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Concept
Constitutional Council (France)
Summary
The Constitutional Council (Conseil constitutionnel; kɔ̃sɛj kɔ̃stitysjɔˈnɛl) is the highest constitutional authority in France. It was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958 to ensure that constitutional principles and rules are upheld. It is housed in the Palais-Royal, Paris. Its main activity is to rule on whether proposed statutes conform with the Constitution, after they have been voted by Parliament and before they are signed into law by the President of the Republic (a priori review), or passed by the government as a decree, which has law status in many domains, a right granted to the government under delegation of Parliament.
Since 1 March 2010, individual citizens who are party to a trial or a lawsuit have been able to ask for the Council to review whether the law applied in the case is constitutional (a posteriori review). In 1971, the Council ruled that conformity with the Constitution also entails conformity with two other texts referred to in the preamble of the Constitution, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the preamble of the constitution of the Fourth Republic, both of which list constitutional rights.
Members are referred to as les sages ("the wise") in the media and the general public, as well as in the Council's own documents. Legal theorist Arthur Dyevre notes that this "tends to make those who dare criticise them look unwise." Since 2016, Laurent Fabius has served as President of the Constitutional Council (Président du Conseil constitutionnel) following his appointment by President François Hollande.
The Council has two main areas of power:
The first is the supervision of elections, both presidential and parliamentary, and ensuring the legitimacy of referendums (Articles 58, 59 and 60). They issue the official results, ensure proper conduct and fairness, and see that campaign spending limits are adhered to. The Council is the supreme authority in these matters.
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