section_path: Criticism and issues/Relationship with Supreme Court
section_name: Relationship with Supreme Court
paragraph_text: Relationship with Supreme Court
  
  The relationship between the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court is a widely discussed topic among Korean jurists. The constitution does not establish a clear hierarchy between the two highest courts, and the ranks of the respective chief justices are equal under the Constitutional Court Act. Since the co-equal relationship of the courts relies on a piece of legislation, the National Assembly could pass an amendment ranking the heads of the courts differently and resolve this issue. However, there currently is no legal resolution for disagreements between the two highest courts.
  
  Points of contention include jurisdiction over executive orders and presidential decrees, and "unconstitutional as applied" decisions.
  
  While Article 107 of the constitution states that "the Supreme Court shall have the power to make a final review of the constitutionality or legality of administrative decrees, regulations or actions," Article 111 of the constitution and the Constitutional Court Act together also grant the Constitutional Court overlapping jurisdiction to rule on constitutionality of government actions.
  
  Moreover, the highest courts disagree heavily on the Constitutional Court's power to declare a law unconstitutional as applied (한정위헌결정) – a decision stating that the law itself is constitutional but applied unconstitutionally. The Supreme Court interprets such rulings as upholding the law's constitutionality and does not consider the decisions binding, allowing itself to disregard these rulings and proceed unhindered.
  
  In response, according to the Constitutional Court Act, the Constitutional Court has the power to suspend "state powers" that may violate the constitution. The Constitutional Court interprets such "state powers" to include Supreme Court decisions. The Constitutional Court overturned one Supreme Court decision in 1997 and two more in 2022.
  
  Because there is no higher authority to resolve disputes between them, these conflicts lack legal recourse.