14 July 2024
“Displacement due to environmental factors is one of the great tragedies of our time”
In a recent judgment, the Colombian Constitutional Court has ruled that displacement due to environmental factors can be legally considered as forced displacement triggering specific obligations of the State. The judgment (T-123 of 2024) highlights the deficit of constitutional protection for victims of environmental displacement, urging the state to develop specific strategies to address this issue. In this interview, Natalia Ángel-Cabo, a Judge at the Colombian Constitutional Court, explains the implications of the ruling and the concept of displacement due to environmental factors. Continue reading >>
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The “Hong Kong 47” Verdict
Recently, the first court verdicts in the trial surrounding the “Hong Kong 47” were handed down. The trial is one of several political trials that are underway in Hong Kong (HK), a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). These trials are political partly because the accused are political figures involved in the 2019 civil unrest, partly because the accused are being tried under the National Security Law (NSL) introduced into HK by the PRC Central Authorities, and partly because they have been didactic spectacles revealing the actions and consequences sought by the accused. This blog post explains the background of the “Hong Kong 47” case and shows why it raises questions that are of interest outside of Hong Kong as well. Continue reading >>
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13 July 2024
Hate Speech on and off the Field
During the EURO 2024 in Germany, the UEFA has imposed a series of sanctions on fans and two players for inappropriate comments and gestures. Albania's player Mirlind Daku was suspended by UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) for two UEFA representative team competition matches after chanting nationalist slogans. Turkey's Merih Demiral was suspended for two matches for celebrating his second goal against Austria with a "wolf salute". These sanctions can be considered justified under the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights ("ECHR"). However, in order to have an effective preventive effect, they should be accompanied by criminal investigations under national law. Continue reading >>
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12 July 2024
Prison for Fake News
In Cyprus, a new legislative proposal introduces a prison sentence of up to one year and/or a fine of up to EUR 3,000. I argue that criminally punishing fake news is absolutely horrifying for free speech, for media pluralism, and for democracy. Criminalizing fake news has a “chilling effect” and it causes a self-censorship by media, civil society organizations, and average citizens. Moreover, the concept of fake news is highly ambiguous and its criminalization is counterproductive as it is not reducing the problematic content but “often draws more attention to it.” Continue reading >>Ist dieses Urteil der Anfang vom Ende der AfD?
Mitte Mai entschied das OVG Münster, dass das Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz die AfD zu Recht als rechtsextremistischen Verdachtsfall einstuft und beobachtet. Das schlug hohe Wellen. Die Veröffentlichung der Urteilsgründe sechs Wochen später jedoch nicht – obwohl sie ein Verbotsverfahren gegen die AfD und dessen Erfolg wahrscheinlicher machen. Continue reading >>Eiltransport gegen Eilrechtsschutz
Mit der Auslieferung von Maja T. nach Ungarn zur Strafverfolgung hat die Generalstaatsanwaltschaft Berlin Fakten geschaffen, die sie nicht mehr rückgängig machen kann. Die einstweilige Anordnung des Bundesverfassungsgerichts, nicht auszuliefern, kam zwar schnell, lief aber ins Leere, weil die Polizei Maja T. schon ins Ausland verbracht hatte. Die Feststellung der Generalstaatsanwaltschaft, man könne außerhalb des deutschen Staatsgebiets nichts mehr für Maja T. tun, ist blanker Hohn. Ihr Vorgehen ist mit Blick auf die Rolle und Rechtsprechung des Bundesverfassungsgerichts in Auslieferungsverfahren rechtsstaatswidrig, weil es gegen das Prinzip der Gewaltenteilung verstößt. Continue reading >>Mehr Desselben?
