08 September 2022
Gorbachev’s Legacy in Lithuania
The last President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, who oversaw its largely peaceful collapse, passed away last week at the age of 91. Despite the praise from Western leaders, Lithuanian's public view is mostly unaffected by "Gorbamania". Gorbachev's reputation in Lithuania was irreparably damaged by the crackdown of January 13, 1991. After failing to seize control of important institutions in Vilnius, Soviet forces killed 14 individuals and injured hundreds more in a bloody massacre. Continue reading >>
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European Oversight on Frontex
The scandals about the complicity of Frontex in human rights violations in autumn 2020 exposed weaknesses in the accountability system. In this blog, I will elaborate on this by presenting the rules governing democratic accountability, followed by an analysis of the lessons learned during the parliamentary inquiry on Frontex’ human rights-related performances, in the light of their obligations. I will conclude with ideas on how to strengthen democratic accountability, and how to expand it to the much-needed public accountability of Frontex. Continue reading >>
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The “Year of Historical Memory” and Mnemonic Constitutionalism in Belarus
On 1st of September 2022, the academic year in all Belarusian schools started with an atypical lesson, on “historic memory” – led in Minsk by none other than the country’s “President” himself, Aliaksandr Łukašenka. There is a constitutional dimension to historical memory in Belarus, which is better grasped through the looking glass of mnemonic constitutionalism. Continue reading >>
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07 September 2022
Frontex and Migrants’ Access to Justice
While possibly marking a step in the right direction towards more political accountability, the controversial resignation of Frontex’s former Executive Director, Fabrice Leggeri, leaves open the question about the effective judicial protection for migrants interacting with the agency. A number of judicial actions are brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), as the only competent tribunal with jurisdiction on Frontex. By critically reviewing these judicial actions from the perspective of migrants’ access to justice, this post aims to flag the limits of the existing system of EU judicial remedies in light of Frontex wrongdoings. Beyond access to a court, access to justice vis-à-vis EU migration agencies must integrate elements of good governance, such as transparency and accountability. Continue reading >>Wo ein Kläger, da kein Richter?
Nicht viele bayerische Verwaltungsvorschriften dürften es zu einem langen Beitrag auf den vorderen Seiten der New York Times geschafft haben. So widerfuhr es vor einigen Monaten jedoch § 28 der Allgemeinen Geschäftsordnung für die Behörden des Freistaats Bayern (AGO): „Im Eingangsbereich eines jeden Dienstgebäudes ist als Ausdruck der geschichtlichen und kulturellen Prägung Bayerns gut sichtbar ein Kreuz anzubringen“ heißt es dort seit einem Beschluss des Ministerrats vom April 2018. Continue reading >>
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What Monitoring for Fundamental Rights at EU Borders?
The legal and structural problem of fundamental rights protection and its monitoring at the EU’s external borders in the context of border police operations is high on the EU political and legislative agenda at the moment. In this blog I argue that a truly independent system for monitoring human rights compliance at EU borders must be established which is the responsibility of state bodies, building on existing entities such as Ombudspersons, National Human Rights Institutions, National Preventive Mechanisms. The border monitoring activities must be coordinated across Member States and the competent monitoring bodies must have access to their sister bodies in relevant third countries. Continue reading >>
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Here We Stand
On Sunday, 28 August 2022, four major associations of European judges announced that they would challenge the Council’s Decision of 17 June that releases funds to Poland to help it recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The four associations are seeking to prevent the release of recovery funds to Poland until it has complied with the Court’s judgments in full. Whether their action has any chance of success will depend on how the Court applies the long-standing Plaumann criteria. Continue reading >>06 September 2022
What’s in a Name?
