16 February 2018
Von Karlsruher Erbhöfen, parlamentarischer Fragmentierung und der Gefahr schwindenden Institutionenvertrauens
Dass das Wahlverfahren zum Bundesverfassungsgericht wegen seiner Intransparenz, seiner vermeintlichen Verfassungswidrigkeit oder seiner faktischen Monopolisierung durch CDU/CSU und SPD von Zeit zu Zeit Kritik hervorruft, daran hat man sich längst gewöhnt. Dass das Gericht selbst und Teile der Öffentlichkeit nun aber offen vor seiner Politisierung warnen, ist in dieser Form neu, erklärungsbedürftig – und richtig. Continue reading >>
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Das Wissensproblem im Asylprozess und wie es behoben werden kann
Im Asylrecht stehen die Gerichte regelmäßig vor einem Wissensproblem: Um über den Schutzanspruch von Asylbewerbern urteilen zu können, müssen sie wissen, wie es generell um die Verfolgungssituation in den Herkunftsländern bestellt ist. Das ist nicht ihr Metier, denn ihre Hauptaufgabe ist die Streitentscheidung im Einzelfall. Wie kann das am Einzelfall orientierte Gericht der Aufgabe, generelles Wissen über die Herkunftsländer zu generieren, gerecht werden? Wie kann es insbesondere vermeiden, dass von Fall zu Fall inkonsistent entschieden wird, die Rechtssicherheit auf der Strecke bleibt und es zu einer „Asyl-Lotterie“ kommt? Continue reading >>15 February 2018
Converging Human Rights and Economics?
The adequacy of pensions, equality, mitigating impact on the poor, and protecting vulnerable persons and groups currently seem to rank high on the agenda of both economists and human rights lawyers. If this is a sign of convergence between the two regimes, it would be more than welcome as that may be the only way of overcoming the hegemonic struggle over which vocabulary to frame the discussion in. Continue reading >>
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14 February 2018
Konzernmacht und Verantwortung für Menschenrechte und Umwelt: Neue Wege in der Schweiz
In der Schweiz könnten Unternehmen schon bald durch die Verfassung in die Pflicht genommen werden, weltweit für Menschenrechte und Umwelt Verantwortung zu übernehmen. Das ist das Ziel einer Volksinitiative mit dem Titel „Für verantwortungsvolle Unternehmen – zum Schutz von Mensch und Umwelt“, die die schweizerische Bundesverfassung um eine neue Verfassungsbestimmung zur „Verantwortung von Unternehmen” ergänzen soll. Continue reading >>13 February 2018
Kann der SPD-Parteivorstand Andrea Nahles zur kommissarischen Vorsitzenden ernennen?
Zuletzt machte die Arbeitsgemeinschaft sozialdemokratischer Juristinnen und Juristen Bedenken geltend. Gar keine schlechte Idee von den Genossinnen und Genossen, mal ins Parteiengesetz zu schauen: Denn die Bedenken sind gewichtig. Continue reading >>12 February 2018
The Emerging Trend of Parliamentary Performance: Freedom of Expression in the Hungarian National Assembly
Laurent Fabius, the former President of the French National Assembly, once called the parliament, rather poetically “a theatre of shadows”. It was a harsh criticism of the mostly formal and insignificant role of parliament in the legislative process under the excessive dominance of the Executive. A few years ago Hungarian opposition MPs decided to turn their own “theater” into something more meaningful, or at least more amusing. They have been using all kinds of creative techniques to express their opinion in the hemicycle. It seems, however, that the Speaker and the parliamentary majority do not really appreciate this new trend of performing arts for they constantly impose heavy penalties on the MPs. This practice is a reminder that the principle of parliamentary autonomy needs to be reconsidered in light of contemporary political realities. Continue reading >>
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Schuld und Sühne und „Volksempfinden“: Die österreichische Strafrechtsreform
Umfangreiche Justizreformen hat die im Dezember angelobte neue ÖVP/FPÖ-Bundesregierung in Österreich ausgerufen. Anfangen will sie mit dem prestigeträchtigsten, weil polarisierendsten Rechtsgebiet: dem Strafrecht. Die Reform kommt mit plakativen Versprechungen von Strafverschärfungen daher – was vielerorts auf Verwunderung und Kritik angesichts der Tatsache stößt, dass es erst jüngst, nämlich 2016, eine groß angelegte Strafrechtsreform mit maßgeblichen Strafverschärfungen gegeben hat. Nicht nur der Inhalt, sondern vor allem die Entstehungsweise der jetzigen Reformpläne geben Anlass, diese einer kritischen Betrachtung zu unterziehen. Continue reading >>10 February 2018
Die Verfolgung der Rohingya in Myanmar – Ein Fall für den internationalen Strafgerichtshof?
