24 January 2015
A Tale of Two States: Rule of Law in the Age of Terrorism
As a reaction to the recent terrorist attacks in France, several EU member states as well as the EU itself have announced significant anti-terrorism measures. To fear, which is the first result of terrorism, the state has to respond with the wisdom of a legislator, which should not act under the pressure of understandable emotional feelings. The State of Terror wants to spread chilling fear and make people feel alone and without protection by the State of Law. The State of Law should respond by educating its community to the values of legality, tolerance and solidarity. Its duty, in times of fear, is an ethical rather than a police one; it has to make the people leave their isolation and facilitate their social and political inclusion. This action requires concrete actions by political decision-makers. Continue reading >>
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A Tale of Two States: Rule of Law in the Age of Terrorism
As a reaction to the recent terrorist attacks in France, several EU member states as well as the EU itself have announced significant anti-terrorism measures. To fear, which is the first result of terrorism, the state has to respond with the wisdom of a legislator, which should not act under the pressure of understandable emotional feelings. The State of Terror wants to spread chilling fear and make people feel alone and without protection by the State of Law. The State of Law should respond by educating its community to the values of legality, tolerance and solidarity. Its duty, in times of fear, is an ethical rather than a police one; it has to make the people leave their isolation and facilitate their social and political inclusion. This action requires concrete actions by political decision-makers. Continue reading >>
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20 January 2015
From bad to worse? On the Commission and the Council’s rule of law initiatives
The rule of law is one of the fundamental values on which the EU is founded according to Article 2 TEU. Faced with a rising number of ‘rule of law crises’ in a number of EU countries, the Commission adopted a new ‘pre-Article 7’ procedure last March in order to address any instance where there is a evidence of a systemicthreat to the rule of law. Having criticised the Commission’s initiative primarily on the (unconvincing) ground that it would breach the principle of conferral which governs the allocation of powers between the EU and its Member States, the Council proposed its own solution: a rule of law dialogue between national governments and to be held once a year in Brussels. Both initiatives, and in particular, the Council’s, appear grossly inadequate to tackle the problem of ‘rule of law backsliding post EU accession’ to quote Frans Timmermans, the First Vice-President of the Commission in charge inter alia of the Rule of Law. Continue reading >>
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From bad to worse? On the Commission and the Council’s rule of law initiatives
The rule of law is one of the fundamental values on which the EU is founded according to Article 2 TEU. Faced with a rising number of ‘rule of law crises’ in a number of EU countries, the Commission adopted a new ‘pre-Article 7’ procedure last March in order to address any instance where there is a evidence of a systemicthreat to the rule of law. Having criticised the Commission’s initiative primarily on the (unconvincing) ground that it would breach the principle of conferral which governs the allocation of powers between the EU and its Member States, the Council proposed its own solution: a rule of law dialogue between national governments and to be held once a year in Brussels. Both initiatives, and in particular, the Council’s, appear grossly inadequate to tackle the problem of ‘rule of law backsliding post EU accession’ to quote Frans Timmermans, the First Vice-President of the Commission in charge inter alia of the Rule of Law. Continue reading >>19 January 2015
La liberté d’expression après Charlie Hebdo : le fantasme du double standard
En France, on peut se moquer des musulmans mais pas des juifs. C’est bien la preuve que ces derniers dirigent secrètement notre pays. Cette vieille thèse antisémite a récemment trouvé une nouvelle vigueur en France. Pourtant, elle constitue une description inexacte des lois françaises et de la manière dont elles sont appliquées. Continue reading >>Meinungsfreiheit nach Charlie Hebdo: das Phantom des doppelten Maßes
