L’irrévocabilité des arrêts de la cour constitutionnelle à l’épreuve de l’indérogeabilité du droit de recours en droit positif congolais : Analyses et Perspectives

Abstract

The irrevocability of judgments rendered by the Constitutional Court constitutes one of the cardinal principles of the Congolese legal order. It aims to guarantee the stability of judicial decisions and legal certainty by conferring upon these judgments an absolute and final authority. However, this irrevocability, elevated to the rank of an intangible principle, encounters the fundamental requirement of the right to appeal, recognized by the Constitution of February 18, 2006, as amended and supplemented by Law No. 11/002 of January 20, 2011, as well as by international human rights instruments as a non-derogable right. This paradox raises a central question: how can the need for stability of constitutional rulings be reconciled with the imperative of guaranteeing every litigant an effective remedy against a decision tainted by error or manifest injustice? Through an in-depth doctrinal and jurisprudential analysis, this article examines the compatibility between the irrevocability of Constitutional Court judgments and the principle of non-derogability of the right to appeal, within the framework of Congolese positive law. It also proposes possible reform pathways aimed at ensuring a better balance between the authority of res judicata in constitutional matters and the effective protection of fundamental rights.