Droit constitutionnel revision

Souveraineté

Possessing supreme power

État

A territory considered as an organised political community under one government

Frontière

A line separating two countries, administrative divisions or other areas

Compétence régalienne

Competence of sovereign body

État fédéral

Union of self-governing provinces, states or other regions under a federal government. Each state has its own public institutions and own rules of citizenship. States do not have the power to leave. The having own powers may lead to questions of sovereignty.

Confédération

Alliance between independent states without renouncing their sovereignty. The independent states exercise joint competences, and each member remains independent. Any state can decide to leave. Decisions must be taken as unanimous. Often a transitory type of state

État unitaire

sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority

État décentralisé

the distribution of authority, power, and decision-making from a central governing body to smaller units or levels within a state or organization

État régionale

a type of state that is formally unitary but where a high degree of political power has been highly decentralised to regional governments

Compétence législative

Specific powers assigned to devolved government

Cour constitutionnelle

Independent state body whose purpose is to guarantee compliance with the Constitution

État fédéré

Federated entities with autonomy that participate in the federation

Nation

Country considered as a body of people united by common descent, history, culture or language, inhabiting a particular area or territory

Peuple

Group of people living in society on the same territory and united by cultural ties and political institutions

Citoyen

Individual considered from the point of view of his political rights

Absolutisme

Political system in which power is concentrated in the hands of the sovereign, who exercises all the attributes such as legislation, justice and administration

Monarchie

A state with a monarch (UK) / Form of government with a monarch at the head (France past republics)

République

State in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch

Contrat social

Designates a tacit and freely consented agreement between the members of the social body, between the governed and the rulers, between the individual and the State. The contract on which society is founded.

Droit naturel

The set of rights that each individual possesses because of his or her belonging to humanity and not because of the society in which he or she lives (opposed to positive law)

Inaliénabilité

The nature of an asset or a right when it is not subject to a transfer of ownership

Imprescriptibilité

That which is not capable of being extinguished by prescription ie. by non-use and the passage of time

Indivisibilité

An indivisible obligation is an obligation which, by law or by the common will of the contracting parties, cannot be partially performed and which each of the obligated parties must respect for the whole (Art 1217 and 1217 du Code civil)

Représentant

Person who acts on behalf of someone or a group

Représentation nationale

An assembly elected by the nation or by a part of the nation, to vote on the budget and to contribute to the making of laws

Suffrage

The right to vote in political elections

Suffrage universel

A suffrage in which the right to vote is granted to all citizens who have the capacity to vote

Suffrage censitaire

A voting system in which the right to vote is reserved for citizens who pay a direct tax in excess of a single one called an electoral census

Scrutin

A voting procedure in which ballots or other choice indicators are placed anonymously in a ballot box, followed by the counting of votes to determine the result

Vote

The manifestation of an opinion, a will or a choice during a consultation within a political body, an electoral college, a deliberative assembly, etc., with a view to an election, a referendum or a decision

Cens

Census, state of fortune, income, annual contributions to evaluate the fortune and rank of each person

Élection

A choice made by means of a vote in which all persons with the right to vote are called upon to participate

Votation

Vote (a term used in Switzerland, refers to referendums by popular initiative)

Éligibilité

Legal conditions required to be a candidate in an election

Incompatibilité

Impossibility to agree

Mandat

Contract by which a person gives power to another person to conclude one or more legal acts with a third party in his name and on his behalf (Art. 1984 al. 1 du Code civil)

Mandat impératif

A power given to a person designated in order to carry out a predefined action and according to precise modalities from which it cannot derogate

Pétition

A formal written request, typically one signed by many people, appealing to authority in respect of a particular cause

Plébiscite

The direct vote of all the members of an electorate on an important public question such as a change in the constitution

Référendum

A general vote by the electorate on a single political question that has been referred to them for a direct decision. They encourage debate and can reflect public opinion. Can raise tensions, can be manipulated by crafting emotionally-charged questions eg. Napoleon. They can be inefficient, and single-questions can oversimplify complex issues. Art 11 of the Constitution → Allows adoption of laws with constitutional value via referendum

Contre-pouvoir

Power organised in order to balance the political power in place

Pouvoir législatif

The power that votes and enacts the law in the broad sense

Pouvoir exéctuif

The power to execute laws and manage the day-to-day affairs of the state

Pouvoir judiciaire

A set of courts (tribunals) whose role is to interpret, defend and apply the laws of the land

Pouvoir fédératif

A division of powers between a central government and autonomous territorial entities ie. federated states

Prérogative royal

The means by which certain executive powers of a government are used, vested by a monarch for the purpose of the governance of his state

Checks and balances

Counterbalancing influences by which an organisation or system is regulated, typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of individuals or groups

Sanction royale

The act by which a monarch approves a bill passed by the parliament, giving it the force of law and making it executable

Droit de veto

The ability of a person, an authority, or a part of a group to unilaterally prevent the adoption of a joint decision

Responsabilité politique

The obligation for the latter to resign when he no longer has the confidence of the political authority to which he is responsible

Impeachment

A process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct

Rotten borough

A borough that was able to elect an MP despite having very few voters, the choice of MP typically being in the hands of one person or family

Pocket veto

An indirect veto of a legislative bill by the US president or a state governor by retaining the bill unsigned until it is too late for it to be dealt with during the legislative session

Régime parlementaire

A regime based on a flexible separation of powers. In a parliamentary system, the government, which embodies the executive power, can be overthrown by parliament, to which it is politically account. Government emerges from Parliament, and can be dissolved/overthrown by Parliament vote

Régime présidentiel

A regime based on strict separation of powers. The executive is not accountable to the legislature, and government cannot be overthrown by parliament. The President is elected independently of Parliament.