"In Frankreich kann man sich über Muslime lustig machen, aber nicht über Juden - ein Beweis dafür, dass diese das Land regieren." Diese alte antisemitische These hat in Frankreich jüngst neuen Schwung erhalten, zuletzt durch die Verhaftung des wegen seiner antisemitischen Ausfälle berüchtigten Komikers Dieudonné. Dabei beruht sie auf einer unzutreffenden Darstellung der französischen Gesetze und der Art, wie sie angewandt werden. Continue reading >>Der BND baut sich einen rechtsfreien Raum: Erkenntnisse aus dem NSA-Untersuchungsausschuss
Aufgrund der Zeugenvernehmungen des NSA-Untersuchungsausschusses lässt sich schärfer als bisher nachzeichnen, wie der BND den Anwendungsbereich der Auslandsaufklärung bestimmt. Danach schneidet der BND seine Ermächtigung zur Auslandsaufklärung gewissermaßen um das Fernmelde-Grundrecht Art. 10 GG herum zu. Ausländer im Ausland sind für den BND keine Grundrechtsträger, ebenso wenig Funktionsträger von ausländischen juristischen Personen. Verfassungsrechtlich ist diese Konstruktion aber äußerst zweifelhaft. Continue reading >>17 January 2015
The Constitutional Status of Women in Turkey at a Crossroads: Reflections from Comparison
Since its foundation, the Turkish Republic took the enhanced status of women to epitomize its promise of modernity. Yet to the extent that women's equality was even articulated in Turkey, as well as anywhere else in that time, its expression was primarily sought in the public, not in the private, domain. Sex inequalities are still present in the Turkish legal order and the Turkish Constitutional Court has thus far had an erratic jurisprudence, sometimes prioritizing the need to overcome gender stereotypes and hierarchies, sometimes justifying unequal treatment and perpetuating such gender stereotypes. Continue reading >>
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The Constitutional Status of Women in Turkey at a Crossroads: Reflections from Comparison
Since its foundation, the Turkish Republic took the enhanced status of women to epitomize its promise of modernity. Yet to the extent that women's equality was even articulated in Turkey, as well as anywhere else in that time, its expression was primarily sought in the public, not in the private, domain. Sex inequalities are still present in the Turkish legal order and the Turkish Constitutional Court has thus far had an erratic jurisprudence, sometimes prioritizing the need to overcome gender stereotypes and hierarchies, sometimes justifying unequal treatment and perpetuating such gender stereotypes. Continue reading >>
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16 January 2015
Outright Monetary Transactions before the ECJ: In search of the ‘golden mean’
In its preliminary ruling on the the ‘Outright Monetary Transactions’ programme of the ECB, the ECJ will have to find the ‘golden mean’. On the one hand, it is improbable that the European judges will risk a constitutional conflict with the highest German court by given their unqualified approval of the OMT. On the other hand, not only the unlikely rejection of the OMT in its entirety, but also the imposition of limits on the overall amount of purchases of government bonds could compromise the success of the mere announcement of the OMT in calming the markets and, moreover, provoke a resurgence of the Euro area financial and debt crisis. Arguably the dilemmas this involves are reflected in the opinion on this case by Advocate General Cruz Villalón. Continue reading >>
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Outright Monetary Transactions before the ECJ: In search of the ‘golden mean’
In its preliminary ruling on the the ‘Outright Monetary Transactions’ programme of the ECB, the ECJ will have to find the ‘golden mean’. On the one hand, it is improbable that the European judges will risk a constitutional conflict with the highest German court by given their unqualified approval of the OMT. On the other hand, not only the unlikely rejection of the OMT in its entirety, but also the imposition of limits on the overall amount of purchases of government bonds could compromise the success of the mere announcement of the OMT in calming the markets and, moreover, provoke a resurgence of the Euro area financial and debt crisis. Arguably the dilemmas this involves are reflected in the opinion on this case by Advocate General Cruz Villalón. Continue reading >>
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Die OMT-Schlussanträge als Anfang vom Ende der Troika?
