11 October 2016
Endstation Karlsruhe? Was von der CETA-Verhandlung vor dem Bundesverfassungsgericht zu erwarten ist
Die emotionsgeladene öffentliche Debatte um CETA und TTIP steuert auf einen vorläufigen Höhepunkt zu: Am morgigen 12. Oktober 2016 befasst sich das Bundesverfassungsgericht mit mehreren Anträgen, die es dem deutschen Vertreter im Rat verbieten sollen, dem Abschluss des CETA-Abkommens mit Kanada zuzustimmen bzw. durch sein Abstimmungsverhalten die vorläufige Anwendbarkeit des CETA zu ermöglichen. Was sind die verfassungsrechtlichen Maßstäbe? Und wie wird das BVerfG voraussichtlich entscheiden? Continue reading >>
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“The National Council of the Judiciary is under attack in different ways”
While the crisis about the Polish Constitutional Tribunal remains unresolved, ordinary judges in Poland and the constitutional body responsible to safeguard their independence increasingly find themselves in the crosshairs of the vindictive governing party PiS as well. An interview with Waldemar Żurek, spokesman of the National Council of the Judiciary of Poland. Continue reading >>10 October 2016
Das gescheiterte Referendum zum Friedensvertrag in Kolumbien taugt nicht zur Delegitimierung von Volksabstimmungen
Brexit in UK, Ukraine-Abkommen in den Niederlanden, Flüchtlinge in Ungarn: Volksabstimmungen scheinen in letzter Zeit nichts als schlechte Nachrichten zu produzieren. Jetzt kommt das gescheiterte Friedens-Referendum in Kolumbien dazu. Ist das ein Grund, Volksabstimmungen generell zu misstrauen? Nicht, wenn man genauer hinschaut. Continue reading >>07 October 2016
Brexit – a Tragic Continuity of Europe’s Daily Operation
The British vote to leave the European Union came as a surprise and a shock. It has been understood as an aberration, as a triumph of populism and nationalism, in conflict with the ethos of the Union. But Brexit should not be understood as a mere aberration, but instead as one position on continuum of exhausted thinking about EU and (transnational) law in general. Continue reading >>
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06 October 2016
Can private undertakings hide behind “religious neutrality”?
Is the pursuit of religious neutrality an acceptable aim for public and private organisations alike, on the basis of which they may prohibit their employees from wearing religious signs or apparel whilst at work? In two pending cases before the CJEU, the Advocates General seem to arrive at opposite conclusions on this point. To solve this puzzle, I think it is crucial to see that there are two radically different reasons why a private-sector company may wish to adopt an identity of religious neutrality, which reflect two distinct types of interest a company may have in religious neutrality: a business interest and an interest as a member of society. Continue reading >>05 October 2016
Skandal ohne öffentlichen Aufschrei: Verfassungsschutz hat im NSU-Komplex vorsätzlich Akten vernichtet
Dass ein Mitarbeiter des Verfassungsschutzes angibt, vorsätzlich Akten vernichtet zu haben, um das eigene Amt vor der öffentlichen Aufmerksamkeit zu schützen, ist ein beispielloser Vorgang. Dennoch gab es dazu kaum eine Debatte. Die Bundesrepublik ist nach der EMRK verpflichtet, eine unabhängige Untersuchung in Gang zu setzen, um zu ergründen, ob der Verfassungsschutz Kenntnisse über seine V-Leute von der NSU-Mordserie gehabt hat und nicht für entsprechende Schutzmaßnahmen sorgte. Continue reading >>04 October 2016
The Invalid Anti-Migrant Referendum in Hungary
After an unprecedented and partially illegal attempt to bring Hungarian voters in line against the EU refugee quota, the referendum launched by the government is invalid, as only around 40 percent turned out to vote. This was an own goal made by the Orbán government, which after overthrowing its predecessor as a result of a popular referendum made it more difficult to initiate a valid referendum. Continue reading >>03 October 2016
Das Hohe und das Menschliche: eine Anmerkung zur Affäre Schnizer
Was darf ein Verfassungsrichter öffentlich sagen, ohne die Unabhängigkeit des Verfassungsgerichts zu beschädigen? Die jüngste Affäre um den österreichischen Verfassungsgerichtshof und die Aufregung der FPÖ lehrt, die österreichische Verfassungskultur die Würde des Verfassungsgerichts bloß ästhetisch reflektiert. Verfassungsrichter müssen kein politisches Keuschheitsgelübde ablegen, um sich für ihr Amt zu qualifizieren. Sie müssen nicht auf ihr Wahlrecht verzichten. Sie müssen bloß in der Lage sein, die Unterscheidung zwischen Verfassungsinterpretation und Verfassungspolitik plausibel zu handhaben. Continue reading >>Theresa May’s Great Repeal Bill – a Scottish own goal?