Bicamérisme

A system of government in which the legislature compromises two houses

Chambre haute

One of two assemblies, which makes up parliament in a bicameral system (high court)

Chambre basse

One of two assemblies, which makes up parliament in a bicameral system (low court)

Ministère

Body of ministers and secretaries of the state

Ordonnance

An act taken by the government, with the authorisation of parliament, in areas which are normally covered by law / Act taken by government under Articles 11, 47 and 92 of the Constitution in certain areas / Judicial or judicial administrative act issued by a sitting judge

Pouvoir héréditaire

A political system of succession of powers

Cabinet

All members of the government under the direction of the President of the Council or the Prime Minister

Ordre du jour

(Agenda) List of classified subjects that must be discussed, examined or voted on during the session, on the date of the day

Motion de censure

Main means available to a parliament to show its disapproval of the government's policy and to force it to resign

Question de confiance

A parliamentary procedure between the government and the Assemblee Nationale

Dissolution

The action of formally ending or dismissing an assembly, partnership or official body

Président du conseil

The head of government who was, in general, the leader of the parliamentary majority

Chef du gouvernement

The person who is at the head of the government in a state

Majorité parlementaire

A form of parliamentarism in which the executive power has a consistent and stable majority in parliament to govern

Loi

A rule established by the authority of the State, defining the rights and duties of each citizen, or a set of these rules

Initiative

The right granted by the Constitution to initiate the legislative procedure by proposing a law

Navette parlementaire

The back-and-forth movement of a bill between the National Assembly and the Senate

Adoption

A legal procedure that results in laws becoming applicable

Sanction

Penalty established by law to punish an offence

Promulgation

Official publication

Règlement

A legislative act emanating from an authority other than Parliament, in particular the executive power, and which lays down a general rule eg. order, ordinance, regulation, decree

Député

Members of parliament. In a bicameral system, the deputy is a member of the lower house of parliament

Arrêté

An enforceable written decision, taken in accordance with a law, decree or ordinance to set out the details of its implementation

Décret-loi

An act of government taken by virtue of a legislative authority in an area normally falling within the competence of the law

Décret

An act issued by the President of the Republic or by the Prime Minister, exercising their regulatory power (Art 21 et 37 de la Constitution)

Commission parlementaire

A group consisting of a limited number of Members of Parliament or Senators responsible for examining a particular matter within its jurisdiction

Nomination

The ability to appoint someone to public office / The freedom to choose this or that person to exercise the highest offices of the State

Gouvernement

Group of people with the authority to govern a country or state

Conseil des ministres

A collegial meeting provided for by the Constitution to freely debate and adopt some of the main acts of the executive branch

Investure

The process of a party formally nominating a candidate for an election (IV Rep → The vote by which the Assembly invested the President of the Council with his functions)

Démission (resignation)

The action by which one voluntarily relinquishes a job, a function, an office, etc

Interpellation

A request for an explanation made by a deputy or senator to the government so that it can explain its actions or policy during a public session of the National Assembly or the Senate

Constitution materielle

All rules about how power is organized and used in a government, regardless of whether these rules are written down or officially called a constitution

Constitution formelle

A constitution that requires a special and formal process to create or change it, it is harder to modify.

Coutum constitutionnelle

An unwritten rule resulting from corresponding precedents respected by public authorities of a state eg. Britain does not have written constitution but relies on coutum constitutionnelle

Convention de la constitution (convention constitutionnelle)

An implicit or explicit practice, unwritten but known, accepted and followed by the political actors of a state or, possibly, by political parties as if this convention were a rule of law

Hiérarchie des normes

A legal concept that describes how legal norms are organized and classified according to their importance and scope

État de droit (rule of law)

The principle that all individuals, institutions and entities are accountable to laws (any individual, any organization, can challenge the application of a legal norm, as long as the latter does not conform to a higher norm)

Pouvoir constituant

A power that has been given a mandate to create or revise the Constitution of a state

Pouvoir constituant originaire

Power to establish a first or new constitution

Pouvoir constituant dérivé

Power to revise the constitution

Pouvoir de révision

The power to change the provisions (dispositions) of the constitution

Constitution souple

A constitution where revision is technically simple eg. France’s IIIe Republic

Constitution rigide

A constitution where the procedure for its revision is not easy to implement eg. USA → Only 27 amendments since creation