Constitutional Court of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Last updated
Constitutional Court
Cour Constitutionnelle
Established18 February 2006
LocationNouveau Palais de Justice - Avenue des bâtonniers, Gombe, Kinshasa
Coordinates 4°18′41″S15°16′51″E / 4.31139°S 15.28083°E / -4.31139; 15.28083 Coordinates: 4°18′41″S15°16′51″E / 4.31139°S 15.28083°E / -4.31139; 15.28083
Authorized by Constitution of the Third Republic
Website cour-constitutionnelle.cd
President
CurrentlyDieudonné Kamuleta Badibanga
Since21 June 2022

The Constitutional Court (French : Cour Constitutionnelle) was established by the Constitution of the Third Republic on 18 February 2006 as the highest constitutional authority in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its role is to ensure the constitutionality of laws and statues created by government officials and organizations.

Contents

Composition

The Court consists of nine members appointed by the President of the Republic, including three appointed by his own initiative, three chosen by the Parliament, and three designated by the High Council of the Judiciary. Two-thirds of the members must by lawyers from the ranks of judges or prosecutors, from the Bar, or from university education. The other basic requirements are being Congolese and having 15 years of experience in legal work. [1]

The non-renewable term for members is nine years. A third of the membership is renewed every three years, with members of the group chosen by drawing lots. The President of the Constitutional Court is elected by the other members for a three-year term, renewable once. He is invested by ordinance of the President of the Republic. [1]

Powers

The Court reviews laws and statues proposed by the President, the Prime Minister, the Senate, the National Assembly, or other government organizations prior to their application, to rule on their conformity with the Constitution. Additionally, the Court examines applications for interpretations of the Constitution at the request of government officials. It settles disputes regarding presidential or parliamentary elections, as well as referendums. Appeals regarding the constitutionality of laws or regulations are also settled by the Court. Judgements of the Constitutional Court cannot be appealed and are enforced immediately. [1]

The Constitutional Court can also be the criminal court for the President or Prime Minister for high treason, failings in matters of honor or integrity, contempt of parliament, or common law offenses, at the request of a two-thirds majority of Parliament. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

Government of Barbados National government

The Government of Barbados (GoB), is a unitary parliamentary republic, where the President of Barbados represents as the head of state and the Prime Minister of Barbados represents as the head of government.

Politics of Cameroon

The politics of Cameroon takes place in a framework of a unitary presidential republic, whereby the President of Cameroon is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly of Cameroon.

Politics of the Czech Republic Political system of the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a unitary parliamentary republic, in which the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government.
Executive power is exercised by the Government of the Czech Republic which reports to the Chamber of Deputies. The Legislature is exercised by the Parliament. Czech Parliament is bicameral, the upper house of the Parliament is the Senate, the lower house of the Parliament is the Chamber of Deputies. The Senate consists of 81 members who are elected for six years. The Chamber of Deputies consists of 200 members who are elected for four years. The Judiciary system is topped by the trio of Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and Supreme Administrative Court.
The highest legal document is the Constitution of the Czech Republic, complemented by constitutional laws and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. The current constitution went in effect on 1 January 1993, after the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia.

Politics of Somalia Overview of the political system in Somalia

The politics of Somalia takes place in a framework of federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. According to the Constitution of Somalia, the President of Somalia is head of state, and Prime Minister as head of government who is appointed by the President with the parliament's approval. The country has a bicameral legislature, which consists of the Senate and the National Assembly of Somalia. Together, they make up the Federal Parliament of Somalia. In 2012, the Federal Parliament of Somalia was concurrently inaugurated, ushering in the Federal Government of Somalia, the first permanent central government in the country since the start of the civil war. With a new constitution and a new parliament representing diverse parties and factions, Somalia's political structure subsequently showed signs of stabilization.

Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typical division is into three branches: a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary, which is sometimes called the trias politica model. It can be contrasted with the fusion of powers in parliamentary and semi-presidential systems where there can be overlap in membership and functions between different branches, especially the executive and legislative.

Government of Italy Democratic republic

The Government of Italy is in the form of a democratic republic, and was established by a constitution in 1948. It consists of legislative, executive, and judicial subdivisions, as well as a Head of State, or President.

The Government of Poland takes place in the framework of a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government. However, its form of government has also been identified as semi-presidential.

