Parliaments and constitutional courts - ASGP议会与宪法法院ASGP.docVIP

UNION INTERPARLEMENTAIRE INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION Association of Secretaries general of Parliaments COMMUNICATION from Mr Alain DELCAMP Secretary General of the French Senate on PARLIAMENTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS Bern Session October 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. – THE VARIOUS SYSTEMS OF CONSTITUTIONAL JUSTICE 5 II. ROLE OF PARLIAMENTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND DEFINITION OF THE OPERATING RULES OF COURTS 8 II.1. Institutional and constitutive regulations of Courts: 8 II.2. – Regulations for the appointment of judges: 9 III. PARLIAMENTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL CONTROL PROCESSES 10 III.1. – Referral procedures 10 III.2. – Court proceedings 11 III.3. – Impact of Parliament structure 12 IV. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN COURTS AND PARLIAMENTS 13 IV.1. – Impact of the role of Courts in the institutional system 13 IV.2. – Diversity of the Courts competences and relationships between Courts and Parliaments. 13 IV.2.1. – Institutional or adjudicative competences 14 IV.2.2. - Courts judging material constitutional law. Fundamental rights 14 IV.2.3. - Constitutional Courts and operating rules of the Parliament (Rules, procedures and interna corporis acta) 14 IV.3. – Impact and implementing of decisions 15 V. CONFLICTS BETWEEN COURTS AND PARLIAMENTS – OBJECTIVITY AND SUBJECTIVITY 16 V.1. – Impact of the moment when a decision of constitutional invalidity is made 16 V.2. - Conflict?resolution: 17 V.3. -Elements of standardisation: what the Parliament gains from constitutional control 18 The idea of this report came to me through an observation that, I think, can apply to many countries – that of the development of judicial control of the constitutional validity of laws. It can be diffuse, via the Judiciary, or concentrated, via specialised jurisdictions, or mixed, where Courts step in a priori (before the laws are effective) or a posteriori (after their passage and during a proceeding) or both a priori and a posteriori. One of the aims of this report will actually be