France · Supreme court · administrative justice
Conseil d'État
In 2025, the Conseil d'État issued 7,505 decisions, 2% more than in 2024. 83% of the decisions with a stated outcome are dismissals and a case is decided in a median of 7 months (respectively 75% and 15 months before the administrative courts of appeal).
- Decisions in 20257,505+2% over one year
- Dismissal rate83%against 75% before the administrative courts of appeal
- Median time7 monthsagainst 15 months before the administrative courts of appeal
- Decisions since 202231,010from 2022 to 2025
Activity year by year
This section follows, year by year, the number of decisions published by the Conseil d'État, from 2022 to 2025. This number measures judicial output: it is not the same as the number of appeals on points of law and applications filed in the same year, because a case may be decided months after it was filed.
The number of decisions of the Conseil d'État went from 8,542 in 2022 to 7,505 in 2025, with a minimum of 7,389 in 2024. The dismissal rate is 83% in 2025, against 84% in 2022; the median time is 7 months in 2025, against 8 months in 2022.
| Year | Decisions | Change | Dismissal rate | Median time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 8,542 | – | 84% | 8 months |
| 2023 | 7,574 | −11% | 84% | 8 months |
| 2024 | 7,389 | −2% | 85% | 7 months |
| 2025 | 7,505 | +2% | 83% | 7 months |
Series start in 2022, the first full year in which the decisions of the Conseil d'État were published. Rate and time not computed below 200 decisions in the year.
Subjects of the cases
Decisions are sorted by subject according to the legal texts they cite: immigration, planning and building permits, tax, civil service, housing… The table shows the subjects that occupy the Conseil d'État, how the share of each compares with that of all administrative courts of appeal, and how the dismissal rate and the median time change from one subject to another.
Tax is the most frequent subject before the Conseil d'État: 756 decisions in 2025 (2% more than in 2024), that is 10% of the decisions of the Conseil d'État, against 8% before the administrative courts of appeal. It is followed by immigration (6%) and civil service (6%). Other matters, meaning decisions without a characteristic legal text, account for 47% of the decisions. The largest difference from the distribution for the administrative courts of appeal concerns immigration: 6% of the decisions of the Conseil d'État, against 51% before the administrative courts of appeal. Among the subjects with at least 200 decisions of the Conseil d'État, the dismissal rate ranges from 68% for public health to 83% for employment law. The median time ranges from 6 months for immigration to 10 months for environment and agriculture.
| Subject | Decisions 2025 | Share | Share: Administrative courts of appeal | Dismissal rate | Median time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tax | 756 | 10% | 8% | 72% | 8 months |
| Immigration | 479 | 6% | 51% | 82% | 6 months |
| Civil service | 473 | 6% | 6% | 75% | 7 months |
| Planning and building permits | 461 | 6% | 4% | 82% | 7 months |
| Public health | 383 | 5% | 1% | 68% | 7 months |
| Employment law | 291 | 4% | 2% | 83% | 7 months |
| Social welfare | 264 | 4% | 1% | 72% | 7 months |
| Environment and agriculture | 262 | 3% | 2% | 80% | 10 months |
| Local authorities and public property | 193 | 3% | 2% | – | – |
| Policing | 104 | 1% | 1% | – | – |
| Driving licences | 97 | 1% | 0.2% | – | – |
| Public procurement | 63 | 1% | 1% | – | – |
| Housing | 60 | 1% | 0.3% | – | – |
| Education | 53 | 1% | 0.3% | – | – |
| Elections | 40 | 1% | 0.03% | – | – |
| Other matters | 3,526 | 47% | 19% | 90% | 7 months |
Subject determined from the legal texts cited in each decision; “other matters” groups decisions without a characteristic text. Rate and time not computed below 200 decisions in the year.
Time to judgment
Time to judgment is the time between the filing of the application and the decision. It is summarised by the median: half of the cases are decided faster, the other half more slowly; the quartiles frame this benchmark. Only judgments and rulings count, not orders. The chart spreads the decisions of the Conseil d'État over bands of duration.
In 2025, the median time from filing to decision at the Conseil d'État is 7 months: a quarter of the cases are decided in less than 6 months, a quarter wait more than 12 months. This median is the same as in 2024. It is lower than the median for the administrative courts of appeal (15 months). The time is calculated on 5,229 of the 7,505 decisions of the year (judgments and rulings, excluding orders).
- A quarter of cases decided inless than 6 monthsfirst quartile
- Median time7 monthsagainst 15 months before the administrative courts of appeal
- A quarter of cases wait more than12 monthsthird quartile
- Decisions counted5,229out of 7,505 decisions in 2025
| Duration | Conseil d'État | Administrative courts of appeal |
|---|---|---|
| < 3 months | 15% | 4% |
| 3-6 months | 17% | 7% |
| 6-12 months | 42% | 26% |
| 1-2 years | 21% | 45% |
| 2-3 years | 3% | 14% |
| > 3 years | 1% | 4% |
See also time to judgment in all courts
Judgments and rulings only, excluding orders (summary proceedings), counted from the first application filed. Not computed below 200 decisions in the year.
Outcome of the cases
The outcome sums up what the decision does. In cassation, a dismissal leaves the contested decision in place, whether the appeal came from the individual or from the public body; a quashing annuls the contested decision, and the case is then sent back or settled by the Conseil d'État itself. The chart sets the Conseil d'État beside the administrative courts of appeal.
