Issues of Constitutional Review of the Content of Constitutional Amendments

This research examines the issue of substantive constitutional review of constitutional amendments. The purpose is to determine whether there is an optimal legislative regulation of the constitutional control over the content of amendments. Moreover, the work will demonstrate preferrable ways of solving these problems, and will also consider whether any changes are necessary in the legislation of the Russian Federation on the issue of checking the content of the constitutional amendment by the Constitutional Court. To achieve these goals, first of all, a study of the scientific literature, legislation and practice of foreign countries was conducted. Secondly, based on those findings, the research identifies theoretical and practical problems faced by the bodies of constitutional control when resolving the issue of the possibility of substantive control of amendments to the constitution. Thirdly, the theories applicable to the issue under consideration were identified and based on these, an assessment of Russian practice and legislation was made. The first chapter of the final qualifying work discusses general considerations of the problems, as well as the study of related scientific literature and court decisions. The second chapter is dedicated to the analysis of the practice and legislation of France, Germany and the Russian Federation. This case study is necessary in order to understand the practical significance of these theoretical problems and possible ways to solve them that have been invented. The study showed that, firstly, there is no unequivocal recognition of the powers of the constitutional review body to check the content of the amendment. In many constitutions there is no direct regulation of this issue, and due to such silence, practice can develop in different ways. A review of the scientific literature has shown that the first problem is that constitutional control over the content of amendments is a double-edged mechanism that is not necessarily useful in every situation. The second problem is the choice of the way in which the power to change the constitution can be limited. Finally, the third problem is the question of the possibility of declaring a constitutional amendment unconstitutional. The main result of the work was the conclusion that there is no single optimal regulation of the constitutional control of the content of amendments to the constitution, and that Russian legislation does not need to be changed.