French Unconstitutional Censorship Research

Unconstitutional Review is one of the most important measures among the Constitutional Supervision System. Its aim is to uphold the authority of the constitution and ensure its implementation. After the World WarⅡ, the Unconstitutional Review had grown up into an essential regime in western developed countries, and now it becomes a main symbol of constitutionality and rule by law. As a legal system, Unconstitutional Review has profound legal basis and theoretical sources, which include the western natural law thought, supremacy of the constitution and separation of powers theory etc. The Unconstitutional Review system was originally founded in the United States, and then through a long-term development and continuous perfection, three basic patterns of Unconstitutional Review occurred at world wide, they are Judicial Review model, Specialized Organs review model and Parliaments/Legislative Bodies review model. The legitimacy of the Unconstitutional Review lies in its specific values, which represents control of state powers and protecting of human rights and freedoms.French Unconstitutional Review is a unique system; it was first established in 1958, by the 5th Republic Constitution, which provides for a specialized organ, Constitution Committee to exercise the power of unconstitutional review. Historically, French Unconstitutional Review traversed a long and tortuous road of development; meanwhile, it was full of controversy and reiterations. After long hesitation and various attempts, current system of Unconstitutional Review was finally set up in 1958, and then, consolidated & developed through series of subsequent judgments & decisions. French Unconstitutional Review system stems from its specific historical & cultural traditions and bases on its theoretical background of politics. Theories & ideas which are very French characteristics and cause a profound impact on their choice of system mainly include, but not limited the following, such as Montesquieu's doctrine on separation of powers, Rousseau's thought of the people's sovereignty, and Kelsen's theory on norms of law etc.The Constitution Committee is the center of French Unconstitutional Review system. It bears a dual nature of both political and judicial bodies, exercises the power of unconstitutional review and tries the lawsuit concerned. The authorities of Constitution Committee are multifaceted, which are mainly provided in French Constitution and consist of following rights, the right to review unconstitutional legislations, the right to supervise on election activities and the right to determine on legislative matters & order matters. The Constitution Committee is playing an increasingly important role in the political life of modern France, and it's getting more and more ordinary people's support and trust as well. For French Unconstitutional Review system, we should not only affirm its advantages, but also recognize its deficiencies.Compared to the American Judicial Review system, French Unconstitutional Review is more in line with China's situation in terms of basic social conditions and political philosophies, it can provide more information & experience on the further improvement of Chinese Unconstitutional Review system. Therefore, we should seriously study the rules of French Unconstitutional Review, draw its essence and learn its lessons, with a view to the early establishment of China's Unconstitutional Review system with Chinese characteristics.