Theresa May’s announcement of a Great Repeal Bill on Sunday has the hallmarks of a stroke of genius: It creates some momentum in the internal Brexit debate without substantively changing anything, it appeases the die-heart Brexiteers in her party, and it may kill off legal challenges pending in the courts of England and Northern Ireland demanding that Parliament be involved before Article 50 TEU is triggered. The Great Reform Bill however raises interesting constitutional questions with regard to the devolved nations of the UK, and in particular Scotland. Has Theresa May scored an own goal by allowing the Scots to block her first big step towards Brexit? Or is this part of an even more cunning plan to delay having to trigger Article 50 TEU for a very long time? Continue reading >>02 October 2016
A really, really bad month for refugees
Reflecting on her party’s recent electoral losses, German Chancellor Angela Merkel conceded that voter anxiety about her decision to allow hundreds of thousands of refugees to enter her country was largely to blame. “If I could, I would turn back time by many, many years to better prepare myself and the whole German government for the situation that reached us unprepared in late summer 2015,” she said. Sadly, September’s refugee summits have done nothing to prepare us for the next refugee exodus. Continue reading >>30 September 2016
Triggering Art. 50 TEU: Interpreting the UK’s ‘own constitutional requirements’
Can the British government initiate the process of leaving the European Union without consulting Parliament? On September 28th the government released its legal position that the only constitutional way to give effect to the Brexit referendum result is through the exercise of the executive power. Some of the government's arguments appear to be on shaky grounds. The mere fact that the process has been caught up in legal wrangling before it has even begun shows that there is still a long, long road ahead before any sense of stability will return to British (constitutional) politics as well as the relationship between the UK and the EU in whatever form that may eventually take. Continue reading >>21 September 2016
ESM and Protection of Fundamental Rights: Towards the End of Impunity?