Among the 7,323 decisions of 2025 with a stated outcome, 83% are dismissals, 15% annul the contested act or grant the claim, and 2% are withdrawals or “no need to rule” decisions, which end the case without a ruling on the merits. Before the administrative courts of appeal, these shares are 75%, 17% and 5%. Compared with 2024, the dismissal rate of the Conseil d'État is down 2 points.
- Conseil d'État
- Administrative courts of appeal
- Dismissed
- Annulled or granted
- No need to rule
- Withdrawn
- Referred or transferred
- Suspension
| Outcome | Decisions 2025 | Share | Share: Administrative courts of appeal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dismissed | 6,044 | 83% | 75% |
| Annulled or granted | 1,072 | 15% | 17% |
| No need to rule | 97 | 1% | 2% |
| Withdrawn | 21 | 0.3% | 3% |
| Referred or transferred | 78 | 1% | 3% |
| Suspension | 11 | 0.2% | 0% |
Decisions with a stated and classified outcome, excluding interim decisions (expert report, investigation).
Where the court stands
This section places the Conseil d'État within the administrative courts: the courts of appeal whose rulings it hears in cassation and the authorities whose decisions it can review.
The Conseil d'État hears in cassation the rulings of the 9 administrative courts of appeal (Paris, Versailles, Lyon, Nantes, Nancy, Marseille, Bordeaux, Toulouse and Douai), which issued 27,140 decisions between them in 2025. It also hears some decisions of independent authorities, such as the sanctions of the CNIL or the decisions of the Autorité de la concurrence on mergers, and it decides whether to refer priority questions of constitutionality to the Conseil constitutionnel.
| Court | Decisions 2025 | Dismissal rate | Median time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cour administrative d'appel de Paris | 5,067 | 74% | 13 months |
| Cour administrative d'appel de Versailles | 3,229 | 80% | 20 months |
| Cour administrative d'appel de Lyon | 3,121 | 75% | 12 months |
| Cour administrative d'appel de Nantes | 3,065 | 73% | 11 months |
| Cour administrative d'appel de Nancy | 2,790 | 80% | 18 months |
| Cour administrative d'appel de Marseille | 2,778 | 73% | 13 months |
| Cour administrative d'appel de Bordeaux | 2,621 | 71% | 20 months |
| Cour administrative d'appel de Toulouse | 2,414 | 77% | 20 months |
| Cour administrative d'appel de Douai | 2,055 | 75% | 13 months |
Rate and time not computed below 200 decisions in the year.
See also France CNIL Constitutional Council
Understanding these figures
The role of the Conseil d'État
The Conseil d'État is the supreme court of the administrative order. It rules in cassation on the judgments of the administrative courts of appeal, reviewing only the application of the law, and hears some judgments of the administrative tribunals. It also has jurisdiction, at first and last instance, over certain disputes, such as challenges to decrees.
What counts as a decision
Each published decision counts as one: a decision issued after examining an appeal or an application, but also an order issued by a single judge, in summary proceedings or to close certain applications without a hearing. A single case can therefore produce several decisions. Orders count in the volumes, but not in the time to judgment.
Reading the median time
Time is counted from the filing of the application to the decision. The median splits the cases into two halves: one is decided faster, the other more slowly. It is preferred to the average, which a small number of very long cases is enough to inflate. The quartiles give the range: a quarter of the cases are decided before the first quartile, a quarter after the third. The calculation covers decisions, excluding orders.
Reading the dismissal rate in cassation
In cassation, a dismissal leaves the contested decision in place, whether the appeal came from the individual or from the public body: the dismissal rate alone does not say who wins the case. “Annulled or granted” brings together, in particular, quashings; a referral sends the case to another court; withdrawals and “no need to rule” decisions end the case without a ruling on the merits.
The figures of this court
Before the Conseil d'État, tax accounts for 10% of the decisions of 2025, against 8% before the administrative courts of appeal; immigration accounts for 6% (51% before the administrative courts of appeal). The dismissal rate and the median time vary from one subject to another: the Conseil d'État and another court cannot be compared point by point without taking into account the cases brought before them. No statistic can predict the outcome of a particular case.
Frequently asked questions
How many decisions did the Conseil d'État issue in 2025?
The Conseil d'État issued 7,505 decisions in 2025, 2% more than in 2024. The most frequent subjects are tax (756 decisions), immigration (479 decisions) and civil service (473 decisions).
What is the median time to judgment of the Conseil d'État?
In 2025, the median time from filing to decision at the Conseil d'État is 7 months: a quarter of the cases are decided in less than 6 months and a quarter after more than 12 months. For the administrative courts of appeal, the median time is 15 months.
What share of the decisions of the Conseil d'État are dismissals?
In 2025, 83% of the decisions of the Conseil d'État with a stated outcome were dismissals, against 75% before the administrative courts of appeal. The rate depends first on the subjects heard: see “Understanding these figures”.
Which cases does the Conseil d'État hear?
The Conseil d'État rules in cassation on the judgments of the administrative courts of appeal, hears some judgments of the administrative tribunals and rules at first and last instance on certain disputes, such as challenges to decrees.