30 July 2025
The Legal Profession in the Executive Branch
The Trump administration is reshaping the roles of the U.S. legal profession and the civil service to use them as a tool to support the President’s political interests. This impacts an understudied and politically significant group of bureaucrats: government lawyers. They play a critical gatekeeper role in establishing legal principles that can both enable and hinder the systematic weakening of democratic institutions. The case of Brazil has a lot of important lessons to offer. Continue reading >>
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29 July 2025
Keine Sache der Exekutive
Mit Urteil vom 15. Juli 2025 hat das BVerfG die Verfassungsbeschwerde der Neffen eines jemenitischen Geistlichen, der im August 2012 durch einen US-amerikanischen Drohneneinsatz getötet wurde, verworfen. Das Gericht erkennt mit diesem Urteil zum ersten Mal die Möglichkeit einer Schutzpflicht auch in einer reinen Auslandskonstellation an – selbst, wenn die Gefahr von einem anderen Staat ausgeht. Hier soll ein Blick darauf geworfen werden, inwieweit Gerichte exekutive Völkerrechtsauffassungen einer umfassenden Kontrolle unterziehen können. Das Gericht vergibt die Chance, der ausdrücklich als staatlicher Schutzauftrag operationalisierten Völkerrechtsfreundlichkeit auch Zähne in Form gerichtlicher Kontrollierbarkeit zu verleihen. Continue reading >>
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Frontex vor dem EuGH
Der EuGH hatte in seinem viel kritisierten Urteil vom 6. September 2023 (T-600/21, WS u.a. v. Frontex) im Fall der rechtswidrigen Rückführung einer sechsköpfigen Familie den Zurechnungszusammenhang und damit die deliktische Haftung der EU-Agentur verneint. Aktuell sind EuGH und EGMR erneut mit einer Vielzahl an Fällen befasst, die operative Rückführungsmaßnahmen betreffen. Die nunmehr in der Revision in der Rechtssache WS u.a. v. Frontex ergangenen Schlussanträge machen deutlich, dass der EuGH wesentlichen Fragen in Bezug auf die Verantwortlichkeit von Frontex ausgewichen ist. Continue reading >>
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Up Against It
The Grand Chamber ruled that Caster Semenya did not benefit from a fair hearing contrary to Article 6(1) European Convention on Human Rights. However, it did not extend Switzerland’s jurisdiction to her substantive complaints under Article 8 ECHR, taken alone or in conjunction with Article 14 ECHR, which go to the heart of her case. Although the GC was up against it in the current stormy political landscape of sex and gender, it could have gone further to protect fundamental rights. Continue reading >>
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28 July 2025
Consolidating Parliamentary Democracy in Mongolia
In May 2025, Mongolia witnessed peaceful youth-led protests in Sukhbaatar Square reacting to the Government’s handling of corruption and a perceived lack of transparency. The demonstration led to the Government’s resignation after a failed vote of confidence. Such governmental crises are not unprecedented in Mongolia, but the reaction to it is: the current political episode stands for an emerging constitutional culture in which civil society is reclaiming constitutional mechanisms for a more participatory and responsive democratic system. Continue reading >>
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Ein Strohfeuer für die österreichische Justiz
Am 9. Juli hat Österreich die Einrichtung einer Bundesstaatsanwaltschaft beschlossen: Ein Anfang, doch Österreichs Justiz braucht mehr als ein Strohfeuer. Strukturprobleme und politische Einflussnahmen lähmen die Gerichte. Wer Rechtsstaatlichkeit und unabhängige Verfahren stärken will, braucht langen Atem und einen europäischen Rahmen, der Standards setzt und ihre Umsetzung einfordert. Continue reading >>
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Bullying Universities
David Pozen at Columbia University calls Columbia University’s new agreement with the federal government “regulation by deal”. Of course, Columbia should have learned by now that making a deal does not mean that the pressure stops. Appeasing a bully only empowers the bully – and he will be back for more. Regulation by deal, precisely because it bypasses general lawmaking procedures, leaves open the possibility that any deal can be supplemented with even more demands in the future. It can provide no legal guarantees of security. Continue reading >>
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Can The EU Levy Its Own Taxes?
