Title VIII · Justice · Public Register of the Republic of Fluid

192

The judicial function

Only the courts established here administer justice, and special tribunals are prohibited.

1.Justice is administered by the courts established by this Title, in the name of the people, and by no other body.
2.Courts decide disputes, try offences, review the acts of every organ of the Republic, and enforce the rights of Title III, the ecological budgets of Title II, and the distribution of functions established by Article 13.
3.Extraordinary tribunals are prohibited under Article 77(5). In no case may a body outside this Title exercise judicial power, determine individual liability, or impose a penalty.
4.In no case may a court be created for a particular case, a particular person or a particular period.
5.Judicial decisions bind every organ, and their execution is owed by every organ.

193

Independence

Judges answer to the Constitution and the law alone, and nobody may instruct them.

1.Judges are independent and are subject to the Constitution and the law alone.
2.In no case may the Assembly, an executive committee, the Coordinating Bureau, a planning body, a council of a territory, a federation, a party or any person give an instruction to a judge, whether general or in a particular case.
3.In no case is a judge liable for the content of a decision, except in the case of an offence established by final judgment.
4.Judges hold security of position under Article 203, and their provision, their court and their jurisdiction are altered by no measure directed at their decisions.
5.The resources of the courts are fixed as a share of the plan by organic law, and in no case may they be reduced during the term of an Assembly.

194

Application and interpretation

Judges apply the law, read it in favour of rights, and never legislate.

1.Judges apply this Constitution, the organic laws, the laws, the ratified treaties, the ecological budgets, the regulations of execution within their limits, and the local rules within their validity.
2.Judges interpret every norm in conformity with Title III under Article 39(3), and where two readings are open, the reading more favourable to the right prevails.
3.In no case does a judge create a rule of general application, decide by reference to a political programme, or set aside a law on grounds of its expediency.
4.Uniformity of interpretation is secured by the National Court under Article 200.

195

Reference to the Constitutional Chamber

A judge who cannot resolve a constitutional question refers it, and gets a binding answer.

1.Where a court cannot decide a case without resolving a question of the conformity of a norm with this Constitution, and where conforming interpretation under Article 194(2) is impossible, the court stays the case and refers the question to the Constitutional Chamber.
2.A court refers on its own motion or upon the application of a party, and a refusal to refer states reasons and is appealable.
3.The reference states the question, the norm in issue, the facts on which it bears and the reasoning of the referring court, and is published.
4.The Chamber answers within ninety days. Its answer binds the referring court, binds every court in similar cases, and is published with reasons and with dissenting opinions.
5.In no case does a reference suspend the essential provision of Article 62 or the interim protection of Article 43(5).

196

Publicity of justice

Hearings and judgments are public, and journalists attend by right without accreditation.

1.Hearings are public. A court may close a hearing in part by reasoned and published order, on the grounds of the protection of a child, of the private life of a party, or of the physical safety of a person, and on no other ground.
2.Judgments are published in full, in open and machine-readable form, free of charge, with the names of the judges deciding and the dissenting opinions, and with the redactions that Article 51 requires.
3.Journalists attend hearings by right, record and report them, and in no case is accreditation, licence or prior permission required. Article 54(6) protects their sources.
4.Case registers, timetables, assignment records and the statistics of every court are public.
5.The press reports upon the courts, upon the Judicial Council and upon the conduct of judges, and Article 53(4) protects that reporting.

197

Structure

There are communal, sub-regional, regional, National and Constitutional courts.

1.The courts of the Republic are: the communal and sub-regional courts, which try at first instance; the regional courts, which hear appeals; the National Court; and the Constitutional Court.
2.Organic law establishes the courts, their seats and their territorial competence, and in no case may it abolish a court in order to remove a judge or to transfer a pending case.
3.Every person has access to a court within reasonable distance of their residence, and communes without a court are served by sittings held within them.

198

First instance and appeal

Every judgment can be appealed on the facts and on the law.