The available non-judicial forms of accountability are insufficient to ensure the accountability of the agency. Neither their combination nor the respective parts can constitute effective non-judicial remedy in the meaning of Article 13 of the European Convention for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, while their pre-emptive functionality is not deemed adequate to prevent violations. Therefore, the need for legal accountability in the form of judicial remedies becomes all the more essential. Continue reading >>
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A New European Political Community: The British Perspective
The upcoming State of the Union address scheduled for 14 September and the succession of Liz Truss as UK Prime Minister looks set to be a potential turning point in EU relations. But will the EU grasp it? Could a new intergovernmental political forum – acting alongside EU enlargement – ease the tension of EU treaty change? Such a forum might bridge the potential role prospective EU member states in Eastern Europe could play before formally joining and the necessity of forging a constructive post-Brexit relationship with the UK. It could resolve political and constitutional concerns. Continue reading >>Hybrid EU External Border Management
The recent resignation of the Executive Director of Frontex disguises in fact the many structural problems and flaws resulting from the hybrid exercise of significant executive powers within a shallow legal framework. This blogpost argues that this leads to a lack of clarity, adequate controls and safeguards which in turn creates fertile ground for abuse of power and unaccountability. Continue reading >>
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Sorge über den Fluss
Die Sorge geht über den Fluss. In einem Bändchen mit diesem Titel greift der Philosoph Hans Blumenberg die Fabel Cura des römischen Dichters Gaius Julius Hyginus auf, die vor ihm schon Herder, Goethe und Heidegger beschäftigt hatte. In der antiken Fabel formt die allegorische Figur der Sorge beim Überqueren eines Flusses aus vorgefundenem Lehm den Menschen und streitet dann mit Jupiter und Tellus über den Namen des von der Sorge erschaffenen Wesens. Continue reading >>
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Facing Up: Impact-Motivated Research Endangers not only Truth, but also Justice
All (but one) responses to my reflections on the ethics of activism as scholars in this blog symposium have been thoughtful, engaged, and charitable. For them, I am very grateful. If my rule-consequentialist worries have any truth to them, we should worry more rather than less about having the relevant motivation I castigate. When the moral stakes are higher (such as in vast areas of the Global South), one has to be even more careful about not making moral mistakes. The debate is not about whether one should be moral (by definition, we should be). It is about what is the most effective means in which the constitutional studies academy can contribute to a more just world.
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05 September 2022
Pastorale Agonalität
Das deutsche Staatsoberhaupt ist parteipolitisch neutral. Kommt dies deutschen Bürger:innen wie eine Selbstverständlichkeit vor, ist es doch eine politische Anomalie, die, so ist hinlänglich bekannt, als eine Lehre aus Weimar zu verstehen ist. Da ja vor allem das gesprochene Wort das Instrument des Bundespräsidenten ist, überrascht es nicht, dass Bürger:innen allzu oft mit pastoraler, kirchentagsähnlicher Rhetorik von oben adressiert werden. Continue reading >>
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Frontex and the Rule of Law Crisis at EU External Borders
The resignation of the Executive Director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (hereinafter: Frontex or Agency) at the end of April 2022 re-opened Pandora’s box with regard to the adequacy of the accountability mechanisms on the Agency. The turmoil was caused by several allegations of breaches of the law, which seems to be confirmed by the OLAF report, leaked at the end of July 2022. The aim of this blogpost is, first, to discuss the emergence of a rule of law crisis in border management and, second, to lay a finger on issues regarding both internal and external oversight mechanisms over Frontex, with special attention for the composition of the Management Board, the very first oversight body within the Agency. Continue reading >>
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Innere Geschlossenheit um jeden Preis
Am 29. August 2022 sprach Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz an der Karls-Universität in Prag über seine europapolitische Zukunftsvision. Auf der Grundlage des völkerrechtswidrigen Angriffskriegs auf die Ukraine stellte er vier Grundüberlegungen vor, welche sich mit den Begriffen Erweiterung der Europäischen Union, Souveränität, Einigkeit und Wertefundament zusammenfassen lassen. Während sein Plädoyer für die eine erweiterte, souveräne und nach innen geschlossene EU entschlossen und energisch wirkte, blieben seine Ausführungen zum Wertefundament der EU erstaunlich knapp. Weder ging er konkret auf die schwerwiegenden Rechtsstaatlichkeitsprobleme in Polen und Ungarn ein, auf die die Europäische Kommission in ihren neusten Rule of Law Reports erneut hinwies. Noch erscheinen seine Vorschläge zur Abstellung bestehender rechtsstaatlicher Defizite in allen Mitgliedsstaaten überzeugend. Continue reading >>
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An ‘Impossible Trinity’?
