are generally represented by a counsel before administrative tribunals, and that such a representation is even mandatory before the courts of appeal and the Council of State. Concerning the Council itself, it has to be specified that this representation is not exercised, moreover, by ordinary lawyers, but by one of 60 special lawyers, called "avocats au Conseil d'Etat et  la Cour de cassation", that form a closed corporation having a monopoly of legal representation before both supreme courts. The second characteristic of our procedure is that it is secret, which means that third parties are not allowed to have access to the parties' submissions sent to the court. However, this only applies, of course, to the written part of the procedure, as the court sessions themselves are held in public. The third main feature of the procedure before administrative courts is that it is "inquisitoire" (or "inquisitorial"). This means that, unlike, for instance, in the French civil procedure, called "procdure accusatoire" (or "accusatorial"), in which the course of the procedure is directed by the parties, it is directed, here, by the court itself. Thus, the court takes upon itself the task of transmitting the parties' written submissions to other parties during the preliminary inquiry of the case and of finding out the facts, including by ordering, if necessary, the presentation of additional information or evidence. The court has large powers at its disposal to direct the procedure. It determines, notably, the time limits that have to be respected by the