1.Communal and sub-regional courts try civil, criminal, labour, cooperative, administrative and ecological matters at first instance, in the divisions organic law establishes.
2.Every judgment is open to appeal to the regional court on the facts and on the law.
3.The regional court decides finally, except for cassation to the National Court under Article 200(2).
4.Ecological actions under Article 19 may be brought at first instance before any competent court, and the Ecological Chamber of the Constitutional Court holds the jurisdiction of Article 27.

199

Specialised divisions

Specialised divisions may sit with technical assessors, who advise but never vote.

1.Organic law may establish divisions for labour, for cooperative and planning disputes, for ecological matters, and for the review of administrative acts, within the courts of Article 197(1).
2.A division sits with assessors holding the technical knowledge the matter requires, who advise and hold no vote.
3.In no case does a division constitute a separate jurisdiction, and appeal lies as under Article 198.

200

The National Court

The National Court keeps the law uniform throughout the territory.

1.The National Court secures the uniform interpretation of the law throughout the territory.
2.It hears cassation upon a question of law, upon a divergence between regional courts, and upon a manifest breach of procedure.
3.Its judgments in cassation bind the court to which the case is remitted, and its rulings upon divergence bind every court until the law changes or until the Court departs from them by reasoned and published decision in plenary.
4.In no case does the National Court decide a question of the conformity of a norm with this Constitution, which belongs to the Constitutional Chamber under Article 195.

201

Assignment of cases

Cases are assigned by lot, and nobody may pick the judge or move a case afterwards.

1.Cases are assigned to judges by lot, by a public procedure operating without human intervention upon the order of receipt.
2.The method, the code and the parameters of assignment are public under Article 109(5) and (6), the draw is verifiable by any person, and the result is published upon assignment.
3.Reassignment of a case after allocation is permitted only for recusal, disqualification, illness, absence or the closure of a division, and only by a written and published order stating the ground, made by a panel of three judges of the court, and recorded in the register.
4.In no case may the president of a court, the Judicial Council, or any other person select the judge who is to hear a case, direct a reassignment, or alter the composition of a panel after allocation.
5.Redistribution of workload between judges follows a published rule applying to classes of case, operates prospectively, and in no case touches a case already assigned.
6.An act contrary to this Article voids the assignment, and the case is drawn afresh.

202

Recruitment

Judges are recruited by open, anonymous competition, open to every qualified resident.

1.Judges are recruited by open competition, upon published criteria, conducted anonymously so far as the exercise permits, and administered by the Judicial Council.
2.The competition is open to every resident holding the qualification in law that organic law fixes, without condition of origin, of family, of connection, or of prior service.
3.Organic law secures routes into the judiciary from ordinary practice, from the service of communes and cooperatives, from teaching, and from legal assistance, and in no case may it confine recruitment to a single school, career or institution.
4.The results of the competition, the marks, the criteria applied and the composition of every examining board are published.
5.Refusal of a candidacy states reasons in writing and is appealable to the Constitutional Court.

203

Term and security

Judges serve one twelve-year term, never renewed, with staggered replacement.

1.Judges are appointed for a single term of twelve years, non-renewable, and in no case is reappointment to the same court permitted.
2.A judge may pass to a court of another level once during a career by a fresh competition, and the second term runs for the period remaining of the twelve years.
3.In the course of a term a judge is transferred, suspended or removed only by the procedure of Article 206.
4.Terms are staggered so that no more than one twelfth of the judiciary is renewed in any year.
5.Upon the expiry of a term a judge returns to a contribution under Article 70(6), retains the provision of every resident, and takes no function in a foreign economic entity for three years.

204

Duties and incompatibilities

Judges must be impartial and declare their interests, and may still teach and write.