In international macroeconomics, the term ‘Impossible Trinity’ refers to three elements, which are impossible to coexist. In this Verfassungsblog series, we examine whether the EU’s external border policy, Frontex and the rule of law constitute such an ‘Impossible Trinity’, or whether they can be reconciled with appropriate accountability mechanisms. Continue reading >>
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03 September 2022
Czechia’s First Climate Judgment
Czechia’s first climate change lawsuit ended with a small sensation. On the hot summer day of 15th June, the Municipal Court in Prague ruled that four Czech Ministries violated the plaintiffs‘ right to a favourable environment. The violation consists in the omission to set any concrete mitigation measures that would lead to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by the year 2030 compared to the year 1990. As the Urgenda Climate Case and other landmark judgments have paved the way for climate action around the world, this first noteworthy ruling of the region blazed the trail specifically for other courts in Central and Eastern Europe. Continue reading >>
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02 September 2022
Kultur der Ungleichbehandlung
In der kommenden Woche werden die ersten Mädchen in der Schule der Regensburger Domspatzen aufgenommen. Sensation? Überfällig. Im Chor sollen sie Abstand von den Knaben halten, indem sie getrennt werden. Was ist vom Konzept Knabenchor nun rechtlich zu halten und wie kommt er in das bundesweite Verzeichnis „Immaterielles Kulturerbe“? Continue reading >>Child Protection, Sexuality and Feindstrafrecht
Across EU Member States, we are witnessing the growing use of criminal law for punishing behaviors related to the sexualization of minors, which do not directly imply the abuse of actual minors. This use of criminal law presents many reasons for perplexity. Continue reading >>31 August 2022
Kein Geld ohne Reform
Polen stehen rund 35,4 Mrd. Euro aus dem im Dezember vom Europäischen Rat beschlossenen Nachcorona-Sonderbudget („Next Generation“) zu. Bisher sind Zahlungen an Polen nicht geflossen. Die EU-Kommission hatte am 1. Juni eine Reihe von Reformauflagen für das polnische Justizsystem als Bedingungen für die Freigabe des Aufbau- und Resilienzplans beschlossen. Zwar hat die polnische Regierung seitdem einige Reformen veranlasst, die europarechtlichen Voraussetzungen für die Auszahlung von Geldern an Polen aus dem Aufbaufonds der EU sind aber weiterhin nicht gegeben. Continue reading >>
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Win or Lose, Chile’s Draft Constitution Heralds a New Era of Climate Constitutionalism
On September 4, Chileans will vote on whether to adopt a new constitution. It is a deeply contested election. Polls show that the yes vote is trailing by roughly 10% points, but with over 15% of voters still undecided, as of last week. The debate over the new text has centered on questions of the balance of powers, the autonomy of indigenous people, and the participation of the private sector in the provision of social security, health, and education. But one of the most innovative features of the text is not getting enough attention domestically – its deep engagement with environmentalism, and with climate change in particular. Continue reading >>A Parliament Shaped by the ‘Worst Election Law Ever’
The campaign for the next Italian general election, scheduled for [...] Continue reading >>
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Why Academic Ivory Towerism Can’t Be The Answer
At a time in which a worrying number of risks conspire to threaten the end of democracy and humanity – from climate change to uncontrolled new technologies –, to confine the remit of the legal scholar to the narrow boundaries of academic purity appears ahistorical at best, irresponsible at worst. Continue reading >>What Makes Responsible Government Responsible?
How important is it for a Parliament to know which Ministers are appointed to administer which departments? This odd question has been at the centre of a furore in Australia in recent weeks. It has focussed attention on the legal and political requirements for ‘responsible government’, to use the characterisation of the relationship between Crown, Ministers and Parliament that is in common use in parliamentary systems in the British tradition, including those in Australia. It raises some intriguing questions for the construction of the executive chapter of the Australian Constitution, which are all the more important in times of global concern about democratic decline. Continue reading >>
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30 August 2022
Neue Behörden, alte Probleme
