Constitutional Council (France)
The Government of France consists of an executive branch (President of the Republic, Prime Minister, ministers, and their services and affiliated organizations), a legislative branch (both houses of Parliament), and a judicial branch. The judicial branch is, unlike for instance the federal judiciary of the United States under the Supreme Court, not organized into a single hierarchy (administrative courts fall under the Council of State, civil and criminal courts under the Court of Cassation), and some of its entities also have advisory functions. For historical reasons there has long been a hostility to having anything resembling a "Supreme Court"—that is, a powerful court able to quash legislation. Whether the Council is a court is a subject of academic discussion, but some scholars consider it the supreme court of France.
Catalan Courts
The Catalan Courts or General Court of Catalonia ( or ) was the policymaking and parliamentary body of the Principality of Catalonia from the 13th to the 18th century. The courts were made up of three arms or estates: the "military estate" which included representatives from the nobility, the "ecclesiastical estate" which saw representatives from the religious hierarchy and the "royal" estate which had representatives from the municipalities. The courts were summoned by the king who opened with a royal proclamation while the arms were in charge of legislating, always with the support of the sovereign. If the laws that were approved came from the king they received the name of "Constitutions", if they came from the Estates, "Court Chapters". If the king passed a law unilaterally it was called "Acts of Courts" and required ratification by the courts.