1.Judges decide within the periods fixed by law, state reasons, and treat every person under Article 38.
2.A judge withdraws from a case in which their impartiality may reasonably be doubted, and a party may seek disqualification by reasoned application decided by other judges.
3.The office is incompatible with a seat in the Assembly, with membership of an executive committee, with delegation to a planning body, with the offices of Title IX, with membership of the Ecological Budget Authority, with command in the forces, with office in a party, and with a management organ of an enterprise, a federation or a public establishment.
4.Judges declare publicly, on appointment and annually, their contributions under Article 70, the associations to which they belong, their property under Article 74, and every interest capable of affecting the office. The declarations are published and are verified by the Inspectorate.
5.In no respect is the provision of a judge distinguishable from that of any other resident, and Article 126(1) and (2) apply.
6.Judges may teach, write, research and take part in public debate upon questions of law, and in no case does this engage disciplinary liability.

205

Leadership posts

Court presidents are elected by their colleagues for one three-year term, with no power over decisions.

1.Presidents of courts and heads of divisions are elected by the judges of the court concerned, by secret ballot, for a single term of three years.
2.In no case may a person hold consecutive terms in a leadership post, hold more than one leadership post at a time, or hold leadership posts for more than six years in the whole of a career.
3.Leadership posts carry the administration of the court alone, and in no case do they carry authority over the decisions of a judge, over the assignment of cases under Article 201, over promotion, or over discipline.
4.The holders of leadership posts, their terms and their acts of administration are published.
5.In no case may the holders of leadership posts constitute an association, a conference or a standing body exercising influence over appointments, over discipline or over the Judicial Council.

206

Discipline

Discipline is for conduct, never for the content of a ruling, and is heard in public.

1.Disciplinary liability arises for a breach of the duties of Article 204, for a failure to decide within the periods fixed, for a breach of Article 201, for concealment of an interest, and for conduct incompatible with the office. In no case does it arise for the content of a decision, for its reversal on appeal, or for a legal opinion expressed.
2.Disciplinary proceedings are opened by the Inspectorate under Article 214, upon complaint by any person or on its own motion.
3.Proceedings are heard by a disciplinary panel of the Judicial Council, composed for each case by lot from its members, in which the members drawn by lot under Article 210 hold a majority.
4.The judge is heard, has access to the file, is assisted by counsel at public cost, and appeals to the Constitutional Court, which decides finally.
5.Hearings and decisions are public, with the redactions Article 51 requires for the protection of complainants.
6.Sanctions comprise warning, reprimand, transfer, suspension and removal, and are proportionate to the breach established.
7.Removal follows only for a grave breach established by the procedure of this Article or for conviction of an offence by final judgment.

207

Nature

The Judicial Council runs the judiciary, and can never touch a case.

1.The Judicial Council administers the judiciary, and it is independent of the Assembly, of the executive committees, of the planning bodies and of the courts.
2.In no case does the Council decide a case, review a judgment, instruct a judge, or exercise influence over the outcome of any proceeding.

208

Functions

The Council appoints judges, confirms justices, runs case assignment, and proposes the judiciary's resources.

1.The Council conducts the competitions of Article 202, appoints judges, confirms the justices drawn under Article 217, constitutes the disciplinary panels of Article 206(3), maintains the assignment system of Article 201, publishes the statistics of the courts, and proposes to the Assembly the resources the judiciary requires.
2.The Council appoints the head of the prosecution service under Article 224(2).
3.The Council reports annually to the Assembly and to the public, and its report is debated in public sitting.
4.In no case does the Council hold a competence beyond those enumerated in this Article and in organic law adopted under it.

209

Composition

The Council has twenty-one members: thirteen residents drawn by lot and eight judges elected by judges.

1.The Council consists of twenty-one members: thirteen residents drawn by lot, and eight judges elected by the judges of the Republic.
2.The members drawn by lot hold the majority in every formation of the Council, including its disciplinary panels and its appointment boards.
3.In no case may a member of the Assembly, a member of an executive committee, a delegate to a planning body, an officer of a party, a member of the Ecological Budget Authority, an officer of a federation or a person holding a management organ of an enterprise sit on the Council.

210

Members drawn by lot

Resident members serve three years, are trained beforehand, and answer to nobody.

