Not until Charles de Gaulle’s 1958 Constitution was even a limited assessment of a law by the Conseil Constitutionnel (Constitutional Council) allowed, and then only with extensive precautions. Indeed, the Constitutional Council made its assessments a priori, one month after adoption of the law, and only four officials could initiate a review: the president, the prime minister, and the presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate.
1958年查尔斯·戴高乐版宪法之前甚至连宪政委员会对法律进行有限度的评估都不被允许，这之后对法律合宪性的评估也只能小心翼翼。事实上，宪政委员会的评估是一种预先评估，时间就选择在法律通过后的一个月，而且只有总统、总理、国民议会和参议院主席等四名官员有权发起审阅。