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From Democracy to Dynastic Rule?
On January 30, 2025, the National Assembly of Nicaragua approved a constitutional reform that significantly strengthens the power of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo. The amendments profoundly transform the country’s political system, reinforcing the Executive’s influence over other branches of the state. This analysis aims to trace the political evolution of Nicaragua in order to better understand how the constitutional framework of the state is changing now.
Continue reading >>In Search of Honour
There is a presumption underlying the liberal democratic constitutional project that has been exposed by the Trump administration in its first weeks in office – that formal constitutional structures are all we need to protect against bad political actors. But our entire constitutional system hinges on the very basic idea of people in positions of power doing the right thing. Therefore, I will argue that the behavioural chink in the constitutional chain that needs to be re-discovered is honour. Honour possesses the cultural potency, political currency, and psychological impetuous we need to turn the tide on illiberalism.
Continue reading >>We Are Launching the Judicial Resilience Project
How Vulnerable Is the German Judiciary?
Continue reading >>Once Populist, Now Mainstream?
The heydays of international law are over - that much is suggested by politicians and political observers in Germany. Those who still argue in favour of an international order based on international law seem unprepared for a world of autocrats and transactional deals. Allegedly, they fail to realize the need to protect and prioritize national interests. International legal practices are even perceived as immoral when authoritarian states rely on international law to oppose foreign policy decisions of democratic states, as exemplified by recent proceedings before international courts on the war in Gaza. For a long time, international law was almost idealized in German debates, but now something seems to be shifting.
Continue reading >>Kippt in Brüssel das individuelle Asylrecht?
Während ganz Deutschland leidenschaftlich den „Merz-Plan“ für Zurückwei-sungen an den deutschen Grenzen diskutiert, hat in Brüssel eine Grundsatz-debatte von viel größerer Tragweite begonnen. In einer spektakulären Wen-dung erachtet die EU-Kommission „Pushbacks“ unter Umständen neuerdings für rechtmäßig. Das ist heikel, weil Pushbacks an den Außengrenzen das in-dividuelle Asylrecht beseitigen.
Continue reading >>Beyond Formal Legality
The Venice Commission’s position on Poland’s judicial reforms presents a paradox: it warns that measures to restore the rule of law could themselves violate it – even though the rule of law has already been undermined. To solve this paradox, I propose two conceptual clarifications. The first one applies distinction between violating and departing from formal legality. The second one recognizes that judges unconstitutionally appointed under an illiberal regime cannot be acknowledged as legitimate judges in the constitutional sense.
Continue reading >>Constitutionally Capturing Pakistan’s Constitutional Courts
In 2024, Pakistan’s parliament passed a constitutional amendment carrying out the most significant restructuring of Pakistan’s superior judiciary in its recent history. This judicial overhaul needs to be analyzed as part of a process of regime realignment. By regime realignment, I mean a ruling authoritarian elite radically altering its supportive political structure and popular bases to expand and extend its hold on power. Based on news sources and conversations with senior lawyers and judges, I will show that this plan for judicial overhaul developed iteratively through a process of intra- and inter-institutional dialogue and conflict that took place during regime realignment.
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