The CJEU has sent a strong signal to EU institutions: whether they act in the framework of EU law or at its margins, under the screen of international agreements, the Commission and the ECB should duly take fundamental rights into account, and be ready to be held liable if they fail to do so. Continue reading >>CJEU Opens Door to Legal Challenges to Euro Rescue Measures in Key Decision
The Ledra Advertising decision by the European Court of Justice breaks down the barrier between European institutions and international-treaty based structures that have sprang up to deal with the needs of euro-area crisis response. This opens the door to legal challenges to the bailout programmes of the EFSF/ESM offering an avenue to a plethora of claimants to unpick the questionable legal underpinnings of conditionality and austerity policies. Continue reading >>14 September 2016
Fighting Judicial Corruption with Constitutional Measures: the Albanian Case
No state can thrive with corrupt political and legal elites. But if lawmakers and judges are corrupt themselves, fighting corruption with legal means is all but impossible. As a step towards membership in the European Union, Albania has embedded a comprehensive reform of its anti-corruption law directly into its constitution. Continue reading >>
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06 September 2016
E-Government upside down
The story of Joshua Bowden's legal chatbots that help people fight unjustified parking tickets and eviction orders challenges common assumptions about eGovernment: Automation can actually help to further the rule of law culture and to make the administration more humane. Continue reading >>
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03 September 2016
Constitutional justice in Handcuffs? Gloves are off in the Polish Constitutional Conflict
A high-ranking PiS politician has announced that those Constitutional Tribunal judges who will not bend to the will of the PiS majority will be removed from office. This marks a new step of escalation in the ongoing constitutional crisis in Poland. Continue reading >>25 August 2016
Polish Constitutional Tribunal goes down with dignity
On 11 of August 2016 the Polish Constitutional Tribunal (“Tribunal”) decided case K 39/16 in which it disqualified, for the second time in the span of 5 months, court-packing provisions contained in the Law of 22 July, 2016 on the Constitutional Tribunal. Separation of powers, judicial independence and effective functioning of the constitutional court were again the keywords that informed the analysis. After this most recent case the clock is ticking on the Tribunal and this time the self-defense by way of courageous judicial pronouncements might not be enough to survive. Continue reading >>24 August 2016
The TTIP Negotiations Innovations: On Legal Reasons for Cheer
After 36 months of talks, the developments in the EU’s proposals for TTIP are far from perfect or complete. However, they demonstrate a huge faith in the EU’s power to institutionally nudge global trade - and render it more legitimate and accountable, as a good global governance actor should. They arguably do provide important reasons for cheer about the evolution of global trade through law. Continue reading >>
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19 August 2016
Islam on the Beach – The Burkini Ban in France
In 1964, a young woman wearing a monokini played table tennis on the Croisette, the famous road along the shore in the city of Cannes. She was sentenced for outraging public decency. Half a century later, the mayor of Cannes just banned on his beaches the burkini, a full-body swimsuit weared by some Muslim women. Some other coastal cities followed, one administrative tribunal confirmed, and a new controversy around the keyword “laïcité” was born. It seems to me that the burkini-ban is a legal error and a political mistake. Continue reading >>17 August 2016
Jein – eine fehlende Variante bei dem Brexit-Referendum
Großbritannien hat eine Schicksalsentscheidung getroffen. Zwar hat die Volksbefragung nach herrschender Meinung nur beratenden Charakter, doch hat die britische Regierung im Vorfeld ankündigte das Ergebnis zu befolgen und wird es daher kaum übergehen. „Brexit means Brexit“, sagte auch Theresa May, die neue britische Premierministerin und frühere Remain-Befürworterin. Was „Brexit“ bedeutet, bleibt aber unklar. Continue reading >>
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11 August 2016
Italian Constitutional Referendum: Voting for Structural Reform or Constitutional Transformation?
As the distance between political elites and the population in Europe increases, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's plans of constitutional reform further impoverish political representation in Italy – both with respect to input and output of the process. That is why the opponents of the reform are gaining ever more traction among Italian voters and could in the end prevail. Continue reading >>
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08 August 2016
Erdogan in Köln – Zumutungen des Versammlungsrechts II
Letzte Woche habe ich die Entscheidungen zu der Pro-Erdogan Kundgebung in Köln kommentiert. Zum Zeitpunkt der Veröffentlichung lag mir der Auflagenbescheid des Polizeipräsidiums Köln nicht vor. Da es hierzu Fragen gab und der Bescheid mir nun zugänglich gemacht wurde, möchte ich meine bisherigen Ausführungen ergänzen. Continue reading >>07 August 2016
Die „Dritte Option“ vor dem BGH – Zwischenstopp auf dem Weg zum Verfassungsgericht
