Misplaced Pages

#307692

37-574: Ordonnances should not be confused with décrets issued by the prime minister (an order-in-council ) or president , or with ministerial orders ( arrêtés ); these are issued either in matters where the Constitution allows primary legislation from the Council or as secondary legislation implementing a statute. In the French justice system , the word can also refer to a summary ruling made by

74-546: A 50-day period (Constitution, article 47-1). Neither of these procedures has ever been used. Article 74-1 of the Constitution allows the Government to extend legislation applicable to Metropolitan France to overseas territories by ordonnances . These ordonnances lapse if they have not been ratified within 18 months by Parliament. The use of ordonnances is uncontroversial when used for technical texts (such as

111-585: A bill before Parliament authorizing it to issue ordonnances to implement its program. The bill specifies a limited period of time, as well as a topic for the proposed ordonnances . If the bill passes in Parliament, the French Cabinet can issue ordonnances on the given legal matter within the specified time period. The Executive must consult the Council of State on every ordonnance ; the advice of

148-777: A form of rule by decree in periods where the government operated without a working Parliament: Vichy France , where the executive had dismissed Parliament and other democratic structures, the Provisional Government of the French Republic , until it could establish a legislature, and in the last days of the French Fourth Republic and the early days of the French Fifth Republic , until the new constitution had come into force and legislative elections had been held (article 92 of

185-489: A majority. While prime ministers are usually chosen from amongst the ranks of the National Assembly, on rare occasions the president has selected a non-officeholder because of experience in bureaucracy or foreign service, or success in business management—former Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominique de Villepin , for example, served as prime minister from 2005 to 2007 without having held elected office. Although

222-666: A single judge for simple cases. Article 34 of the Constitution of France restricts certain legal matters to primary legislation to be enacted by Parliament . All other areas of law fall within the domain of delegated legislation in the form of orders-in-council (OIC) issued by the Prime Minister or ministerial orders issued by individual cabinet ministers. Orders-in-council and other delegated legislation issued in areas reserved for primary legislation are illegal, unless they are specifically authorized by statute. Such orders define implementation measures and details left out by

259-514: Is Michel Barnier , who was appointed on 5 September 2024. The prime minister is appointed by the president of France , who is theoretically free to pick anyone for the post. In practice, because the National Assembly has the power to force the resignation of the government by adopting a motion of no confidence , the choice of prime minister must reflect the will of the majority in the National Assembly. In periods of cohabitation ,

296-587: Is the only member of the government able to introduce legislation in Parliament. Under the Third Republic , the French Constitutional Laws of 1875 titled the head of government as the "President of the Council of Ministers" ( French : Président du Conseil des Ministres ), though he was informally called "prime minister" or "premier" outside of France . The president of the council was vested with similar formal powers to those of

333-670: The Constitutional Council . Statutes are thus relatively more solid. The decisions made by the French President under art. 16 of the French Constitution, enabling him to take emergency measures in times where the existence of the Republic is at stake (a form of reserve powers ) are not called ordonnances , but simply décisions . The introductory sentence of an ordonnance , as published in

370-446: The Council of State . If they are ratified, they become like ordinary statutes. There is, however, no obligation that they should be ratified, and they are then mere regulations. In fact, between 1960 and 1990, out of 158 ordonnances , only about 30 were ratified. That can happen because even though the ratification bill has been brought before Parliament, it is not necessarily scheduled for examination and vote. If Parliament votes down

407-564: The Fifth Republic . It was at this point that the post was formally named "Prime Minister" and took its present form. The 1958 Constitution includes several provisions intended to strengthen the prime minister's position, for instance by restricting the legislature's power to censure the government. As a result, a prime minister has only been censured once during the existence of the Fifth Republic, in 1962 when Georges Pompidou

SECTION 10

#1732771857308

444-547: The Journal Officiel de la République Française , is: "The President of the Republic [...], after hearing the Council of State , after hearing the Council of Ministers, orders:". The word ordonnance comes from the same root as ordonner "to order". In the French Fifth Republic , most ordonnances operate pursuant to article 38 of the French Constitution . The Council of Ministers first introduces

