Country Republic of Peru Authorized by | Location Arequipa, Peru Judge term length 5 Years | |
Established 1980 (Court of Constitutional Guarantees)
1996 (Constitutional Court) Composition method Congress of the Republic of Peru | ||
The Peruvian Constitutional Court or Constitutional Tribunal is an independent constitutional agency of Peru. Its official headquarters are in the city of Arequipa, but it has the power to hold hearings in any other city.
Contents
Functions
The Constitutional Court is entrusted with upholding the principle of constitutional supremacy, against the laws or acts of state bodies that seek to undermine it and intervenes to restore respect for the Constitution in general and constitutional rights in particular. The Court is the one specialized organ that is responsible for this type of enforcement. It has the authority to review the adequacy of laws, draft laws and decrees of the executive, conducting a review of the constitutionality of such acts.
According to Kelsen's model, the Constitutional Court acts as a negative legislator, lacking the power to make laws but with the power to repeal all or portions of the unconstitutional laws/acts. More recent theories argue that the task of the Constitutional Court strictly involves judicial functions and resolving constitutional disputes, which may include a review of the performance of the legislature, the protection of fundamental rights and the distribution of powers between the branches of government.