Intergeschlechtlichen Menschen steht auf der Grundlage von § 22 Abs. 3 PStG kein Anspruch auf Eintragung der Kategorie „inter“ oder „divers“ im Personenstandsregister zu. Für die Kampagne „Dritte Option“, die die Klage inhaltlich vorbereitet und begleitet hat, nur ist diese Entscheidung des Bundesgerichtshofs ein Zwischenstopp auf dem Weg zum Verfassungsgericht. Continue reading >>03 August 2016
Erdogan in Köln: Zumutungen des Versammlungsrechts
Das Verbot, den türkischen Staatspräsidenten Erdogan per Videoübertragung vor Kölner Demonstranten reden zu lassen, weckt versammlungsrechtliche Zweifel. Will sich die rechtsstaatliche Demokratie nicht angreifbar machen, muss sie ihre eigenen Standards einhalten. Dies betrifft auch den Umgang mit antidemokratischen und rechtsstaatswidrigen Anfeindungen. Continue reading >>29 July 2016
INIS Free? Towards a Scots-Irish Union
A post Brexit union of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland would be one way of achieving what the majority of the electors of Northern Ireland and Scotland who voted in the Brexit referendum sought to achieve, namely to remain within the EU and retain their EU citizenship. Historically, there is considerable precedent for such a Scotch-Irish Union. Continue reading >>27 July 2016
“Vote Yes for a Safe Italy” or “Vote No to Defend the Constitution”: Italian Constitutional Politics between Majoritarianism and Civil Resistance
In the run-up to the constitutional referendum in October, the Italian government meets considerable resistance towards its plans for a comprehensive reform of the Constitution of 1948. Both Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Constitutional Reform Minister Maria Elena Boschi regularly sustain that in case of a ‘No’ vote, chaos will rule. Public debate seems trapped in a Manichean game between yes-proponents that accuse the opposition of conservatism, and no-proponents that accuse the government of authoritarian leanings. Continue reading >>
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26 July 2016
BrEXIT AND BreUK-UP
How to balance the aim of the UK to leave the European Union with the complex independence and border issues this would cause in Scotland and Northern Ireland? One possible scenario could be for Scotland to broker a five-year EFTA-EEA "naughty step" membership for the United Kingdom, at the end of which Scotland could itself become an independent EFTA-EEA member state and thus be well positioned to re-enter the European Union. Continue reading >>
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25 July 2016
Statutory tinkering: on the Senate’s changes to the Law on the Polish Constitutional Tribunal
The infamous law on the Polish Constitutional Tribunal of July 7th has met with an outcry of criticism among constitutional scholars. Last week, the upper chamber of the Polish Parliament, the Senate, has introduced a number of changes to meet some of the concerns. On the whole the effort amounts to little more than statutory tinkering, though. The effect, the emasculation of constitutional control in Poland, remains unchanged. Continue reading >>
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Jetzt wird es ernst: Zur Rehabilitierung und Entschädigung von nach § 175 StGB verurteilten Männern
Das Gutachten von Martin Burgi und Daniel Wolff zur Rehabilitation strafrechtlich verurteilter Homosexueller war ein eklatanter politischer Erfolg: Nach einem Eckpunktepapier des Bundesjustizministeriums sollen Urteile auf Basis des früheren § 175 StGB rückwirkend aufgehoben werden. In zwei wichtigen Punkten geht das Papier sogar noch über das Gutachten hinaus: erstens in Fällen homosexueller Handlungen zwischen Erwachsenen und Heranwachsenden und zweitens bei der Umsetzung einer individuellen, zusätzlich zu einer kollektiven, materiellen Entschädigungsleistung. Continue reading >>22 July 2016
10 (pro-EU) reasons to be cheerful after Brexit
As the dust continues to swirl around the momentous Brexit referendum result a month ago (and doesn’t show any signs of settling anytime soon) I suspect many EU sympathisers will be somewhere in the middle of the various stages of the Kübler-Ross Grief cycle: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. So, somewhat incongruosly, are the ‘leavers’. Whereas there are almost as many emotions being experienced on all sides as there are potential options on what will happen next both in terms of the UK’s future relationship with the EU as well as the future of the EU itself, in this post I want to set out a number of (pro-EU) reasons – some obvious, some optimistic, others wildly speculative – to be cheerful amidst the uncertainty created by the Brexit vote. Continue reading >>20 July 2016
AG Saugmandsgaard Øe on Mass Data Retention: No Clear Victory for Privacy Rights
The opinion of the CJEU Attorney General on mass data retention has been long awaited by anyone interested in privacy rights, and more generally the relationship between states and their citizens during this period of an extended “war on terror”. While some civil rights groups have already claimed victory, on closer look the opinion of the AG is not an unmitigated success for privacy activists: It gives considerable discretion to member states to enact data retention provisions providing they meet the Digital Rights Ireland standard. Continue reading >>
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19 July 2016
Can Greece lawfully extradite the eight Turkish soldiers to Turkey?
