A sénatus-consulte (French translation of ) was a feature of French law during the French Consulate (1799–1804), First French Empire (1804–1814, 1815) and Second French Empire (1852–1870).

Consulate and First Empire

It was an act voted on by the Sénat and had the force of law. Organic 'sénatus-consultes' modified the French Constitution and 'sénatus-consultes simples' ruled on its enaction.

Second Empire

After the French coup of 1851, Napoleon I's institutional architecture was reintroduced. Executive power was retained by Napoleon III, who subordinated legislative power by dividing it between two chambers: The Sénat could pass sénatus-consultes, acts with the force of law, to adapt France's institutions and modify the French Constitution of 1852. Initially used to found and reinforce the imperial and authoritarian character of the Second Empire, sénatus-consultes ended up helping the regime evolve into a 'liberal empire' from the 1860s onwards by giving more powers to the Parlement.

List of sénatus-consultes passed under the Second Empire (1852–1870)

Sénatus-consultes accompanying the establishment of the imperial regime (1852)

Sénatus-consultes of varying importance under the authoritarian regime (1856–1858)

Sénatus-consultes indicating the regime's liberal evolution (1860s–1870)