Conseil d'État (France)  In France, the Council of State (, ) is a body of the French national government that acts both as legal advisor of the executive branch and as the supreme court for administrative justice. Established in 1799 by Napoleon as a successor to the King's Council ("Conseil du Roi"), it is located in the Palais-Royal in Paris and is primarily made up of top-level legal officers. The Vice President of the Council of State ranks as the ninth most important civil servant in France. Members of the Council of State are part of a Grand Corps of the French State ("grand corps de l'État"). The Council of State mainly recruits from among the top-ranking students graduating from the École nationale d'administration. A General Session of the Council of State is presided over by the Prime Minister or, in his absence, the Minister of Justice. However, since the real presidency of the Council is held by the Vice-President, he usually presides all but the most ceremonial assemblies. This is also done for obvious reasons pertaining to the separation of powers. Other members of the Council include, in decreasing order of importance:  The Vice-President is appointed by Order-in-Council on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice and is selected from among the Council's department heads or councillors ordinary. Division heads are similarly appointed and selected from among the councillors ordinary. Councillors ordinary, masters of requests, and senior masters are appointed based on seniority from the preceding rank. Appointees from outside the Council may include administrative law judges or may come from outside the justice system. Masters are recruited from among the graduates of France's National Administration Academy. The Council sits in the Palais Royal located in Paris. The Council is divided into 7 divisions:  The Council of State originates from the 13th century by which time the King's Court ("Curia regis") had split into three sections, one of which was the King's Council ("Curia in consilium", later "Conseil du roi"), which too broke up into three distinct parts: the "Conseil secret" 'Privy Council', the "Conseil privé" 'Private Council', and "Conseil des finances" 'Council of Finances'. Reorganized under Louis XIV into two major groupings, it was the "Conseil d'État privé, finances et direction" that was the direct ancestor of the Council of State.