Die gewaltsame Vertreibung der Rohingya seit August 2017 aus Myanmar erschüttert die Weltgemeinschaft und weckt dunkle Erinnerungen an Völkerrechtsverbrechen im ehemaligen Jugoslawien und in Ruanda. UN-Vertreter sprechen bereits von Genozid und Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit. In den vergangenen Wochen wurden angesichts dieser gravierenden Menschenrechtsverletzungen vermehrt Rufe nach einer strafrechtlichen Verfolgung durch den internationalen Strafgerichtshof laut. Doch welche Erfolgsaussichten haben diese Bestrebungen? Ein kurzer Überblick. Continue reading >>09 February 2018
Liegt Troja bald in Hessen? Ein neues Hessisches Verfassungsschutzgesetz
Die schwarz-grüne Koalition plant ein Gesetz zur Neuausrichtung des Verfassungsschutzes in Hessen. Dabei bemüht sich der Entwurf immerhin um eine Anpassung der Regelungen an die Vorgaben aus der Entscheidung des Bundesverfassungsgerichts zum BKA-Gesetz. Auch dies ist allerdings nur teilweise gelungen. Soweit der Gesetzentwurf tatsächlich einmal eigenständige Wege geht, bestehen diese vor allem in einer nochmaligen Ausweitung der Befugnisse des Hessischen Landesamts. Continue reading >>
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Memory Wars: The Polish-Ukrainian Battle about History
Recent events show that the conflict between Ukraine and Poland over the interpretation of controversial historical events of World War II has reached a point to be classified as ‘memory war’. These political initiatives from the both sides have destroyed the first achievements of the Ukrainian-Polish dialogue on mutual repentance, forgiveness and commemoration of the innocent victims killed during the conflict in 1940s. Continue reading >>08 February 2018
The German NetzDG: A Risk Worth Taking?
While the NetzDG is unlikely to resolve all challenges surrounding social media and freedom of expression, and undoubtedly presents a certain risk of stifling expression online, I believe it is nonetheless a significant step in the right direction. Rather than undermine freedom of expression, it promises to contribute to more inclusive debates by giving the loud and radical voices less prominence. In any case, it appears reasonable to let this regulatory experiment play out and observe whether fears over a ‘chilling effect’ on free expression are borne out by the evidence. Continue reading >>Ireland’s 8th Amendment: Repeal or Retain?
2018 marks the 35th anniversary of the passage of Ireland’s ‘8th Amendment’ which effectively constitutionalises the exceptionally restrictive Irish law on abortion. It may also quite possibly mark its demise. Continue reading >>
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07 February 2018
Reviewing the Holocaust Bill: The Polish President and the Constitutional Tribunal
President Duda decided to sign off the controversial law allowing to punish those who publicly accuse the Polish nation and the Polish state of taking part in the Holocaust and in any war crimes. The law will now come into force – a circumstance which is unlikely to calm the international discussion it has generated. Having decided to sign the law, the President announced that he will file a motion to the Polish Constitutional Tribunal to check its constitutionality. If the president is aware that the law may be unconstitutional and has at his disposal legal tools to check it yet allows it to come into force, he can be accused of constitutional recklessness. Continue reading >>
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„Den wähle ich nicht!“
Mandatsfreiheit und Parlamentsorganisation im Streit um die Bekleidung parlamentarischer Positionen durch Abgeordnete der AfD-Bundestagsfraktion. Continue reading >>06 February 2018
The Hierarchy of Hate: Mixed Signals in the Combat against Hate Speech
There is a number of varying thresholds to free speech regulation set out by relevant legal tools which can do nothing but confuse countries. Moreover, anti-hate speech legislation developed on an international and European level is marred by what I refer to as the hierarchy of hate, namely the arbitrary focus on particular types of hate speech, such as racist speech, and the simultaneous disregard for other genres such as homophobic speech. Continue reading >>
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02 February 2018
Innerparteiliche Demokratie und autoritäre Führungsstruktur: zur Absetzung des AfD-Landesvorstands in Niedersachsen
