In the End… Who Cares?
On 3 June 2025, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice delivered its judgment on the Kinsa-Case. At the core of the matter were the criminal charges of a third-country national for the facilitation of unauthorized entry of two minors in the territory of an EU Member State. With this ruling, the Court takes an important step towards the de-criminalization of care for migrant children who are seeking international protection. However, the Grand Chamber’s reasoning offers limited considerations on the relevant links between “actual care”, humanitarian assistance, and migrant children’s rights. This shortcoming may ultimately curb protection standards of migrant children in future cases
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U.S. Attacks on Iran
Israel and the United States attacked Iran in mid-June 2025 with the aim of ending its nuclear program. Iran counter-attacked. While some world leaders justified what Israel and the U.S. were doing, they did so in line with political deterrence theory, not the plain terms of the United Nations Charter. The lawful use of force in self-defense depends on an armed attack occurring. Concerns over nuclear weapons are to be resolved through treaties and negotiations. Honoring deterrence theory over the law is undermining the surest path to peace.
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The Failures of the NATO Summit and the Future of Peace
How European Leaders’ Obsequiousness Threatens Europe’s Security and Undermines International Law
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Das Versagen des NATO-Gipfels und die Zukunft des Friedens
Warum die Unterwürfigkeit Europas seine Sicherheit und das Völkerrecht untergräbt
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Private Wealth, Public Doubt
Public officials having to disclose their private wealth is a powerful anti-corruption tool that led to the imprisonment or dismissal of hundreds of corrupt public officials across Europe. In Romania, this included ministers and a Parliamentary President. Despite this success, the Romanian Constitutional Court now substantially undermined the effectiveness of asset declarations: it declared the online publication of declarations unconstitutional and invalidated the provision on declaring wealth of adult family members of public officials. There are two reasons for other governance-reforming countries not to follow this case law.
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Managing Migration the Italian Way II
Eight months after first exploring the legal contours of the “innovative” Italy-Albania Protocol and its temporary suspension following the Court of Rome’s refusal to validate the detention of the first group of asylum applicants transferred to Albania, this post turns to a new and potentially game-changing development: a preliminary reference to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), submitted by the Italian Court of Cassation on 20 June 2025. The referral raises doubts about the compatibility of the scheme with both the Return Directive (RD) and the Asylum Procedures Directive (APD). This move adds fresh legal uncertainty to a deal already under intense scrutiny and could significantly impact its implementation.
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The European Union’s Fantastical Constitution
Recently, von Bogdandy and Spieker decided to boldly go where not even they had dared to go before. To overcome the possible Hungarian veto on prolonging EU sanctions against Russia, they propose that the explicit requirement in Article 31(1) TEU for such decisions to be taken by the Council acting unanimously should be overcome on the basis of Article 2 TEU. In their view, a Hungarian veto against further sanctions would violate the value of solidarity and the Hungarian vote should therefore not count. We argue that this would launch us into a whole new, and in our view, dangerous galaxy.
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Rethinking Transitional Justice in Sudan
The war that has plagued Sudan since 15 April 2023 is accompanied by massive violations and abuses of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Impunity with the persistence, and indeed rise, of alleged perpetrators is a key dimension of the current war. This is a fundamental challenge to its social fabric, state integrity and regional stability. As such, Sudan’s most recent transition process underlines how transitional justice can fail – and what future efforts must learn.
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CURRENT DEBATES
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.
Read all articles >>GEAS-Reform: Halbzeit bis zur Anwendung
Acht Jahre wurde verhandelt, bis sich EU und Mitgliedsstaaten im Mai 2024 durch die Verabschiedung im Parlament auf eine Reform des Gemeinsamen Europäischen Asylsystems (GEAS) einigen konnten. Die Erwartungen sind immens. Dieses Symposium nimmt die Halbzeit bis zur Anwendung im Sommer 2026 zum Anlass, um einen genaueren Blick auf die Rechtsakte und deren Umsetzung zu werfen. Was ändert sich konkret? Wo gibt es Fortschritte? Und wo gibt es Lücken?
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Volume 7,Issue 1
April 2025
JUS COGENS
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C. CORRADETTI, G. DAMELE
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Machiavelli’s State and its Later Reception
GÜRKAN ÇAPAR
OUR LATEST PUBLICATION
Alberto Alemanno & Jacquelyn D. Veraldi (eds.)
Musk, Power, and the EU: Can EU Law Tackle the Challenges of Unchecked Plutocracy?
At a time when calls for the EU to respond to Musk’s actions are multiplying, the question of whether, why, and how the EU may react remains largely unanswered. What makes Musk’s conduct problematic under EU law? Is it a matter of disinformation, electoral integrity, foreign influence, unprecedented market concentration, or possible abuse of power? This edited volume assesses whether and how EU law may address plutocratic power and explores a multitude of legal avenues, from freedom of speech to competition law, technology law, data protection and corporate taxation.
Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Grant Agreement No. 101143236.
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
The Failures of the NATO Summit and the Future of Peace
How European Leaders’ Obsequiousness Threatens Europe’s Security and Undermines International Law
Continue reading >>Das Versagen des NATO-Gipfels und die Zukunft des Friedens
Warum die Unterwürfigkeit Europas seine Sicherheit und das Völkerrecht untergräbt
Continue reading >>