Turkey demands the extradition of eight Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece on Saturday 16 July after Friday’s failed coup, using an army helicopter. The key question is whether they would face a ‘real risk’ of ill-treatment contrary to Art. 3 ECHR. I tentatively conclude that such real risk is made out. Continue reading >>
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Weimar Turkey?
The current configuration of power in Turkey is a direct product of a deep-seated legacy of authoritarian politics, both military and “civilian”. Far from marking a rupture with the past, recent events can only be understood against the background of this tradition. Continue reading >>
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15 July 2016
“What is Going on in Poland is an Attack against Democracy”
"A constitutional coup d'état": Wojciech Sadurski, one of Poland's foremost jurisprudence scholars, dissects the strategy of the Polish government to disembowel the Polish Constitutional Tribunal. Continue reading >>14 July 2016
After Brexit: Time for a further Decoupling of European and National Citizenship?
According to the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, the issue of Scotland’s EU membership after Brexit is ‘a matter for the UK’. That statement is simply false: the future EU citizenship of UK nationals is not a domestic matter but an issue – perhaps the issue – for the Union as a whole to determine. Continue reading >>13 July 2016
Like a Bargaining Chip: Enduring the Unsettled Status of EU Nationals Living in the UK
Yesterday, the UK Government has issued a statement to reassure EU nationals living in the UK as to their post-referendum status. While hundreds of EU nationals channel their relief through social media in welcoming the news and British businesses praise the Government for giving them the reassurance needed, to a more expert eye things seem much less reassuring. Continue reading >>12 July 2016
Between the Scylla of Terrorism and the Charybdis of the Police State: on the new French Anti-Terrorist Legislation
One month ago, France has enacted a new anti-terror law to end the state of emergency that had been in place since the terror attacks of Nov 15 2015. The basic purpose of the law is quite clearly to empower the executive (police and prosecution services) with investigative tools formerly reserved to the judiciary. Whether such a transfer of powers is justified or not, the fact is that the “country of human rights” actually now has today the most authoritarian anti-terrorist legislation in the European Union. Continue reading >>11 July 2016
Das Brexit-Referendum: Sieg für die Demokratie?
