Repression Through Interpol
Belarus weaponizes Interpol Red Notices to hunt exiled activists across Europe, as seen in filmmaker Andrei Hnyot's year-long detention on fabricated tax charges. This creates a procedural paradox for the EU: mutual-trust systems like Schengen must filter politicized data to uphold ECHR Article 3 and Charter Article 19 non-refoulement duties. Can Europe's constitutional safeguards withstand this authoritarian assault on cooperative policing?
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The Rohingya Case Gets a Hearing
On 12 January 2026, the International Court of Justice will commence the oral proceedings in Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v Myanmar). Over the course of three weeks, the ICJ will hear arguments concerning The Gambia’s claim that Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya ethnic minority within its territory has breached Myanmar’s obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention. The Gambia v Myanmar provides the ICJ with a key and timely opportunity to clarify the law of genocide, especially in situations of armed conflict or counter-insurgency.
Continue reading >>God Save Freedom of Expression
An art exhibition by Cypriot artist George Gavriel was cancelled last month following intense political and social reactions, culminating in death threats and a violent attack. The episode raises a fundamental question under Article 10 ECHR: can the suppression of artistic expression through political instrumentalization and institutional withdrawal amount to an interference with freedom of expression in the absence of a formal ban? Read against the Court’s jurisprudence, the Gavriel episode illustrates a broader structural failure rather than an isolated anomaly.
Continue reading >>Try harder hilft selten
Kriminalitätsbelastete Orte in Berlin werden durch die neue ASOG-Novelle (§ 24e) zu Hochburgen automatisierter Videoüberwachung und KI-gestützter Verhaltensanalyse – ein massiver Eingriff ins Recht auf informationelle Selbstbestimmung. Trotz Versprechen gegen Racial Profiling und diskriminierende Algorithmen bleibt die Regulierung vage, Evidenz zur Wirksamkeit fehlt, und Stereotype drohen Stigmatisierung zu verstärken. Hält die Novelle verfassungsrechtlich stand?
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Allwissende Polizei?
Sachsen plant ein neues Polizeigesetz, das intelligente Datenanalysen, KI-gestützte Videoüberwachung und biometrische Abgleiche zum Kern polizeilicher Gefahrenabwehr macht – mit Signalwirkung weit über den Freistaat hinaus. Die „Algorithmisierung“ der Informationsarbeit verschiebt Eingriffsschwellen ins Gefahrenvorfeld, verdichtet Grundrechtseingriffe, erzeugt neue Diskriminierungsrisiken und verlagert zentrale Weichenstellungen vom Parlament in die Verwaltung. Damit stellt sich zugespitzt die Frage, wie viel technologisch gestützte Effizienz eine freiheitliche Ordnung verträgt, bevor sie ihre eigenen verfassungsrechtlichen Grenzen überschreitet.
Continue reading >>Harmonizing Corporate Unsustainability
On December 16, 2025, the European Parliament approved the Omnibus I package, a deregulation initiative that amends key EU corporate sustainability instruments, including the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. While Schönfelder and Streibelt argued that despite the amendments, “the CSDDD remains strong, especially its obligations on human rights and environmental due diligence”, I contend precisely the opposite.
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Kangaroo Courts and EU Law
In Commission v. Poland, the Court of Justice ruled that Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal no longer qualifies as an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. The ruling decisively addresses the status of the body currently masquerading as Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal, although one may question whether the Court did not commit a category error by taking the outputs of such a body seriously.
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The Monster Screaming the Loudest
In late October 2025, the majority of the Latvian Parliament voted to denounce the Istanbul Convention. This move faced considerable civic protests and was ultimately suspended due to a presidential veto. Nevertheless, what happened in Latvia was not a mere national power play. The withdrawal attempt was a manifestation of a broader challenge posed to Latvia and to Europe in general by disinformation, the growing backsliding threats to constitutional democracies, and by an ancient monster still lurking in the shadows of Europe.
Continue reading >>Europe Must Draw the Line
The long-term impact of U.S. intervention in Venezuela will not be decided in Caracas or Washington, but elsewhere. With intervention now framed as a standard policy instrument of the USA, it is the response of other states — including in Europe — that will determine whether the erosion of international law becomes normalised across regions.
Continue reading >>Defending Democracy Against Itself
Five years ago today, Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol after his defeat in the 2020 election. Two years ago, in Trump v. Anderson, the U.S. Supreme Court kept Trump on the presidential ballot. What would the world look like if militant democracy had prevailed in the United States? Maybe not so different after all. Democracy is best defended not by banning its opponents, but by renewing popular support through participation, persuasion, and substantive reform.
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CURRENT DEBATES
Wem gehört die Wissenschaft?
Wem gehört die Wissenschaft – und wem sollte sie gehören? Obwohl Wissen als öffentliches Gut prinzipiell unbegrenzt teilbar ist, wird der Zugang zu wissenschaftlichen Publikationen und Infrastrukturen durch ökonomische und rechtliche Strukturen beschränkt. Zwischen kommerziellen Verlagsmodellen, staatlicher Finanzierung und Community-getragenen Open-Access-Initiativen stellen sich grundlegende Fragen nach Eigentum, Verantwortung und Unabhängigkeit wissenschaftlicher Arbeit. Das Blog-Symposium „Wem gehört die Wissenschaft?“ greift diese Frage auf und beleuchtet Facetten der Organisation von Wissenschaft als Gemeingut, der Eigentums- und Machtverhältnisse im Publikationssystem und der Bedingungen offener und freier Wissensproduktion.
Read all articles >>In Good Faith: Freedom of Religion under Article 10 of the EU Charter
Freedom of religion, its interaction with the prohibition of discrimination, and the self-determination of churches are embedded in a complex national and European constitutional framework and remain as pertinent and contested as ever. This symposium examines the latest significant developments from an EU perspective, placing freedom of religion at the centre of analysis and critically assessing its operationalisation and interpretation in light of the EU Charter. Co-edited by Jakob Gašperin Wischhoff and Till Stadtbäumer.
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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.