Nach dem tödlichen Angriff auf den Polizisten Rouven L. in Mannheim plant das Bundesjustizministerium eine Strafrechtsreform. „Menschen, die sich für das Gemeinwesen einsetzen“ sollen besser vor Angriffen geschützt werden. Dabei dürfte auch der Politik klar sein, dass die geplanten Strafschärfungen ungeeignet sind, um Angriffe auf Polizist*innen, Rettungskräfte und andere zu unterbinden. Doch leider fehlt es in Deutschland nach wie vor an einer rationalen und faktengestützten Politikgestaltung in den Bereichen der Kriminalität und der Justiz. Wieder einmal wird auf Symbolpolitik gesetzt, die zwar nichts kostet, an der Gewalt jedoch nichts ändert. Continue reading >>11 July 2024
Online Speech at the US Supreme Court in Moody v. Netchoice
The First Amendment of the US Constitution raises some of the most difficult legal hurdles for regulating the global digital public sphere today. In Moody v. Netchoice, the US Supreme Court heard appeals from two judgments, an appeal from a decision of the Fifth Circuit declaring that Texas’ social media law H.B. 20 did not violate the First Amendment, and an appeal from a decision of the Eleventh Circuit finding Florida’s social media law S.B. 7072, instead, unconstitutional. These laws are similar in that they both attempt to impose must-carry and non-discrimination obligations on social media platforms, which in practice amounts to requiring them not to discriminate against conservative users’ posts. The compatibility of these two laws with the First Amendment cuts across a plethora of crucial issues on the future of social media regulation which the court could, but didn’t fully, address. Continue reading >>
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Warum Cybermobbing bestraft werden sollte
Die Frühjahrskonferenz der Innenminister 2024 fordert wieder einmal die Einführung eines eigenen Cybermobbing-Straftatbestandes. Trotz in den letzten Jahren vorgenommener Gesetzesanpassungen ist ein spezieller Straftatbestand zum Cybermobbing tatsächlich notwendig, unter anderem wegen der teils gravierenden Folgen für die Opfer. Dieser Straftatbestand muss die zeitliche und dynamische Komponente eines nicht geplanten Zusammenwirkens einer Vielzahl von Menschen gegenüber dem Opfer erfassen, denn hierin liegt der spezifische Unrechtsgehalt des Cybermobbings. Continue reading >>
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10 July 2024
Talkshow für alle?
Das Oberverwaltungsgericht NRW hat in einem vor der Europawahl ergangenen Eilbeschluss den WDR dazu verpflichtet, die Partei Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht („BSW“) zu der WDR-Sendung „Wahlarena 2024 Europa“ mit verschiedenen Spitzenkandidaten einzuladen. Das OVG änderte damit die Entscheidung des Verwaltungsgerichts Köln ab, welches den Eilantrag des BSW zuvor noch abgelehnt hatte. Die Entscheidungen bieten Anlass, die verfassungsrechtliche Struktur und die Kriterien des Zugangs von Parteien zu öffentlich-rechtlichen Wahlkampfsendungen näher zu beleuchten. Continue reading >>Giving Covenants Swords
The classical Hobbesian critique of international law famously asserts that “covenants, without the sword, are but words.” Accordingly, given Israel’s persistent non-compliance with the ICJ’s provisional measures in South Africa v. Israel, on 29 May 2024, South Africa requested “the Security Council to give effect to the Court’s judgments” under Article 41 of the ICJ Statute. This post shows why the discussions on whether the Council lacks the statutory authority to supervise and enforce the Court’s provisional measures under the ICJ Statute overlook the broader point. Namely, the Order on provisional measures is the perfect legal evidence for the Council to trigger its powers under Chapter VII and thus end the humanitarian calamity in Gaza. Continue reading >>
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09 July 2024
How Viktor Orbán Challenges the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy
Since the start of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán pursued an active foreign policy. He went to Kyiv for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, made a surprise visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, attended an informal summit of the Organisation of Turkic States hosted by Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, and then flew to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Orbán’s self-declared ‘peace diplomacy’ illustrates – once more – the challenges surrounding the EU’s external representation. His visits are nothing else than an expression of Hungarian national foreign policy. Also in that capacity, however, his actions are problematic in view of Hungary’s obligations under the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. Continue reading >>Flächendeckende Gewaltschutzeinrichtungen: So nah und doch so fern
Ein föderaler Flickenteppich und jetzt auch noch Vorgaben aus Europa: Der nun veröffentliche Gesetzesentwurf für ein Gewalthilfegesetz könnte endlich den Ausbau von Schutzunterkünften bundesweit massiv vorantreiben und für Klarheit in der Finanzierungsfrage sorgen. Wenn er sich traut, ambitioniert zu sein. Insbesondere hinsichtlich der bisher großzügigen Fristenregelungen und der unklaren Beteiligung des Bundes an den Ausbaukosten besteht jedoch noch Nachbesserungsbedarf. Continue reading >>
