THE CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL

THE CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL

France had no tradition of judicial review before 1958. Until then, the only role of the court system had been to determine guilt or innocence of individuals accused of crimes. Then the Constitution of 1958 brought forth an institutional novelty, the Constitutional Council, which has give France its first taste of judicial review. The Council examines legislation and international treaties and decides whether or not they conform to the Constitution. They act at the request of the president, prime minister, or speaker of either house of the legislature.

The council is composed of nine members with nine-year non-renewable terms:

three members are appointed by the president
three by the speaker of the Senate
three by the speaker of the National Assembly.

The president OR sixty deputies OR sixty senators may submit cases for the Constitutional Council to consider. Understandably, those that disagree with government decisions usually bring up the issue of constitutionality. Although the Council has judged a number of government actions unconstitutional, its influence is uncertain. Judicial review has come about in France very differently than in the United States. Whether judicial review can be imposed on a country suddenly, as in France, is still in doubt, and citizen access to the Council is limited, since only the legislature or the president can bring questions to the Council's attention.

The Constitutional Council has become much more important in France since 1986, when the semi-presidential system began. During the previous superpresidential era, very few controversies went to the Council because the executive and legislative branches were in agreement on either the right or left. Under cohabitation, the Council has ruled on proposed legislation fairly frequently.

Is the Constitutional Council comparable to the U.S. Supreme Court? In some ways it is, but in general, its powers are more limited. Some observers believe that the Council is likely to become more powerful in the future. After all, it is much younger than the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. Supreme Court

Constitutional Council

9 members for life

9 members for 9-year terms

Cases come primarily from lower courts through writ of certiorari (request from the Supreme Court)

Cases are demanded by the president OR 60 senators OR 60 deputies; the Council accepts no other cases

Judicial review powers are extensive; they may be applied to national and state law, other court decisions, and executive actions

Judicial review may be applied only AFTER a law passes the legislature and BEFORE it is signed by the president.

The court has set extensive legal precedents

The importance of legal precedents is unclear