Opinion of the European Central Bank of 8 July 2014 on the age limit applicable to and term of office of the Governor and Deputy Governors of the Banque de France (CON/2014/51)
Date: 2014-07-08
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: France, appointment of staff, board of directors, central bank, national law

EN 

 ECB-PUBLIC  

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 8 July 2014 

on the age limit applicable to and term of office of the Governor and Deputy Governors of the 

Banque de France 

(CON/2014/51) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On  30  June  2014  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  the  French  Ministry  of 

Finance  and  Economic  Affairs  for  an  opinion  on  draft  legislation  amending  Article  L.  142-8  of  the 

Monetary and Financial Code (hereinafter the ‘draft law’). 

The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 
Functioning of the European Union and the third indent of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415/EC1, 

as the draft law relates to the Banque de France. In accordance with the first sentence of Article 17.5 of 

the Rules of Procedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing Council has adopted this opinion. 

1. 

Purpose of the draft law 

The  draft  law  concerns  the  age  limit  applicable  to  and  the  term  of  office  of  the  Governor  and  Deputy 

Governors  of  the  Banque  de  France.  It  provides  that  upon  reaching  the  age  limit,  the  Governor  and 

Deputy Governors shall nonetheless remain in office until the expiry of their current term of office. 

2. 

Personal independence of the Governor and Deputy Governors of the Banque de France 

2.1 

In accordance with Article 14.2 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the 

European  Central  Bank  (hereinafter  the  ‘Statute  of  the  ESCB’),  national  central  bank  (NCB) 

statutes  must  provide  for  a  minimum  term  of  office  of  five  years  for  a  Governor.  This  does  not 

preclude  longer  terms  of  office.  Indeed,  an  indefinite  term  of  office  does  not  require  an  NCB’s 

statute to be amended, provided the grounds for the dismissal of its Governor are in line with those 

of Article 14.2 of the Statute of the ESCB. National legislation which provides for a compulsory 

retirement age must ensure that the retirement age does not interrupt the minimum term of office 

required  by  Article  14.2,  which  prevails  over  any  compulsory  retirement  age  in  respect  of  a 

1 

Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national authorities 
regarding draft legislative provisions (OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42). 

     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
ECB-PUBLIC  

Governor2.  If  an  NCB’s  statutes  are  amended,  the  amending  law  must  safeguard  the  security  of 

tenure of the Governor and of other members of decision-making bodies who are involved in the 
performance of ESCB-related tasks3. 

2.2  Personal  independence  would  be  jeopardised  if  the  same  rules  for  the  security  of  tenure  and 

grounds  for  dismissal  of  Governors  did  not  also  apply  to  other  members  of  the  decision-making 
bodies  of  NCBs  involved  in  the  performance  of  ESCB-related  tasks4.  Various  provisions  of  the 

Treaty  and  of  the  Statute  of  the  ESCB  require  comparable  security  of  tenure.  Article  14.2  of  the 

Statute  of the ESCB does  not restrict the security of tenure  of  office to  Governors, while  Article 

130  of  the  Treaty  and  Article  7  of  the  Statute  of  the  ESCB  refer  to  ‘members  of  the  decision-

making  bodies’  of  NCBs,  rather  than  to  Governors  specifically.  This  is  of  particular  importance 

where a Governor is ‘first among equals’ with colleagues with equivalent voting rights, or where 
such other members are involved in the performance of ESCB-related tasks5. 

2.3  The ECB welcomes the inclusion of an express provision in Article L. 142-8 of the Monetary and 

Financial  Code  to  the  effect  that  when  the  Governor  and  Deputy  Governors  reach  the  age  limit 

during their term of office, they nonetheless remain in office until the end of their original term, as 

it  brings  the  Monetary  and  Financial  Code  in  line  with  the  requirements  of  Article  14.2  of  the 

Statute of the ESCB in conjunction with Article 130 of the Treaty and Article 7 of the Statute of the 

ESCB.  

This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website. 

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 8 July 2014. 

[Signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Mario DRAGHI 

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3  
4  
5  

See Opinion CON/2012/89. All ECB opinions are published on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
See the ECB’s June 2014 Convergence Report, pp. 29-30. 
The relevant ECB opinions in this area are CON/2004/35, CON/2005/26, CON/2006/32, CON/2006/44 and CON/2007/6. 
See the ECB’s June 2014 Convergence Report, p. 30. 

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