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The Global Gender Equality Constitutional Database is a repository of gender equality related provisions in 194 constitutions from around the world. The Database was updated in partnership with the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) and with support from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the Government of Japan. Experience its wealth and depth of information by starting your search now.
Jurisdiction and Access
- English1. Subject to the provisions of sections 25(2), 47(8)(b), 56(4), 65(5), 123(7)(b) and 124 of this Constitution, any person who alleges that any provision of this Constitution (other than a provision of Chapter II3) has been or is being contravened may, if he has a relevant interest, apply to the High Court for a declaration and for relief under this section.
2. The High Court shall have jurisdiction on an application made under this section to determine whether any provision of this Constitution (other than a provision of Chapter II) has been or is being contravened and to make a declaration accordingly.
3. Where the High Court makes a declaration under this section that a provision of this Constitution has been or is being contravened and the person on whose application the declaration is made has also applied for relief, the High Court may grant to that person such remedy as it considers appropriate, being a remedy available generally under any law in proceedings in the High Court.
4. The Chief Justice may make provision, or authorise the making of provision, with respect to the practice and procedure of the High Court in relation to the jurisdiction and powers conferred on the court by or under this section, including provision with respect to the time within which any application under this section may be made.
5. A person shall be regarded as having a relevant interest for the purpose of an application under this section only if the contravention of this Constitution alleged by him is such as to affect his interests.
6. The rights conferred on a person by this section to apply for a declaration and relief in respect of an alleged contravention of this Constitution shall be in addition to any other action in respect of the same matter that may be available to that person under any other law or any rule of law.
7. Nothing in this section shall confer jurisdiction on the High Court to hear or determine any such question as is referred to in section 44 of this Constitution. (Sec. 119)
Jurisdiction and Access
- English
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2. The Council of Ministers presents to the Constitutional Court the international agreements which contain provisions that come in conflict with the Constitution. (Art. 180) - Albanian
...
2. Keshilli i Ministrave i paraqet Gjykates Kushtetuese marreveshjet nderkombetare te cilat permbajne dispozita qe vijne ne kundershtim me kete Kushtetute. (Neni 180)
Jurisdiction and Access
- English
The Constitutional Court is referred [to a matter] by the President of the Republic, the President of the Council of the Nation, the President of the National People's Assembly or by the Prime Minister or the Head of the Government, according to the case.
It may equally be referred [to a matter] by forty (40) Deputies or twenty-five (25) members of the Council of the Nation.
The exercise of the referral enunciated in the two preceding paragraphs does not extend to the referral [to a matter] in a pleading [exception] of unconstitutionality enunciated in Article 195 below. (Art. 193) - Arabic
تخطر المحكمة الدستورية من رئيس الجمهورية أو رئيس مجلس األمة أو رئيس المجلس الشعبي الوطني أو من الوزير األول أو رئيس الحكومة، حسب الحالة.
يمكن إخطارها كذلك من أربعين (40) نائبا أو خمسة وعشرين (25) عضوا في مجلس األمة.
ال تمتد ممارسة اإلخطار المبين في الفقرتين األولى والثانية إلى اإلخطار بالدفع بعدم الدستورية المبّين في المادة 195 أدناه. (المــادة 193) - French
La Cour constitutionnelle est saisie par le Président de la République, le Président du Conseil de la Nation, le Président de l’Assemblée Populaire Nationale ou par le Premier ministre ou le Chef du Gouvernement, selon le cas.
Elle peut être également saisie par quarante (40) députés ou vingt-cinq (25) membres du Conseil de la Nation.