Erlaubt das Parteienrecht, einen ganzen Landesvorstand seines Amts zu entheben? Das erscheint bei genauerem Hinsehen äußerst zweifelhaft. Dass die AfD dennoch jüngst vermehrt auf solche Instrumente setzt und bereits in zwei Fällen ganze Landesverbände entsprechenden Maßnahmen unterziehen wollte, zeigt deutlich ihr autoritäres Verständnis von Parteiorganisation auf, das auch ein innerdemokratisches Defizit verdeutlicht. Continue reading >>With a little help from Henry VIII
There are few legislative assemblies in Europe which can call themselves with proud sovereign. The Principle of Parliamentary Sovereignty is the most important part of UK constitutional law. It implies that all legislation derives from the superior legal authority of Parliament and hence it is the job of the Members of Parliament to create, abolish and change the law. Well, since Henry VIII this principle is no longer entirely true, and it is currently challenged again by the future “Great Repeal Bill”. Continue reading >>01 February 2018
Calling Murders by Their Names as Criminal Offence – a Risk of Statutory Negationism in Poland
On the eve of the Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27th of January, the Polish Sejm approved a law on the defamation of the Polish State and Nation, causing extremely harsh reactions from Israel, Holocaust survivors and international organizations. While the attempt to ban the use of the word "Polish concentration camp" seems fully justified, the scope of the law goes way beyond that and is a threat to the freedom of speech and academic research. Continue reading >>
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“Anticipating the Third Republic of China”
Qianfan Zhang, constitutional lawyer from Peking, came to Berlin to study German federalism – a model that might help to invigorate China’s 2000-year-old centralized system. Continue reading >>31 January 2018
Failing to Struggle or Struggling to Fail? On the New Judiciary Legislation Changes in Romania
Like never before in the last 28 years in Romania, huge protests have started against the ‘assault against the judicial independence’. Awareness has been raised as regards the importance of a truly independent judiciary and the disastrous effects of political corruption on the very existence of a liberal democracy. Continue reading >>30 January 2018
Zur Freiheit in der Freiheitsentziehung
Der Zweite Senat des Bundesverfassungsgerichts verhandelt zwei Tage über die körperlichen Fixierung von Personen im Rahmen der öffentlich-rechtlichen Unterbringung. Eine Verfassungsbeschwerde betrifft die Fixierung in einer bayerischen Psychiatrie und die Verweigerung von Schadensersatz und Schmerzensgeld für die erlittenen Verletzungen. Die andere Verfassungsbeschwerde gilt der Fixierung eines Untergebrachten in einer psychiatrischen Einrichtung in Baden-Württemberg. Continue reading >>29 January 2018
Drama or Serenity? Upcoming Judicial Appointments at the Slovak Constitutional Court
2018 is shaping up to be one of the most important years in the history of the Slovak Constitutional Court (SCC). Nine of the currently sitting 13 judges will see their non-renewable terms expire in February 2019. The new appointments have the potential to be shrouded in drama, as they will take place against the background of a constitutional and political power struggle over SCC appointments between the President and the government, as well as broader judicial malaise in the country. Continue reading >>27 January 2018
Is the Turkish Constitutional Complaint System on the Verge of a Crisis?
Last week, the Turkish Constitutional Court delivered two decisions on the constitutional complaints of two journalists, finding their detention to be unconstitutional. The Courts of Assize declared the decisions as void because of “usurpation of competence” and refused to enact them. A constitutional crisis seems to be deepening - at least in the short term. Continue reading >>
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26 January 2018
Free Men and Genuine Judges will Remember about Free Courts
The story of Judge Stanisław Zabłocki of the Supreme Court, told by Ombudsman Adam Bodnar – a cenotaph to judicial indepenence in the Republic of Poland. Continue reading >>24 January 2018
Sunshine through the Rain: New Hope for Decriminalization of Gay Sex in India?
