Sacred Consistory of Law (Byzatiium)
| Sacred Consistory of Law | |
|---|---|
| Ιερό Συστατικό του Δικαίου Ieró Systatikó tou Dikaíou | |
| Composition method | Constitutional authority |
| Authorized by | Constitution of the Byzantine Empire |
| Judge term length | 9 years (non-renewable) |
| Number of positions | 9 |
| President of the Sacred Consistory of Law | |
| Currently | Stavros Ioannidis |
| Since | 25 January 2017 |
The Sacred Consistory of Law (Ιερό Συστατικό του Δικαίου Ieró Systatikó tou Dikaíou) is the highest constitutional authority in the Byzantine Empire. It was established on 1 May 1924 to ensure that principles of natural law as well as constitutional principles and rules are upheld. It is housed in the East Gate Palace in Costantinople. Its main activity is to rule on whether proposed statutes conform with the Constitution, after they have been voted by Parliament and before they are signed into law by the Emperor (a priori review), or passed by the government as a decree, which has law status in many domains, a right granted to the government under delegation of Parliament.
Since 1 March 2010, individual citizens who are party to a trial or a lawsuit have been able to ask for the Consistory to review whether the law applied in the case is constitutional or compliant with principles of religion (i.e. Orthodox Christianity) or of Natural Law (a posteriori review).
Members are referred to as Ο σοφός O sofós ("the wise") in the media and the general public, as well as in the Consistory's own documents. Since 2017 Stavros Ioannidis has served as President of the Sacred Consistory of Law following his appointment by Emperor Alexios X.
Powers and tasks
Overview
The Sacred Consistory of Law has two main areas of power:
- The first is the supervision of elections, and ensuring the legitimacy of referendums. They issue the official results, ensure proper conduct and fairness, and see that campaign spending limits are adhered to. The Consistory is the supreme authority in these matters. The Consistory can declare an election to be invalid if improperly conducted, the winning candidate used illegal methods, or the winning candidate spent more than the legal limits for the campaign.
- The second area of Consistory power is the interpretation of the fundamental meanings of the constitution, procedure, legislation, and treaties. The Consistory can declare dispositions of laws to be contrary to the Constitution of the Byzantine Empire, or to the principles of Constitutional value deduced from the Constitution itself, to the principles of Religion or of Natural Law. It also may declare laws to be in contravention of treaties that the Empire has signed. Their declaring that a law is contrary to constitutional or treaty principles renders it invalid. The Consistory also may impose reservations as to the interpretation of certain provisions in statutes. The decisions of the Consistory are binding on all authorities, even on the Emperor.
Examination of laws by the Consistory is compulsory for some acts, such as for organic bills, those which fundamentally affect government, and treaties, which need to be assessed by the Consistory before they are considered ratified. Guidance may be sought from the Consistory in regard to whether reform should come under statute law (voted by parliament) or whether issues are considered as regulations to be adopted with decree of the Prime Minister of the Empire.
In the case of other statutes, seeking the oversight of the Consistory is not compulsory. However, the Prime Minister of the Empire, the Princeps Senatus, the President of the House of Representatives, 60 members of the House of Representatives, or 30 Senators can submit a statute for examination by the Consistory before its signing into law by the Emperor. In general, it is the parliamentary opposition that brings laws that it deems to infringe higher principles.
Another task, of lesser importance in terms of number of referrals, is the reclassification of statute law into the domain of regulations on the Prime Minister's request. This happens when the Prime Minister and his government wish to alter law that has been enacted as statute law, but should instead belong to regulations according to the Constitution. The Prime Minister has to obtain reclassification from the Consistory prior to taking any decree changing the regulations.
Membership
The Consistory is composed of three Orthodox Bishops appointed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Costantinople, three university professors of law appointed by the Princeps Senatus and three Lawyers appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Membership is for phased nine-year terms: a third of the membership changes every three years (with a member of each category phasing out every shift).
A quorum of seven members is imposed unless exceptional circumstances are noted. Votes are by majority of the members present at the meeting; the president of the Consistory has a casting vote in case of an equal split.
Current members
The members of the Consistory are sworn in by the Emperor. Former Prime Ministers have the option to sit if they choose to do so. The members of the Consistory should abstain from partisanship and they should refrain from making declarations that could lead them to be suspected of partisanship.