A preliminary reference on the part of the Constitutional Council was, in several respects, not to be expected. It was debatable whether it would consider itself as a “court or tribunal” within the meaning of Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and, therefore, whether it would refer a case to the European Court of Justice (CJEU) at all. The French constitutional court could also have resorted to theacte clairdoctrine so as to escape from their obligation to ask for the interpretive guidance of the CJEU. However, the main reason why a reference was not awaited by legal actors lies in the limited jurisdiction of the Constitutional Council. Until the introduction in 2008 of the so-called QPC, that is,question prioritaire de constitutionnalité(the Priority Preliminary Reference mechanism on issues of constitutionality), theConseil constitutionnelhad a very limited jurisdiction compared to its European counterparts. Its main mission was to assess the conformity of parliamentary bills and treaties with the Constitution and only with the Constitution. Its review could only take placeex ante, between the adoption and the promulgation of a text. By opening the way to anex postreview of statutes with regard to the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, the QPC brought about a major change in the French adjudication system: statutes are no longer immune from constitutional challenge once they are in force. However, treaties and other international or European commitments are no parameters of constitutional review. TheConseil constitutionnelmade this clear in 1975 and never seriously changed track, despite minor qualifications to the rule. In their seminalIVGruling on the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Act, they held that it was not up to them to review the compatibility of bills with treaties, in spite of Article 55 of the Constitution. Consequently, the task of the constitutional judges does not go beyond the assessment of laws with regard to the Constitution. This is the main reason that explains why, on the face of it, theConseil constitutionnelwas unlikely to refer a case to the CJEU. Why would it seek the interpretation or ask for the review of a European text if this text is immaterial for it and if the yardstick of its examination is the Constitution and only the Constitution? Yet, it happened. For the first time, theConseilreferred a case to the CJEU on 4 April 2013. Although this is undoubtedly a major legal breakthrough, we will see in due course that this is probably more arévolution de palaisthan a true revolution in French constitutional law.
No abstract
Dans les régimes semi-présidentiels européens, le contrôle du président présente des spécificités qui permettent de le différencier des formes de contrôle exercées en régime présidentiel et en régime parlementaire. Notamment, dans certains systèmes semi-présidentiels à prévalence parlementaire, les procédures du contrôle extraordinaire ont été pensées afin de concilier ce contrôle avec la légitimité démocratique du président. En revanche, face à un président neutralisé, le contrôle ordinaire peine à se développer. À l’opposé, dans le régime européen où prévaut la composante présidentielle – la France –, le contrôle extraordinaire s’accompagne de types de contrôle ordinaire indirects et non formalisés, qui se sont développés dans le but de rééquilibrer l’hyperpuissance informelle du président.
Dans le cadre du projet « QPC 2020 » lancé par le Conseil constitutionnel, il est apparu opportun aux membres de l'Institut Maurice Hauriou de dresser un bilan de l'« effet utile » des décisions du Conseil constitutionnel. C'est ce à quoi a été consacré le rapport que nous lui avons remis en janvier 2020, dont la présente étude se donne pour objectif de résumer les grandes lignes.
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