1.The thirteen resident members are drawn by lot from the residents of the Republic, by a public and verifiable procedure, composed so as to reflect the population in age, gender, territory, occupation and condition.
2.Participation is voluntary. A person declining is replaced by a fresh draw, and no reason need be given.
3.They serve for three years, non-renewable, and are replaced by thirds each year.
4.They receive training in the functions of the Council before taking part, provided by institutions independent of the courts and of the Council, and the training materials are public.
5.Service is contribution under Article 70(2), carries release from other tasks, and carries provision for transport, care and accommodation.
6.In no case is a resident member removable except by the Constitutional Court, for incapacity or for an interest concealed.

211

Judicial members

Judicial members are elected by all judges by secret ballot, with court presidents excluded.

1.The eight judicial members are elected by all judges of the Republic, by secret ballot, by proportional representation, with candidacy open to every judge and requiring no nomination by any body.
2.They comprise judges of the first instance, of the regional courts and of the National Court, and in no case do the judges of any one level hold more than three of the eight seats.
3.They serve for six years, non-renewable, staggered so that four are replaced every three years.
4.In no case may a president of a court or a head of a division sit on the Council during their leadership term or within three years after it.

212

Chair and rotation

The chair is drawn from the lay members each year, and every panel is composed by lot.

1.The Council elects its chair annually from among the members drawn by lot, and in no case may a person chair the Council twice.
2.The chair convenes the Council, directs its sittings and signs its acts, and in no case decides a matter alone or against the Council.
3.Formations, boards and panels of the Council are composed for each matter by lot from among its members, and in no case are they standing bodies.
4.Decisions are taken by a majority of the members present, by open vote recorded by name.

213

Publicity

The Council meets in public, publishes its records and named votes, and never deliberates in secret.

1.Sittings of the Council are public, are transmitted, and are open to journalists by right under Article 196(3).
2.Deliberations are recorded, and the record is published within seven days, together with the votes by name and the reasons of every member who dissents.
3.Files of appointment, of promotion and of discipline are public, with the redactions Article 51 requires.
4.In no case does the Council deliberate in secret, and a decision taken in a sitting closed to the public is void.
5.Every person may address the Council, and the Council answers in writing and publicly.
6.Where the Council closes a part of a sitting for the protection of a complainant, it states the ground, publishes the order, and publishes the record upon the expiry of the period the order fixes.

214

The Judicial Inspectorate

A Judicial Inspectorate independent of the Council examines conduct and opens discipline.

1.The Judicial Inspectorate examines the conduct of judges, the operation of the courts, the working of the assignment system, and compliance with the declarations of Article 204(4).
2.The Inspectorate is independent of the Judicial Council. Its head is appointed by the Constitutional Court in plenary for a single term of seven years, non-renewable, from among candidates presented by open competition.
3.In no case may the Judicial Council appoint, instruct, remunerate, discipline or remove the Inspectorate or its members.
4.The Inspectorate opens proceedings under Article 206(2), and in no case does it decide them.
5.Its reports are public, and it reports annually to the Assembly, to the Council and to the public.
6.In no case does the Inspectorate examine the content of a decision, and an inspection touching the reasoning of a judgment is void.

215

External audit

The Audit Office checks the judiciary's resources, its competitions and its assignment system.

1.The Audit Office of Title IX audits annually the resources of the judiciary, the operation of the assignment system, the conduct of the competitions of Article 202, and the records of the Judicial Council.
2.The audit is published in full.
3.The Ecological Budget Authority verifies the ecological accounts of the courts under Article 100(3).
4.An independent body designated by organic law verifies annually that the draws of Articles 201, 210 and 217 were conducted as published, and its report is public.

216

Constitution and jurisdiction

The Constitutional Court has fifteen justices and rules on constitutionality, planning and competence.

