Gaillet, Aurore (2026) A view from France : Review of Mathias Möschel. Ex-Ministers as Constitutional Judges. Oxford University Press, 2025. Constitutional Studies, vol. 12 (n° 1). pp. 405-408.

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Abstract

Mathias Möschel’s book offers a fascinating and in-depth comparative academic analysis. Around the world, it is, of course, not unusual for ex- (former) ministers to join constitutional courts. But the French case is paradigmatic. Indeed, in France, the participation of high-level politicians remains the rule rather than the exception. The composition of the Council is therefore one of the most debated issues in (French) constitutional law, opposing, on the one hand, those (a minority) who defend this French singularity and, on the other, those who call for an obligatory and reinforced presence of legal experts to strengthen the Council’s legitimacy within the French institutional landscape