Introduction to the subject

The executive, whether single-headed or collegial, needs advisors to inform its decisions. Depending on the political systems, the existence of such advisors may be more or less formalized, regulated, or even mandatory. Nonetheless, resorting to advisors raises several legal issues: what is the freedom of the executive when they appoint these advisors (how to prevent conflicts of interest, or make sure that public funds are properly used, etc.)? what is the extent of the power devolved to the “advisors” (do they constrain the executive or are they exploited by the executive that uses their expertise to legitimize public action)? This issue has recently been highlighted in several jurisdictions. For instance, in France, with the scandal surrounding the use of expensive private consulting firms, or in the United States with the creation of the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency.” These cases illustrate how the executive branch can resort to consulting while trying to free itself from a number of legal constraints and thus extend its authority. While this area of government law is still understudied, as it is often poorly regulated and shrouded in secrecy, fundamental legal principles are at stake: separation of powers, rule of law, transparency, budgetary balance, etc. The use of such structures raises issues in the fields of constitutional law, administrative science, public finance, public policy, institutional sociology, and even criminal law, which deserve to be analyzed from a comparative (and possibly historical) perspective.

Non-exhaustive list of suggested topics

• The specific characteristics of public institutions specializing in advising the executive branch (e.g. Council of State, Court of Auditors, etc.)

• The role of legal advisors within the executive branch (Department of Justice in the United States, Secrétariat général du Gouvernement in France)

• The use of external consulting firms

• Oversight of executive advisors

• The use of experts (in economics, health, education, communication, etc.)

• The use of national talents such as public researchers

• Transparency of advisory activities

Procedure

Articles must be submitted to the Editorial Board before January 31st, 2026, and will undergo double-blind peer review.

They may be written in French or English and must be between 30,000 and 50,000 characters, spaces included.

For articles written in French, the editorial standards to be followed are available here.

Contributions written in English must follow OSCOLA standards.

To submit article proposals, final articles, or for any questions, please contact the scientific coordinators for this issue:

• Margaux Bouaziz, Professor at the University of Burgundy, margaux.bouaziz@u-bourgogne.fr,

• Carolina Cerda-Guzman, Associate Professor at the University of Bordeaux, carolina.cerda-guzman@u-bordeaux.fr

The issue will be published in July 2026.

(Note: The call for papers for the “Varia” section remains open for each issue of the journal).