The budgetary dance in the EU budgetary cycle always starts early and seems to follow similar patterns: the heads of state assess their positions, the press then divides them into camps (usually a frugal and an expansionist one), and the European Commission proposes measures that would expand the Union's budgetary autonomy. With the announcement of a new “Corporate Resource for Europe” (“CORE”), the Commission has relaunched an age-old debate: can the Union levy its own taxes, and if so, on what legal basis? Continue reading >>
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27 July 2025
International Rulings and the UK–Mauritius Chagos Agreement
On 22 May 2025, following negotiations that began in November 2022 and a joint statement of 3 October 2024 (to learn more, see Sebastian von Massow), the United Kingdom and Mauritius concluded an Agreement, stating that “Mauritius is sovereign over the Chagos Archipelago in its entirety, including Diego Garcia” (Article 1). The Chagos Agreement is not only a diplomatic achievement, but also a “contractual transposition” of the decisions of international courts and tribunals. Continue reading >>25 July 2025
Pullbacks in the Channel
Last week, negotiations for a new UK–France agreement culminated in the announcement of a 'one in, one out' pilot scheme, under which the UK will return small boat arrivals to France while accepting asylum seekers selected from France who can demonstrate family ties in Britain. The agreement signals a sui generis evolution in European migration control. For the first time, rather than pushing asylum seekers back to third countries to avoid legal responsibilities under EU and international law, an EU Member State is directly preventing departures from its own territory. Continue reading >>
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Auf Kosten des Rechtsstaates
Erst im Februar 2024 trat § 62d AufenthG in Kraft. Dieser regelte erstmals, dass im Zuge der Anordnung von Abschiebungshaft eine anwaltliche Vertretung verpflichtend ist. Nur knapp 18 Monate später soll er nach dem Willen der Bundesregierung bereits wieder abgeschafft werden. Die Begründung des Gesetzesentwurfes verkennt dabei den Normzweck der ursprünglichen Regelung. Freiheitsrechte und Rechtsstaatlichkeit dürfen nicht dem politischen Ziel schnellerer Abschiebungen untergeordnet werden. Continue reading >>Weg frei für „Berlin autofrei“
Nach dem Erfolg von „Deutsche Wohnen enteignen“ dürfte Berlin bald über das nächste Volksbegehren abstimmen, das die Stadt lebenswerter machen soll: „Berlin autofrei“ will den individuellen Kfz-Verkehr innerhalb des S-Bahn-Rings weitgehend verbieten. Nachdem die Senatsverwaltung das Volksbegehren zunächst gestoppt hatte, hält der VerfGH Berlin es nun für vollumfänglich zulässig. Der Gerichtshof erkennt an, dass es zwar kein „Grundrecht auf Autofahren“ gibt, doch besondere Mobilitätsbedürfnisse durchaus grundrechtlichen Schutz genießen. Dies hätte er allerdings bruchloser argumentieren können, wenn er die Eingriffsqualität anerkannt hätte. Continue reading >>
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24 July 2025
What We Lost in the Skies Above Tehran
The damage that Merz and Steinmeier have inflicted on both Germany’s international credibility and the order put in place with the founding of the United Nations will likewise be felt for decades to come. As things stand right now, as far as the jus contra bellum is concerned, there might not be much left to reconstruct when the community of international law scholars meets up in Berlin in September. In that, the realists may find reason to rejoice. They, too, will come to miss it once it’s gone. Continue reading >>Sterbehilfe endlich regeln
Am Dienstag hat das Bundesverfassungsgericht die Verfassungsbeschwerde eines Arztes verworfen: Der Arzt hatte einem psychisch kranken Mann auf dessen Wunsch eine Infusion mit einer tödlich wirkenden Substanz gelegt. Obwohl der Patient den Zugang selbst öffnete, nahm der BGH einen Totschlag in mittelbarer Täterschaft an. Der Fall zeigt einmal mehr, dass der Fragenkreis von Sterbehilfe und Unterstützung beim Suizid dringend einer durchdachten gesetzlichen Regelung bedarf. Anregungen dazu können neue Normierungen der Materie in Frankreich und England geben. Continue reading >>
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An Elusive Touchdown with a Political Football
On July 19, Congress voted to revoke funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting – something it has not done in the 60 years since its creation. In countries with strong public media traditions, this may seem astonishing: Why would Congress defund NPR and PBS after already having appropriated the money? And what does this mean for the First Amendment? To answer these questions, we must consider the peculiar history of public broadcasting in the United States. Continue reading >>
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The Great Recall Movement
Confronted with lawmakers they themselves elected just eighteen months ago, Taiwanese citizens have creatively repurposed the antiquated mechanism of "recall" as a last-resort check on a runaway legislature. Sparked by a year of legislative overreach and erosion of constitutional checks, this unprecedented campaign reflects Taiwan's spirit of civic constitutionalism, and its determination to defend its democratic institutions. Continue reading >>
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23 July 2025
