Constitutional court

A constitutional court is a high-level judicial body focused on constitutional law. Its core function is to determine whether challenged laws violate the constitution—meaning they conflict with established rules, rights, or freedoms.

**History**

Before the creation of independent constitutional courts, the United States, Canada, and Australia had already adopted judicial review within their ordinary courts, following shared principles from their common law systems, which themselves derived from British colonial law. The 1799 constitution of the Parthenopean Republic, drafted by Mario Pagano, proposed a body of magistrates called the *eforato* to review constitutional law, but this republic lasted only six months. Earlier, from 1701 to 1714, the Principality of Catalonia operated the *Tribunal de Contrafaccions*, which could address actions by the king or his officers, as well as royal edicts and minor laws, that violated the Catalan constitutions. The 1776 Pennsylvania Constitution and the 1777 Vermont Constitution each created a "Council of Censors," separate from other branches, tasked with recommending the repeal of laws enacted contrary to constitutional principles—an institution somewhat resembling a modern constitutional court.

The first dedicated constitutional court was established by the First Austrian Republic in 1919, though it existed only in name until October 10, 1920, when Austria’s new constitution took effect and granted it power to review laws of the federal states. Czechoslovakia’s 1920 Constitution, effective February 2, 1920, was the first to provide for a special court for judicial review of parliamentary laws, but the court did not convene until November 1921. The structure and powers of both courts were shaped by Hans Kelsen’s constitutional theories. This model—a separate constitutional court handling only cases about the constitutionality of national legislation—became known as the Austrian System and was later adopted by countries such as Liechtenstein (1925), Greece (1927), Spain (1931), and Germany (1949).

**National**

The list below includes countries with separate constitutional courts. Other nations do not have such dedicated courts; instead, they assign constitutional judicial authority to their ordinary court system, with final decisions resting in the supreme ordinary court. These courts are sometimes also called "constitutional courts."

**Subnational**

**Germany** The Constitutional Court of Baden-Württemberg (Verfassungsgerichtshof für das Land Baden-Württemberg) is the constitutional court for the German state of Baden-Württemberg and a constitutional organ at the state level. Besides judicial review (Normenkontrolle), it has other powers and responsibilities assigned by the state constitution. The Constitutional Court of Bavaria (Bayerischer Verfassungsgerichtshof) is the state constitutional court for the Free State of Bavaria. Along with the state government (Landesregierung) and state parliament (Landtag), it is one of three state constitutional institutions and holds the power of judicial review, examining whether state laws comply with the state constitution. The Constitutional Court of Berlin (Verfassungsgerichtshof des Landes Berlin) is the constitutional court of the city-state of Berlin, which is also Germany’s capital. Located in the same building as the Kammergericht (Oberlandesgericht), it is authorized by Article 84 of Berlin’s constitution. It has the power of judicial review, can review electoral complaints, and hears cases about complaints against referendums and popular initiatives.

**Russia** Before 2020, several republics of Russia had their own constitutional courts, while in other federal subjects (such as oblasts and federal cities) they were called charter courts, since only republics have their own constitutions. These constitutional and charter courts were completely independent and not subordinate to the Constitutional Court of Russia. They heard cases about whether regional laws and governors’ decrees conformed to regional constitutions or charters, acting as courts of single instance in such matters. The 2020 amendments to the Russian Constitution disestablished these courts. As of 2020, constitutional courts remained in force in 12 of the 22 republics: Adygea (known as the Constitutional Chamber until 2000), Bashkortostan, Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karelia, Komi, Mari El, North Ossetia–Alania, Sakha, and Tatarstan. In Buryatia and Tuva, the constitutional courts were abolished by republican constitutional laws in 2018 and 2019, respectively. In Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, and Sakha, the disestablished courts were transformed into constitutional councils without judicial powers. Until 2020, charter courts existed in Kaliningrad Oblast, Saint Petersburg, and Sverdlovsk Oblast. The charter court of Chelyabinsk Oblast was disestablished in 2014.