Okuzeka
Politics & Government vocabulary · Constitution, Courts and Rights

Constitutional court

Meaning in politics & government, with examples

nounCommon term

In politics & government, constitutional court means: A high court whose main job is to decide whether laws and government actions are in line with the constitution, and to cancel those that are not.

In Turkish: anayasa mahkemesi

How it is used

Many countries have a constitutional court; in others, such as the United States, the supreme court does this work. Laws are challenged in, referred to or annulled by the constitutional court, and its rulings are usually final.

Example sentences

  1. The opposition asked the constitutional court to review the new election law.

  2. The constitutional court ruled that parts of the law were unconstitutional.

Common collocations

  • appeal to the constitutional court
  • constitutional court ruling
  • rule something unconstitutional
  • strike down a law
  • constitutionThe basic set of laws and principles that sets out how a state is organized, what powers its institutions have and what rights its citizens enjoy.
  • judiciaryThe branch of the state made up of judges and courts, which interprets the law, settles disputes and decides whether laws and government actions are legal.
  • checks and balancesA system in which each branch of government can limit the powers of the others, so that no single person or institution can control everything.
  • rule of lawThe principle that everyone, including the government and its officials, must obey the law, and that laws are applied fairly by independent courts.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Constitution, Courts and Rights

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