The interesting times of Louis Favoreu
Abstract
This editorial introduction to our symposium on the work of Louis Favoreu falls into two sections, reflecting Favoreu's own interests. The first traces the links between Favoreu's academic career and key moments in the establishment and development of the institutions of the French Fifth Republic and, in particular, of the Conseil Constitutionnel. It suggests that Favoreu was extraordinarily perceptive about the potential of these events, to which he responded promptly. And the converse may also be true: that Favoreu's insights into the possibilities of the Constitution of 1958 enabled him, in some instances, to influence the course that developments took. The second section explores some themes in comparative constitutional adjudication in which Favoreu himself was interested and with which the contributions to the symposium deal. These themes include the contrast between concentrated and diffuse models of judicial review and the related issue of their respective advantages from the standpoint of the legitimacy of review. Both this section and the articles to which it acts as a guide show that the institutional differences are not as clear cut as may at first appear. Both also suggest, however, that underlying conceptual differences help to explain and sustain the distinction between the two models.