Eine Republik wird „neutralisiert“
Julia Klöckner ist seit der Bundestagswahl 2025 Präsidentin des Deutschen Bundestages. Ihrem Schutz anvertraut sind die Einhaltung der Geschäftsordnung, die Fairness der Debatten und die Ordnung des Hohen Hauses schlechthin. Außerdem hat sie „die Würde und die Rechte des Bundestages“ zu wahren. Der Präsidentin Klöckner reichten diese Schutzgüter nicht aus. Sie nahm ein weiteres in Anspruch – die politische Neutralität, die sie etwa durch bestimmte Kleidung oder das Hissen der Regenbogenflagge sieht. Doch Neutralität hat freilich einen politisch vergifteten Kontext. Continue reading >>Respect for International Law in Gaza
Since October 2023, a group of eminent Israeli international law scholars has written numerous letters and memos expressing concerns over many aspects of the Gaza war. Given the importance of these documents both in doctrinal terms and in highlighting the work of these colleagues, we have asked to publish them. So far, only one of the letters has been officially published. Readers interested in more detail can access the full text of the respective documents, which are hyperlinked and archived on Verfassungsblog. Continue reading >>
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Another Step in the Anti-Abortion Agenda
Trump’s recently passed “One Big, Beautiful Bill” bars Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood for one year. The provision is now temporarily blocked after Planned Parenthood filed suit. But it builds on, and must be read against, the backdrop of Medina v. Planned Parenthood, a recent and disastrous Supreme Court ruling initiated by South Carolina. The case starkly illustrates the Court’s continued alignment with an anti-abortion agenda advanced through state governments and forms part of a broader assault on civil rights. Not least, its entanglement with Medicaid signals a deeper campaign against the poor and access to healthcare. Continue reading >>
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22 July 2025
The Demise of Congress
Last week, Congress passed a bill permitting deep cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting programs – just days after enacting what Donald Trump hailed as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” widely seen as a legislative disaster. Congress is increasingly surrendering its constitutional power of the purse and, with it, its institutional identity in relation to the presidency. Its collapse in favor of pure partisanship signals the breakdown of the system of checks and balances at the heart of the U.S. Constitution. Continue reading >>
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Sweden, Sex Work, Screens
Sweden takes its sex work ban online — but at what cost? Criminalising digital intimacy clashes with EU rights and consensus. The new law risks punishing autonomy without protecting anyone. From demand to overreach: privacy in the digital age is at stake. Copying offline laws into online spaces erodes digital freedoms. Continue reading >>
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Halbherziger Schutz für Gaza
Nach einem anderthalbjährigen Entscheidungsstopp aufgrund einer „ungewissen Lage“ im Gazastreifen gab das Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF) am 18. Juli 2025 bekannt, wieder über Asylanträge zu entscheiden. Schutzsuchende werden nun also voraussichtlich subsidiären Schutz erhalten. Ein richtiger Schritt, allerdings werden ipso-facto Schutz und Flüchtlingseigenschaft in der behördlichen und verwaltungsgerichtlichen Praxis bislang zu Unrecht weitgehend ausgeblendet. Continue reading >>The EU’s New Climate Targets and the Return of Flexibility
Early in July, the European Commission then released its proposal for a new climate target. The Commission hails the new targets as “ambitious”. But the proposal clearly bows to concerns about geopolitical competition. Greater flexibilities shall square the circle between climate ambition and competitiveness concerns. The idea has a telling history. Continue reading >>
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21 July 2025
Stopping the Davids, Shielding the Goliaths
In Barbara v. Trump, an individual federal district court judge stopped the Administration’s birthright citizenship executive order nationwide. Just when the Supreme Court said this was not allowed in Trump v. CASA, a New Hampshire judge ordered universal relief, this time through a class action. There is a big difference between a nationwide injunction that benefits non-parties and a class action that benefits class members. But what they have in common is that they both empower the “little guy” to enforce the rule of law. The Supreme Court has eliminated the former and is now trying to kneecap the latter. Continue reading >>
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Vertrauen und Vertretbarkeit
Das BVerfG hat mit Urteil vom 15.07.2025 eine völkerrechtliche Verantwortung Deutschlands wegen der von der US-Air-Base Ramstein geflogenen Drohnenangriffe zurückgewiesen. Dennoch bestätigt das Urteil, dass es grundrechtliche Schutzpflichten des deutschen Staates gegenüber Ausländer*innen im Ausland geben kann. Damit ist es auch für die derzeit hochumstrittenen Genehmigungen von Waffenlieferungen an Israel von großer Bedeutung. Continue reading >>Decriminalising Abortion in England and Wales