Am 23.08.2022 hat das Bundesfinanzministerium (BMF) ein Eckpunktepapier veröffentlicht, in dem es ankündigte, die Behördenstruktur der deutschen Geldwäschebekämpfung – wieder einmal – auf den Kopf zu stellen. Die geplante Neustrukturierung ist eine willkommene Möglichkeit, das Geldwäscherecht grund- und europarechtskonform auszugestalten. Denn in seiner aktuellen Form steht der Rechte- und Pflichtenkatalog der Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in Konflikt mit dem Grundsatz der informationellen Trennung von Nachrichtendiensten und Sicherheitsbehörden. Eine Verteilung der geldwäscherechtlichen Aufgaben könnte hier Abhilfe schaffen. Continue reading >>Seenotrettung vor dem EuGH
Gegen das Instrument der Hafenstaatkontrolle, mit dem Italien NGO-Schiffe regelmäßig festsetzte, hatten die NGOs Sea-Eye und Sea-Watch 2020 vor italienischen Verwaltungsgerichten geklagt. In den von Sea-Watch betriebenen Verfahren hatte das Regionale Verwaltungsgericht Sizilien dem EuGH zwei Vorabentscheidungsersuchen vorgelegt. Anfang August erging nun das Urteil des EuGH. Der Gerichtshof präzisiert darin die europarechtlichen Vorschriften zur Hafenstaatkontrolle, trägt zur Auslegung der einschlägigen seevölkerrechtlichen Normen bei und grenzt die Verantwortungsbereiche von Flaggen- und Hafenstaaten voneinander ab. Continue reading >>
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Nudging After the Replication Crisis
Not so long ago, nudging seemed to many to be the governance tool of the future. Behavioral interventions, like reminders or information about other people’s behavior, come at low cost, help their addressees make better choices, and do not hamper their addresses’ autonomy. Meanwhile, however, the replication crisis has shaken the behavioral sciences, famous studies have been retracted due to data fraud, and, more generally, the very effectiveness of nudging has been put into question. Continue reading >>29 August 2022
Konventionswidrig aber rechtssicher
Mit Beschluss vom 08. Juli 2022 verwarf das OLG Frankfurt a.M. eine sofortige Beschwerde gegen die Ablehnung eines auf § 359 Nr. 6 StPO gestützten Wiederaufnahmeantrags durch das LG Kassel - obwohl der Europäische Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte bereits die deutsche Handhabung möglicher Befangenheit von Richtern kritisiert hatte. Continue reading >>Masernimpfpflicht: Zur Notwendigkeit einer Debatte über die Grenzen des (bislang) erlaubten Risikos
Die Einführung einer Masernimpfpflicht für bestimmte Personenkreise markiert ein neuerliches Nachgeben gegenüber einem Zeitgeist, der immer weniger bereit ist, selbst altbekannte Gesundheitsrisiken zu tolerieren. Das Bundesverfassungsgericht gebietet dem keinen Einhalt – im Gegenteil. Als Gesellschaft sollten wir hierüber sprechen, zumal alles andere als ausgemacht ist, dass eben jene gesundheitsbezogene Risikoaversion mehr ist als ein medial getriebener Trend, dessen Akteure das kritische Fragen – gerade auch hinsichtlich vermeintlich uneingeschränkt feststehender naturwissenschaftlicher Wahrheiten – verlernt haben. Continue reading >>Ein Weg zur Cannabis-Legalisierung führt über Luxemburg
Ein deutscher Alleingang hat die Rechnung ohne den Wirt gemacht. Das Europarecht hat auch beim Völkerrecht ein Wort mitzureden. Die EU hat die UN-Übereinkommen selbst ratifiziert – und zwar ohne Vorbehalt. Außerdem reduziert die innereuropäische Kompetenzverteilung den Spielraum für nationale Alleingänge. Etwas mehr Europa muss die Bundesregierung also wagen. Soweit ihr das Risiko zu groß ist, bleibt nur die große Lösung einer Cannabis-Legalisierung über Brüssel oder Luxemburg. Continue reading >>28 August 2022
Secrecy, Democracy, and the Greek Wiretapping Case
The Androulakis case not only challenged and altered the Greek political agenda, but also provoked substantial concerns about the protection of the right to secrecy of communications and in a wider sense the quality of rule of law in Greece. Continue reading >>
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26 August 2022
Sharing the Cost of the Crisis
In late July, the two political parties supporting the Spanish Government (the socialist party and the leftist Podemos) presented a proposal for approving a law on the windfall profits of banks and large energy companies in Parliament. This is supposed to tax companies earning extra profits from the recent price increase in energy and the financial sector which was slightly affected by the increase in inflation but will have a considerable profit from the rise of interest rates. The bill could serve as an example for other European countries. Continue reading >>
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What’s wrong with good “scholactivism”?
There is a fine line between suspicion based on the nature of the motivation (seeking direct material change), and the substance of the motivation (commitment to a particular normative position). Once the “scholactivist” label gets thrown around, it may be hard to maintain that distinction. And it is to normative positions which advocate new ideas or change – including those that are reflective or well-considered – to which the label is most likely to attach.