Gay sex is still a criminal act according to the Indian Penal Act. In 2013, the Supreme Court had quashed a judgment by a Delhi Court to decriminalise consensual gay sex. Now, there are signs that the Supreme Court might reconsider. Continue reading >>
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23 January 2018
Regime Shopping unter dem Schutz des Europarechts: Das Polbud-Urteil des Europäischen Gerichtshofs
Unternehmen können sich aus mitbestimmten Rechtsformen unter dem Schutz des Europarechts friktionsfrei „hinausverlagern“. Dafür sorgt der EuGH mit seinem Urteil im Fall Polbud. Die dort vorgenommene Auslegung der Niederlassungsfreiheit kann man nur als verstörend bezeichnen, und die potenziellen Auswirkungen auf die Arbeitnehmermitbestimmung als verheerend. Continue reading >>
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Der Sozialstaat: Im Dienst der Freiheit…und der Gleichheit
Die Vermögensungleichheit ist in Deutschland nach einer soeben veröffentlichten Studie des DIW möglicherweise sehr viel größer als bisher angenommen. Nach liberaler Lesart ist das allerdings kein Problem des Sozialstaats, solange nur jeder Einzelne über ausreichend (finanzielle) Mittel verfügt. Der Beitrag plädiert hingegen für eine Interpretation des Sozialstaatsprinzips, die auch das Verhältnis des Individuums zu den anderen Mitgliedern der politischen Gemeinschaft in den Blick nimmt. Continue reading >>22 January 2018
Will Legalism be the End of Constitutionalism in Turkey?
On 11 January 2018, Turkish constitutionalism entered a new phase of decay. This phase was not triggered by criticism of its judgments by the government nor by the retreat of constitutional protections by the Turkish Constitutional Court (TCC) nor by constitutional court packing as seen in Hungary or Poland. Instead, first instance courts became the newest actors to challenge the authority of the country’s constitution and how it is interpreted by the TCC. The new rebels against Turkish constitutionalism are ordinary judges. Continue reading >>The German Network Enforcement Act and the Presumption in Favour of Freedom of Speech
The Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) violates the presumption in favour of freedom of speech. This does not mean that social networks should not be regulated. However, such regulation must not only combat "underblocking", but has to counteract "overblocking" as well. Continue reading >>
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21 January 2018
Aussetzung des Familiennachzugs – Ist es dem Völkerrecht wirklich so egal?
Union, FDP und AfD wollen den Familiennachzug für subsidiär schutzbedürftige Geflüchtete weiterhin aussetzen. Im Rahmen der Debatte im Bundestag dazu wurden die Abgeordneten, welche sich für die Verlängerung ausgesprochen haben, nicht müde zu betonen, dass es keinerlei völkerrechtliche Verpflichtung zum Familiennachzug für subsidiär Schutzberechtigte gebe. Diese Aussagen machen stutzig: Kann es wirklich sein, dass die Bundesrepublik Deutschland einer Fülle von menschenrechtlichen Verträgen und Regelungen unterworfen ist und sich keine davon zum Familiennachzug verhält? Continue reading >>18 January 2018
Streikrecht für Staatsdiener? – Spagat am Bundesverfassungsgericht
Inoffiziell heißt es schon lange, dass das Streikverbot für Beamte überholungsbedürftig sei. Nun hat das Bundesverfassungsgericht die Gelegenheit, etwas daran zu ändern. Aber auch dann, wenn sich das Bundesverfassungsgericht gegen das Beamtenstreikverbot entscheidet, ist eines deutlich geworden. Europarechtliche Vorgaben lassen sich nicht ohne weiteres ignorieren, auch nicht in Karlsruhe. Continue reading >>Four Indian Supreme Court Judges Accuse the Chief Justice of Wrongdoing
The judges should have been more considerate towards the institutional damage their actions have caused. They have hurt the court for decades to come. Institutional reform proves healthy when it comes from the inside; and one would like to think, that four senior judges wield a hefty amount of institutional power to transform the procedural mechanism without having to 'call upon the people' to intervene.This was little more than a political act in a country where politics and the law only function along the simple logic of institutionalising antagonism. Continue reading >>
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15 January 2018
Final Thoughts on Mnemonic Constitutionalism
Twelve scholars from eight countries have offered their critical perspectives on the legal governance of historical memory, categorised under the common heading of “memory laws”. One aspect crystalized by this symposium is that despite their multiple forms (punitive and declarative, constitutional and administrative, legislative and judicial, etc.), the adoption of such memory regulations has been on a tremendous rise in Europe. Continue reading >>
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14 January 2018
Memory Politics and Academic Freedom: Some Recent Controversies in Greece
An important area where law and historical memory intersect is the use of memory laws to express collective disapproval of crimes against humanity. These laws, although based on a compelling need to use the symbolic dimension of the law in order to condemn the lowest points of history, can have dangerous unintended consequences for freedom of speech. Continue reading >>
