Pouvoirs n°13 - Le Conseil constitutionnel - avril 1980 (juillet 1991) - p.41-54
Since 1971 there is rather large consensus which considers the Constitutional Council as the vigilant and efficient protector of civil liberties. The author proposes a more sophisticated reading of the case law of the Constitutional Council focusing on the impression of legal vagueness and political ambiguity which emerge. The legal vagueness is explained by the fugitive and elusive nature of the principles relied on by the Constitutional Council as the grounds for its decisions and results in an often flimsy argumentation closer to begging the question than to deductive logic. The ambiguity comes from the contradictory objectives which are being pursued by a case law which is sometimes audacious and sometimes cautious. Analysis of the more significant decisions of the Constitutional Council shows that its vigilance has sometimes been lacking and legislation jeopardizing civil liberties has escaped its censorship. Finally the limited impact of its decisions although not being directly the fault of the Council, creates a certain doubt as to the effectiveness of the control exercised by the Constitutional Council over the protection of liberties.
Référence électonique : Danièle LOCHAK, "Constitutional Council : protector of Liberty ?", Pouvoirs, revue française d’études constitutionnelles et politiques, n°13, 13 - Le Conseil constitutionnel,
p.41-54
. Consulté le 2022-08-18 22:49:48
. URL : https://revue-pouvoirs.fr/Constitutional-Council-protector.html