Principles of French Constitutional Law offers a concise and accessible account of the key principles and rules of constitutional law in the French legal system. With its particular historical background since the chaotic post-revolutionary period and current specific mechanisms, French constitutional law offers a fascinating object of study for anyone interested in public law and the broader area of comparative constitutional studies. This textbook will equip students with an understanding of the current Fifth Republic and how constitutional rules are adopted and applied, and affect other areas of law and politics. It offers a critical account of the 1958 Constitution's past, present and future by placing it in its political and socio-historical contexts and critically assessing contemporary developments and constitutional reforms. Given the growing expansion of this branch of law in the French legal system (in particular the case law on the priority preliminary rulings on the issue of constitutionality) and the growing relevance of comparative legal studies, the book will make a significant contribution to the knowledge exchange in teaching and learning. Principles of French Constitutional Law will be structured around the following main themes: (i) The bases of French constitutional law with theoretical developments about key notions of constitutional law such as the state, the constitution, as well as historical background of French constitutional law (ii) The Fifth Republic of France with coverage of the main powers, namely executive, legislative and judiciary with particular emphasis on constitutional review and justice and (iii) A practical part on legal education dealing with the emergence of French constitutional law as an academic subject of research and teaching, as well as with the method of teaching as illustrated by typical legal exercises.

'This collection is a timely survey of the role of constitutional courts in comparative perspective - it provides an excellent summary of developments in a range of jurisdictions, and locates them in a broader social and political context. Among other factors, it considers global trends toward increasing international and regional human rights protection, increased recognition of second and third generation rights, and trends toward decentralization in democratic governance. It is bound to be of broad interest to both comparative constitutional lawyers and scholars.' - Rosalind Dixon, University of New South Wales, Australia Constitutional review has become an essential feature of modern liberal democratic constitutionalism. In particular, constitutional review in the context of rights litigation has proved to be most challenging for the courts. By offering in-depth analyses on changes affecting constitutional design and constitutional adjudication, while also engaging with general theories of comparative constitutionalism, this book seeks to provide a heightened understanding of the constitutional and political responses to the issue of adaptability and endurance of rights-based constitutional review. These original contributions, written by an array of distinguished experts and illustrated by the most up-to-date case law, cover Australia, Belgium, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, and include constitutional systems that are not commonly studied in comparative constitutional studies. Providing structured analyses, the editors combine studies of common law and civil law jurisdictions, centralized and decentralized systems of constitutional review, and large and small jurisdictions. This multi-jurisdictional study will appeal to members of the judiciary, policy-makers and practitioners looking for valuable insights into the case law of a range of constitutional and supreme courts in this rapidly expanding field of constitutional adjudication. It also serves as an excellent resource for academics, scholars and advanced students in the fields of law, human rights and political science. Contributors: J. Bell, E. Carolan, C. Chandrachud, A. Kavanagh, C. Kelly, J. Lavapuro, T. Ojanen, M.-L. Paris, P. Passaglia, A.R. Robledo, M. Rosenfeld, M. Scheinin, J. Stellios, R. Uitz, M. Verdussen, M. Zagor

Principles of French Constitutional Law offers a concise and accessible account of the key principles and rules of constitutional law in the French legal system. With its particular historical background since the chaotic post-revolutionary period and current specific mechanisms, French constitutional law offers a fascinating object of study for anyone interested in public law and the broader area of comparative constitutional studies. This textbook will equip students with an understanding of the current Fifth Republic and how constitutional rules are adopted and applied, and affect other areas of law and politics. It offers a critical account of the 1958 Constitution's past, present and future by placing it in its political and socio-historical contexts and critically assessing contemporary developments and constitutional reforms. Given the growing expansion of this branch of law in the French legal system (in particular the case law on the priority preliminary rulings on the issue of constitutionality) and the growing relevance of comparative legal studies, the book will make a significant contribution to the knowledge exchange in teaching and learning. Principles of French Constitutional Law will be structured around the following main themes: (i) The bases of French constitutional law with theoretical developments about key notions of constitutional law such as the state, the constitution, as well as historical background of French constitutional law (ii) The Fifth Republic of France with coverage of the main powers, namely executive, legislative and judiciary with particular emphasis on constitutional review and justice and (iii) A practical part on legal education dealing with the emergence of French constitutional law as an academic subject of research and teaching, as well as with the method of teaching as illustrated by typical legal exercises.