On 17 June 2025, British MPs took an important step in decriminalising abortion against a backdrop of rising prosecutions for "later" abortion. Once the amended Crime and Policing Bill becomes law, people who voluntarily end their own pregnancies will be exempt from criminalisation. But, unless a further amendment is made, those good faith actors who provide abortion, or support others in getting access, remain at risk of criminal investigation. Five aspects of the recent legal changes are worth emphasising as lessons for a strategic perspective on defending, and even expanding, reproductive freedom. Continue reading >>
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19 July 2025
Against Authoritarian Determinism
A tempting but corrosive thought about Israeli politics – and about many other places – is that we have already embarked on a one-way road to authoritarianism. This “authoritarian determinism”, sometimes presented as a kind of seasoned realism, assumes that political trajectories continue unidirectionally. There is a world of difference between the many political contexts in which authoritarianism seems to be on the rise. And yet, a common question seems to be asked: in the face of authoritarian determinism, what can be saved of the democratic process? Until when does it make sense to hold on? Continue reading >>
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Suspension of EU Association Agreements Does Not Require Unanimity
In its meeting on 15 July 2025, the Council of the EU failed to adopt concrete measures vis-à-vis Israel, limiting itself to an “exchange of views on an inventory of possible follow-up measures”. This hesitant approach stands in contrast to clear indications that Israel is in breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement (AA), and to the EU’s own obligation to work towards consolidating human rights and the principles of public international law pursuant to Article 21 TEU. While a suspension of the entire AA was never really foreseeable, an important question relates to the voting threshold within the Council that would apply to such a decision relating to the AA. Continue reading >>17 July 2025
Copyright, AI, and the Future of Internet Search before the CJEU
With Like Company v Google, the first groundbreaking AI copyright case is now headed to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). In this case, a Hungarian press publisher challenges Google and its Gemini chatbot for reproducing and communicating its editorial content without authorisation. The Court’s decision will establish the legal framework for AI’s relationship with copyright and press publishers’ rights across the EU. It will potentially reshape how generative AI systems can or cannot lawfully access, process and reproduce journalistic and other protected content. This may even fundamentally affect the economic and technical architecture of future AI development. Continue reading >>
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16 July 2025
The GPAI Code of Practice
On 10 July 2025, the European Commission published the final version of its Code of Practice for General-Purpose AI (GPAI) – a voluntary rulebook developed by a group of independent experts and more than 1,400 stakeholders from industry, academia, civil society, and rightsholders. The Code is meant to prepare providers for what’s ahead: it offers a straightforward way to start complying with future obligations under the AI Act. Its success will ultimately depend on whether it manages to reduce compliance burdens and provide legal certainty. Even if not universally adopted, it could still serve as a regulatory benchmark under the AI Act. Continue reading >>
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Independence as a Desideratum
A recent report claiming that EU tech regulation has entered the ongoing trade negotiations with the U.S. has sparked fears that enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA) might be halted altogether. Although the DSA only came into full effect in February 2024, the European Commission’s subsequent enforcement has already showcased conflicts regarding its role as an autonomous political and administrative enforcement body. Considering the potential impact of the DSA on online communication, the Commission’s current role in DSA enforcement raises serious concerns. This calls for a search for alternative models of DSA enforcement. Three options present themselves. Continue reading >>
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15 July 2025
Die Sache mit der Menschenwürde
Im ersten Absatz des ersten Artikels des Grundgesetzes steht das bundesrepublikanische Glaubensbekenntnis: „Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar.“ Kein anderer Satz ist in Deutschland derart demonstrativ konsensfähig, kein anderer Satz bedient derart das deutsche Bedürfnis nach moralischer, nicht zuletzt erinnerungspolitischer Selbstvergewisserung, und kein anderer Satz der Verfassung eignet sich gerade deshalb derart gut für politisch zweckentfremdete Feindmarkierungen. In einem der unrühmlichsten Vorgänge der jüngeren deutschen Politikgeschichte hat das die Potsdamer Professorin Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf erfahren müssen. Continue reading >>Parlamentskultur und Bundesverfassungsrichterwahl