Continue reading >>Das Problem um § 216 StGB
Eine Frau spritzt ihrem schwer erkrankten Ehemann eine tödlich wirkende Insulindosis und macht sich deswegen nicht strafbar. Der BGH ist der Auffassung, dass es sich um eine straflose Beihilfe zum Suizid handelt, weil der Verstorbene bis zuletzt das Geschehen beherrscht habe. Im Fokus des Urteils steht damit die Strafvorschrift der Tötung auf Verlangen (§ 216 StGB), deren Verfassungsmäßigkeit vom Senat vorsichtig angezweifelt wird. Die aktuelle parlamentarische Debatte beschäftigt sich währenddessen mit anderen Themen. Wenn der BGH eine aktive Tötungshandlung in eine straflose Suizidhilfe umdeutet, um eine gerechte Entscheidung herbeiführen zu können, sollte der Gesetzgeber das zum Anlass nehmen, § 216 StGB verfassungskonform auszugestalten. Continue reading >>
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25 August 2022
Atomausstieg? – nein danke!
Täglich wird das Schreckensszenario an die Wand gemalt: Deutschland friert im Winter aufgrund mangelnden Gases. Daher häufen sich in den letzten Wochen die Forderungen, die drei verbleibenden AKW nicht wie geplant mit Ablauf des Jahres abzuschalten und somit doch nicht den geplanten Ausstieg aus der Atomenergie zu vollziehen. Der aktuelle Atomausstieg ist ein komplexes Konstrukt der vergangenen zwei Jahrzehnte. Der Weg zu dem heutigen Kompromiss führte aufgrund der Verletzung rechtsstaatlicher Grundsätze und von Art. 14 GG zu mehreren Fingerzeigen aus Karlsruhe. Nun droht durch eine überhastete Änderung des Atomgesetzes dieses fein austarierte Verhältnis zwischen Energiesicherheit, Umsetzung des Willens der Bevölkerung sowie der Grundrechtspositionen der AKW Betreiberfirmen ins Wanken zu geraten. Continue reading >>24 August 2022
Scholactivism and Academic Self-Awareness
In the past decade, the U.K. has seen the overwhelming influence of the populist right. It manifests most famously in the Brexit process, but also in continuous calls for a reversal of liberal constitutionalism. Notably this process is bolstered by a group of scholars, many of whom were in my own faculty at Oxford, who serve as legitimation of government policy and spur its development. Importantly, though clearly highly effective ‘scholactivists’, these scholars would never describe themselves as such. We need to follow the money, we need to follow its route to power and to understand the role the academy plays in legitimating and building these ideological (and often religious) positions. Continue reading >>Scholactivism and the Global South
Tarunabh Khaitan’s article “On scholactivism in constitutional studies: Skeptical thoughts” has prompted us to make a number of observations. It is a welcome intervention insofar as it may perhaps provide an impetus for a much needed debate within constitutional studies, which on the one hand seeks to lay bare certain kinds of privilege that undergirds the positionality of scholars arguing against Scholactivism, and on the other hand also makes the case for empirically grounded and interdisciplinary engagement in constitutional studies. Yet, to those of us located in, writing from and about the Global South—which includes both the geographical South as well as pockets of it in the Global North (including racialised and Indigenous populations)—this contention raises several concerns. Continue reading >>
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NGOs in distress
During the summer of 2020, two ships operated by the non-governmental organization Sea Watch reached Italian shores after rescuing migrants in distress at sea. Upon arrival, both ships were detained at two Sicilian ports. Sea Watch brought two legal actions for the annulment of the detention measures. On 1 August 2022, the CJEU delivered its judgement on the case. Continue reading >>
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‘Activism’ Is Not the Problem
My claim and critique of Khaitan’s position is that constitutional law scholars must produce actual answers to questions of legality, constitutionality or feasibility. Scholars may differ in whether or not they start their inquiry with a ‘material outcome’ as their hypothesis but the quality of work by both ‘activist’ and ‘non-activist’ scholars is to be assessed on the basis of the outcome and their academic integrity. Continue reading >>The Constitution of What?
