A Case Study of The French Constitutional Council as an Institution within the Framework of the Problem of the Necessity of Constitutional Judiciary for the Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms

The authorities responsible for constitutionality auditing at the present time inspect whether some norms are contrary to the constitution therefore assume an important role in protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens. It is possible that responsible authorities may occasionally criticized while carrying out this duty based on dissatisfaction of involving parties. However these criticisms may reach to levels whether to reduce the authority of constitutional courts or even abolish them since they are redundant. Within the framework of these discussions,one of the authorities responsible for constitutionality auditing, the French Constitutional Council is examined in this study as an example. As is agreed upon in French doctrine, constitutional courts and constitutional judges have important duties in terms of protecting fundamental rights and freedoms, and in France, the Constitutional Council is the competent authority. However, it was not easy for the French Constitutional Council to reach its current position. The study reveals the functional evolution of the Council in the historical process. The Council, which was described as the guardian of the executive power in the first stage, now appears as a guardian of freedom in terms of protecting fundamental rights and freedoms. As a result, even an institution designed as the guardian of the executive power, while continuing its duty in the context of constitutional judiciary, seems to have automatically assumed the duty of protecting freedoms. This situation draws attention to the necessity of constitutional jurisdiction in terms of protecting fundamental rights and freedoms.