Die Wahl neuer Richterinnen und Richter an das Bundesverfassungsgericht sorgt für politisches Störfeuer – trotz fachlich überzeugender Vorschläge. Statt juristischer Expertise dominieren moralische Reflexe und parteipolitisches Kalkül. Die Plenumsentscheidung stellt aber hohe Anforderungen an die Parlamentskultur: Die aktuellen Entwicklungen drohen, das Vertrauen in das demokratische Verfahren der Richterwahl nachhaltig zu schädigen. Continue reading >>The End of an (Unlawful) Era
On June 17th, the Danish Supreme Court delivered an important judgement concerning the principle of non-penalization of refugees, ending decades of unlawful prosecutorial practices. A closer reading points to longstanding deficiencies in informing asylum seekers of their rights during the procedure. Moreover, questions remain regarding the interpretation of Article 31 for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. Continue reading >>
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14 July 2025
Turkey’s Gerontocratic Constitutional Moment
In less than a year, Turkish politics has undergone a profound realignment. It began in October 2024 with a remarkable speech by Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and President Erdoğan’s chief coalition partner. In one of the most cryptic U-turns of his career, Bahçeli—long a hardliner on the Kurdish question—proposed reopening the long-frozen peace process with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the separatist armed group that has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state. In short, the tectonic plates of Turkish politics are shifting, and at the center of this transition stands a cast of aging men, each well past seventy. Continue reading >>
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Stellungnahme zur Causa „Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf“
Über 300 Rechtswissenschaftler*innen protestieren in dieser Stellungnahme nachdrücklich gegen die Art und Weise, wie im Rahmen der Richterwahl zum Bundesverfassungsgericht in der Politik und in der Öffentlichkeit mit Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf umgegangen wurde. Dieser Umgang ist geeignet, die Kandidatin, die beteiligten Institutionen und mittelfristig über den Verfall der angemessenen Umgangskultur die gesamte demokratische Ordnung zu beschädigen. Continue reading >>Starlink, the Cloud, and Corporate Dependency
The Trump Administration has repeatedly pushed for the adoption or licensing of Elon Musk’s satellite company Starlink in trade negotiations. But as Musk’s strategic use of his satellite service reveals, corporate control over critical infrastructure inevitably translates into political power. Power that companies may wield in alignment with, or in opposition to, state interests. The solution, however, may not lie in stronger state oversight alone, but in democratizing corporations themselves. Continue reading >>
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13 July 2025
Assets Without Alibi
Păcurar is yet another version of the familiar cat-and-mouse game between anticorruption agencies and corrupt public officials: some public officials quietly amass real estate, luxury cars, financial investments, or cash, and – once confronted by anticorruption agencies to explain the difference from their declared legal income – rely on whimsical excuses. On 24 June 2025, the ECtHR held that wealth may be taken away if public officials cannot explain that very difference. This ruling completes the ECtHR’s endorsement of civil law instruments in the fight against corruption by fully disconnecting confiscation from any link to a crime. Continue reading >>
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Petro’s Schmittian Turn
On 11 June 2025, Colombian President Gustavo Petro issued a decree calling a national popular consultation on a package of long-stalled social reforms. The decree came after the Senate had explicitly rejected his formal request to hold such a vote – approval that is constitutionally required under Article 104 of the Constitution. This reveals something deeper and more dangerous: an increasingly Schmittian conception of democratic power, in which the president, claiming to represent a unified people, overrides institutional checks in the name of higher constitutional fidelity. Continue reading >>
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On the “Whims of Foreign Courts”
Last week, the UK High Court decided that the UK can continue to issue licences for F-35 components that go into a pool of spare parts which Israel can use on its existing F-35 jets. The finding by the High Court that the UK cannot exclude Israel as an end user for UK manufactured components because “the only way for the UK to ensure that its components do not reach Israel is for it to suspend all exports into the F-35 programme” raises pertinent questions with regard to the UK's compliance with the Arms Trade Treaty and other key provisions of international law. Continue reading >>
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12 July 2025
Von Worten zu Taten
Am 23. Juni 2025 trafen sich die 27 Außenminister der Europäischen Union (EU) in Brüssel, um über die Zukunft des Assoziierungsabkommens mit Israel (AA EU–Israel) zu beraten. Das Außenministertreffen selbst führte zu keiner Entscheidung über eine mögliche Aussetzung des Abkommens. Gemäß Art. 21 EUV ist die EU jedoch verpflichtet, im Einklang mit dem Völkerrecht zu handeln und bei festgestellten Menschenrechtsverletzungen auf der Grundlage des AA EU–Israel zu reagieren. Andernfalls riskiert die EU, gegen ihr eigenes Primärrecht zu verstoßen. Continue reading >>
