The "superior authority" decides as to the causes which may necessitate the placing of an officer in _non-activité_, a disciplinary measure taken in cases of less serious a nature than those for which an officer may lose his commission (_peut-être mis en réforme--c'est-à-dire, l'exclusion définitive de l'armée_[6]). The place of an officer who has been suspended (_non-activité par suspension d'emploi_) is not filled up during a year, and he can be sent back to his regiment before the expiration of that period. An officer placed in non-activity _par retrait d'emploi_ remains in that position for an unlimited period, but at the end of three years a court of inquiry (_un conseil d'enquête_) is called upon to give its opinion as to whether the officer ought to be cashiered or not (_si l'officier doit être mis en réforme_). When the officer commanding a regiment considers that an officer under his orders cannot remain _en activité_ either on account of misconduct or on account of neglect of duty, or else through incapacity, he details his complaint against the said officer in a report he sends to the Major-general commanding his brigade. He specifies whether he considers that the officer ought to be suspended for a time or permanently (_si l'officier doit être mis en non-activité par suspension ou par retrait d'emploi_), and sends with his complaint a list of the various punishments inflicted on the officer, a copy of the officer's notes, and, if necessary, documents relating to the facts upon which the demand is based. The documents are examined by the General commanding the brigade, who forwards them to the General commanding the division, who sends them in his turn to the General commanding the army corps, by whom they are forwarded to the Minister of War. Each one of the above-mentioned Generals writes his opinion on the case. An officer who has been suspended (_mis en non-activité_) remains subject to military discipline under the _surveillance_ of the General commanding the military district where he has been allowed to reside.[7] The _Mise en réforme_[8] (cashiering) is determined by the President of the Republic upon the proposal of the Minister of War as a disciplinary measure. This punishment can be inflicted upon an officer as an immediate measure without it being necessary that he should have been previously suspended: it can be inflicted for habitual misconduct, serious neglect of duty, or breach of discipline, or dishonourable conduct. It can also become the consequence of three years of non-activity either as a disciplinary measure or through ill-health. When an officer is, as above stated, sent before a commission of inquiry (_Conseil d'Enquête_) the minutes of the proceedings are forwarded to the Minister of War.