The Constitutional Council (Conseil Constitutionnel) was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958. It is the highest constitutional authority in France. Its duty is to ensure that the principles and rules of the constitution are upheld. It considers conformity with the Constitution, and, since 1971, conformity with two texts referred to by the preamble of that constitution: the Declaration of the Rights of the Man and of the Citizen and the preamble of the constitution of the Fourth Republic, which are considered to be general principles of constitutional law.
The Council can only do so when issues are brought before it,
it has no power to judge otherwise. Thus statute legislation can only be judged to be unconstitutional if it is brought before the Council before it is signed, after it is passed by Parliament:
it is not possible to bring legislation to the Council afterward. However, executive decisions and regulations can be quashed by the administrative courts and the Conseil d'État.
Furthermore, courts, especially the Court of Cassation, may refuse to follow decisions that they deem contrary to French Law or to treaties such as the European Convention on Human Rights.The Council sits in the Palais Royal in Paris, near the Conseil d'État.
Membership in the Council is by appointment, and also is a right open to former presidents of the Republic.
Members of the Council are not judges and the Council is not a court.The Council is made up of:
* nine members who serve non-renewable terms of nine years, one third of whom are appointed every three years; three members each are appointed by the president of the Republic, the president of the National Assembly, and the president of the Senate;
* former presidents of the Republic who have chosen to sit in the council (which they may not do if they become directly involved in politics).
The president of the Council is selected by the president of the Republic.
As of 2007
, the current members are <1>:
* Jean-Louis Debré, president of the Council, named president of the Council by the president of the Republic on February 23, 2007;
* Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, former president of the Republic;
* Jacques Chirac, former president of the Republic;
* Olivier Dutheillet de Lamothe, named by the president of the Republic in March 2001;
* Dominique Schnapper, named by the president of the Senate in March 2001;
* Pierre Joxe, named by the president of the National Assembly in February 2001;
* Pierre Steinmetz, named by the president of the Republic in February 2004;
* Jacqueline de Guillenchmidt, named by the president of the Senate in February 2004;
* Jean-Louis Pezant, named by the president of the National Assembly in February 2004.
* Renaud Denoix de Saint Marc, named by the president of the Senate in February 2007;
* Guy Canivet, named by the president of the National Assembly in February 2007;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_Council_of_France
again it's not a court !!!! we are not that fucking crazy to let lawyers decide of what is constitutional or not.