État légal: Difference between revisions
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The '''''État légal''''' (English: "legal state"), also called "'''legicentric state'''",<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Favoreu|first=Louis|date=November 1997|title=Légalité et constitutionnalité|url=https://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/nouveaux-cahiers-du-conseil-constitutionnel/legalite-et-constitutionnalite|journal=Cahiers du Conseil constitutionnel|volume=3|pages=73}}</ref> is a [[doctrine]] of [[continental Europe]]an legal thinking, originated in French constitutional studies, which argues for the primacy of the law over [[Constitutional right|constitutional rights]]. |
The '''''État légal''''' (English: "legal state"), also called "'''legicentric state'''",<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Favoreu|first=Louis|date=November 1997|title=Légalité et constitutionnalité|url=https://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/nouveaux-cahiers-du-conseil-constitutionnel/legalite-et-constitutionnalite|journal=Cahiers du Conseil constitutionnel|volume=3|pages=73}}</ref> is a [[doctrine]] of [[continental Europe]]an legal thinking, originated in French constitutional studies, which argues for the primacy of the law over [[Constitutional right|constitutional rights]]. |
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Contrary to the [[police state]] – where the law is arbitrary, unequally applied, and its making outside of non-state control – and to the ''[[Rechtsstaat]]'' ("state of rights") – in which constitutional rights are viewed as preceding and superseding the authority of the law – the ''état légal'' is a form of [[rule of law]] where the law is applied equally – i.e. to the people and to the state – ''as it is decided'', that is without or with reduced constitutional limits |
Contrary to the [[police state]] – where the law is arbitrary, unequally applied, and its making outside of non-state control – and to the ''[[Rechtsstaat]]'' ("state of rights") – in which constitutional rights are viewed as preceding and superseding the authority of the law – the ''état légal'' is a form of [[rule of law]] where the law is applied equally – i.e. to the people and to the state – ''as it is decided'', that is without or with reduced constitutional limits the will of the law maker.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Rousseau|first=Dominique|date=17 August 2016|title=Mon plaidoyer pour l'état de droit|url=https://www.liberation.fr/debats/2016/08/17/mon-plaidoyer-pour-l-etat-de-droit_1473037|access-date=2019-09-09|website=[[Libération]]}}</ref> |
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In democratic regimes enforcing [[universal suffrage]], the ''état légal'' gives absolute primacy to the decision of the majority of the voters – generally via their elected representatives – which can lead to decisions possibly detrimental to the [[Minority rights|rights of minorities]] or contrary to [[human rights]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> As defined by constitutional jurist Dominique Rousseau, the ''état légal'' "subjects the executive power, administration and justice to the rule of law passed by Parliament, a rule which, as the expression of the [[general will]], is indisputable and cannot therefore be judged."<ref name=":2" /> |
In democratic regimes enforcing [[universal suffrage]], the ''état légal'' gives absolute primacy to the decision of the majority of the voters – generally via their elected representatives – which can lead to decisions possibly detrimental to the [[Minority rights|rights of minorities]] or contrary to [[human rights]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> As defined by constitutional jurist Dominique Rousseau, the ''état légal'' "subjects the executive power, administration and justice to the rule of law passed by Parliament, a rule which, as the expression of the [[general will]], is indisputable and cannot therefore be judged."<ref name=":2" /> |
Revision as of 23:07, 27 January 2023
The État légal (English: "legal state"), also called "legicentric state",[1] is a doctrine of continental European legal thinking, originated in French constitutional studies, which argues for the primacy of the law over constitutional rights.
Contrary to the police state – where the law is arbitrary, unequally applied, and its making outside of non-state control – and to the Rechtsstaat ("state of rights") – in which constitutional rights are viewed as preceding and superseding the authority of the law – the état légal is a form of rule of law where the law is applied equally – i.e. to the people and to the state – as it is decided, that is without, or with reduced, constitutional limits upon the will of the law maker.[2][3][4]
In democratic regimes enforcing universal suffrage, the état légal gives absolute primacy to the decision of the majority of the voters – generally via their elected representatives – which can lead to decisions possibly detrimental to the rights of minorities or contrary to human rights.[2][3][4] As defined by constitutional jurist Dominique Rousseau, the état légal "subjects the executive power, administration and justice to the rule of law passed by Parliament, a rule which, as the expression of the general will, is indisputable and cannot therefore be judged."[4]
Concept
The concept of état légal was theorized by French jurist Raymond Carré de Malberg in his 1920 book Contribution à la théorie générale de l'État. He distinguished three differents forms of states: the police state, in which the power acts freely in an arbitrary way; the "state of rights" (état de droits or Rechtsstaat), where the authority of the law is limited by constitutional rights; and the "legal state" (état légal), a rule of law which gives primacy to the authority of the law over constitutional rights. In a democratic state, where the power is entrusted to the people – generally via universal suffrage – the difference between the état légal and the Rechtsstaat has a significant consequence. In the first situation, the decision of the majority is set in law as decided, and thereafter applied by the state; whereas in the Rechsstaat, the state (or the majority) is limited in the nature of the laws it is able to introduce by a set of rules protecting fundamental and minority rights (e.g., the American constitutional amendments, or the German constitutional fundamental rights).[2][3]
References
- ^ Favoreu, Louis (November 1997). "Légalité et constitutionnalité". Cahiers du Conseil constitutionnel. 3: 73.
- ^ a b c Mockle, Daniel (1994). "L'État de droit et la théorie de la rule of law". Les Cahiers de droit. 35: 823–904. doi:10.7202/043305ar.
- ^ a b c Février, Jean-Marc (2000). Questions de démocratie. Presses universitaires du Mirail. p. 422. ISBN 2-85816-531-9.
- ^ a b c Rousseau, Dominique (17 August 2016). "Mon plaidoyer pour l'état de droit". Libération. Retrieved 2019-09-09.