Consequently, all other legal acts must respect it, and first and foremost the law. The work of the legislative branch is thus framed by the rights and freedoms recognized in the Constitution, but also by the rights and freedoms enshrined in European and international texts ratified by France, to which the Constitution gives a supra-legal value.
Rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution
the constitutional principle of fraternity, which notably implies the freedom to help others, for humanitarian purposes, without consideration of the regularity of their stay on national territory the 2004 Environmental Charter.
All these rights and freedoms have ” full constitutional value ” (2) and govern the work of the legislative power. Indeed, since its decision on Freedom of Association of July 16, 1971 , the Constitutional Council has been monitoring the law, not only with regard to the procedural rules provided for by the 1958 Constitution, but also with regard to the rights and freedoms enshrined in these texts.
It can be referred to either upstream, that is, before the publication of the law (by the President of the Republic, the Presidents of each of the assemblies, 60 deputies or 60 senators) or downstream in a dispute before a judicial or administrative court (this is then referred to as a priority question of constitutionality).
Regarding fundamental rights and freedoms recognised at international and/or European level, we find for example freedom of association (article 11 ECHRLF), equality before the law and non-discrimination (articles 20 and 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union), professional freedom and the right to work (article 15 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union).
Compliance with these rights can be sanctioned by national judges by setting aside the non-compliant internal rule (provided that the rights are directly applicable). Indeed, since the 1970s and 1980s, the Court of Cassation and the Council of State have been carrying out a control of the conventionality of laws.
Rules that fall under the legislative power, that is to say, Parliament
The voting of the law is the responsibility of the legislator, that is to say of Parliament (article 24 of the Constitution).
Before becoming a law, the text is presented either by parliamentarians (deputies or senators), in which case it is called a bill, or by the Government, in which case it is called a bill. The text is then voted on by Parliament, meaning it must obtain a majority in both assemblies.
However, Parliament does not have all the rights. The areas in which it can legislate are strictly limited by the Constitution and listed in its Article 34. Thus, the National Assembly and the Senate are competent to establish the fundamental principles in the following areas:
Furthermore, since the constitutional revision of March 2024, the law must also determine ” the conditions under which the freedom guaranteed to women to have recourse to a voluntary termination of pregnancy is exercised .”
For example, in labor law and union law, it is up to Parliament to set the rules for dismissal and collective bargaining. However, since the law of 31 January 2007 on the modernization of social dialogue, representative employee and employer trade union organizations at national and interprofessional level must be consulted and invited to negotiate when drafting a law in the field of labor, employment and vocational training.
Negative incompetence: When Parliament has not fully exercised its powers and has left too much room for regulatory power (in other words, the Government), this is referred to as “negative incompetence.” An appeal to the Constitutional Council may then be lodged before the promulgation of the law by the President of the Republic .
Once the law has been promulgated, litigants may, in the context of ongoing litigation, raise a priority question of constitutionality, provided for by Article 61-1 of the Constitution, provided that the fact that the legislator has fallen below his competence is such as to affect a fundamental right (3).
Rules that fall under regulatory power, therefore the Government
In order to be implemented, certain laws require the adoption of regulatory texts (i.e. implementing decrees, orders). In this case, reference is frequently made to them in the body of the law itself to indicate that the more precise implementing procedures must be adopted by regulatory means.
Furthermore, all areas not mentioned in Article 34 of the Constitution may be established by regulation; these will then be autonomous regulations, provided for in Article 37 of the Constitution.
The regulatory domain is therefore delimited only by the legislative domain. In labor law, industrial tribunal proceedings, for example, are mainly governed by regulatory texts; health and safety rules are also often specified by regulatory texts.a