481-546: The prime minister of the French Republic ( Premier ministre de la République française ), is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of its Council of Ministers . The prime minister is the holder of the second-highest office in France, after the president of France . The president, who appoints but cannot dismiss the prime minister, can request resignation. The Government of France , including

518-464: The prime minister of the United Kingdom . In practice, this proved insufficient to command the confidence of France's multi-party parliament. Most notably, the legislature had the power to force the entire cabinet out of office by a vote of censure . As a result, cabinets were often toppled twice a year, and there were long stretches where France was left with only a caretaker government. Under

555-481: The Constitution, the prime minister "shall direct the actions of the Government". Additionally, Article 20 stipulates that the government "shall determine and conduct the policy of the Nation", and it includes domestic issues, while the president concentrates on formulating directions on national defense and foreign policy while arbitrating the efficient service of all governmental authorities in France. Other members of

592-513: The Constitution, now repealed). Certain legal texts enacted by the King in the medieval and ancien régime eras were called ordonnances , the best known of which today is the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts . The main reference is article 38 of the Constitution of France . Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (French: Premier ministre français ), officially

629-628: The Council is compulsory but nonbinding. An ordonnance must be signed by the French President, the Prime Minister and relevant ministers. This proved in 1986 to be a source of tension, during a period of cohabitation when President François Mitterrand and Prime Minister Jacques Chirac were of opposite political opinions, and the President refused to sign ordonnances requested by the Prime Minister, forcing him to go through

666-488: The Senate. Others clauses, such as a two-term limit for the President of the Republic were added. The final vote was submitted to Congress on 21 July 2008 and ratified by only one vote more than the required three-fifths (60%) majority of votes cast. The press drew attention to the aye vote of Jack Lang , who had broken with his party whip . The President of the National Assembly, Bernard Accoyer , also voted, which defied

703-412: The circumstances, the president of the council was usually a fairly weak figure whose strength was more dependent on charisma than formal powers. Often, he was little more than primus inter pares , and was more the cabinet's chairman than its leader. After several unsuccessful attempts to strengthen the role in the first half of the twentieth century, a semi-presidential system was introduced under

740-457: The executive fails to use the authorization that it requested and obtained. It is of particular importance that budget bills should be voted in a timely manner, since they authorize taxes and spending. For this reason, the Government can adopt the budget by ordonnances if Parliament has not been able to agree on it within 70 days after the proposal of the budget (Constitution, article 47). The same applies for social security budget bills, but with

777-538: The government are appointed by the president "on the recommendation of the prime minister". In practice, the prime minister acts in harmony with the president, except when there is a cohabitation . During cohabitation, according to the Constitutional Council, "the center of gravity of power shifts from the Elysée to Matignon", with the president losing his status as head of the executive. In such cases,

SECTION 20

#1732771857308

814-455: The government still has support in the house, some bills that might prove too controversial to pass through the normal assembly rules are able to be passed this way. The prime minister may also submit a bill that has not been yet signed into law to the Constitutional Council (article 61). Before dissolving the assembly, the president must consult the prime minister and the presidents of both houses of Parliament (article 12). The prime minister

851-511: The modernisation and the re-balancing of the institutions"), presided over by Édouard Balladur , a former Prime Minister, was established in July 2007. It was composed primarily of constitutional jurists and political personalities with legal competence. Following three months of work, it submitted its report to the President of the Republic on 29 October 2007. This resulted in a bill , which

888-483: The normal parliamentary procedure, but it was then controversial at the time whether he had the right to refuse to sign them. Before the time period has elapsed, the Cabinet must introduce before Parliament a bill of ratification for the ordonnances , otherwise these lapse at the end of the period. Until Parliament has voted the ratification bill, the ordonnances , similar to executive orders, can be challenged before

925-515: The ordinances that converted all sums in French francs to euros in the various laws in force in France). Ordonnances are also used to adopt and adapt European Directives into French law to avoid delayed adoption of a directive, which often happens, is criticized by the EU Commission and exposes France to fines. Ordonnances are also used to codify law into codes to rearrange them for

