Back المجلس الدستوري (فرنسا) Arabic Kuzul bonreizhel (Frañs) Breton Consell Constitucional Catalan Ústavní rada (Francie) Czech Forfatningsrådet (Frankrig) Danish Conseil constitutionnel (Frankreich) German Γαλλικό Συνταγματικό Συμβούλιο Greek Konstitucia Konsilio de Francio Esperanto Consejo Constitucional (Francia) Spanish شورای قانون اساسی (فرانسه) Persian
| Constitutional Council | |
|---|---|
| Conseil constitutionnel | |
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| Jurisdiction | France |
| Location | Paris |
| Composition method | Presidential nomination with National Assembly and Senate confirmation |
| Authorised by | Constitution of France |
| Judge term length | 9 years (non-renewable) |
| Number of positions | 9 + 2 former presidents of the Republic (de jure) |
| Website | www |
| President of the Constitutional Council | |
| Currently | Richard Ferrand |
| Since | 8 March 2025 |
| This article is part of a series on |
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 France portal |
The Constitutional Council (French: Conseil constitutionnel, [kɔ̃sɛj kɔ̃stitysjɔnɛl]) 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 in 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.[1][2]
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.[3][4][5] Legal theorist Arthur Dyevre notes that this "tends to make those who dare criticise them look unwise."[6] Since 2025, Richard Ferrand has served as President of the Constitutional Council (Président du Conseil constitutionnel) following his appointment by President Emmanuel Macron and subsequent confirmation.[7]
- ^ Preamble of the Constitution of the Fourth Republic, Wikisource.
- ^ Constitution of the Fourth French Republic, Wikisource.
- ^ David Pollard (Summer 1988). "France's Conseil Constitutionnel - Not Yet a Constitutional Court?". Irish Jurist. 23 (1): 2–37. JSTOR 44027345.
- ^ "Anti-veil law risks being shot down by constitutional council". 8 July 2010.
- ^ "Annual Report 2019" (PDF). Constitutional Council.
- ^ Arthur Dyevre (April 2017). "The French Constitutional Council". In Jakab, Andras; Dyevre, Arthur; Itzcovich, Giulio (eds.). Comparative Constitutional Reasoning. Cambridge University Press. pp. 323–355. doi:10.1017/9781316084281.011. ISBN 9781316084281.
- ^ "Current Composition | Conseil constitutionnel". www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr. Retrieved 29 March 2025.