Die Sache mit der Menschenwürde
Im ersten Absatz des ersten Artikels des Grundgesetzes steht das bundesrepublikanische Glaubensbekenntnis: „Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar.“ Kein anderer Satz ist in Deutschland derart demonstrativ konsensfähig, kein anderer Satz bedient derart das deutsche Bedürfnis nach moralischer, nicht zuletzt erinnerungspolitischer Selbstvergewisserung, und kein anderer Satz der Verfassung eignet sich gerade deshalb derart gut für politisch zweckentfremdete Feindmarkierungen. In einem der unrühmlichsten Vorgänge der jüngeren deutschen Politikgeschichte hat das die Potsdamer Professorin Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf erfahren müssen
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Parlamentskultur und Bundesverfassungsrichterwahl
Die Wahl neuer Richterinnen und Richter an das Bundesverfassungsgericht sorgt für politisches Störfeuer – trotz fachlich überzeugender Vorschläge. Statt juristischer Expertise dominieren moralische Reflexe und parteipolitisches Kalkül. Die Plenumsentscheidung stellt aber hohe Anforderungen an die Parlamentskultur: Die aktuellen Entwicklungen drohen, das Vertrauen in das demokratische Verfahren der Richterwahl nachhaltig zu schädigen.
Continue reading >>The End of an (Unlawful) Era
On June 17th, the Danish Supreme Court delivered an important judgement concerning the principle of non-penalization of refugees, ending decades of unlawful prosecutorial practices. A closer reading points to longstanding deficiencies in informing asylum seekers of their rights during the procedure. Moreover, questions remain regarding the interpretation of Article 31 for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection.
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Turkey’s Gerontocratic Constitutional Moment
In less than a year, Turkish politics has undergone a profound realignment. It began in October 2024 with a remarkable speech by Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and President Erdoğan’s chief coalition partner. In one of the most cryptic U-turns of his career, Bahçeli—long a hardliner on the Kurdish question—proposed reopening the long-frozen peace process with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the separatist armed group that has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state. In short, the tectonic plates of Turkish politics are shifting, and at the center of this transition stands a cast of aging men, each well past seventy.
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Stellungnahme zur Causa „Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf“
Über 300 Rechtswissenschaftler*innen protestieren in dieser Stellungnahme nachdrücklich gegen die Art und Weise, wie im Rahmen der Richterwahl zum Bundesverfassungsgericht in der Politik und in der Öffentlichkeit mit Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf umgegangen wurde. Dieser Umgang ist geeignet, die Kandidatin, die beteiligten Institutionen und mittelfristig über den Verfall der angemessenen Umgangskultur die gesamte demokratische Ordnung zu beschädigen.
Continue reading >>Starlink, the Cloud, and Corporate Dependency
The Trump Administration has repeatedly pushed for the adoption or licensing of Elon Musk’s satellite company Starlink in trade negotiations. But as Musk’s strategic use of his satellite service reveals, corporate control over critical infrastructure inevitably translates into political power. Power that companies may wield in alignment with, or in opposition to, state interests. The solution, however, may not lie in stronger state oversight alone, but in democratizing corporations themselves.
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Assets Without Alibi
Păcurar is yet another version of the familiar cat-and-mouse game between anticorruption agencies and corrupt public officials: some public officials quietly amass real estate, luxury cars, financial investments, or cash, and – once confronted by anticorruption agencies to explain the difference from their declared legal income – rely on whimsical excuses. On 24 June 2025, the ECtHR held that wealth may be taken away if public officials cannot explain that very difference. This ruling completes the ECtHR’s endorsement of civil law instruments in the fight against corruption by fully disconnecting confiscation from any link to a crime.
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Petro’s Schmittian Turn
On 11 June 2025, Colombian President Gustavo Petro issued a decree calling a national popular consultation on a package of long-stalled social reforms. The decree came after the Senate had explicitly rejected his formal request to hold such a vote – approval that is constitutionally required under Article 104 of the Constitution. This reveals something deeper and more dangerous: an increasingly Schmittian conception of democratic power, in which the president, claiming to represent a unified people, overrides institutional checks in the name of higher constitutional fidelity.
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CURRENT DEBATES
Human Rights Protection in the Climate Emergency: The Inter-American Court of Human Rights' Advisory Opinion No. 32
On July 3, 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) issued Advisory Opinion No. 32 — the most important and progressive document yet released by an international court on the climate crisis. This blog symposium, in collaboration with the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, explores the various facets and implications of the advisory opinion, spanning areas such as mitigation measures, access to justice, migration, global justice, and more.
Read all articles >>Animal Rights: The Role of the EU Charter
Animals remain largely absent from EU legal discourse – especially when it comes to the Charter of Fundamental Rights. This symposium asks whether the Charter could become a catalyst for stronger animal protection across Member States, exploring questions of legal standing, rights, and the EU’s evolving relationship with non-human life. Co-edited by Ester Herlin-Karnell and Matilda Arvidsson.
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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
Anmol Jain & Tanja Herklotz (eds.)
Indian Constitutionalism at Crossroads: 2014-2024
Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has governed India since 2014, marking a decade of challenges to various aspects of India’s democracy and constitutional system. While the last decade may not have left many conspicuous signs textually, the soul of India’s constitutional system has suffered several dents. The ruling government has launched, quite successfully, a project of redefining India, its constitutional identity, and its vision. This edited volume explores these multifaceted challenges and assesses the current state of Indian Constitutionalism.
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.
EDITORIAL
Das Öffentliche im Öffentlichen Recht
Post-verfassungsstaatliche Depression und wie man sie überwindet
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