Constitutional court

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.

For highest ordinary courts with power of constitutional review, see Supreme court.
Seats of independent constitutional courts:

History

Before establishment of independent constitutional court
Further information: Judicial review and Constitutional review

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 legal practice (the United Kingdom does not have a codified constitution and judicial review of primary legislation is prohibited). 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.[1] 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," an institution somewhat similar to a modern constitutional court.

After establishment of independent constitutional court

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.[2] 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.[3] 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 Constituitonal Courts
See also: List of supreme courts by country

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[4] 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

Germany[6]

Constitutional Court of Baden-Württemberg (German: Verfassungsgerichthof für das Land Baden-Württemberg; abbreviated: VerfGH BW) is the constiutional court for the German Land (state) of Baden-Württemberg and thereby a constituional organ on the state level. Besides its power of judicial review (Normenkontrolle), it has a number of other powers and responsibilities which are assign to it by the state constituion.[7]

Bavarian Constitutional Court (German: Bayrischer Verfassungsgerichthof; abbreviated: VerfGH BY) is the state constitutional court for the Free State of Bavaria. It is alongside with the Landesregierung (state government) and the Landtag (state parliament) on of the three state constituional instituions and has the power of judicial review: It may examine the compatibility of state laws with the state constituion.[8]

Constitutional Court of Berlin (German: Verfassungsgerichthof des Landes Berlin; abbreviated: VerfGH BE) is the constitutional court of the city-state of Berlin which is simulatiously 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 Constituion of the city-state of Berlin. 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.[9]

Constitutional Court of Brandenburg (German: Verfassungsgerichthof des Landes Brandenburg; abbreviated: VerfG BB)[10]

State Constitutional Court of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (German: Staatsgerichtshof der Freien Hansestadt Bremen; abbreviated: StGH HB)[11]

Constitutional Court of Hamburg (German: Hamburgisches Verfassungsgericht; abbriviated: VerfG HH)[12]

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 für 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
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Constitutional courts.

Notes and references

Notes
  1. Austrian Constitutional Court (German: Verfassungsgerichtshof', VfGH) is the oldest constitutional court in the world established in 1921, resided in the building of the former Böhmische Hofkanzlei (English: Bohemian Court Chancellery), Judenplatz 11 in Vienna until 2012.
  2. 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
  1. 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.
  2. Constitutional Court of Austria - History Archived 2012-08-26 at the Wayback Machine
  3. 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.
  4. Liptak, Adam (September 17, 2008). "U.S. Court Is Now Guiding Fewer Nations". The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  5. "Tribunal Constitucional" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  6. "Bundesverfassungsgericht - International perspectives - Links to other courts". www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  7. "Zuständigkeiten". Baden-Württemberg.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  8. "Bayerischer Verfassungsgerichtshof - Bayerisches Staatsministerium der Justiz". www.bayern.verfassungsgerichtshof.de. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  9. "Verfassungsgerichtshof des Landes Berlin". www.berlin.de (in German). 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  10. "Start | Verfassungsgericht des Landes Brandenburg". verfassungsgericht.brandenburg.de. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  11. "Startseite - Staatsgerichtshof der Freien Hansestadt Bremen". www.staatsgerichtshof.bremen.de. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  12. "Hamburgisches Verfassungsgericht". www.hamburgisches-verfassungsgericht.de. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
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