Court that deals primarily with constitutional law
For highest ordinary courts with power of constitutional review, see
Supreme court
.
Seats of independent constitutional courts
:
A
constitutional court
is a
high court
that deals primarily with
constitutional law
. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact
unconstitutional
, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established rules, rights, and freedoms, among other things.
History
[
edit
]
Before establishment of independent constitutional court
[
edit
]
Prior to 1919, the United States, Canada and
Australia
had adopted the concept of
judicial review
by their courts, following shared principles of their similar
common law legal systems
, which they, in turn, had inherited from
British
colonial law.
[1]
The
Parthenopean Republic
's constitution of 1799, written by
Mario Pagano
, envisaged an organ of magistrates reviewing constitutional law, the
eforato
, but lasted only 6 months.
[2]
The
1776 Constitution of Pennsylvania
and
1777 Constitution of Vermont
both establish a "Council of Censors" separate from the other branches of government, with the task of "recommending to the legislature the repealing of such laws as appear to them to have been enacted contrary to the principles of the constitution,"
[3]
[4]
an institution somewhat similar to a modern constitutional court.
After establishment of independent constitutional court
[
edit
]
In 1919 the
First Austrian Republic
established the first dedicated constitutional court, the
Constitutional Court of Austria
, which however existed in name only until 10 October 1920, when
the country's new constitution
came into effect, upon which the court gained the power to review the laws of
Austria's federal states
.
[5]
The
1920 Constitution
of
Czechoslovakia
, which came into effect on 2 February 1920, was the first to provide for a dedicated court for judicial review of parliamentary laws, but the court did not convene until November 1921. The organization and competences of both courts were influenced by constitutional theories of
Hans Kelsen
.
[6]
Subsequently, this idea of having a separate special constitutional court that only heard cases concerning the constitutionality of the national legislature's acts became known as the
Austrian System
, and it was subsequently adopted by many other countries e.g.
Liechtenstein
(1925),
Greece
(1927),
Spain
(1931),
Germany
(1949) etc.
National Constitutional Courts
[
edit
]
Following list consists countries with separate constitutional courts. Yet some other countries do not have separate constitutional courts, but instead delegate constitutional judicial authority to their
ordinary court
system, with the final decision-making power resting in the
supreme
ordinary court
. Nonetheless, such courts are sometimes also called "constitutional courts". For example, the
Supreme Court of the United States
has been called the world's oldest constitutional court
[7]
because it was one of the earliest courts in the world to invalidate a law as unconstitutional (
Marbury v. Madison
), even though it is not a separate constitutional court, hearing as it does cases not touching on the Constitution.
Subnational Constitutional Courts
[
edit
]
Germany
[
edit
]
Source:
[10]
Constitutional Court of Baden-Wurttemberg
[
de
]
(German:
Verfassungsgerichthof fur das Land Baden-Wurttemberg
; abbreviated:
VerfGH BW
) is the constiutional court for the German
Land (state)
of
Baden-Wurttemberg
and thereby a
constitutional organ
on the state level. Besides its power of
judicial review
(
Normenkontrolle
[
de
]
), it has a number of other powers and responsibilities which are assign to it by the
state constitution
[
de
]
.
[11]
Bavarian Constitutional Court
[
de
]
(German:
Bayrischer Verfassungsgerichthof;
abbreviated:
VerfGH BY
) is the state constitutional court for the
Free State of Bavaria
. It is, along with the
Landesregierung
(state government) and the
Landtag
(state parliament), one of the three state constitutional institutions and has the power of judicial review: It may examine the compatibility of state laws with the
state constitution
.
[12]
Constitutional Court of Berlin
(German:
Verfassungsgerichthof des Landes Berlin
; abbreviated:
VerfGH BE
) is the constitutional court of the
city-state
of
Berlin
which is simultaneously the capital of the
Federal Republic of Germany
. It is located in the same building as the
Kammergericht
(
Oberlandesgericht
)
and is authorized by Article 84
Constitution of the city-state of Berlin
[
de
]
. It has the power of judicial review, the power to review electoral complaints and the power to hear cases concerning complaints against referendums and popular initiatives among others.
