and Renewal (UNDR): 10 seats, the Union for Renewal and Democracy (URD): 8 seats, the National Rally for Democracy in Chad – the Revival (RNDT): 6 seats, the Federation Action pour la République (FAR): 4 seats, and a few other small political parties. 3°) The Judicial Branch 46. The Constitution enshrines the independence of the Judiciary and establishes one single order of jurisdiction, of which the Supreme Court is the highest authority. Act No. 004/PR/98 of 7 June 2013 on the organization of the Judiciary establishes the jurisdiction of the courts. 47. The Supreme Court acts as a court of cassation on all matters in accordance with the rules governing its organization and functioning. It decides alone on appeals against decrees and orders for misuse of power. It issues its opinion on draft laws before deliberations in Cabinet meeting. In addition, only the Supreme Court can hear cases on disputes relating to local elections. 48. The Courts of Appeal are located in Moundou, Abéché, N'Djaména, Sarh, Mongo, Amdjarass and Bongor. They hear appeals against decisions rendered at first instance by all courts within their territorial jurisdiction. 49. The High Courts, located in major cities in the regions and some districts, deal with civil and commercial cases throughout their territorial jurisdiction subject to the competence of the Labour and Social Security Courts, Commercial Courts and Magistrates Courts. 50. Magistrates Courts have been established in the ten districts of N'Djaména, the capital, and in certain localities including towns where there are no High Courts in the district. They deal with minor civil and criminal cases. 51. The High Judicial Council (CSM) is chaired by the President of the Republic with the Minister of Justice as the First Vice-Chairperson. 52. In 2013, two laws were adopted by the National Assembly aimed at reorganizing the judicial system to make it more efficient and accessible to citizens in order to deal with “impunity”. These are namely, Act No. 11/PR/2013 of 17 June 2013 on the organization of the judicial sector and Act No. 012/PR/2013 of 17 June 2013 on the organization and functioning of courts handling administrative cases. 53. The first innovation is the reaffirmation of the principle of collegiality, which requires the various chambers of the courts to rule in a collegial manner. However, cases may be adjudicated by a single judge when there is an insufficient number of judges for the composition of collegial hearings. And in general, the temporary or prolonged absence of an assessor disrupts the proper Page 18 sur 87