Belgian Senate and the Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives, which can refuse the nominations if they consider the number of former auditeurs to have grown to large. In this case the Council of State drafts a new list. If the list with nominations by the Council was not unanimous then the Chamber or Senate can draft a new list containing three names, the King will proceed to appoint one of the candidates from these two lists. In order to become a judge on the Council of State the following conditions must be met: at least 37 years of age legal degree at least ten years of legal experience one of the following conditions: succeeded in a government exam for auditeur or referendaris administrative function of rank 15 in a Belgian civil service holder of a doctorate in law Belgian magistrate professor of law at a Belgian university. The Council has its seat at the following address: Wetenschapsstraat/rue de la Science 33 in Brussels. Jurisdiction The Belgian Council of State was modelled after her French namesake with greatly similar powers. Litigation The Council hears cases against decisions of the federal government (royal decrees, regulations issued by ministers, decisions by committees with a national competency) and decisions of the regional governments and the governments of the communities (executive orders, regulations issued by ministers,...) as well as against decisions of the provincial and municipal governments and decisions of various state organs. The Council of State examines the conformance of these regulations and administrative decisions with respect to the Constitution, (higher) administrative decisions, the general principles of Law, statute law, international treaties and conventions. The general principles of Law are principles that are not found in any statute, yet derive from the spirit of the body of law; they are discovered by the Council and thus made into case law. The Council is the cassation jurisdiction for decisions by administrative courts of appeal, meaning that it hears cases in which the plaintiff argues that the court of appeal ignored or misinterpreted law. The procedure is inquisitorial: the litigant writes a letter to the Council, stating precisely what happened and why he feels that the defendant acted illegally; the Council then starts an inquiry, asking the other party (generally, a government or government agency) for precisions, and so on until the Council has a clear picture of the case. The litigant does not have the