Die Wege verfassungsrechtlicher Entscheidungen in der Krise sind häufig verschlungen. Die Vorlage des Bundesverfassungsgerichts zum OMT-Programm ging aus Anträgen hervor, die sich ursprünglich nur gegen den ESM und den Fiskalpakt richteten, also gegen Akte des Europäischen Rates. Erst durch einen Antrag kurz vor der Verkündung des ESM-Urteils im einstweiligen Rechtsschutz wurde das OMT-Programm und damit eine Ankündigung der EZB überhaupt indirekt zum Gegenstand und letztendlich zum Kern der verfassungsgerichtlichen Überlegungen. Die Schlussanträge des Generalanwalts zum OMT-Programm deuten in einem interessanten Ausschnitt eine Rückkehr zur Auseinandersetzung mit dem ESM und der Troika an. Zwar ist diese Auseinandersetzung mit der Troika erfreulich, doch bleiben die Schlussanträge hinter einer anspruchsvollen Konzeption der demokratischen Legitimation der Troika zurück. Continue reading >>
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Charlie und die Meinungsfabrik: Zum medialen Umgang mit den Anschlägen von Paris
Wenig lässt sich so verlässlich vorhersagen wie der Verlauf des politischen Diskurses. Es war daher nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis die Toten von Paris (erneut) instrumentalisiert würden. Die Rede sei hier nicht von abendländischen Demonstranten in Dresden und anderswo, auch nicht von manch einem Sicherheitspolitiker, der seit Jahren bei jeder Gelegenheit dieselben Behauptungen wiederholt. Angesprochen seien stattdessen einige Zeitgenossen, die offenbar durch die weltweite Solidarisierung das (Vor-)Urteil „Lügenpresse“ revidiert und sich wieder im Aufwind sehen. Sie bedienen sich einer altbewährten Textgattung: der Kolumne. Diese erlaubt es ihnen, in mehr oder weniger gehobener Form dasselbe zu tun wie ihre tumben Kritiker auf Dresdner Straßen: eine von Fakten weitgehend unbeeinflusste Meinung in die Welt zu setzen. Continue reading >>15 January 2015
Cruz Villalón’s ,Gauweiler’ Opinion: Lost in Platitudes
On 14 January 2015, Advocate General Cruz Villalón delivered his Opinion in the Gauweiler case. The Opinion had been eagerly awaited, because it concerns the first reference ever for a preliminary ruling made by the German Constitutional Court (GCC), after decades of refusal to engage into direct dialogue with the ECJ. Nevertheless, it would be misguided to portray the GCC’s request for a preliminary ruling as a major turning point in its case law, heralding a new, gentler era in its relationship with the ECJ. For several reasons, which have been discussed extensively elsewhere, it seems that the preliminary reference procedure was not used for purposes of ‘judicial cooperation’ or ‘judicial dialogue’. One of those reasons is that the GCC claims for itself the last word on the legality of the impugned EU act. Even if the ECJ were to conclude that the Union had remained within the limits of its powers as laid down in the Treaties and, thus, that its action was valid, the GCC reserves to itself the right to review the action in light of Germany’s constitutional identity. Continue reading >>Cruz Villalón’s ,Gauweiler’ Opinion: Lost in Platitudes
On 14 January 2015, Advocate General Cruz Villalón delivered his Opinion in the Gauweiler case. The Opinion had been eagerly awaited, because it concerns the first reference ever for a preliminary ruling made by the German Constitutional Court (GCC), after decades of refusal to engage into direct dialogue with the ECJ. Nevertheless, it would be misguided to portray the GCC’s request for a preliminary ruling as a major turning point in its case law, heralding a new, gentler era in its relationship with the ECJ. For several reasons, which have been discussed extensively elsewhere, it seems that the preliminary reference procedure was not used for purposes of ‘judicial cooperation’ or ‘judicial dialogue’. One of those reasons is that the GCC claims for itself the last word on the legality of the impugned EU act. Even if the ECJ were to conclude that the Union had remained within the limits of its powers as laid down in the Treaties and, thus, that its action was valid, the GCC reserves to itself the right to review the action in light of Germany’s constitutional identity. Continue reading >>
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Erlaubt und doch verboten: auch Kanada rekriminalisiert Prostitution
SexarbeiterInnen in Kanada haben es nicht leicht, ihrer Arbeit nachzugehen. Bordelle sind verboten, Werbung ist verboten, Zuhälterei ist verboten, Freier auf der Straßen anzusprechen ist verboten. Nur die Transaktion selbst, wie es der Kanadische Supreme Court 1990 formulierte, war bisher erlaubt. Doch seit dem 6. Dezember 2014 ist es auch damit vorbei. Denn Kanada hat nach schwedischem Vorbild das sogenannte „Sexkaufverbot“ eingeführt. Continue reading >>
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13 January 2015
Choice Architecture in Democracies: Welcome
Welcome remarks by Mark Speich (Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland) and Christoph Möllers (HU Berlin, Verfassungsblog). Continue reading >>
