'In Between Seats'... The Conseil constitutionnel and the CETA

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2018 3(2), 811-832 | European Forum Insight of 25 August 2018 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. The specific nature of EU mixed agreements: What impact on the national constitutional judge? - II.1. A monitoring method based on both Art. 53 C and Art. 88-1 C. - II.2. A two-tiered constitutional review based on the division of competence between the EU and its Member States. - III. The compatibility of CETA with the French Constitution. - III.1. No violation of "the essential conditions for exercising national sovereignty". - III.2. No violation of the provisions of the French Constitution as well as constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms. - IV. Conclusion. | (Abstract) On 26 July 2017, the Conseil constitutionnel ruled upon the compatibility of an EU (mixed) agreement with the French Constitution. Its decision, which concerned the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), clarifies, from a national constitutional law perspective, the room of manoeuvre of the national judge when controlling EU acts which also happen to be acts of the Member States. The necessity to combine EU law with French constitutional law when monitoring this specific category of international commitments of the French Republic results in a very narrow margin of manoeuvre for the judge. In the end, the Conseil constitutionnel considers CETA to be compatible with the Constitution of the French Republic.