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13 January 2018
Remembering as Pacting between Past, Present and Future
The past has not been spared from the “politics of resentment” engulfing Poland for the last two years. The peculiar (mis)understanding and political instrumentalization of history by Polish rulers provide an important cautionary tale against one-sided partisan historical debate as it impacts how we remember the past and see ourselves today. Continue reading >>12 January 2018
The Kundera Case and the Neurotic Collective Memory of Postcommunism
History is a battlefield of present politics. Dealing with the past reveals the power struggles and strategies of the present. Past events are both denounced and glorified by political agents of the present hoping to weaken their enemies. However, the past also contains injustices and political crimes and any decision not to deal with them in the present only reaffirms them and confirms the unjust status of their victims. Not to contend with the past injustices thus compromises the legitimacy of the present system of positive law. To deal, or not to deal with the past, indeed, is an important question. However, it is also inseparable from questions of which past is to be dealt with and how. Continue reading >>11 January 2018
Memory Wars of Commercial Worth – The Legal Status of the Red Star in Hungary
With this blogpost for the T.M.C. Asser Institute – Verfassungsblog joint symposium, I would like to draw attention to another facet in the legal governance of historical memory, that regarding the use of totalitarian symbols of the past. This issue remains particularly pertinent in the region of Central and Eastern Europe in parallel to the widely discussed decline in the rule of law. Continue reading >>10 January 2018
Memory Politics in Hungary: Political Justice without Rule of Law
After the 1989-90 democratic transition, Poland and Hungary were the first to introduce the institutional framework of constitutional democracy and of transitional justice. For a number of reasons, including a lack of democratic traditions and constitutional culture, after the 2010 parliamentary elections, liberal constitutionalism became a victim of the authoritarian efforts of Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party. In April 2013, the government as part of the Fourth Amendment to the Fundamental Law adopted Article U, which supplements detailed provisions on the country’s communist past and the statute of limitations in the body text of the constitution. Continue reading >>09 January 2018
30 days, six months… forever? Border control and the French Council of State
For Christmas 2017, the French Council of State – the Supreme Court for administrative matters in France – gave a nasty present to those attached to the free movement of persons in the Schengen area. In a ruling issued on 28 December (see here, in French), it upheld the decision of the French Government to reintroduce, for the ninth time in a row, identity control at its “internal” borders, i.e. borders with other Schengen countries – even though checks at internal borders are not, in fact, systematically performed. This decision, issued without even bringing the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling, sets aside, probably unlawfully, the time limit set by the Schengen Borders Code. Continue reading >>Decommunization in Times of War: Ukraine’s Militant Democracy Problem
The Ukrainian parliament Verkhovna Rada adopted four ‘memory laws’ shortly after the Maidan revolution in the spring of 2015: One contains a legislation criminalizing both Nazi and Communist totalitarian regimes, prohibiting the propaganda of their symbols; two laws commemorating, respectively, Ukraine’s fighters for twentieth-century independence movement and the victory over Nazism during the Second World War, and a law guaranteeing access to archives of repressive Soviet-era organs. These laws raise fundamental questions about the legitimate defense of democracy in times of political transformation and war. Continue reading >>
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Das NetzDG und die Vermutung für die Freiheit der Rede
Das Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz (NetzDG) verstößt gegen die grundrechtliche Vermutung für die Freiheit der Rede. Das heißt nicht, dass die sozialen Netzwerke nicht reguliert werden dürften. Eine solche Regulierung darf dann aber nicht einseitig das „Zuwenig-Löschen“ bekämpfen, sondern muss auch dem „Zuviel-Löschen“ entgegenwirken. Continue reading >>08 January 2018
Memory Laws: Historical Evidence in Support of the “Slippery Slope” Argument
The notion of memory laws emerged as recently as the 2000s, and it can be used in a narrow sense of denoting enactments criminalizing certain statements about the past (such as Holocaust denial) and in a broad sense as including any legal regulations of historical memory and commemorative practices. Such regulations are by no means a recent phenomenon. Continue reading >>
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Is the Crime in the Eye of the Beholder?