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08 July 2024
The French Fifth Republic Enters Uncharted Waters
After yesterday's elections, the French Fifth Republic steps into uncharted waters. In the short term, France’s role at the heart of EU integration and as a key supporter of Ukraine remains steadfast. This stability is impressive, given most predictions. However, this new phase of French politics will be fragmented and fluid, demanding a recalibration to find a stable equilibrium while countering the far right. French moderate parties face a tough road ahead. Their success or failure will not only shape France’s future but also reverberate beyond its borders. Continue reading >>
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Why the International Criminal Court’s Jurisdiction Doctrinally Attaches to Israeli and Russian Nationals
As the storm of ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s request for arrest warrants loomed and landed on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, ardent supporters of Israel within the U.S. and U.K. governments and beyond appear to have seized upon a jurisdictional objection. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is reported as saying that the “ICC has no jurisdiction over this matter.” The U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron is reported to have said the same thing. There is a basic flaw, though, in the treaty-based objection to the ICC jurisdiction as has been made. It ignores the nature of the mandate of international criminal tribunals as mechanisms for the effective preservation of the basic fabric of the international order. Continue reading >>07 July 2024
Annie Ruth Jiagge
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which aims to eradicate all forms of discrimination based on sex and gender, is an indispensable treaty for women and girls worldwide. Given its profound impact, today’s sphere of international human rights law would look vastly different. But few people know that the CEDAW treaty was preceded by a 1967 draft by Annie Ruth Jiagge. Continue reading >>
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05 July 2024
The Limits of Contemporary French Constitutionalism
French President Emmanuel Macron’s dissolution of France’s National Assembly (its lower house of parliament) on June 9th took many by surprise. The results of the snap election’s first round suggest that Macron’s risky gamble—an attempt at turning the tide after his party suffered a major blow in the European Parliament elections—backfired majestically. However, more than a political setback for Macron, and outside of the many (highly warranted) concerns as to what harmful policies a new far-right-dominated parliament could pass, the move also raises many interesting constitutional law questions. Whatever the outcome of the second round on Sunday, July 7, France will face unprecedented circumstances that are likely to put the country’s 1958 constitution to the test. Continue reading >>
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A Legal Trap for Freedom of Expression
More than seven years ago, 406 academics and researchers have been permanently dismissed from their positions at Turkish universities for signing a peace petition condemning the military operations by Turkish security forces in areas heavily populated by the Kurdish minority. The case raises critical questions about the limitations of international human rights bodies in safeguarding freedom of expression. In this blog, I demonstrate how the pragmatic considerations of the Council of Europe (CoE) contributed to the creation of a judicial trap disguised as a legal remedy. Continue reading >>
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Einstimmig für alle, alle für einstimmig?
Angesichts der Bestrebungen, das Bundesverfassungsgericht besser zu schützen, drängt sich unweigerlich die Frage auf, ob auf europäischer Ebene ähnliche Maßnahmen erforderlich sind. Derzeit sind rechtspopulistische und potenziell unionsfeindliche Parteien europaweit im Aufwind. Insbesondere das Verfahren zur Ernennung von Richter*innen des EuGH und des EuG weist Schwachstellen auf, die Feind*innen einer unabhängigen Gerichtsbarkeit ausnutzen könnten. Continue reading >>
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Beyond Protection
Whether and how gender-related violence can constitute a ground to claim and receive asylum has long been a subject of debate in refugee law. While feminist legal scholars have long sought to alleviate the gender-blindness of the original text of the Refugee Convention, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) only started taking some steps in this direction earlier this year. The CJEU determined in K, L, that women or specific groups of women who share a belief in an additional common characteristic — such as a belief in gender equality — may be regarded as members of a ‘particular social group’ (PSG), making them eligible for refugee status. Continue reading >>
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04 July 2024
The Supreme Court v. the Administrative State II
