Le Conseil d’État français, conseiller du Gouvernement

Abstract

ABSTRACT Role of legal adviser to the government is the first function of the French Council of State, created in 1799. In 2021, despite the remarkable growth of its jurisdictional function which has placed the Council of State at the top of the administrative jurisdictional order, its advisory function, enshrined in the constitution of French Fifth Republic, remains essential. All bills, as well as the most important acts of executive power, are submitted to prior legal examination, by the Council of State in order to not only ensure respect for the French Constitution, international treaties and legaility, but also for intelligibility, stability and operational standards. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Council of State has been able to adapt its organization to the requirements of the decision of the European Court of Human Rights Procola c/Luxembourg of 29 September 1995 imposing a strict separation of advisory and judicial functions without renouncing this duality. The creation of the priority question of constitutionality in 2008 had the effect of strengthening the Council of State's role as adviser to the government. The decision of the President of the French Republic in 2015 to make the opinions of the Council of State public has made the Council of State an actor on the political scene and in the media.