http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/authors/587/oliver-rieche Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Fri, 22 May 2026 16:54:50 -0400 Fri, 22 May 2026 16:54:50 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/596/preserving-the-role-of-the-french-constitutional-council-as-a-check-on-executive-power By Oliver Rieche - The Constitutional Council was established when the Fifth Republic was born in 1958 (Cole 1998, p. 63). Initially designed as a tool to protect the executive against parliament, the Council evolved into a powerful force against the government (Elgie and Griggs 2000, p. 27). It ensures that elections are conducted fairly and that bills conform to the constitution (Slater 1985, p. 180). This essay argues that the most important role of the Constitutional Council today is to serve as a check on executive power in order to protect the rights of citizens. To understand this, we need to contrast its... Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:33 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/596/preserving-the-role-of-the-french-constitutional-council-as-a-check-on-executive-power http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/594/reassessing-the-house-of-lords-why-the-lords-should-remain-unelected By Oliver Rieche - Since Lord Rosebery’s well-known speech there has been much debate about changes in the composition of the House of Lords. Major reforms included the Life Peerages Act 1958 and later the House of Lords Act 1999, which reduced the hereditary members to 92.[2] Nevertheless, constitutional experts such as Rodney Brazier argue that the House of Lords continues to be “unelected, unrepresentative and unaccountable.”[3] The Coalition Government is therefore working on another reform bill to provide for a wholly or largely elected second chamber. This essay will argue that such a drastic... Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:05 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/594/reassessing-the-house-of-lords-why-the-lords-should-remain-unelected