Sénatus-consulte
Encyclopedia
A sénatus-consulte was a feature of French law during the French Consulate
, First French Empire
and Second French Empire
.
and had the force of law. Organic 'sénatus-consultes' modified the French Constitution and 'sénatus-consultes simples' ruled on its enaction.
, Napoleon I's institutional architecture was reintroduced. Executive power was retained by Napoleon III, who divided legislative power between two chambers - the Corps législatif (where deputies could only make laws on the initiative of the civil service Conseil d'État) and the Sénat (whose members were named for life by the emperor). The Sénat could vote on sénatus-consultes, acts with the force of law, to adapt France's institutions and modify the French Constitution of 1852
. Initially used to found and reinforce the imperial and authoritarian character of the Second Empire, the sénatus-consultes ended up helping the regime evolve into a 'liberal empire' from the 1860s onwards by giving more powers to the Parlement.
French Consulate
The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
, First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
and Second French Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
.
Consulate and First Empire
It was an act voted on by the SénatSénat conservateur
The Sénat conservateur was a body set up in France during the Consulate by the Constitution of the Year VIII. With the Tribunat and the Corps législatif, it formed one of the three legislative assemblies of the Consulate...
and had the force of law. Organic 'sénatus-consultes' modified the French Constitution and 'sénatus-consultes simples' ruled on its enaction.
Second Empire
After the French coup of 1851French coup of 1851
The French coup d'état on 2 December 1851, staged by Prince Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte , ended in the successful dissolution of the French National Assembly, as well as the subsequent re-establishment of the French Empire the next year...
, Napoleon I's institutional architecture was reintroduced. Executive power was retained by Napoleon III, who divided legislative power between two chambers - the Corps législatif (where deputies could only make laws on the initiative of the civil service Conseil d'État) and the Sénat (whose members were named for life by the emperor). The Sénat could vote on sénatus-consultes, acts with the force of law, to adapt France's institutions and modify the French Constitution of 1852
French Constitution of 1852
The French Constitution of 1852 was enacted on January 14, 1852 by Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte . Slightly modified later that year, on December 25, 1852 the constitution became the basis for the creation of the French Second Empire....
. Initially used to found and reinforce the imperial and authoritarian character of the Second Empire, the sénatus-consultes ended up helping the regime evolve into a 'liberal empire' from the 1860s onwards by giving more powers to the Parlement.