The term Grand Conseil or Great Council refers two different institutions during the Ancien Régime in France. It also is the name of parliaments in several Swiss cantons. Ancien Régime means Old Rule or Old Order in French; in English, the term refers primarily to the social and political system established in France under the Valois and Bourbon dynasties. ... States currently utilizing parliamentary systems are denoted in orange and red—the former being constitutional monarchies where authority is vested in a parliament, and the latter being parliamentary republics whose parliaments are effectively supreme over a separate head of state. ... The twenty-six cantons of Switzerland are the states of the federal state of Switzerland. ...

Ancien Régime France

Part of the King's Council

Starting in the 13th century, the "Grand Conseil" was the name given to the largest of the King's Councils, in contrast to the smaller and more elite "Conseil étroit" ("narrow council") or "Conseil secret".

Superior Court

Under Charles VII, a subcouncil of the King's council appeared to handle particularly contentious affairs. An ordinance by Charles VIII in 1497, and reissued by Louis XII in 1498, removed this section entirely from the King's Council and made it a superior court of justice under the institutional name "Grand Conseil". The "Grand Conseil" was not attended by the king, and it was furnished with its own legal and judicial personnel and with a purview over contentious affairs submitted directly to the king (affairs of "justice retenue", or "justice reserved" for the king). This removal of the Grand Conseil from the council apparatus permitted the remaining sections of the King's council to focus on political and administrative affairs. Charles VII the Victorious, a. ... Charles VIII the Affable (French: Charles VIII lAffable) (June 30, 1470 – April 7, 1498) was King of France from 1483 to his death. ... 1497 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Louis XII the Father of the People (French: Louis XII le Père du Peuple) (June 27, 1462 – January 1, 1515) was King of France 1498 – January 1, 1515. ... 1498 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The "Grand Conseil" had a jurisdiction over the entire kingdom, but could only be convoked by the king. The king sought the Grand Conseil's intervention in affairs considered to be too contentious for the parlement. The Grand Conseil was convoked on contentious issues pertaining to: Parlements (pronounced in French) in ancien régime France — contrary to what their name would suggest to the modern reader — were not democratic or political institutions, but law courts . ...

• questions of legal interpretation (the so-called process of "évocation"):
  • "évocation générale": disputes concerning religious benefices after the Concordat of Bologna of 1516 (the parlements tended to ignore or refuse to honor the clauses of the Concordat) or problems with the implementation of the clauses of the papal bull Unigenitus
  • "évocation particulière": on the request of the king or a member of the high nobility.
• as an appelate court concerning conflicts of judicial or administrative jurisdiction (as, say. between the different parlements).
• questions concerning counterfeit royal letters.

At its creation, the "Grand Conseil" was presided by the Chancellor of France, assisted by the maîtres des requêtes, and included several specialized officers (initially 17 consellors, increased to 20 (dividing their service in two semester) by Louis XII). Under François I, the positions of First President and four secondary (or so-called "mortar board" magistrates) "présidents à mortier" were added, and the chancellor ceased to preside over the court, other than in exceptional circumstances. In this way, the "Grand Conseil" slowly developed an internal structure similar to other sovereign courts of the realm. By the end of the Ancien Régime, the court consisted of a first president, eight presidents, 48 consellors, a prosecutor ("procureur général"), several attorneys (an ""avocat général" and eight substitutes), and various secretaries, baillifs and scribes. General information The Concordat of Bologna was an agreement between King Francis I of France and Pope Leo X. It stated that the Pope could collect all the income that the Catholic Church made in France, while the King of France could decide who lead the Church (only in France). ... // Events March - With the death of Ferdinand II of Aragon, his grandson Charles of Ghent becomes King of Spain as Carlos I. July - Selim I of the Ottoman Empire declares war on the Mameluks and invades Syria. ... Parlements (pronounced in French) in ancien régime France — contrary to what their name would suggest to the modern reader — were not democratic or political institutions, but law courts . ... Papal bull of Pope Urban VIII, 1637, sealed with a leaden bulla. ... There are english source documents for or relating to this article that could be added to Wikipedias sister project, Wikisource. ... Parlements (pronounced in French) in ancien régime France — contrary to what their name would suggest to the modern reader — were not democratic or political institutions, but law courts . ... This page is a list of French justice ministers. ... Francis I (François Ier in French) (September 12, 1494 – July 31, 1547), called the Father and Restorer of Letters (le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres), was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547. ...

The "Grand Conseil" was permanently situated in Paris from the reign of Henri II on; its exact location varied over time: first at the Louvre, then at the Augustins, the cloister of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois, the hôtel d’Aligre (from 1686 on), and again at the Louvre (from 1754 on). Henry II of France Henry II (French: Henri II) (March 31, 1519 - July 10, 1559), a member of the Valois Dynasty, was King of France from 1547 until his death. ... The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre) in Paris, France, is the largest museum in the world. ...

Extremely criticized for its extended jurisdiction, the Grand Conseil nevertheless remained in existence until the French Revolution. Liberty Leading the People, a painting by Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 but which has come to be generally accepted as symbolic of French popular uprisings against the monarchy in general. ...

Note: The "Grand Conseil" should not be confused with the "Conseil privé" or "Conseil des parties", which first appeared in 1557. With the "Grand Conseil" being a completely autonomous court of justice separated from the king's council, the need was seen for certain judicial affairs to be discussed and judged within the king's council, especially those in which the impartiality of the courts was called into question. These special session trials gave rise to a new section of the king's council overseeing contentious issues, which took the name "Conseil privé" ("Privy Council") or "Conseil des parties" ("Council of Parties", i.e. the party in a legal suit). The main area of jurisdiction of the "Conseil privé" was civil trials between individuals (especially in cases involving the presigious families and possible conflicts of interest among parlementary judges) and conflicts of judicial or administrative jurisdiction. The "Conseil privé" was presided by the chancellor, and made up of the maîtres des requêtes and the conseillers d'État. Like the "Grand Conseil", the Privy Council acted as a supreme court, pronounced judgements on the various sovereign courts of the realm (including the parlements and the "Grand Conseil"), and provided final judicial review and interpretation of law, oversight of the judicial corps, and judged disputes on royal offices, church benefices and problems between catholics and protestants.

References

This article is based, in part, on the articles Grand Conseil and Conseil du Roi from the French Wikipedia, retrieved on September 3, 2006.

• "Grand Conseil et Conseil Privé" dossier (in French) from the National Archives by Émile Campardon.

The French Wikipedia is the French language edition of Wikipedia, spelled Wikipédia. ...

See also

• Ancien Régime in France
• Conseil du Roi