War das Referendum doch zumindest ein Sieg für die Demokratie? Im Ergebnis wohl nicht. Demokratietheoretisch darf die Kritik freilich nicht beim Ergebnis, sondern bei der Entscheidung für das Referendum ansetzen: War die Austrittsfrage eine für ein Referendum geeignete Frage, oder hätte diese dem Parlament vorbehalten sein müssen? Vieles spricht hier für Letzteres. Continue reading >>09 July 2016
Farewell to the Polish Constitutional Court
The Law of July, 7th 2016 on the Polish Constitutional Court leaves no doubts that the parliamentary majority lead by Law and Justice party (PiS) is not holding back and is determined to see its plan through to make sure that Court is finally tamed and incapacitated. The Law signals the death knell for the Court. The institution once recognized as powerful, efficient and independent from whatever powers that be is left at the mercy of the politicians, and unable to effectively wield its power of judicial review. Most importantly, the Law will make it impossible for the Court to provide an effective check on the excesses of parliamentary majority. Continue reading >>07 July 2016
Der österreichische VfGH zur Wahlanfechtung: eine rechtsrealistische Kritik
Das VfGH-Urteil stützt sich bei seiner Annullierung der Stichwahl des Bundespräsidenten auf zwei formale Argumente. Diese sind aus mehreren Gründen nicht überzeugend. Auch ethisch und politisch hält das Urteil einer Überprüfung nicht stand. Continue reading >>Passing Laws without a Vote: the French Labour Reform and Art. 49-3 of the Constitution
The French government has brought a hugely controversial piece of legislation through parliament without debate and without a vote. That move is seen as democratically dubious by many. But it is certainly constitutional under the stability-oriented French Constitution of 1958. Continue reading >>06 July 2016
Calling Europe into Question: the British and the Greek referenda
On this day last year, Greeks woke up facing a referendum result that very few had expected. Almost a year later, on the 24th of June 2016, British and other Europeans woke up overwhelmingly surprised by the ‘Leave’ vote. Despite their significant differences, the Greek and the British referenda have some important things in common. Reading them together might have something to teach us about referenda on the EU—especially now that more people seem to be asking for one in their own country. Continue reading >>Brexit and Art. 50: the Key lies in Luxembourg
A large British law firm has announced legal steps to ensure that the Art. 50 TEU procedure leading to EUV will be triggered by the British parliament. This might lead to a referral to the European Court of Justice. Continue reading >>05 July 2016
Political Reductionism at its Best: the EU Institutions’ Response to the Brexit Referendum
In their reaction to the Brexit referendum, some EU institutions have shown a troubling understanding of law – law as the mere crystallisation of power relationships, norms as just technicalities, annoying obstacles standing between the political actors and their legitimate goals. This is profoundly wrong and dangerous. Continue reading >>04 July 2016
Gute und schlechte Gründe: zur Annullierung der Stichwahl in Österreich
Der österreichische Verfassungsgerichtshof hatte einen guten und einen schlechten Grund, die Stichwahl des Bundespräsidenten zu annullieren. Die vorzeitige Veröffentlichung der Wahlergebnisse war ein guter Grund. Die formelle Verletzung der Vorschriften zur Briefwahl dagegen wäre eher ein Anlass gewesen, seine Rechtsprechung zum Wahlrecht endlich zu korrigieren. Dass er das nicht getan hat, bringt das ganze System ohne Not in Misskredit. Continue reading >>Everything you need to know about Article 50 (but were afraid to ask)
After the Brexit referendum, the new prime minister cannot dodge the fact that Article 50 is the only legal way for the UK to secede and that he or she, therefore, has a duty to pull the trigger. Not to deploy Article 50 would result in an even more disorderly situation than we have now. Article 50 it is. And if it were done, it were best done quickly. Continue reading >>Flucht aus der Grundrechtsbindung: „Flüchtlinge fressen“ und das ausländerrechtliche Beförderungsverbot
Die Kunstaktion "Flüchtlinge fressen" hat die Praxis, die Kontrolle der Einreise von Ausländern ohne Aufenthaltstitel den Fluggesellschaften aufzubürden, in den Fokus der öffentlichen Aufmerksamkeit zurückgeholt. Was wenige wissen: seit 1992 steht der höchstrichterliche Vorwurf im Raum, dass die Rechtsgrundlage dieser Praxis in ihrer derzeitigen Form/in ihrem Umfang verfassungswidrig ist. Bis heute ist dieser Vorwurf in Karlsruhe ungeklärt geblieben. Continue reading >>01 July 2016
A Lame Duck for a Member State? Thoughts on the UK’s Position in the EU after the Brexit Vote
Despite the fact that nothing has technically speaking happened in legal terms, the UK’s journey out of the European Union has already commenced and is starting to have tangible legal consequences. Continue reading >>30 June 2016