User:Gerichtsadler/Constitution of France

Constitutional block
One of the cornerstones of the Constitution of the French Fifth Republic was the establishment of the Constitutional Council, composing of nine justices, who oversaw the constitutionality of legislation (treaties, statutes, regulations), ensured election and referendum oversight, and arbitrated legislative disputes between the President and National Assembly. This followed a broader trend during post-war Europe to establish specialized judiciary tribunals to serve as a bulwark against unconstitutional legislative activities. However, the Council was quite limited in its power under de Gaulle’s presidency and was only decisive when it erroneously upheld a popular referendum to streamline the popular presidential election via the Constitution. Following de Gaulle’s resignation in 1969, the Council entertained greater judicial power and discretion upon adjudicating in the consequential political crisis. The staunch Gaullist Georges Pompidou was elected as de Gaulle’s replacement. He faced a political crisis when his Prime Minister Jacques Chaban-Delmas pressured the National Assembly into banning the radical Proletarian Left (La gauche prolétarienne) twice, which he deemed a threat to the public order and national security. This led to opposition from the French Senate, whose president appealed to the Constitutional Council.

Consequently, i n 1971, the Constitutional Council ruled its landmark decision no. 71-44 DC , better known as the 1971 Freedom of Association Decision. In such, the Council broke precedent by striking down legislation that allegedly violated the right to freedom of association, thereby fostering the “Constitutional Block.” The Block comprised of the 1958 Constitution, explicit standards (Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789, the Preamble to the Constitution of the Fourth Republic or 1946 Constitution), and implicit standards (the fundamental principles of the Republic—indivisibility, secularism, democracy, equal opportunity). Thus, according to the C ouncil, the actions taken violated the collective principles of the Constitutional Block. Prior to the 1971 Freedom of Association Decision, the Council could only verify laws under the explicit textual stipulation of the 1958 Constitution. Since the 1971 decision, the Constitutional Court obtained an enhanced role in judicial review by having a broader constitutional basis to review alleged legislative breaches, curbing the goal of Gaullists from 1958 of maintaining a strong executive. Since the ruling, the Constitutional Council has added the 2004 Charter of the Environment to France’s Constitutional Block, demonstrating France’s newfound tenacity in judicial review.