1.The Constitutional Court consists of fifteen justices and sits in plenary, in the Constitutional Chamber under Article 137, and in the Ecological Chamber under Article 27.
2.It decides: the conformity of texts before promulgation under Article 137; references under Article 195; challenges to promulgated laws and to acts of every organ, brought by any person under Article 43; actions against the plan and the planning bodies under Article 143(9); conflicts of competence under Articles 143(11) and 189; the restriction and dissolution of political associations under Article 12(3); appeals in discipline under Article 206(4); the removal of members of the Ecological Budget Authority under Article 24(3); and the matters this Constitution otherwise assigns to it.
3.Its decisions are final, bind every organ, and are published with reasons and with dissenting opinions.

217

Appointment by lot

Justices are drawn by lot from a public pool, and the Council may refuse only twice per vacancy.

1.Justices are drawn by lot from the pool of Article 218, in public session, by a verifiable procedure whose method and code are published.
2.The Judicial Council confirms each person drawn. It may refuse only upon a finding of incapacity, of a disqualification under Article 218(3), or of an interest incompatible with the office, by reasoned and public decision, whereupon a fresh draw is held.
3.In no case may the Council refuse more than two persons in respect of any one vacancy, and the third person drawn takes office by operation of law.
4.In no case does the Assembly, an executive committee, a planning body, a party, a federation or a court take part in the selection or confirmation of a justice.
5.Vacancies are filled within ninety days, and in no case may the Court sit with fewer than eleven justices for longer than that period.

218

The pool

Anyone qualified with fifteen years of legal experience may enter the pool.

1.The pool consists of residents who hold the qualification in law that organic law fixes, who have practised, judged, prosecuted, taught or conducted legal research for no fewer than fifteen years, and who have entered their names in a public register.
2.Entry into the register is open to every person satisfying paragraph 1, is verified by the Judicial Council upon published criteria alone, and refusal is appealable to the Court in plenary.
3.Disqualified from the pool are: members of the Assembly, members of executive committees, delegates to planning bodies, officers of a party, members of the Ecological Budget Authority, officers of a federation and holders of a management organ of an enterprise, in each case during office and for four years afterwards.
4.The register is public and states, for each person, the qualification, the experience and the declarations of Article 204(4).

219

Term and status

Justices serve one twelve-year term, with five replaced every four years.

1.Justices serve a single term of twelve years, non-renewable, and in no case may a person serve twice.
2.Terms are staggered so that five justices are replaced every four years.
3.Justices hold the independence, the duties, the incompatibilities and the provision established by Articles 193, 204 and 126(1) and (2).
4.A justice is removed only by the Court in plenary, upon a majority of two thirds, for incapacity or for a grave breach established after a public hearing, and the decision is published with reasons.
5.Upon the expiry of a term, Article 203(5) applies.

220

The Constitutional Chamber

The Constitutional Chamber reviews texts before promulgation, in panels of seven composed by lot.

1.The Constitutional Chamber conducts the preventive review of Article 137 and answers the references of Article 195.
2.It is composed for each matter by lot from among the justices, in panels of seven, and in no case is it a standing formation.
3.It may remit a matter to the plenary, and the plenary decides where the question concerns the distribution of functions under Article 13 or the amendment procedure of Title XII.

221

The Ecological Chamber

The Ecological Chamber hears nature's cases in panels of five, with scientific assessors.

1.The Ecological Chamber holds the jurisdiction of Article 27 and hears the actions of Article 19.
2.It is composed for each matter by lot from among the justices, in panels of five, and sits with scientific assessors designated from the institutions named by organic law, who advise and hold no vote.
3.It may require any measurement, sample, model or access from any organ, enterprise or licensed entity, and Article 24(5) applies.

222

Declaration of incompatibility and cure

An unconstitutional law is declared incompatible, and lapses if the Assembly fails to fix it in time.