962-583: The originating statute. For various reasons explained below, the Executive may sometimes want to pass primary legislation in a field reserved by statute. The ordonnances are the constitutional means to do so. Delegated legislation can be nullified or invalidated through litigation before the Council of State (acting in their role of legislative review) if they violate general legal principles or constitutional rights, whereas primary legislation may be ruled unconstitutional only through judicial review before

999-429: The president's choice of prime minister must be in accordance with the majority in the National Assembly, a prime minister does not have to ask for a vote of confidence after a government formation, having been legitimized by the president's assignment and approval of the government. Prior to the 1958 Constitution, the government was required to pass a motion of confidence upon entering office. According to article 21 of

1036-456: The prime minister is entitled to preside. Ministers defend the programmes of their ministries to the prime minister, who makes budgetary choices. The extent to which those decisions lie with the prime minister or president often depends upon whether they are of the same political party. If so, the president may serve as both the head of state and de facto head of government, while the prime minister serves as his deputy. The current prime minister

1073-476: The prime minister is only responsible to the parliament. One example of cohabitation includes President François Mitterrand 's appointment of Jacques Chirac as prime minister after the legislative election of 1986 . While Mitterrand's Socialist Party was the largest party in the National Assembly, it did not have an absolute majority. The RPR had an alliance with the Union for French Democracy , which gave them

1110-461: The prime minister traditionally exercises primacy in domestic affairs, while the president limits their action to defense and, to a lesser degree, to foreign affairs. The prime minister can "engage the responsibility" of the government before the National Assembly. This process consists of placing a bill before the assembly, and either the assembly overthrows the government, or the bill is passed automatically (article 49). In addition to ensuring that

1147-407: The prime minister, can be dismissed by the National Assembly . Upon appointment, the prime minister proposes a list of ministers to the president. Decrees and decisions signed by the prime minister, like almost all executive decisions, are subject to the oversight of the administrative court system. Some decrees are taken after advice from the Council of State (French: Conseil d'État ), over which

Ordonnance - Misplaced Pages Continue

1184-436: The ratification bill, it does not go into effect. The Constitutional Council and the Council of State decided that ratification can be explicit (a vote on the ratification bill or a ratification amendment added to another bill) but also be performed implicitly by Parliament referring to an ordonnance as if it were a statute. However, implicit ratification has been prohibited by a 2008 constitutional amendment . Occasionally,

1221-457: The sake of clarity without substantially modifying them. Such usage has, however, been criticized for the legal risks that it poses if the ratification act is never voted on. The use of ordonnances for controversial laws is generally criticised by the opposition as antidemocratic and demeaning to Parliament (Guillaume, 2005) in much the same way as the use of article 49§3 to force a bill to be passed. Ordonnances have been extensively used as

1258-530: The tradition whereby the President of a sitting abstains from voting. Without those two votes the bill would not have passed. The text of the law received the Great Seal of France on 1 October 2008. In the following translation, where appropriate, a direct English equivalent of the French term is used. Otherwise, in order to make the terminology intelligible to at least some English speakers, terms used in

1295-402: Was approved by the National Assembly on 9 July 2008 and by the Senate on the 17th. The bill re-evaluated the role of the executive and augmented the parliament's powers. Some of the proposals were not ratified, such as the introduction of proportional representation for elections of the National Assembly, the ban on dual mandates ( Cumul des mandats ), nor the reform of representation in

1332-656: Was enacted into French constitutional law by the Parliament of France in July 2008, to reform state institutions. The position of Defender of Rights was established in this law. Proposed in Nicolas Sarkozy 's manifesto during the French presidential election of 2007 , the stated goal of the changes was to modernise the institutions of the Fifth Republic . The Comité de réflexion et de proposition sur la modernisation et le rééquilibrage des institutions , (literally : "A committee of reflection and proposal on

1369-623: Was toppled over opposition objections to President Charles de Gaulle 's effort to have the president popularly elected. At the ensuing 1962 French legislative election , de Gaulle's coalition won an increased majority, and Pompidou was reappointed prime minister. French constitutional law of 23 July 2008 The Constitutional law on the Modernisation of the Institutions of the Fifth Republic (French: loi constitutionnelle de modernisation des institutions de la V République )

#307692