Decision no. 2014-439 PRIORITY MATTER OF CONSTITUTIONALITY of 23 January 2015 – Mr. XX. – (Citizenship repeal)
- 2015
- France
Topics
Public securityLegal bases
France: Civil Code (Code civil des Français) of 1804Courts
Constitutional Council (Conseil constitutionnel), FranceLaws
Right to respect for private and family lifeFacts
On 31 October 2014 the Constitutional Council received an application for a Priority matter of constitutionality by the Conseil d'État (decision no. 383664 of 31 October 2014) on behalf of Mr. XX, raising the conformity of Article 25(1) and Article 25-1 of the Civil Code (stipulating as one of the grounds for repeal of citizenship, the conviction of the individual "for an act considered as a crime or offence amounting to an attack against the fundamental interests of the Nation or for a crime or offence constituting an act of terrorism") with the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.
Legal grounds
A challenge alleging that a legislative provision is incompatible with the commitments of France under international and European law cannot be deemed to be a challenge to their constitutionality. The court had also to evaluate the legal consequences of the increasing from ten to fifteen years the periods provided for citizenship repeal.
Findings
The arguments concerning the transmission of a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union was rejected. It is not for the Constitutional Council to examine the compatibility of the contested provisions with the treaties or with European Union law; the examination of such a challenge and the transmission of those preliminary references fall under the jurisdiction of the ordinary and administrative courts. Considering that the contested provisions, which are in any event not vitiated by unintelligibility, are not contrary to any other right or freedom guaranteed by the Constitution; that they must be declared in conformity with the Constitution, the court decides that the words "or for a crime or offence constituting an act of terrorism" in Article 25 (1) and Article 25-1 of the Civil Code are in accordance with the Constitution.