L’exercice de la saisine énoncée aux deux alinéas précédents ne s’étend pas à la saisine en exception d’inconstitutionnalité énoncée à l’article 195 ci-dessous. (Art. 193)
Jurisdiction and Access
- English
The Supreme Federal Court is responsible, essentially, for safeguarding the Constitution, and it is within its competence:
I – to institute legal proceeding and trial, in the first instance, of:
a) direct actions of unconstitutionality of a federal or state law or normative act, and declaratory actions of constitutionality of a federal law or normative act;
b) in common criminal offenses, the President of the Republic, the Vice-President, the members of the National Congress, its own Justices and the Attorney-General of the Republic;
c) in common criminal offenses and crimes of malversation, the Ministers of State and the Commanders of the Navy, the Army, and the Air Force, except as provided in article 52, I, the members of the Superior Courts, those of the Federal Audit Court and the heads of permanent diplomatic missions;
d) habeas corpus, when the petitioner is any one of the persons referred to in the preceding subitems; the writ of mandamus and habeas data against acts of the President of the Republic, of the Directing Boards of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Federal Senate, of the Federal Audit Court, of the Attorney-General of the Republic and of the Supreme Federal Court itself;
e) litigation between a foreign State or an international organization and the Union, a state, the Federal District or a territory;
f) disputes and conflicts between the Union and the states, the Union and the Federal District, or between one another, including the respective indirect administration bodies;
g) extradition requested by a foreign state;
h) (revoked);
i) habeas corpus, when the constraining party is a Superior Court, or when the constraining party or the petitioner is an authority or employee whose acts are directly subject to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Federal Court, or in the case of a crime, subject to the same jurisdiction in one sole instance;
j) criminal review of and actions to overrule its final judgements;
l) claims for the preservation of its powers and guarantee of the authority of its decisions;
m) enforcement of court decisions in the cases where it has original competence, the delegation of duties to perform procedural acts being allowed;
n) a suit in which all members of the judicature are directly or indirectly involved, and a suit in which more than half of the members of the court of origin are disqualified or have a direct or indirect interest;
o) conflicts of powers between the Superior Court of Justice and any other courts, between Superior Courts, or between the latter and any other court;
p) petitions of provisional remedy in direct actions of unconstitutionality;
q) writs of injunction, when drawing up of the regulation is the responsibility of the President of the Republic, of the National Congress, of the Chamber of Deputies, of the Federal Senate, of the Directing Boards of one of these legislative houses, of the Federal Audit Court, of one of the Superior Courts, or of the Supreme Federal Court itself;
r) lawsuits against the National Council of Justice and against the National Council of the Public Prosecution;
II – to judge on ordinary appeal:
a) habeas corpus, writs of mandamus, habeas data and writs of injunction decided in a sole instance by the Superior Courts, in the event of a denial;
b) political crimes;
III – to judge, on extraordinary appeal, cases decided in a sole or last instance, when the decision appealed:
a) is contrary to a provision of this Constitution;
b) declares a treaty or a federal law unconstitutional;
c) considers valid a law or act of a local government contested in the light of this Constitution;
d) considers valid a local law challenged in the light of a federal law.
Paragraph 1. A claim of non-compliance with a fundamental precept deriving from this Constitution shall be examined by the Supreme Federal Court, under the terms of the law.
… (Art. 102) - Portuguese
Compete ao Supremo Tribunal Federal, precipuamente, a guarda da Constituição, cabendo-lhe:
I - processar e julgar, originariamente:
a) a ação direta de inconstitucionalidade de lei ou ato normativo federal ou estadual e a ação declaratória de constitucionalidade de lei ou ato normativo federal;
b) nas infrações penais comuns, o Presidente da República, o Vice-Presidente, os membros do Congresso Nacional, seus próprios Ministros e o Procurador-Geral da República;
c) nas infrações penais comuns e nos crimes de responsabilidade, os Ministros de Estado e os Comandantes da Marinha, do Exército e da Aeronáutica, ressalvado o disposto no art. 52, I, os membros dos Tribunais Superiores, os do Tribunal de Contas da União e os chefes de missão diplomática de caráter permanente;
d) o habeas corpus, sendo paciente qualquer das pessoas referidas nas alíneas anteriores; o mandado de segurança e o habeas data contra atos do Presidente da República, das Mesas da Câmara dos Deputados e do Senado Federal, do Tribunal de Contas da União, do Procurador-Geral da República e do próprio Supremo Tribunal Federal;
e) o litígio entre Estado estrangeiro ou organismo internacional e a União, o Estado, o Distrito Federal ou o Território;
f) as causas e os conflitos entre a União e os Estados, a União e o Distrito Federal, ou entre uns e outros, inclusive as respectivas entidades da administração indireta;
g) a extradição solicitada por Estado estrangeiro;
h) (Revogado pela Emenda Constitucional nº 45, de 2004)
i) o habeas corpus, quando o coator for Tribunal Superior ou quando o coator ou o paciente for autoridade ou funcionário cujos atos estejam sujeitos diretamente à jurisdição do Supremo Tribunal Federal, ou se trate de crime sujeito à mesma jurisdição em uma única instância;
j) a revisão criminal e a ação rescisória de seus julgados;
l) a reclamação para a preservação de sua competência e garantia da autoridade de suas decisões;
m) a execução de sentença nas causas de sua competência originária, facultada a delegação de atribuições para a prática de atos processuais;
n) a ação em que todos os membros da magistratura sejam direta ou indiretamente interessados, e aquela em que mais da metade dos membros do tribunal de origem estejam impedidos ou sejam direta ou indiretamente interessados;
o) os conflitos de competência entre o Superior Tribunal de Justiça e quaisquer tribunais, entre Tribunais Superiores, ou entre estes e qualquer outro tribunal;
p) o pedido de medida cautelar das ações diretas de inconstitucionalidade;
q) o mandado de injunção, quando a elaboração da norma regulamentadora for atribuição do Presidente da República, do Congresso Nacional, da Câmara dos Deputados, do Senado Federal, das Mesas de uma dessas Casas Legislativas, do Tribunal de Contas da União, de um dos Tribunais Superiores, ou do próprio Supremo Tribunal Federal;
r) as ações contra o Conselho Nacional de Justiça e contra o Conselho Nacional do Ministério Público;
II - julgar, em recurso ordinário:
a) o habeas corpus, o mandado de segurança, o habeas data e o mandado de injunção decididos em única instância pelos Tribunais Superiores, se denegatória a decisão;
b) o crime político;
III - julgar, mediante recurso extraordinário, as causas decididas em única ou última instância, quando a decisão recorrida:
a) contrariar dispositivo desta Constituição;
b) declarar a inconstitucionalidade de tratado ou lei federal;
c) julgar válida lei ou ato de governo local contestado em face desta Constituição.