1.Where the Court finds a law of the Assembly incompatible with this Constitution, it declares the incompatibility, states the provisions affected, states what would cure them, and fixes the period within which the Assembly is to act.
2.The period runs for twelve months at the most. The Court may extend it once, for six months at the most, upon reasoned application by the Assembly showing that the cure is under way.
3.During the period the provision remains in force, except that the Court suspends it where its application would breach the minimum core of Article 41, would violate a right from which Article 42(2) permits no derogation, or would breach an ecological budget.
4.Where the Assembly has not cured the incompatibility at the expiry of the period, the provision lapses by operation of law, and the lapse is recorded in the public register.
5.The Assembly may cure an incompatibility by amending the provision, by repealing it, or by amending this Constitution under Title XII.
6.In no case does a declaration under this Article apply to the plan, to a decision of a planning body, to an administrative act, to a regulation, or to an act of a territory, which are void to the extent of their conflict under Articles 4(4), 26(2), 154(3) and 189(4).
7.A person whose right the incompatible provision violated obtains the remedy of Article 43 without awaiting the expiry of the period.

223

Entrenchment

The Court's size, terms, jurisdiction and appointment cannot be changed to affect anyone in office.

1.The number of justices, the duration and staggering of their terms, the appointment by lot, the composition of the pool, the jurisdiction of the Court and the composition of the Judicial Council are fixed by this Constitution and by organic law adopted under it.
2.An organic law altering any matter in paragraph 1 takes effect only after the first ordinary election of the Assembly following its promulgation, and in no case does it apply to a justice, a judge or a member of the Council in office.
3.In no case may the term of a sitting justice, judge or member of the Council be shortened, their court abolished, their jurisdiction removed, or a retirement age introduced or lowered so as to end a term in progress.
4.In no case may the jurisdiction of the Court under Article 216(2) be removed, restricted, or transferred to another body.
5.The resources of the Court and of the Judicial Council are fixed as a share of the plan, and in no case may they be reduced during the term of an Assembly.

224

The prosecution service

The prosecution service is headed by one seven-year appointment of the Judicial Council.

1.The prosecution service investigates offences, brings prosecutions, and represents the public interest in the cases organic law names.
2.Its head is appointed by the Judicial Council, by open competition upon published criteria, for a single term of seven years, non-renewable, and is removed only by the procedure of Article 206.
3.Prosecutors are recruited, hold their term and are disciplined under Chapter 3, which applies to them.

225

Independence and instruction

Nobody may instruct a prosecutor in an individual case, and every instruction goes on the file.

1.In no case may the Assembly, an executive committee, the Coordinating Bureau, a planning body, a council of a territory, a party or any person instruct the prosecution service in an individual case.
2.General instructions upon the priorities of prosecution are given in writing by the head of the service alone, are published, and in no case do they name a person, an enterprise or a case.
3.Every instruction given within the service is in writing, is placed on the file of the case, and is disclosed to the parties.
4.A prosecutor may refuse an instruction they consider unlawful, states the refusal in writing on the file, and Article 61(3) protects them.

226

Decisions to prosecute

A decision not to prosecute must give reasons, and can be reviewed by a court.

1.The prosecution service acts upon the principle of legality, and its decisions state reasons.
2.A decision not to prosecute is notified to the injured person, states its reasons, and is reviewable by a court at the instance of that person.
3.Where the person under investigation holds a public office, the file, the decision and the reasons are published upon the conclusion of the case.
4.Investigations touching a member of the Assembly, a member of an executive committee, a delegate to a planning body, a judge or a justice are reported in aggregate to the public at annual intervals.

227

Restorative panels

Restorative panels of residents drawn by lot may agree repair, but never impose punishment.

1.Restorative procedures under Article 80(3) are conducted before panels of residents drawn by lot from the commune concerned, trained for the function, and facilitated by a person independent of the parties.
2.Participation is voluntary for the injured person and for the responsible person, and in no case does a refusal aggravate a penalty, affect provision under Article 62, or count against either of them.
3.A panel may agree reparation, restoration, labour for the injured person or the community, apology, and measures preventing repetition. In no case may it impose deprivation of liberty, a reduction of provision, or a measure touching a right of Title III.
4.Agreements are recorded, are approved by a judge who verifies their voluntary character and their conformity with this Constitution, and are published in anonymised form.
5.Service on a panel is contribution under Article 70(2), and Article 210(5) applies.
6.Where a restorative procedure resolves a matter, the court records it and closes the case, and in no case does a subsequent prosecution follow for the same act.