[13]
Constitutional Court of Brandenburg
[
de
]
(German:
Verfassungsgerichthof des Landes Brandenburg
; abbreviated:
VerfG BB
)
[14]
State Constitutional Court of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen
[
de
]
(German:
Staatsgerichtshof der Freien Hansestadt Bremen
; abbreviated:
StGH HB
)
[15]
Constitutional Court of Hamburg
[
de
]
(German:
Hamburgisches Verfassungsgericht
; abbreviated:
VerfG HH
)
[16]
State Constitutional Court of Hesse (StGH HE)
Land
Constitutional Court of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (VerfG MV)
State Constitutional Court of Lower Saxony (StGH NDS)
Constitutional Court of North Rhine-Westphalia
(German:
Verfassungsgericht fur das Land Nordrhein-Westfalen
; abbreviated:
VerfGH NRW
or
VGH NRW
)
Constitutional Court of Rhineland-Palatinate (VerfGH RP)
Constitutional Court of Saarland (VerfGH SL)
Constitutional Court of the Free State of Saxony (VerfGH SN)
Land
Constitutional Court of Saxony-Anhalt (VerfG ST)
Land
Constitutional Court of Schleswig-Holstein (VerfG SH)
Thuringian Constitutional Court (VerfGH TH)
See also
[
edit
]
Notes and references
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Austrian Constitutional Court (
German
:
Verfassungsgerichtshof'
, VfGH) is the oldest constitutional court in the world established in 1921, resided in the building of the former
Bohmische Hofkanzlei
(English:
Bohemian Court Chancellery
), Judenplatz 11 in
Vienna
until 2012.
- ^
The picture shows hall for plenary sessions of the
Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic
in the building of the former
Moravian
Parliament in
Brno
. History of the Court follows up to 1920
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Dudley Odell McGovney, "The British Origin of Judicial Review of Legislation",
University of Pennsylvania Law Review
vol. 93, no. 1, 1?49.
- ^
Mauro Lenci,
The battle over "democracy"
. In
Oddens, Joris; Rutjes, Mart; Jacobs, Erik (2015-05-01).
The political culture of the sister republics, 1794-1806: France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy
. Amsterdam University Press.
ISBN
9789048522415
.
- ^
https://sos.vermont.gov/vsara/learn/constitution/1777-constitution/
[
bare URL
]
- ^
"Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 | PHMC > Our Documentary Heritage"
.
- ^
Constitutional Court of Austria - History
Archived
2012-08-26 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Romeu F.R., The Establishment of Constitutional Courts: A Study of 128 Democratic Constitutions, ?Review of Law & Economics”, 2 (1), Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2006, p. 104.
- ^
Liptak, Adam (September 17, 2008).
"U.S. Court Is Now Guiding Fewer Nations"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
June 7,
2018
.
- ^
"Tribunal Constitucional"
(in Portuguese)
. Retrieved
2023-02-27
.
- ^
https://www.constcourt.tj/
.
- ^
"Bundesverfassungsgericht - International perspectives - Links to other courts"
.
www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de
. Retrieved
2023-10-18
.
- ^
"Zustandigkeiten"
.
Baden-Wurttemberg.de
(in German)
. Retrieved
2023-10-18
.
- ^
"Bayerischer Verfassungsgerichtshof - Bayerisches Staatsministerium der Justiz"
.
www.bayern.verfassungsgerichtshof.de
. Retrieved
2023-10-24
.
- ^
"Verfassungsgerichtshof des Landes Berlin"
.
www.berlin.de
(in German). 2023-02-01
. Retrieved
2023-10-24
.
- ^
"Start | Verfassungsgericht des Landes Brandenburg"
.
verfassungsgericht.brandenburg.de
. Retrieved
2023-10-24
.
- ^
"Startseite - Staatsgerichtshof der Freien Hansestadt Bremen"
.
www.staatsgerichtshof.bremen.de
. Retrieved
2023-10-24
.
- ^
"Hamburgisches Verfassungsgericht"
.
www.hamburgisches-verfassungsgericht.de
. Retrieved
2023-10-24
.
Constitutional Courts of World
|
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