which provide decisions of
the first instance; the administrative
appeals courts which hear and adjudicate on decisions of the administrative
tribunals; and the Conseil d’État, the
supreme authority in administrative
justice, empowered to quash decisions
handed down from the administrative
appeal courts, the administrative tribunals and the specialised administrative jurisdictions (such as the National
Court of Asylum). The Conseil d’État is
also competent to transmit constitutional questions to the Constitutional
Council, a procedure which allows any
citizen to request the repeal of any
legislative arrangements that infringe
the rights and freedoms guaranteed by
the Constitution. Administrative judges
are empowered to give an injunction
to constrain an administration department to execute the decisions of the
Conseil d’État by a specified deadline.
The Conseil d’État’s position in the drafting of legislation
Legislative bill
(Ministries)
The Conseil d’État's opinion
(Palais-Royal)
Inter-ministerial
trade-offs
(Prime Minister's Office)
Debate in Parliament
and law voted
(Both houses of Parliament)
Cabinet decision
(Presidential Palace)
Promulgation
of the law
(Official Journal)
Possible referral to
(and decision from)
the Constitutional Council
THE CONSEIL D’ÉTAT LOCATED
PLACE DU PALAIS ROYAL, PARIS
The Conseil d’État’s members
wide-ranging backgrounds and experience
The Conseil d’État comprises some
three hundred members. Each year,
between four and six positions as auditors are offered to those students
finishing highest in the end-of-year
ranking at the ENA (the French Senior Civil Service College). In addition, external recruitment takes
entrants, principally from the ranks
of the judges in the administrative
tribunals and the administrative appeals courts. Administrative judges
and senior civil servants from other
administration departments are also
recruited to positions with a maximum tenure of four years. Within
the institution, each member has
one vote, irrespective of his/her
grade or seniority in the group. Two
thirds of the Conseil d’État’s members are in active service within the
institution, but may also exercise
certain parallel activities elsewhere,
activities which are carried out with
a strict adherence to the principle of
impartiality.
Certain members may take temporary leave of absence from the institution to work in ministerial departments, other public institutions and
independent administrative authorities, or be seconded to ministerial cabinet offices. The practice of
advancement by seniority within
the institution is a further guarantee of the independence of the
Conseil d’État’s members. By virtue
of a long-established custom, rigorously respected, members are not
be liable to dismissal, which means
they cannot be moved to another
post without their consent.
The Conseil d’État’s clerks
To ensure the efficient running of
the institution, some 400 clerks, recruited by examination, are involved
in the day-to-day activities of the
tribunals, the various courts, and
the institution itself. These activities include contact with the general
public, maintaining relations with
other administration departments
and lawyers, budget and financial
planning, managing information systems networks, human resources
and documentation archiving, communications and estate management, etc. In addition to these administrative activities, they also provide essential support to the Conseil
d’État’s members and the administrative judges.
Devoted to the defence of the general interest, to maintaining legality
in public action and to excellence in public administration, the Conseil d’État
is at the heart of the major issues in public life.
MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN
RESOURCES DEPARTMENT
WORKING ENVIRONMENT
IN THE LIBRARY
Managing administrative jurisdiction
The Conseil d’État in France
is responsible for managing 8
administrative appeals courts, 42
administrative tribunals, the National Court of Asylum, i.e. some 1,200
presiding judges and 2,200 clerks.
This administration approach helps
to maintain the independence of
jurisdictions and of administrative
judges.
The Conseil d’État is helped in its
management of the administrative
judges by the High Council of
Administrative Tribunals and Administrative Appeals Courts (CSTA).
Through its composition and its role
as a consultative body, it constitutes
a significant guarantee of independence for the administrative
jurisdiction.
To manage this administrative
jurisdiction, the General Secretariat
of the Conseil d’État is supported by
the following departmental structure: human resources, equipment,
finance and development, information systems, communication,
library and archival services, plus
an administrative law department
and training centre.
42 administrative tribunals,
8 administrative appeals courts,
the National Court of Asylum,
the Conseil d’État
Lille
Lille
Lille
Douai
Douai
Amiens
Amiens
Douai
Rouen
AmiensRouen
Administrative
tribunal tribunal
Administrative
Caen
Rouen Caen
Châlons -en-Ch.
Châlons -en-Ch.
Administrative
tribunal
Administrative
appeals court
Administrative
appeals court
Caen
Châlons -en-Ch.
Nancy
Nancy
Rennes
Rennes
Administrative
appeals
court
National
Court
of
Asylum
National
Court
of Asylum
Nancy
Strasbourg Strasbourg
Rennes
Orléans Orléans
National Court of Asylum
Strasbourg
Nantes
Nantes
Orléans
Nantes
Dijo
n
Dijo n Besançon
Besançon
OVERSEAS OVERSEAS
Poitiers Poitiers
Dijo n Besançon
OVERSEAS
Poitiers
Basse-Terre Basse-Terre
Limoges Limoges
Lyon
Lyon
Cayenne
Basse-Terre Cayenne
Limoges
Lyon
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand
Fort-de-France
Cayenne
Fort-de-France
Grenoble Grenoble
Saint-Barthélemy
Fort-de-France
Saint-Barthélemy
Bordeaux Clermont-Ferrand
Bordeaux
Grenoble
Saint-Martin
Saint-Barthélemy
Saint-Martin
Nîmes
Nîmes
Bordeaux
Nice
Nice
Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon
Saint-Martin Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon
Nîmes
Cergy-Pontoise
Cergy-Pontoise
MontpellierMontpellier
Pau
Pau
Nice
Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon
Marseille
Cergy-Pontoise
Marseille
Saint-Denis-de-la-Réunion
Saint-Denis-de-la-Réunion
Montpellier
Montreuil MontreuilPau Toulouse
Toulouse Marseille
Mamoudzou
Versailles Versailles
Saint-Denis-de-la-Réunion
Mamoudzou
Toulon
Toulon
Toulouse
Montreuil
Paris
Paris
Mamoudzou
Versailles
Bastia
ToulonBastia
Nouméa
Melun
Nouméa
Melun
Paris
Bastia
Mata-Utu
Nouméa
Melun
Mata-Utu
Papeete
Papeete
Mata-Utu
Papeete
Cergy
Cergy
Vers
Vers
CIVIL LIBERTIES
COMPETITION
LABOUR LAW
SECULARISM
Design, creation: Conseil d’Etat // Graphic design: sebastienpelon.com // Photography: DircomC.E. / J.B. Eyguesier / C. Chateau // Printing Desgrandchampts
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CONSEIL D’ÉTAT
1, place du Palais-Royal 75100 Paris cedex 01