d) julgar válida lei local contestada em face de lei federal.
§ 1.º A argüição de descumprimento de preceito fundamental, decorrente desta Constituição, será apreciada pelo Supremo Tribunal Federal, na forma da lei.
… (Art. 102)
Jurisdiction and Access
- English…
If the President of the Republic holds that a promulgated law does not conform with the Constitution, he/she may institute proceedings to review the constitutionality of such law before the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia. (Art. 89) - Croatian…
Ako Predsjednik Republike smatra da proglašeni zakon nije u skladu s Ustavom može pokrenuti postupak za ocjenu ustavnosti zakona pred Ustavnim sudom Republike Hrvatske. (Članak 89)
Jurisdiction and Access
- EnglishTo the same end, the laws may be deferred to the Constitutional Council before their promulgation by the President of the Republic, the President of the National Assembly or ten Deputies.
… (Art. 79) - Arabicتحقيقاً للهدف نفسه، يجوز إحالة القوانين إلى المجلس الدستوري قبل أن يصدرها رئيس الجمهورية أو رئيس المجلس الوطني أو عشرة نواب.
... (المادة 79) - FrenchAux mêmes fins, les lois peuvent être déférées au Conseil constitutionnel avant leur promulgation par le président de la République, le président de l'Assemblée nationale ou dix députés.
… (Art. 79)
Jurisdiction and Access
- EnglishAn appeal shall lie as of right to the Court of Appeal from any decision of the High Court which involves the interpretation of this Constitution, other than a decision of the High Court under section 69(1) of this Constitution:
Provided that no appeal shall lie from a determination of the High Court under this section dismissing an application on the ground that it is frivolous or vexatious. (Sec. 106)
Jurisdiction and Access
- EnglishJurisdictional guarantees shall be governed, as a rule, by the following provisions:
1. Any person, group of persons, community, people or nation will be able to propose actions envisaged in the Constitution.
…
5. All final judgments shall be referred to the Constitutional Court for their development in case law. (Art. 86) - SpanishLas garantías jurisdiccionales se regirán, en general, por las siguientes disposiciones:
1. Cualquier persona, grupo de personas, comunidad, pueblo o nacionalidad podrá proponer las acciones previstas en la Constitución.
…
5. Todas las sentencias ejecutoriadas serán remitidas a la Corte Constitucional, para el desarrollo de su jurisprudencia. (Art. 86)
Jurisdiction and Access
- English(1) The Federal Constitutional Court shall rule:
1. on the interpretation of this Basic Law in the event of disputes concerning the extent of the rights and duties of a supreme federal body or of other parties vested with rights of their own by this Basic Law or by the rules of procedure of a supreme federal body;
2. in the event of disagreements or doubts concerning the formal or substantive compatibility of federal law or Land law with this Basic Law, or the compatibility of Land law with other federal law, on application of the Federal Government, of a Land government, or of one fourth of the Members of the Bundestag;
2a. in the event of disagreements whether a law meets the requirements of paragraph (2) of Article 72, on application of the Bundesrat or of the government or legislature of a Land;
3. in the event of disagreements concerning the rights and duties of the Federation and the Länder, especially in the execution of federal law by the Länder and in the exercise of federal oversight;
4. on other disputes involving public law between the Federation and the Länder, between different Länder, or within a Land, unless there is recourse to another court;
4a. on constitutional complaints, which may be filed by any person alleging that one of his basic rights or one of his rights under paragraph (4) of Article 20 or under Article 33, 38, 101, 103 or 104 has been infringed by public authority;
4b. on constitutional complaints filed by municipalities or associations of municipalities on the ground that their right to self-government under Article 28 has been infringed by a law; in the case of infringement by a Land law, however, only if the law cannot be challenged in the constitutional court of the Land;
4c. on complaints of associations against their non-recognition as party for the election to the German Federal Assembly;
5. in the other instances provided for in this Basic Law.
