19 November 2020
So It Goes – Part I
The Hungarian government is now so routinely using unconstitutional emergency powers to circumvent constitutional constraints that one must conclude that the government’s main aim is to govern outside the very constitution that it wrote for itself a mere decade ago. At this point, it seems irrelevant whether this limitless power is achieved with or without the declaration of a constitutionally authorized state of emergency. Government unconstrained by the constitution in Hungary has become the norm and not the exception. Continue reading >>
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09 November 2020
What Happens Next?
Despite the length of time it took to determine the result, this is not a close election. Everyone who has felt that the last four years brought American democracy perilously close to collapse should now feel relieved. Biden’s margin of victory in the decisive states is too large to be overturned by typical recounts or by the usual toolbox of legal challenges. As I will explain in this post, however, we’re not completely out of danger yet. Continue reading >>05 November 2020
What Just Happened?
The American electorate seems to have spoken and it seems to have rejected President Trump. But the there is still the possibility of mischief if Trump succeeds in using the law to thwart the election results. The US constitutional system with its strange and unique system for selecting a president is just rickety enough to make it possible for Trump to litigate his way out of an election loss. Continue reading >>28 September 2020
Before It’s Too Late
Dear President von der Leyen, in your recent State of the Union address, you rightly emphasized that “breaches of the rule of law cannot be tolerated.” We are sorry to say we are seeing ample evidence to the contrary. Continue reading >>16 August 2020
Weaponizing the Post Office
In our pandemic-addled moment, many once-normal activities are now considered dangerous. Hugging hello. Teaching in a classroom. Attending a concert. Having friends over to our homes. And now in the US, we have something else to add to the list of once-normal things that are risky in the pandemic: Voting by mail. Continue reading >>
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30 May 2020
From Emergency to Disaster
This week, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government put before the Hungarian Parliament two draft laws that, if passed, would end the state of emergency and create a new legal framework for handing the pandemic from here on out. In doing so, the government was responding to those who criticized the unlimited power that the government had been given in the law creating a pandemic emergency, the Enabling Act of 30 March 2020. That law allowed the government to override any law by decree, a power that was unlimited in both scope and time and that violated Fidesz’ own “illiberal” constitution the Fundamental Law.The new laws are no better, and may even be worse. One of the draft laws is less than one page long accompanied by two pages of justification. It purports to repeal the initial Enabling Act (about which, more below). The other one is called the law on “transitional provisions” and at first it seems only to provide lots of technical answers to questions that arise about how to reset deadlines for various legal processes that were delayed when the economy stopped. The new laws are no better, and may even be worse. Continue reading >>
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30 April 2020
Orbán is Still the Sole Judge of his Own Law
Our 22 April post on the Verfassungblog about Viktor Orbán’s state of emergency generated a thoughtful reply from Dr. Dániel Karsai, a well-respected Hungarian lawyer. We appreciate the chance to respond to his criticisms, alleging that we made some factual errors about the operation of Hungarian law. Continue reading >>
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22 April 2020
Don’t Be Fooled by Autocrats!
On 9 April, Vera Jourová, Vice President of the European Commission for values and transparency with lead responsibility for rule of law, gave an interview to Euronews on democracy in the pandemic. A journalist asked whether she believes that Hungary still qualifies as a democracy after the Enabling Act creating an indefinite state of emergency was enacted by the Hungarian Parliament on 30 March. Her answer was not reassuring. Continue reading >>
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09 April 2020
Corona Constitutional #7: Der Virus und Trump
Kaum ein Land ist zurzeit so hart getroffen von der Corona-Pandemie wie die USA. Ist es Unfähigkeit , dass Trump und die US-Republikaner ihre Möglichkeiten zum Krisenmanagement weitgehend ungenutzt lassen? Oder ist es Strategie? Die Rechtssoziologin und Verfassungsrechtlerin KIM LANE SCHEPPELE kennt sich mit dem autoritären Populismus aus wie kaum sonst jemand, und ihre – ziemlich düstere – Antwort auf diese Frage verrät sie Max Steinbeis in der heutigen Folge unseres Krisenpodcasts. Continue reading >>
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09 April 2020
Underreaction in a Time of Emergency: America as a Nearly Failed State
Not surprisingly, those of us who write about emergencies have been far more concerned about overreaction than underreaction and we have been far more concerned about politically caused emergencies rather than natural disasters. History is littered with the cautionary tales of overreaction to politically caused emergencies. But the dangers of state failure evident in underreaction are underestimated. Continue reading >>
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