Anticipation Starts Now!
Concluding the Judicial Resilience Project
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Antizipation beginnt jetzt!
Zum Abschluss des Justiz-Projekts.
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When Permanent Turns Temporary
In late September 2025, a Swedish government commission of inquiry presented a proposal that would fundamentally alter the legal position of thousands of people with protection status: a new law revoking permanent residence permits previously granted on asylum-related grounds. The law, intended to enter into force on 1 January 2027, would require affected individuals to obtain Swedish citizenship, qualify for a temporary residence permit, or ultimately leave the country. Although the proposal is only at the beginning of the legislative chain, it has already stirred attention due to its retroactive nature and the potential impact on large groups of individuals.
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Eine allgemeine Verpflichtung zur Überwachung
Notice-and-takedown ist der Grundsatz, der ein Internet ermöglicht hat, in dem Nutzende auf Plattformen Inhalte veröffentlichen können, ohne dass diese vorab kontrolliert und selektiert werden. In Frage gestellt wird dies durch die Entscheidung des EuGH vom Dienstag in Russmedia Digital. So verlangt der Gerichtshof den Aufbau eines umfassenden Überwachungssystems für Kommunikation im digitalen öffentlichen Raum.
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Hack the DSA
The EU DSA is one of the latest regulatory instruments adopted by the European Union to rein in the power of digital platforms and to create a “safe, predictable and trusted online environment”. We illustrate why the DSA’s promise of transparency is not living up to its expectations and then offer four practical recommendations for improving DSA reporting.
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A De Facto Union Veto
On 20 November 2025, the Indian Supreme Court issued an advisory opinion on the nature and extent of gubernatorial power over state legislation. Disagreeing with its own May 2025 ruling, the Court held that Governors act with broad discretion, face no judicially enforceable time limits, and are largely beyond review when sitting on state bills. This enables a de facto Union veto over state lawmaking and raises serious concerns for India’s federal structure and judicial discipline.
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Money Talks, Discrimination Walks
Driven by anti-immigration sentiment and supported by government policies, local governments in Poland are currently passing resolutions, targeting the relocation of migrants. The Polish managing authority and intermediate institutions of European funds responded quickly. Due to the risk of losing EU funds, some of these discriminatory resolutions were repealed shortly after enactment. These swift reactions indicate that some lessons have been learned from the previous involvement in the so-called LGBT-free zones. Hence, it seems that when money talks, discrimination walks.
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Democracy and Work
Can a society call itself democratic if its citizens spend much of their waking life subject to the dictatorial control of bosses? Today the question may provoke puzzlement: Why not, as long as the electoral system is in ship shape? But for much of the twentieth century, a critical mass of citizens on both sides of the Atlantic would have answered “no.”
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Verfassungsfeinde auch im Vorbereitungsdienst
Rechtsreferendar*innen müssen die freiheitliche Verfassung achten, das steht außer Frage. Doch die Verwaltungsgerichte legen an die Verfassungstreue von Referendar*innen unterschiedliche Maßstäbe an. Nun will Hamburg vor der Einstellung in den öffentlichen Dienst eine Regelanfrage beim Landesverfassungsschutz einführen – allerdings nicht für Rechtsreferendar*innen. Diese Sonderbehandlung ist weder mit dem Regelungsziel des hamburgischen Gesetzentwurfs vereinbar noch verfassungsrechtlich geboten. Statt Klarheit zu schaffen, schreibt das Gesetz Widersprüche fest – ausgerechnet im Namen der wehrhaften Demokratie.
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Wenn der alte Wein besser schmeckt
Auch in dem Koalitionsvertrag der aktuellen Bundesregierung findet sich die Forderung nach „Praxis-Checks“ in der Gesetzesvorbereitung wieder. Dabei scheinen die aktuellen Koalitionäre vergessen zu haben, dass bereits vor fünfzig Jahren Politik und Verwaltung intensiv diskutiert haben, ob Praxis-Checks in der Gesetzgebung eingeführt werden sollten. Dieser Beitrag versucht, zumindest drei Gedanken aus der damaligen Diskussion – zu möglichen Formen der Institutionalisierung von Praxis-Checks, zu deren ungewollten Nebenfolgen und zu den möglichen Ursachen ihres Scheiterns – zu bewahren.
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CURRENT DEBATES
The European Convention on Human Rights at 75: Transnational Perspectives and Global Interaction
On its 75th anniversary, the European Convention on Human Rights faces profound challenges. Yet, the jurisprudence of the Strasbourg Court resonates globally – it influences the International Court of Justice, inspires (and interacts with) its Inter-American and African counterparts, and informs debates on climate change, migration, and artificial intelligence. Drawing from the conference ‘The European Convention on Human Rights at 75: Transnational Perspectives and Global Interaction’ (Berlin, 9 October 2025), convened by the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, this blog symposium explores the role of the ECHR as a beacon for human dignity in times of crisis and change.
Read all articles >>Algorithmic Fairness for Asylum Seekers and Refugees
The impacts of digitisation and automation across migration and asylum governance for are profound. Automated systems are increasingly used to make decisions about would-be travellers, asylum seekers and refugees, yet their impacts remain underexplored. This Symposium emerges out of the AFAR Final Conference, held at the Hertie School in Berlin on September 18–19, and presents findings of the Algorithmic Fairness for Asylum Seekers and Refugees (AFAR) Project alongside wider reflections on the implications of these technologies for governance and rights. Co-convened by Mirko Đuković and Cathryn Costello, the Symposium and the AFAR Project have been made possible with funding from the Volkswagen Foundation through its “Challenges for Europe” programme.
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Volume 7,Issue 2
July 2025
JUS COGENS
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Killing Hitler Word by Word: The Oath as Apocalyptic Lawmaking
GREGOR NOLL
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Adjudicating Climate Protest as a Tool of Modern Republicanism
DMITRII KUZNETSOV
OUR LATEST PUBLICATION
Friedrich Zillessen, Anna-Mira Brandau & Lennart Laude (Hrsg.)
Das Justiz-Projekt. Verwundbarkeit und Resilienz der dritten Gewalt
Weltweit gerät die unabhängige Justiz unter den Druck des autoritären Populismus. Wie verwundbar ist die rechtsprechende Gewalt in Deutschland? In rund 70 Recherchegesprächen hat das Justiz-Projekt gemeinsam mit Expertinnen und Experten aus der Praxis Einfallstore identifiziert und Szenarien entwickelt, die plastisch machen, wie und wo die Justiz angegriffen werden kann. Antizipation beginnt jetzt.
PROJECTS
VB Security and Crime
In cooperation with:
VB Security and Crime is a cooperation of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law (MPI-CSL) and the Verfassungsblog in the areas of public security law and criminal law. The MPI-CSL Institute is a member of the Max Planck Law network.
Das Justiz-Projekt
Weltweit gerät die unabhängige und unparteiische Justiz unter den Druck des autoritären Populismus.
Wie verwundbar ist die rechtsprechende Gewalt in Deutschland – im Bund und in den Ländern?
VB Security and Crime
In cooperation with:
VB Security and Crime is a cooperation of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law (MPI-CSL) and the Verfassungsblog in the areas of public security law and criminal law. The MPI-CSL Institute is a member of the Max Planck Law network.