E.-J. Sieyès’s Ideas on Constitutional Control in the Constitutional Acts of the First and Second Empires in France
EDN: UVFAWU
Abstract
Introduction: The article is devoted to the description of the contribution of French constitutionalism to the emergence and development of the institution of constitutional control. The study offers a translation into Russian of the project on the establishment of the Constitutional Jury (still not implemented), describes the history of its discussion, implementation during the First and Second Empires in France, and also provides an assessment of the effectiveness of constitutional control in the designated periods.
Methodology and materials: Due to the fact that in Russian science E.-J. Sieyès’s ideas on constitutional control have not become a subject of study, although they are occasionally mentioned by some Russian-speaking authors, the study is based mainly on French sources. In preparing the material, formal-dogmatic, systemic, comparative and historical research methods were used.
Results of the study: The first proposals for the establishment of constitutional control in France in the 18th century, as well as the reasons for their development, are identified and briefly described. The author characterized the project for the organization of constitutional control by Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes in 1795. The researcher describes the status of the Protective Senate, established on the basis of the ideas of E.-J. Sieyes in 1799, as well as the procedure for the formation and powers of the Senate during the Second Empire in France. The effectiveness of their activities is assessed.
Conclusions: The constitutional experience of France in the 18th–19th centuries in establishing a body of constitutional control, based on the ideas of E.-J. Sieyes, was the first in political and legal history. It had the following characteristic features: vesting this function in a specialized, rather than a judicial body; granting it related rights, such as the right to initiate amendments to the Constitution, the right of the institution to propose draft laws of national importance; to consider complaints on violations of the rights and freedoms of citizens; to exercise control over laws not only for compliance with the Constitution, but also with religion, morality, freedom of religion, personal freedom, equality of citizens before the law, inviolability of property and the principle of irrevocability of judges; a wide range of persons authorized to apply to this body.
About the Author
A. K. Volkov
Russian Presidential Academy of National and Public Administration, North-West Institute of Management
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Aleksander K. Volkov, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law; PhD in Jurisprudence
Saint Petersburg
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Review
For citations:
Volkov A.K. E.-J. Sieyès’s Ideas on Constitutional Control in the Constitutional Acts of the First and Second Empires in France. Theoretical and Applied Law. (In Russ.) EDN: UVFAWU
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