1 Federico Fabbrini is a PhD student at the Law Department, European University Institute. He holds an undergraduate degree summa cum laude in European and Transnational Law at the University of Trento School of Law (Italy) and a JD summa cum laude in International Law at the University of Bologna School of Law (Italy). He was aggregated fellow at the Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris (France) in 2007 and a visiting student at the University of California Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law (USA) in 2005. Email: [email protected].Google Scholar

2 The full text of the revision bill is published on the Official Journal of the French Republic n. 171 of 24 July 2008 and available in French in the web site of the Government at: http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000019237256 as well as is in the web sites of the National Assembly at: http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/dossiers/reforme_5eme.asp and of the Senate at: http://www.senat.fr/dossierleg/pjl07-365.html, last accessed 25 September 2008. These websites also contain in French the bill presented by the Government and all the documents of the parliamentary revision procedure, including the report of the Law Commissions, the amendments proposed and the text of the bill as approved in both Chambers. For an overview of the political context in which the revision took place see: Stefano Ceccanti, Le istituzioni ed il sistema politico dopo il primo quinquiennato, in La Francia di Sarkozy, 27 (Gianfranco Baldini & Marc Lazar eds., 2007); Paolo Passaglia, Le elezioni legislative in Francia: più conferme che novità, 4 Quaderni Costituzionali (Quad. Cost.) 860 (2007)Google Scholar

3 The full text of the research work is available in French in the web site of the Comité at: http://www.comite-constitutionnel.fr, last accessed 25 September 2008. The website also provides in French the Presidential decree establishing the Comité as well as the name of its 12 members and all the documents thereof among which the final report entitled Une Véme République plus démocratique (2007). For an overview of the work of the Comité and an early comment on its proposals see: Federico Fabbrini, Francia: è arrivata l'ora dell'exception d'inconstitutionnalité? 1 Quad. Cost. 150 (2008); Federico Fabbrini, Breaking from Tradition: Reshaping the French System of Constitutional Review, 2 Washington Undergraduate Law Review (WULR) No.1 1 (2008)Google Scholar

4 The full text of the French Constitution is available in English in the International Constitutional Law web site at http://www.servat.unibe.ch/law/icl/fr00000_.html, last accessed 25 September 2008.Google Scholar

5 Bertrand Mathieu & Michel Verpeaux, Droit constitutionnel 220 (2004). Since the constitutional revision of 1962, however, another way of amending the Constitution has been found in Article 11 that affirms: “The President of the Republic may, on the proposal of the Government during sessions, or on a joint motion of the two Assemblies published in the Official Journal, submit to a referendum any bill dealing with the organization of the governmental authorities […]”. See, Dominique Rousseau, L'invenzione continua della V Repubblica, in L'ordinamento costituzionale della V Repubblica francese, 34, 75 (Dominique Rousseau ed., 2000)Google Scholar

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45 A constitutional bill amending the Constitution to introduce a posteriori constitutional review was submitted to Parliament by the President of the Republic Mitterand on 30 March 1990, under the advice of the former President of the Constitutional Council Badinter. After two separate votes in the Assemblée Nationale and the Sénat, however, the two chambers of Parliaments, because of the opposition of the conservative party, didn't agree on the same text and therefore the proposal failed. A similar draft written by constitutional law professor Vedel was later presented to Parliament on 10 March 1993, but was dismissed by new conservative majority elected in spring. For a historical overview of these event see: Nicolo Zanon, L'exception d'incontitutionnalite in Francia: una riforma difficile 93 (1990); Didier Maus, Nouveaux regards sur le contrôle de constitutionnalité per voie d'exception, in Melanges en l'honneur de Michel Troper, 665, 668 (Véronique Champeil-Desplats et al. eds., 2007). The main features of the two proposal are analyzed by: Jean Luc Warsmann, Rapport fait au nom de la Commision des Loi Constitutionnelles de l'Assemble Nationale n. 892–2008 439 (2008) available in French at: http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/rapports/r0892.asp, last accessed 25 September 2008.Google Scholar

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47 The Cour de Cassation is the French Supreme Court for civil and criminal justice. It is the main court of last resort in France (excluding cases of administrative justice, which go before the Conseil d'Etat)Google Scholar

48 Author's translation. For the French text consult the Official Journal of the French Republic n. 171 of July 24^th 2008 available at: http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000019237256, last accessed 25 September 2008.Google Scholar

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81 Favoreau, Louis, La questione préjudicielle de constitutionnalité, in Melanges en l'honneur de Philippe Ardant, 265 (Guy Carcassonne et al. eds., 1999)Google Scholar

82 Ceccanti, Stefano, Ora la Francia è un pò meno gollista, in Il Riformista, 22 July 2008 Google Scholar

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