(2) At the request of the Bundesrat, a Land government or the parliamentary assembly of a Land, the Federal Constitutional Court shall also rule whether in cases falling under paragraph (4) of Article 72 the need for a regulation by federal law does not exist any longer or whether in the cases referred to in clause 1 of paragraph (2) of Article 125a federal law could not be enacted any longer. The Court’s determination that the need has ceased to exist or that federal law could no longer be enacted substitutes a federal law according to paragraph (4) of Article 72 or clause 2 of paragraph (2) of Article 125a. A request under the first sentence is admissible only if a bill falling under paragraph (4) of Article 72 or the second sentence of paragraph (2) of Article 125a has been rejected by the German Bundestag or if it has not been considered and determined upon within one year, or if a similar bill has been rejected by the Bundesrat.
(3) The Federal Constitutional Court shall also rule on such other matters as shall be assigned to it by a federal law. (Art. 93) - German(1) Das Bundesverfassungsgericht entscheidet:
1. über die Auslegung dieses Grundgesetzes aus Anlaß von Streitigkeiten über den Umfang der Rechte und Pflichten eines obersten Bundesorgans oder anderer Beteiligter, die durch dieses Grundgesetz oder in der Geschäftsordnung eines obersten Bundesorgans mit eigenen Rechten ausgestattet sind;
2. bei Meinungsverschiedenheiten oder Zweifeln über die förmliche und sachliche Vereinbarkeit von Bundesrecht oder Landesrecht mit diesem Grundgesetze oder die Vereinbarkeit von Landesrecht mit sonstigem Bundesrechte auf Antrag der Bundesregierung, einer Landesregierung oder eines Viertels der Mitglieder des Bundestages;
2a. bei Meinungsverschiedenheiten, ob ein Gesetz den Voraussetzungen des Artikels 72 Abs. 2 entspricht, auf Antrag des Bundesrates, einer Landesregierung oder der Volksvertretung eines Landes;
3. bei Meinungsverschiedenheiten über Rechte und Pflichten des Bundes und der Länder, insbesondere bei der Ausführung von Bundesrecht durch die Länder und bei der Ausübung der Bundesaufsicht;
4. in anderen öffentlich-rechtlichen Streitigkeiten zwischen dem Bunde und den Ländern, zwischen verschiedenen Ländern oder innerhalb eines Landes, soweit nicht ein anderer Rechtsweg gegeben ist;
4a. über Verfassungsbeschwerden, die von jedermann mit der Behauptung erhoben werden können, durch die öffentliche Gewalt in einem seiner Grundrechte oder in einem seiner in Artikel 20 Abs. 4, 33, 38, 101, 103 und 104 enthaltenen Rechte verletzt zu sein;
4b. über Verfassungsbeschwerden von Gemeinden und Gemeindeverbänden wegen Verletzung des Rechts auf Selbstverwaltung nach Artikel 28 durch ein Gesetz, bei Landesgesetzen jedoch nur, soweit nicht Beschwerde beim Landesverfassungsgericht erhoben werden kann;
4c. über Beschwerden von Vereinigungen gegen ihre Nichtanerkennung als Partei für die Wahl zum Bundestag;
5. in den übrigen in diesem Grundgesetze vorgesehenen Fällen.
(2) Das Bundesverfassungsgericht entscheidet außerdem auf Antrag des Bundesrates, einer Landesregierung oder der Volksvertretung eines Landes, ob im Falle des Artikels 72 Abs. 4 die Erforderlichkeit für eine bundesgesetzliche Regelung nach Artikel 72 Abs. 2 nicht mehr besteht oder Bundesrecht in den Fällen des Artikels 125a Abs. 2 Satz 1 nicht mehr erlassen werden könnte. Die Feststellung, dass die Erforderlichkeit entfallen ist oder Bundesrecht nicht mehr erlassen werden könnte, ersetzt ein Bundesgesetz nach Artikel 72 Abs. 4 oder nach Artikel 125a Abs. 2 Satz 2. Der Antrag nach Satz 1 ist nur zulässig, wenn eine Gesetzesvorlage nach Artikel 72 Abs. 4 oder nach Artikel 125a Abs. 2 Satz 2 im Bundestag abgelehnt oder über sie nicht innerhalb eines Jahres beraten und Beschluss gefasst oder wenn eine entsprechende Gesetzesvorlage im Bundesrat abgelehnt worden ist.
(3) Das Bundesverfassungsgericht wird ferner in den ihm sonst durch Bundesgesetz zugewiesenen Fällen tätig. (Art. 93)
Jurisdiction and Access
- English(1) A person who alleges that—
(a) any Act of the National Assembly or anything done under the authority of an Act of the National Assembly; or
(b) any act or omission of any person or authority, is inconsistent with or is in contravention of a provision of this Constitution, may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction for a declaration to that effect.
… (Sec. 5)