President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Head of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the head of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Constitution of South Africa Supreme and fundamental law of South Africa

The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Government. The current constitution, the country's fifth, was drawn up by the Parliament elected in 1994 in the South African general election, 1994. It was promulgated by President Nelson Mandela on 18 December 1996 and came into effect on 4 February 1997, replacing the Interim Constitution of 1993. The first constitution was enacted by the South Africa Act 1909, the longest-lasting to date. Since 1961, the constitutions have promulgated a republican form of government.

Constitution of Lithuania

The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania defines the legal foundation for all laws passed in the Republic of Lithuania. It was approved in a referendum on 25 October 1992.

Constitutional Council (France) National constitutional ruling body of the French Republic

The Constitutional Council is the highest constitutional authority in France. It was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958 to ensure that constitutional principles and rules are upheld. It is housed in the Palais-Royal, Paris. Its main activity is to rule on whether proposed statutes conform with the Constitution, after they have been voted by Parliament and before they are signed into law by the President of the Republic.

Constitution of Italy Supreme law of Italy

The Constitution of the Italian Republic was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended sixteen times, was promulgated in an extraordinary edition of Gazzetta Ufficiale on 27 December 1947. The Constituent Assembly was elected by universal suffrage on 2 June 1946, on the same day as the referendum on the abolition of the monarchy was held. The election was held in all Italian provinces. The Constitution was drafted in 1946 and came into force on 1 January 1948, one century after the Constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the Statuto Albertino, had been enacted.

Constitutional Court of Thailand Independent court in Thailand which determines constitutionality of laws, appointments, etc.

The Constitutional Court of the Kingdom of Thailand is an independent Thai court created by the 1997 Constitution with jurisdiction over the constitutionality of parliamentary acts, royal decrees, draft legislation, as well as the appointment and removal of public officials and issues regarding political parties. The current court is part of the judicial branch of the Thai national government.

Supreme Court of Spain Highest court in Spain

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the Kingdom of Spain. Originally established pursuant to Title V of the Constitution of 1812 and currently regulated by Title VI of the Constitution of 1978, it has original jurisdiction over cases against high-ranking officials of the Kingdom and over cases regarding illegalization of political parties. It also has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all cases. The Court has the power of judicial review, except for the judicial revision on constitutional matters, reserved to the Constitutional Court.

Judiciary of Somalia

The judiciary of Somalia is defined by the Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia. It stipulates that the national court structure is to be organized into three tiers: the Constitutional Court, Federal Government level courts, and Federal Member State level courts. A future nine-member Judicial Service Commission is empowered to appoint any federal tier member of the judiciary. It also selects and presents potential Constitutional Court judges to the House of the People of the Federal Parliament for approval. If endorsed, the President then appoints the candidate as a judge of the Constitutional Court. The five-member Constitutional Court is likewise empowered to adjudicate issues pertaining to the constitution, in addition to various federal and sub-national matters.

Constitution of Madagascar

The current Constitution of Madagascar was, according to the national electoral commission, endorsed by a majority of voters in the constitutional referendum held on 14 November 2010. The new constitution launched the Fourth Republic of Madagascar and was widely seen as an attempt to consolidate and legitimise the rule of Andry Rajoelina and his High Transitional Authority government which was installed after a military-backed coup d'état against President Marc Ravalomanana at the beginning of the ongoing national political crisis. One substantive change from the constitution of the Third Republic was to lower the minimum age for presidential candidates from 40 to 35. This made Rajoelina, aged 36 at the time, eligible to stand in presidential elections.

Politics of France Political system of France

The politics of France take place with the framework of a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the French Fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic". The constitution provides for a separation of powers and proclaims France's "attachment to the Rights of Man and the principles of National Sovereignty as defined by the Declaration of 1789."

Constitution of Somalia

The Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia is the supreme law of Somalia. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the Federal Republic and source of legal authority. It sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of government. The Provisional Constitution was adopted on August 1, 2012 by a National Constitutional Assembly in Mogadishu, Banaadir.

Constitution of the Republic of the Congo

The Constitution of the Republic of the Congo is the basic law governing the Republic of the Congo. In it, it is stated that the Republic of the Congo is a pluralistic, multi-party democracy. A presidential system since 2009, the president's term was originally 7 years, which has now been reduced to five after a 2015 constitutional referendum that instituted a new Constitution, which also reinstated the position of Prime Minister and moved the country to a semi-presidential system. The Council of Ministers – the government – is appointed by the President.

National Council of the Judiciary (Poland) Polish constitutional judiciary authority

The National Council of the Judiciary is the national council of the judiciary of Poland. It is a public body in Poland responsible for nominating judges and reviewing ethical complaints against sitting jurists.

References