many of the functions of a Cabinet. After the Bourbon Restoration, the Council was retained as an administrative court but without its former prominence. Its role was more precisely defined by an 1872 Act of Parliament. The Council of State was originally a court of first instance and last instance, but since the creation of the tribunaux administratifs in 1953 and the cours administratives d’appel in 1987, it has increasingly become a supervisory court, with a role as an appeal court in a small number of areas. The Council of State hears appeals on questions of law from lower courts and gives advisory opinions on the law on reference from lower courts. Below it are 42 administrative courts of first instance (tribunaux administratifs) and 8 administrative courts of appeal (cours administratives d'appel). Advisory role Certain types of statutory instruments must be examined by the Council and receive its advisory approval, including: All draft legislation proposed by non-parliamentary members and prior to being introduced before Parliament. Orders-in-council, signed by the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers; any such order is a form of delegated legislation outlining how a statute or act of Parliament is to be carried out or put into effect. Typically, a statutory law will authorize, prescribe, or prohibit an action defined in broad terms and require a government order to define its scope and application. The Council's advisory workload is divided between its administrative sections with respect to the ministry or department affected by the government order. Administrative justice The Council acts as the supreme court of appeal for administrative law courts. It hears both claims against national-level administrative decisions (notably orders, rules, regulations and decisions of the executive branch) and appeals from lower administrative courts. The Council's decisions are final and unappealable. While strictly speaking the Council of State is not a court, it functions as a judicial body by adjudicating suits and claims against administrative authorities. Plaintiffs are represented by barristers drawn from the Senior Court bar whose members are licensed to argue cases before the Council and Court of Cassation; any such barrister bears the title of Counsel at Senior Court (Avocat aux Conseils). Original jurisdiction The Council hears cases against decisions of the national government, notably government orders, ministerial rules and regulations, judgments handed down by committees, commissions, and boards with nationwide jurisdiction, as well as suits concerning regional and EU electoral matters. The Council