More no legislative hiatus not eludes them

It teases you or that played you The venerable Constitutional Council seemed to have become the hair to scratch from the Government. After the cancellation of the carbon tax and a few weeks of renewal of three of its members (out of nine) by the President of the Republic, the President of the National Assembly and Senate, the elders of the rue de Montpensier in Paris, usual if discrete, never did talk about them. This is not their first shot of brilliance in the quinquennium of Nicolas Sarkozy. This is probably not the last. But this is starting to seriously exasperating the Executive. Evidence that the times are changing. In 1964, in "The Coup permanent", François Mitterrand criticized for any other reason these wise men behaved "as the mend Executive ...". "and, for all cases of some interest, gave wrong in Parliament, never to the Government." Elders are are therefore gradually enfranchised by transforming the institution in real jurisdiction. They built a block of broad authority in gradually integrating all of the founding texts (Constitution and its preamble) while strengthening their procedures (inter alia by introducing adversarial proceedings). More no legislative hiatus not eludes them. Tomorrow, the constitutional reform of July 2008, all citizens can have recourse to his oracles through the "priority question of constitutionality" that allows judges to question the Council on the constitutionality of a statute. It is said, then, for Nicolas Sarkozy, the issue of the next appointments.

In an interview with the "world" dated January 13, Patrick Devedjian, Minister of the stimulus, said else out loud what the President of the Republic think any lower: "The Constitutional Council has more tendency to want to do the Act in place of the Parliament." A recurrent criticism since the creation of the Council, that the wise scan in each decision a setback of the pen, recognizing that they "do not have a general appreciation power" and decision of the same nature as that of the Parliament... but censoring when even in the law. Above all, through the reform of 1974 which opened at 60 senators or deputies referral to the Council, the majority of the cases presented are... parliamentary opposition.

Nevertheless. On 29 December, after the cancellation of the carbon tax by the same Council, the head of State had blurted out his nervousness: "it tarnishes, it says nothing because it is the Constitutional Council, but this represents almost 1 billion loss of revenue for the State." Nicolas Sarkozy has not always had this caution: almost two years ago the elders had censored the provisions of the Act to the retention of safety (allowing detention of dangerous criminals who have served their sentence) to prevent its immediate application. The President of the Republic, furious against those "leaving monsters release after they have completed their sentence", had applied to the first President of the Court of cassation to find a way to make this device applicable without delay. But difficult to multiply counterstrikes when decisions accumulate and that they are based on settled: in 2009, 71 of the 32 laws passed in the year have been submitted to the Council, compared to 30 on average between 2000 and 2008.

The elders were never even seized. The rate of censorship, however, remained in the standard (total censorship, 13 partial censorship). But, for the first time in fifty years, the President of the Republic is facing a Council which he has named, so far, no members. Although, in arriving at the Palais-Royal, all members themselves are melted in their new assignments, Nicolas Sarkozy hopes, with newcomers, benefit from a few supports. The name of the business advocate Jean-Michel Darrois is frequently cited. But it will accept to leave his Office - one of the most prestigious and profitable place - to sit at the Palais-Royal Legally there is not it is require, the new remedy of unconstitutionality should, for ethical reasons (have to give its opinion on a dispute that his cabinet would be initiated, for example), strongly encourage him. For the Senate, the President of the Republic would have been a good look at the appointment of Michel Charasse (PS, Puy-de Dôme), to whom he promised a seat. But Gérard Larcher would he prefer Hubert Haenel (UMP, Haut-Rhin). This appointment would have the advantage to the President of the Senate, which has well be re-elected in 2011, to release several positions to distribute to other senators. At the National Assembly, the name of Emmanuelle Mignon is advanced. But it has just said that she was not interested. She knows that, on the Constitutional Council, his appointment would be poorly perceived. The former adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy, young (she was forty-one years), still has a career to handle, which might affect its independence. Independent and wise, the Constitutional Council is serene.