vote would break any potential tie. As of 2015, court members elect a president amongst themselves for 3 years, and, in case of a tie, the court's composition can be modified to include several more judges. Major rulings of the Council of State Exercising judicial review over almost all acts of the executive branch, the Council of State's judgments may be of considerable importance, often not for the actual case judged, but for its importance in shaping legal interpretation. While France is a civil law country and there is no formal rule of precedent (stare decisis), lower courts follow the jurisprudence constante doctrine with regard to the Council of State. The Council's major rulings are collected into law reports and commented on by scholars; the Council's official website carries a list of comments on important decisions. The Council has shaped its own legal doctrine which consists mostly of principles deduced from cases but incorporates considerable jurisprudence derived from statutes. Rulings are named for the moving parties (appellants) in the cases and under highly formal courtesy titles. Men's names used to be preceded by Sieur, women's names by Dame or Demoiselle, and widows were referred to as Dame veuve. About 10,000 rulings per year are given by the Council of State. The most important rulings are collected in a publication called "G.A.J.A" (i.e. Les Grands Arrêts de la Jurisprudence Administrative – The major rulings of the administrative jurisprudence -), published by Dalloz editions and written by some of the most influential authors or judges of the time in France (e.g. Bruno Genevois or Prosper Weil). The GAJA explains about 120 rulings, from 1873 to now, and quotes several hundreds of other important rulings. Important rulings include: February 19, 1875 – Prince NapoléonThe fact that a decision has been taken with political considerations does not make it an "act of government" that cannot be adjudicated by the Council (rescinding a previous doctrine). A prince had been removed from the Army for political reasons. The Council stated that his case had to be heard, but then decided that it was unfounded because the law said that his commission could be revoked. May 28, 1954 – Barel. Freedom of opinion of civil servants. After a number of Communists had been refused admission to the École nationale d'administration it was decided that the Government cannot exclude people from applying for civil service positions solely on