On 4 September, the Chilean people will vote on whether a draft constitution, the result of the work of a Constitutional Convention, will replace the current constitution, which dates back to Pinochet’s dictatorship. Chile’s constituent process, one might think, will thus soon be over. The future is less clear. The draft can be understood as as an exercise of social self-constitution. Its feasibility, however, seems to depend on accommodating social pluralism with the opposed logic of the realm of politics and its permanent dynamic of generating a unity that speaks with one voice. Continue reading >>
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23 August 2022
More and Better
Tarunabh Khaitan’s editorial comment in ICON on the perils of letting activist inclinations influence one’s scholarship, resulting in an unsavoury “scholactivism” blend, is thought-provoking. Professor Khaitan calls for rigorous adherence to the ethical demands of a search for truth in our research, even as we might, he suggests, become or remain activists for causes we believe in a range of other activities. In my view, however, Professor Khaitan’s critique misses the mark. He is asking too much of individuals and not enough of institutions. Continue reading >>
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Integrity and Independence
Professor Khaitan has written a powerful analysis and defense of the role of scholars in pursuing knowledge; he raises many more important issues than I have space to address here. I write in full agreement with several of the attitudes towards scholarly work that Khaitan emphasizes, especially the need for independence of judgment and an openness to revision, but find his “scholactivism” category too broadly conceptualized. Universities and their scholars must focus primarily on knowledge – its production, preservation, and dissemination – but good scholarship can be directed to material change in the world as well as to changes in understanding. Continue reading >>
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From Intellectual Poker to Open Debate
Tarunabh Khaitan’s editorial in the International Journal of Constitutional Law presents insightful remarks about the risk that scholactivism may fail both as scholarship and as activism. I largely share Khaitan’s discomfort with scholactivism, which confuses two different goals: advancing human knowledge and advancing a political goal. However, I wonder whether the instrumentalist argument that Khaitan develops is really the decisive one. In this blog, I present some doubts about this instrumentalist argument before suggesting another line of argument, based on the intrinsic nature of academic research. Continue reading >>
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Is Ethnic Gerrymandering a Solution for the Constitutional Impasse?
Christian Schmidt, the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, had a fit of temper last week. After the draft of the HR's “Decision Enacting the Law on Amendments to the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina” had been leaked to the public, there had been mass demonstrations. What were the reasons and what is the legal and political background for his outrage? Continue reading >>
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22 August 2022
Academic Roles, Political Freedoms, and Practical Abilities
There is no general reason to suppose that constitutional law scholars should refrain from engaging in politics, and I think that a scholar’s motivation to achieve a certain political goal does not affect the value, quality, or credibility of the conclusions of her inquiry. Moreover, the austere research ethics underlying the arguments of Komárek and Khaitan imposes on constitutional law scholars a set of role obligations that are in tension with some dispositions and epistemic attitudes that are often necessary to be a competent scholar in value-laden disciplines like political philosophy and constitutional law. Continue reading >>The Language of Power
Professor Tarunabh Khaitan’s ICON editorial on “scholactivism”, as well as his September 2021 Letten Prize lecture on "The Role of the Legal Scholar in the World" are unsettling. Although stepping aside and standing by may feel satisfactorily pure and avoids tensions as well as personal attacks in a post-truth world, it is not neutral – simply because any activity relating to constitutional law, active or passive, is inevitably a statement about politics and power. Instead, constitutional lawyers have a professional obligation to explicate in the public debate what forms the implicit basis of all conversation between them: the very relevance of the law to power and politics. Continue reading >>
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Lehrstück der Verhältnismäßigkeitsprüfung
Die Masern-Impfpflicht ist verfassungsgemäß entschied das Bundesverfassungsgerichts am 18. August zur Nachweispflicht einer Masernimmunisierung für Kinder, die in Kindertagesstätten betreut werden sollen. Die Entscheidung ist wissenschaftsbasiert, realistisch und abgewogen – das Lehrstück einer Grundrechtsprüfung. Continue reading >>
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Die unklare Zukunft der Wissenschaftstransparenz
Müssen Wissenschaftler ihre Ergebnisse frei zugänglich machen? Unter diesem Titel wurde vor fünf Jahren über ein Normenkontrollverfahren in Baden-Württemberg berichtet, auf das damals die deutsche Wissenschaft mit Spannung wartete. Das Interesse an der Frage ist ungebrochen, betrifft sie doch den Kernbereich der Wissenschaftsfreiheit. Nicht umsonst beschäftigt er seit September 2017 auch das Bundesverfassungsgericht, dem das Verfahren zur Entscheidung einer Vorfrage vorgelegt wurde. Bald jährt sich die Vorlage zum fünften Mal. Was seither geschah? Nichts. Continue reading >>
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A Defence of Scholactivism
A scholar motivated to achieve specific outcomes in her lifetime might be reasonably thought to bring a serious-mindedness, persistence and focus that arises from really caring about real-world effects of her work. And beyond scholarly energy, there is reason to suppose that the passion, commitment and even anger at injustice that often attends a scholactivist mindset might bring insight.
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19 August 2022
Dobbs in the EU
EU leaders and institutions have reacted strongly to the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs, which overturned Roe v. Wade and held that the right to abortion was not consitutionally protected. Shortly after the decision was made public, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Dobbs, and calling for the right to abortion to be included in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Continue reading >>
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