State Council (Luxembourg)
The Council of State ( French Conseil d'État , Luxembourgish State Red ) is a consultative body in the Luxembourg political system , which has existed since 1856.
tasks
The Council of State virtually fulfills the role of a second chamber , but without being one. Even if this functional gap exists, we cannot speak of a second chamber. The Council of State is not legitimized by the voters and therefore cannot have a position that competes with Parliament. It is also a matter of dispute whether he has a substantive right of examination in the legislative process. The Council of State must be informed of any bill or project before the Chamber can vote on it. He checks whether the proposals or projects are compatible with the Luxembourg constitution, international agreements, including EU law, are being respected and there are no other violations. If the project or proposal is compatible with everything, the State Council allows the Chamber to vote. If problems arise, laws, projects or proposals must be revised and submitted to the State Council again.
Grand-ducal regulations (i.e. government decisions) can also be submitted to the State Council for review. Then the Council of State decides whether the Chamber has to vote for a second time on a law (sovereign constitutional vote). In the end, the Chamber can override this decision.
composition
It consists of 21 members, of which at least 11 must be lawyers with a doctorate. They are formally appointed and dismissed by the Grand Duke . If a member leaves, the successor is chosen alternately
- from a three-person proposal list of the parliament
- from a three-person list of proposals from the Council of State
- directly appointed by the Grand Duke, but in practice on the proposal of the government.
In addition, the Hereditary Grand Duke can be a member of the Council of State. In this case, their number increases to 22. The current incumbent Guillaume was appointed in June 2005 as a member. Since April 2019, the Presidium of the Council of State has consisted of President Agnès Durdu and her deputies Nati Romain and Patrick Santer .
developments
Until 1994, the 11-member legal department of the State Council also acted as the highest administrative court . However, a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights had previously come to the conclusion that this was not compatible with the democratic principles of the separation of powers .
In April 2005, the government presented a bill to increase the number of members from 21 to 27.
In recent years there has been increasing questioning whether the current constellation is still appropriate. This was particularly true with regard to the question of whether the Council of State should only act as a control body for checking which draft laws are constitutional, or whether it should also have the role of a second chamber. In the latter case, the electoral process in particular was criticized and greater participation of the population in the selection of members was suggested.
literature
- Council of State: The Council of State of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg . Ed .: Press and Information Office of the Luxembourg Government, Publishing Department. 2013, ISBN 978-2-87999-222-8 ( government.lu [PDF; 732 kB ; accessed on June 13, 2017]).
- Michael Schroen: Parliament, Government and Legislation, in: Hisch Mario / Lorig Wolfgang (Ed.): The Luxembourg political system, Wiesbaden 2008 doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-531-90775-8_7
- 150 years of the Council of State . Forum , issue 261, November 2006.
- Michel Pauly : The overdue reform of the State Council. Forum, Issue 192, May 1999, pp. 8-12. Online , PDF, 1.07 MB.
Web links
- Official website of the Council of State (French)
- Council of State reform website (French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Schroen Michael, in: Lorig / Hirsch, page 115 doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-531-90775-8_7
- ↑ Membres depuis 1857. List of all members on the website of the State Council, accessed on September 25, 2019. (French)
Coordinates: 49 ° 36 '41.7 " N , 6 ° 8' 4.6" E