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12 January 2015
Live on Verfassungsblog tonight: Cass Sunstein explains the Ethic of Nudging
Our two day conference on Choice Architecture in Democracies starts […] Continue reading >>
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Live on Verfassungsblog tonight: Cass Sunstein explains the Ethic of Nudging
Our two day conference on Choice Architecture in Democracies starts […] Continue reading >>09 January 2015
Je suis Charlie! Drei Beobachtungen zu Folgen des Anschlags in Paris
Warum wir den Straftatbestand der Religionsbeschimpfung abschaffen, stärker zwischen gefährlichen und produktiven Religionskulturen unterscheiden und den Muslimen in Deutschland mehr Auseinandersetzung mit den theologischen Traditionen abverlangen sollten, auf die sich der militante Islamismus beruft. Continue reading >>07 January 2015
Constitutional Limits to Paternalistic Nudging in Germany
Nudges with paternalistic aims pose special legal problems in liberal States. Surprisingly, the discussion on regulation-by-nudging has not focused on the constitutional limits to nudging. Although the property rights of firms potentially infringed by nudging measures are dealt with in the literature and by (international) courts (e.g. the tobacco cases), the potential infringement of the rights of those being nudged is neglected. But judges may at one point be confronted with a nudge regulation challenged by the individuals being nudged; and even before reaching a court, the legality of nudging should be scrutinised by legislators. I explore the legal limits of paternalistic nudging under the German Constitution, especially the right to freedom of action and self-determination under Art. 2 (1) German Basic Law. Continue reading >>04 January 2015
The Missing Link: Direct Effect, CETA/TIIP and Investor-State-Dispute Settlement
International treaties have rarely received more attention than the proposed free trade deals with the US and Canada. But in the CETA Draft Agreement, which the Commission regards as a template for free trade negotiations with the United States, we come across a final provision of seemingly minor relevance on ‘private rights’, which rejects the applicability of the agreement en passant. This reaffirms that the implications of the free trade deals would be less dramatic than some suggest. Continue reading >>
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Verhinderte Rechtsanwendung: deutsche Gerichte, CETA/TIIP und Investor-Staat-Streitigkeiten
Selten war das Interesse an völkerrechtlichen Verträgen so groß wie im Fall der geplanten Freihandelsabkommen TTIP und CETA. Doch im CETA-Entwurf, der auch für TTIP als Muster dienen soll, findet sich ein auf den ersten Blick eher unscheinbarer Artikel zu den Private Rights, der gleichsam en passant die innerstaatliche Anwendung des Abkommens ausschließt. Dies bestätigt, dass die Auswirkungen der Abkommen weniger dramatisch wären, als es bisweilen erscheint. Continue reading >>29 December 2014
“We had something in mind, which then changed and became something different” – interview with Oreste Pollicino, co-founder of Diritti Comparati
You founded Diritti Comparati in 2010. What motivated you to […] Continue reading >>
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“We had something in mind, which then changed and became something different” – interview with Oreste Pollicino, co-founder of Diritti Comparati
You founded Diritti Comparati in 2010. What motivated you to […] Continue reading >>
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23 December 2014
Thou shalt have no other courts before me
Opinion 2/13 has already spurred outrage throughout the blogosphere. I concur with the statements published on this site: none of the Court’s arguments is compelling, some can be attributed to its exaggerated cautiousness, some, however, are utterly ill-founded. My contribution will focus on the ECJ’s statements under the caption ‘The specific characteristics and the autonomy of EU law’ (starting at marginal number 179) which I consider to be those with the most glaring blunders and misapprehensions. Continue reading >>Zellhaufen, Embryo, Mensch? Die jüngste Entscheidung des EuGH zu Stammzell-Patenten
Manipulierte menschliche Eizellen, aus denen nach einigen Tagen der Entwicklung Stammzellen gewonnen werden, sind nicht patentierbar. Dies schien die Linie des Europäischen Gerichtshof seit der richtungsweisenden Entscheidung Brüstle v. Greenpeace von 2011 zu sein. Doch jetzt hat der Gerichtshof in Luxemburg seine Rechtsprechung in einem wichtigen Punkt präzisiert, wenn nicht gar korrigiert. So genannte Parthenoten, so der EuGH in seinem jüngsten Urteil International Stem Cell Corporation, sind (doch) keine menschlichen Embryonen! Deshalb können biotechnologische Erfindungen, welche die Verwendung von Parthenoten zum Gegenstand haben, patentiert werden. Continue reading >>22 December 2014