The Council of State ( lb, Staatsrot, french: Conseil d'État, german: Staatsrat) is an institution in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

that advises the national legislature, the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

. Until 1 January 1997, it was also the country's supreme

administrative court An administrative court is a type of court specializing in administrative law, particularly disputes concerning the exercise of public power. Their role is to ascertain that official acts are consistent with the law. Such courts are considered s ...

, but this function was ceded to the newly created Administrative Tribunal and Administrative Court. The Council of State was created by

King-Grand Duke The designation of King-Grand Duke was held by the three monarchs of the House of Orange-Nassau that ruled Luxembourg and the Netherlands in personal union, between 1815 and 1890. These monarchs thus held the titles of King of the Netherlands and G ...

William III in the Coup of 1856. It was originally entirely appointed by the Grand Duke, but this was changed in 1866, and, despite the roll-back of many changes brought about by the coup, the Council of State has otherwise remained.

Composition

The Council of State is composed of twenty-one councillors, who are appointed by the

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approx ...

. Of these, at least eleven must hold

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

s in law. Neither number applies to members of the

Grand Ducal Family The Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg constitutes the House of Luxembourg-Nassau, headed by the sovereign Grand Duke, and in which the throne of the grand duchy is hereditary. It consists of heirs and descendants of the House of Nassau-Weilburg, ...

, who may be appointed as additional members of the Council. Membership is restricted to Luxembourgish nationals, who are resident in the Grand Duchy, are in possession of their full civil and political rights, and are at least 30 years old. The final restriction does not apply to the

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offic ...

to the Grand Duchy, who may be appointed upon being granted that title.

Current councillors

, the members of the Council of State are:

Footnotes

External links

Council of State official website
{{Luxembourg topics Organisations based in Luxembourg City 1856 establishments in Luxembourg