The French Constitutional Council has, for the second time, struck down a law that prohibits the usual consultation of terrorist websites. There is a higher abstract risk associated to the act of publishing a message than in the isolated act of reading it. Focusing on the prevention of the harm likely to be inflicted by the reader of the websites might not be the only way to deal with this statute, though. Continue reading >>
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07 January 2018
Law and Historical Memory: Theorising the Discipline
Recent years have witnessed a surge of studies on law and historical memory, often authored by comparative constitutional scholars. Such scholarship frequently takes ‘particularist’ forms, through studies of dramatic events within specific states or regions. As part of the T.M.C. Asser Institute – Verfassungsblog symposium on memory laws, however, this essay asks: Can the discipline be characterised as a whole? If so, in what ways and with what aims? Continue reading >>06 January 2018
The Right to the Truth for the Families of Victims of the Katyń Massacre
Recently, Uladzislau Belavusau with his post about a de-communization law in Poland launched a joint ASSER-Verfassungsblog symposium on what he has coined "mnemonic constitutionalism". Aleksandra Gliszczyńska-Grabias followed up on this topic by mapping the landscape of various memory laws in the recent years and unfolding the ongoing challenges to fundamental rights, joined by Anna Wójcik with an exploration of how memory laws affect state security. With this contribution, I would like to discuss how the European Court of Human Rights has failed to offer redress to the families of the victims of the Katyń massacres seeking to receive information about their loved ones. I will compare the Polish case-study with the Spanish and South-American practice concerning the “right to the truth”, thus adding this concept to the array of topics discussed under the umbrella of “memory laws” and mnemonic constitutionalism. Continue reading >>05 January 2018
Memory Laws and Security
Recently, Uladzislau Belavusau with his post about a de-communization law in Poland launched a joint ASSER-Verfassungsblog symposium on what he has coined "mnemonic constitutionalism". Aleksandra Gliszczynska-Grabias followed up on this topic by mapping the landscape of various memory laws in the recent years and unfolding the ongoing challenges to fundamental rights. With this essay, I would like to highlight another aspect of mnemonic constitutionalism, affecting various understandings of security. Continue reading >>04 January 2018
Law and Memory
Recently, Uladzislau Belavusau with his post about a de-communization law in Poland launched a joint ASSER-Verfassungsblog symposium on what he has coined "mnemonic constitutionalism". Drawing on his idea of mnemonic constitutionalism, I would like to join this discussion by mapping the general landscape of how memory laws have recently been manufacturing the socio-constitutional climate in various states. Continue reading >>
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03 January 2018
The Commission takes a step back in the fight for the Rule of Law
The European Commission has filed a complaint against Poland with the Court of Justice of the European Union based on Article 258 TFEU, in connection with the Polish Act on the Common Courts System. Fines may be charged on Poland as a result of the case, but the Commission has probably quietly withdrawn some of its charges, apparently opting for the somewhat modified “Hungarian scenario”. The impact of this new approach on the reversibility of the changes introduced to the Polish judiciary will be very limited. Continue reading >>Chiles Verfassungsreform – erfolgreicher Bürgerbeteiligungsprozess?
Chiles Verfassung stammt im Kern immer noch aus der Pinochet-Ära. Die scheidende Präsidentin Michelle Bachelet hatte eine grundlegende Verfassungsreform versprochen und dazu einen umfassenden Bürgerdialog initiiert. Was aus diesem Prozess unter ihrem Nachfolger Piñera wird, ist ungewiss. Continue reading >>02 January 2018