The term Grand Conseil (French pronunciation: [ɡʁɑ̃ kɔ̃sɛj]) or Great Council refers two different institutions during the Ancien Régime in France.
An ordinance by Charles VIII in 1497, and reissued by Louis XII in 1498, removed this section entirely from the King's Council and made it a superior court of justice under the institutional name "Grand Conseil".
The Grand Conseil was convoked on contentious issues pertaining to: At its creation, the "Grand Conseil" was presided by the Chancellor of France, assisted by the maîtres des requêtes, and included several specialized officers (initially 17 counsellors, increased to 20 (dividing their service in two semester) by Louis XII).
In this way, the "Grand Conseil" slowly developed an internal structure similar to other sovereign courts of the realm.
Like the "Grand Conseil", the Privy Council acted as a supreme court, pronounced judgements on the various sovereign courts of the realm (including the parlements and the "Grand Conseil"), and provided final judicial review and interpretation of law, oversight of the judicial corps, and judged disputes on royal offices, church benefices and problems between Catholics and Protestants.