The outlook is not rosy for Democrats, neither politically nor in court. Democrats’ hopes that President Biden – who, according to some polls, is trailing Trump in all seven swing states – could turn the odds in his favor in an early debate have been dashed by his disastrous performance. To add insult to injury, in three 6-to-3 rulings along ideological lines, the Supreme Court further reigned in on administrative agencies, putting Biden’s regulatory agenda at risk. The most far-reaching of these decisions is, undoubtedly, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. This case marked a milestone for the conservative legal movement’s fight against the administrative state. Continue reading >>Rethinking the History & Tradition Approach
In a landmark 8-1 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Rahimi that the federal government has the authority to disarm individuals deemed by courts to be credible threats to their partners or children, consistent with the Second Amendment. This ruling marks a significant shift from the Court's previous stance in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), which had established a stringent history and tradition test for evaluating gun regulations that undermined key tenets of the rule of law – clarity, consistency, and predictability. Continue reading >>Soccer Meets Geopolitics
Two competitions are currently predominating Europe’s agenda – the UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany and the brute reality of geopolitics. While the former will decide over Europe’s next soccer champion, outcomes of the latter will arguably shape whether Europe will champion the new geopolitics of the 21st century. To win this competition, we argue that the European Union (EU) does not need a unified military force, but rather a new defense commissioner who would act as a dual security manager, bringing together the EU’s global entanglements with its economic clout to enhance the military power of its Member States. Continue reading >>All Eyes on Sudan (too)
This article is an attempt to add layers to the discussions of ongoing mass atrocities committed in several parts of the world by discussing an under-reported situation of large scale violence unfolding in Sudan since April 2023, in the hope that the ‘international community’ can address multiple catastrophic situations with similar urgency, mobilise for justice for all peoples, end the culture of impunity, and eventually shift the discourse towards the structural causes of such large-scale violence in different parts of the world. Continue reading >>
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03 July 2024
Ein König zum Unabhängigkeitstag
Der U.S.-amerikanische Supreme Court hat entschieden, dass offizielle Amtshandlungen von Präsidenten Immunität genießen. Anlass war das Verfahren gegen Donald Trump, der sich wegen seiner Beteiligung am versuchten Aufstand vom 6. Januar 2021 vor einem Gericht verantworten muss. Die Entscheidung ist ein voller Erfolg für Trump und wird nicht nur weitere Strafverfahren beeinflussen, sondern auch über den aktuellen Fall hinaus weitreichende Konsequenzen zeitigen. Der Supreme Court hat den USA in der Woche des 248. Unabhängigkeitstages einen neuen König geschenkt. Continue reading >>
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Putting the Record Straight About the Spitzenkandidaten
In the last few weeks, a great deal of nonsense has been said about the concept of the Spitzenkandidat. Some accuse the European Parliament of a power grab, subrogating the lawful role of the European Council in choosing the new Commission President. Others trivialise the role of the Parliament and doubt the democratic credentials of the process. Many believe that the candidate must always be drawn from the largest party come what may. All these assertions are wrong. The election of the Commission President is a joint endeavour between Parliament and Commission, democratically legitimate, and fully in conformity with EU law. Continue reading >>
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02 July 2024
Elektroautos, „Strafzölle“ und Klimaschutz
Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen stehen selten im Zentrum öffentlicher Berichterstattung. Zwei Entscheidungen in den USA und der EU innerhalb von wenigen Wochen haben indes weitreichende Aufmerksamkeit gefunden. Es geht um die Erhebung von Zusatzzöllen auf Elektroautos aus China. Die Maßnahmen der USA verstoßen gegen das Recht der Welthandelsorganisation (WTO) und sind völkerrechtswidrig; bei den Maßnahmen der EU ist fraglich, ob Klimaschutz durch Verfügbarkeit günstiger Elektroautos hinreichend berücksichtigt wird. Continue reading >>
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Schmerzgriffe und Menschenrechte
Polizeiliche Schmerzgriffe bei einer Sitzblockade gegenüber sich absolut passiv verhaltenen Demonstrierenden verletzen deren Menschenrechte. Sie verstoßen nicht nur gegen das Verbot erniedrigender Behandlung aus Art. 3 der Europäischen Menschenrechtskonvention, sondern auch gegen die Menschenwürde, die zu achten und zu schützen nach Art. 1 Abs. 1 S. 1 Grundgesetz Aufgabe aller staatlichen Gewalt ist. Entgegen der teilweise von den Bundesländern vertretenen Position finden die Schmerzgriffe schon in den polizeirechtlichen Vorschriften über den unmittelbaren Zwang keine Rechtsgrundlage. Continue reading >>
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