228

Execution of penalties

A judge supervises every sentence, and prisons can never be run by anyone else.

1.Execution of penalties is supervised by a judge, who reviews deprivation of liberty at intervals fixed by organic law under Article 80(5).
2.Places of detention are administered by public establishments under Article 87, and in no case is their administration, or any part of it, conferred upon another body under Article 163(3).
3.Persons deprived of liberty address the courts directly, and Article 49(5) admits of no suspension.
4.Article 47(4) governs inspection, and the reports of the inspecting body are public.

229

Offences against the constitutional order

Usurpation, ecocide, falsifying data and taking public resources are tried in the ordinary courts.

1.Usurpation under Article 3(3), ecocide under Article 20(5), falsification of ecological or planning data under Articles 35(3) and 100(5), breach of Article 201, and the appropriation of public resources are tried by the ordinary courts under this Title.
2.In no case does an office, a mandate or an instruction from a superior exonerate the author of an act under paragraph 1, and Articles 43(4) and 162(3) govern.
3.Prosecution of usurpation is subject to no limitation of time under Article 3(3).

230

Guardianship

The Constitutional Court guards the boundaries between all the powers, including its own.

1.The Constitutional Court guards the distribution of functions established by Article 13, and enforces the limits this Constitution places upon the Assembly, upon the executive committees, upon the planning bodies, upon the territories and upon itself.
2.The union of legislative and executive functions in the Assembly enlarges the powers of neither under Article 154(6), and the Court determines whether an act of the Assembly or of a committee has exceeded them.
3.In no case may the Court exercise a legislative, executive or planning function, direct the content of a law, or substitute its own decision for a decision this Constitution assigns to another organ, except where Articles 143(10), 190 and 222 provide.

231

Standing

Any resident may sue over powers, ecology, rights or participation, without cost.

1.Any resident may bring an action before the Court under Article 43, without showing a personal interest where the action concerns the distribution of functions, the ecological budgets, the rights of Title III, or the participation this Constitution requires.
2.Article 19 governs standing in the name of a natural entity, and Article 143(9) governs standing against the plan.
3.Communes, sub-regions, regions, cooperatives, federations, unions, workplace assemblies, user and neighbourhood assemblies, the Ecological Budget Authority and the offices of Title IX hold standing within their fields.
4.Court fees, security for costs and adverse costs orders are excluded in actions under this Article, except where the Court finds the action vexatious.

232

Protection of the judiciary

No organ may refuse to obey a judgment, and judges are protected from reprisal.

1.In no case may an organ of the Republic refuse, delay or condition the execution of a judgment, and a refusal is an offence under Article 229.
2.In no case may a measure be adopted that removes a pending case from the court seised of it, that alters the composition of a court in order to affect a pending case, or that annuls a judgment by legislation.
3.Where an organ fails to execute a judgment, the Court orders execution, appoints a person to accomplish it at the expense of the organ in default, and declares the personal liability of the officers responsible under Article 43(4).
4.Judges, justices, prosecutors, members of the Judicial Council and members of the Inspectorate are protected against reprisal in their provision, their contribution and their person, and Article 61(3) applies to any of them who discloses an attempt to influence the administration of justice.
5.Every person may report publicly an attempt to influence a judicial decision, an appointment, a disciplinary file or the assignment of a case, and Articles 53(4) and 54(6) protect the report and its sources.

Justice

Chapter 1 · Principles

Chapter 2 · The Courts

Chapter 3 · Judges

Chapter 4 · The Judicial Council

Chapter 5 · Inspection and Audit

Chapter 6 · The Constitutional Court

Chapter 7 · Prosecution

Chapter 8 · Criminal Justice and Restoration

Chapter 9 · Guardianship of the Distribution of Functions