English Articles
Alle Beiträge dieser Kategorie werden über den EN Button gesondert ausgegeben. Die Kategorie selbst wird nirgendwo sichtbar gelistet.
DEBATE
13 December 2024
“It looks more like a managed transition than a revolution.”
Five Questions to Michael Meyer-Resende
Continue reading >>
0 
Shooting Democracy in the Foot?
On December 6th, the Romanian Constitutional Court (CCR) annulled the Presidential Elections. The CCR’s decision followed the disclosure of intelligence documents on December 4th. These showed Russian interferences in the electoral process and campaign, via propaganda and disinformation. The gravity of the violations evidenced by the documents released, coupled with the many concerning declarations by Călin Georgescu, made the CCR’s intervention vital. However, the modalities of and belatedness of the CCR’s and the Romanian authorities’ response with respect to this unfolding mess do nothing but exacerbate the root causes of Georgescu’s win, bolstering his claim that democracy is being denied to the people of Romania.
Continue reading >>
0
Regulating AI at Europe’s Borders
How does the EU's AI Act affect migration and border management? This blog examines the critical gaps and challenges posed by the classification of high-risk AI systems, revealing how exceptions and loopholes amplify fundamental rights risks and accountability gaps. The analysis points out the need for stronger oversight and higher standards to protect the rights of individuals affected by AI-driven migration technologies.
Continue reading >>
0
12 December 2024
Integrating Artificial Intelligence in Ukraine’s Courts
This post examines Ukraine’s recent steps toward AI integration in the courts, highlighting initiatives and plans for the future. While these efforts reflect a growing recognition of AI’s potential, they also reveal limitations. Concerns surrounding AI, such as data security and confidentiality, reliability, transparency, explainability, accountability, fairness, and bias, are just as significant in judicial contexts as they are in other areas.
Continue reading >>
0
Ahead of the Curve
While the German Supply Chain Act (SCDDA) faces criticism for its potential economic impact, compliance offers companies significant advantages. It positions them ahead of the curve in aligning with the forthcoming EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). By integrating responsible business practices early, companies not only meet current human rights and environmental standards but also gain a competitive edge. Amending or repealing the SCDDA, however, risks diminishing these advantages for German businesses.
Continue reading >>
0
EU’s AI Act and Migration Control. Shortcomings in Safeguarding Fundamental Rights
In the European Union, AI and non-AI technologies are increasingly being used for border and migration control. In this blog, Brouwer argues that the new AI Act, while adding safeguards, falls short of sufficiently protecting fundamental rights. This is due to its blanket exceptions and broad discretion for national and EU agencies to experiment with AI tools when making decisions about migrants, including asylum seekers and refugees. It is therefore important that the general legal framework on fundamental rights continues to be observed.
Continue reading >>
0
11 December 2024
Passing a Budget in Times of Legislative Paralysis
On December 4, the French National Assembly passed a motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government. This is an exceptionally rare occurrence and its legal consequences are, by necessity, uncertain. What is indisputable, however, is that the very passage of this motion places the government into caretaker status, which considerably restricts its legal authority. This legal situation presents acute challenges for the two budget-related bills currently pending in Parliament since both bills must be passed before December 31.
Continue reading >>
0
Ein Anfang, mehr nicht
Kein anderes Thema hat die Gemüter beim Ringen um die KI-Verordnung der EU so sehr erhitzt wie die automatisierte Gesichtserkennung in der Strafverfolgung und ihre Regulierung. Jetzt stehen die Vorschriften für Gesichtserkennung und andere Methoden biometrischer Fernidentifizierung fest – zumindest der aller-äußerste Rahmen, den die KI-Verordnung festlegt. Diese Regelungen sind allerdings nur ein Anfang, mehr nicht.
Continue reading >>
0
10 December 2024
On Means and Ends
During the 2024 presidential elections, the Romanian Constitutional Court has assumed a surprisingly militant stance, ultimately granting it an unexpected leading role in the outcome (disruption) of the elections. Alas, the outcome, which at the moment seems an acceptable political result for the pro-European parties, i.e. preventing a possible victory of a far-right, pro-Russian candidate, was achieved through a series of unfortunate decisions. They were at odds with constitutional order, principles of the rule of law, or the idea of democracy.