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Beyond the Fog of War
Superlatives are often overused - but in the case of the Grand Chamber judgment in Ukraine, The Netherlands v Russia, delivered on 9 July 2025, they are not only justified but arguably inadequate. This case stands out as one of the most consequential and complex in the history of the European Court of Human Rights. It addresses systemic human rights violations committed in the context of an ongoing international armed conflict and during a prolonged period of occupation. Continue reading >>
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The Catalan Amnesty in the Spanish Constitutional Court
On 26 June 2025, the Spanish Constitutional Court ruled that the Amnesty Act “for the Institutional, Political and Social Normalization in Catalonia” is constitutional. The decision appears to reflect a pragmatic rather than a principled understanding of the amnesty – in other words, it treats the amnesty as an instrument to normalise the political situation in Catalonia rather than a measure for redressing possible rights violations resulting from the criminal convictions. Continue reading >>
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The NGO’s Guide to Authoritarianism
It appears that whenever expert civil society organizations release a legal analysis of draft laws that restrict fundamental rights and freedoms, authoritarian governments learn from their mistakes and avoid them in the next round. One could witness such a situation when the Foreign Agents Registration Bill was introduced in the Slovak parliament last spring, and the public watchdog and advocacy organization VIA IURIS tried to stand against this legislation. In one year, the Slovak parliament considered three versions of the Bill, with each version making it more challenging to fight in court. Continue reading >>
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11 July 2025
Spanish Judges on Strike
“Save the rule of Law in Spain”, read a banner held by a number of unidentified judges who were demonstrating before the premises of the Spanish Supreme Court, a couple of days ago in Madrid. But save it – from whom? The demonstrators would no doubt reply: from Pedro Sánchez and his government, which has undertaken the first serious reform of the Spanish judiciary since the transition to democracy. But the reform is not the only reason why the Spanish judges have been on strike. Continue reading >>The Finish Line of Caster Semenya’s Judicial Marathon
Caster Semenya was wronged, and Switzerland – due to the inaction of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (SFSC) – was held responsible by the Grand Chamber (GC) of the ECtHR. This conclusion to a long judicial marathon is an important vindication for an athlete who saw her career destroyed by a process that violated her right to a fair hearing. The case will be remembered as a significant landmark that will affect the field of transnational sports law and governance for years to come. Continue reading >>
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Laboratories of Authoritarianism
In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded the 1st Amendment Free Exercise Clause to grant conservative religious parents a constitutional right to remove their children from any classroom where a teacher includes LGBTQAI+ people in the curriculum. In effect, the Court has allowed public schools to discourage mutual tolerance, parents to opt out of Equal Protection, and fringe legal strategists to continue to use children’s constitutional rights as a test case for authoritarianism. In doing so, the erosion of children’s rights becomes the foundation upon which other rights are eroded. Continue reading >>
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Zementierte Privilegien
Der erste Senat des Bundesverfassungsgerichts hat in seinem Beschluss vom 25. Juni 2025 entschieden, dass die Pflicht zur Abgabe einer Anschlusszusage bei promovierten wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiter*innen gegen Art. 5 Abs. 3 S. 1 GG verstößt. Der Beschluss macht einmal mehr deutlich, dass in Deutschland die Wissenschaftsfreiheit allein aus der Perspektive der Professor*innen betrachtet wird. Continue reading >>
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10 July 2025
Reforming the GDPR
After a surge of new digital legislation over the past two years, the European Commission appears to have no intention of easing its pace in reshaping Europe’s regulatory landscape. This includes proposals to reform the GDPR. Regulatory reforms should, however, focus on strengthening enforcement and fixing the structural problems of the GDPR, rather than merely simplifying and deregulating it. Continue reading >>
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Silencing Children’s Rights
The U.S. Supreme Court decided Mahmoud v. Taylor on June 27, 2025. In doing so, it dramatically expanded parental rights over students and education without concern for the rights of children or consideration of pedagogy and curriculum. Instead of addressing the plurality of views around sexual orientation and gender, the Court indirectly, but unsubtly, installs a traditional values framework that imposes norms of heterosexuality, religious fundamentalism and parental micromanagement of curriculum. Continue reading >>
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