Judicial Independence Under a Divided Polity: A Study of the Rulings of the French Constitutional Court, 1959-2006

Posted: 13 Apr 2009

See all articles by Raphael Franck

Raphael Franck

Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Department of Economics

Date Written: May 2009

Abstract

This article analyzes whether the much-touted independence of the Conseil Constitutionnel (CC), the French Constitutional Court, is genuine. We construct a data set that comprises all the rulings of the CC between 1959 and 2006, taking into account the composition of the CC as well as the characteristics of the legislation reviewed by the judges. We find that the judges mainly rendered independent rulings when the polity was divided between left-wing and right-wing parties. (JEL D72, D73, K40)

Suggested Citation

Franck, Raphael, Judicial Independence Under a Divided Polity: A Study of the Rulings of the French Constitutional Court, 1959-2006 (May 2009). The Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization, Vol. 25, Issue 1, pp. 262-284, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1372579 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jleo/ewn001

Raphael Franck (Contact Author)

Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Department of Economics ( email )

Mount Scopus
Jerusalem, 91905
Israel

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