Continue reading >>A Troubling Triumph in Romania
The annulment of Romania’s presidential election results by its Constitutional Court is, at first glance, a triumph for democracy. By nullifying the first round – narrowly won by far-right candidate Calin Georgescu amid allegations of Russian-backed interference – the Court sent a clear message: electoral integrity is not up for debate. But is this really a victory? In truth, this decision reflects a troubling pattern in how democracies respond to crises: after the fact. The annulment is not so much a defence of democracy as a stark reminder of the limits of judicial power.
Continue reading >>
0
AI Act and the Prohibition of Real-Time Biometric Identification
Remote biometric identification (RBI) systems are increasingly becoming part of our daily lives. The most prominent example is the use of facial recognition technologies in public spaces (e.g. CCTV cameras). The AI Act regulates the use of RBI systems distinguishing between real-time and post RBI systems. While one of the main aims of the AIA was to ban real-time RBI systems, the Regulation failed to do so in an effective manner. Instead, it can be argued that the AIA still allows for a broad use of such systems.
Continue reading >>
0
09 December 2024
The AI Act National Security Exception
In 2024, the EU legislators adopted a detailed national security exception to the AI Act, contravening prior EU case law. Beyond the possibility of a future ruling that would realign the AI Act’s scope with said case law, the impact of this exception might be limited by other applicable laws and the interpretative and practical difficulty of distinguishing between national and public security. The AI Act’s failure to sufficiently account for these intricacies risks further legal uncertainty within the already complex security landscape. Therefore, this blog post explores the challenges of implementing the exception of national security to the AI Act’s scope of application.
Continue reading >>The EU AI Act’s Impact on Security Law
The process of integrating European security law is imperfect and unfinished – given the constraints posed by the European Treaties, it is likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future. This inevitable imperfection, lamentable as it may be, creates opportunities for legal scholarship. Legal scholars are needed to explore the gaps and cracks in this new security architecture and to ultimately develop proposals for how to fix them. This debate series, being a product of VB Security and Crime, takes the recently adopted AI Act as an opportunity to do just that: It brings together legal scholars, both German and international, in order to explain, analyze and criticize the EU AI Act’s impact on security law from both an EU and German national law perspective.
Continue reading >>
0
08 December 2024
Paula Escarameia
Paula Ventura de Carvalho Escarameia’s legacy extends beyond classical legal achievements. With a diversified career over decades that got cut short way too soon at the age of fifty, she’s earned global acclaim for her expertise in public international law, especially concerning the situation in East Timor. She believed that public international law was no rigid construct but could and should be changed especially in the areas of self-determination and the protection of human rights – ultimately contributing to the establishment of the International Criminal Court.
Continue reading >>
0
07 December 2024
The Second Round that Wasn’t
On 6 December 2024, the final day of Romania’s most turbulent presidential election campaign in the last 25 years, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling that was unprecedented not only in recent Romanian, but also in European constitutional history: it annulled the first round of the elections, held on 24 November, and ordered the entire electoral process to restart. Only 4 days earlier, on 2 December 2024, the same Court had ruled not to annul the first round of the elections. What led to this dramatic shift between those two dates?
Continue reading >>“The Advisory Opinion Could Reshape Global Climate Governance.”
Five Questions to Tejas Rao, Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger and Markus Gehring
Continue reading >>
0
06 December 2024
Bulgaria’s Controversial Prosecutor General
The ongoing nomination of Bulgaria’s next Prosecutor General, scheduled for January 16, 2025, has sparked concerns over the legitimacy of the Supreme Judicial Council, whose members’ mandates expired nearly two years ago, responsible for nominating the candidate. Despite the Constitutional Court’s ruling that the expiration of the SJC’s elected members does not dissolve the institution or suspend its functions, this decision follows a technical approach which allows nepotism and corrupted practice through the use of legal loopholes.
Continue reading >>
0
A “Democratic Exception” to ICC Jurisdiction
On 21 November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and the former Minister of Defence, for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in the ongoing Israel-Gaza War. Equally contentious was the response of leading Western states – including Germany and France – who have questioned or openly rejected treaty obligations to enforce the warrants. This is a conspicuously fraught position for countries who previously welcomed 2023 ICC arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin in legally identical circumstances.
Continue reading >>05 December 2024
Why Australia’s Social Media Ban for Kids May Breach Its Constitution
On 29 November 2024, the Australian federal Parliament enacted a world-first law, which imposed a minimum age for access to most social media sites in the country. The law will not come into full force for at least twelve months, to give time to social media platforms to devise appropriate methods for verifying the ages of users. The law