05 February 2026
Reflexive Globalisation, Law and Placemaking
Students demand the decolonization of curricula. Civil society debates the presentation of Non-Western artefacts and entangled histories in museums across the world. European governments apologize for slavery and genocidal killings, while former colonies request reparations, and the Indian legislature decolonizes the Indian Penal Code. The legacies of colonialism and empire are debated everywhere these days. We propose that these developments signal a new phase in the dynamics of globalisation. Continue reading >>
0 
09 August 2024
Non-Binary Gender Markers in Italy?
In July, the Italian Constitutional Court recognised the existence of non-binary people for the first time in Italian history. Although the decision as such is a big step for queer rights in Italy, the Court stops halfway. In contrast to the German “Dritte Option” decision, the Court does not set clear instructions or deadlines for the Parliament. Italy’s current far-right political climate likely means non-binary gender markers will not be introduced by the Italian Parliament anytime soon. Continue reading >>
0
02 April 2024
Between Legal Deficiencies and Political Restraint
Traditionally, it is Germany, not France, which is presented as the model example of militant democracy. Among the various provisions of the German Basic Law, Article 21 (2), setting out the procedure for banning political parties, is perhaps one of the clearest expressions of the basic constitutional decision in favour of a streitbare Demokratie. Nevertheless, setting concepts aside and examining empirical data, it is interesting to note that Germany has banned fewer political parties than France since the end of the Second World War. Continue reading >>
0
30 March 2024
As Good as It Gets
Contrasting the constitutional limitations on the freedom to establish political parties in Italy and Germany brings out two quite different conceptions of militant democracy: one is particularistic, retrospective, and provisional – preoccupied with the transition to democracy; the other is universalistic, prospective, and enduring – concerned with the degeneration of democracy. The Portuguese Constitution, true to its eclectic character and multiple influences, steers a seemingly middle course between these polar options. Continue reading >>
0
13 November 2023
Looking at Berlin, Ending up on Capitol Hill
On 3 November 2023, the Italian Council of Ministers approved a constitutional reform bill to introduce the direct election of the Prime Minister in Italy. The reform would grant the Prime Minister significantly broader powers than those currently outlined in the Constitution. The proposal is now set to be evaluated by the Italian Parliament, and possibly submitted to a popular referendum if it is not approved by two-thirds of the members of both chambers. While it claims to ensure the continuity of governments – a known weak point of the Italian political system - it undermines the very foundation of parliamentary representation: the party system. Breathing the spirit of plebiscitary populism, this misguided reform, while seemingly looking towards Berlin for inspiration, risks in a worst-case scenario creating an atmosphere reminiscent of Capitol Hill on a fateful day a few years ago. Continue reading >>01 October 2022
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Human rights courts can rarely avoid confrontation with backlashing states. This is particularly true for the two oldest and most prominent regional human rights courts, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR). Yet, by close observation, we can witness that for both courts, backlash has triggered important institutional developments which will guide the work of human rights bodies in an increasingly polarized 21st century. Continue reading >>
0
21 September 2022
Constitutionalism under Bolsonaro
On the eve of a fateful election that will determine whether the last four years have been a bad dream and a footnote in Brazil’s political history, or not, the legacy of Bolsonaro’s regime for constitutional law and constitutionalism is widely and expertly discussed. Despite all his rhetorical machismo, Bolsonaro has not governed as a classical autocrat: he was democratically elected and his subsequent administration always found itself between the rock of a fragmented, yet viscerally opportunistic legislature, and the hard place of a judiciary that - while not always unsympathetic to his program - has been primarily interested in safeguarding its autonomy and its (self-)assumed role as the last word on virtually everything. Continue reading >>
0
20 September 2022
Bolsonarism at the Ballot Box
If things go badly, the upcoming elections in Brazil may be the last ones for some time to come. Incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro threatens to use the Trump playbook to dispute a possible election loss, counting on the violent support of his highly mobilized followers and parts of the Brazilian military nostalgic for the military dictatorship. His contender, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who initially refused to wear a bullet proof vest, has now taken wear one on his rallies. During his tenure, Bolsonaro has drawn on populist anti-establishment sentiments and authoritarian legacies to develop his own, peculiar brand of illiberal rule known as Bolsonarism. Our symposium discusses Bolsonarism at the ballot box from the perspective of comparative constitutional law. Continue reading >>
0
13 September 2022
Evolution vs Revolution
We are all aware of the polarization afflicting modern democratic societies. It has intensified to the point that each camp perceives the “other” as a threat to its values and way of life. I argue that the current conflicts democratic societies face are often rooted in constitutional clauses that preserve problematic past laws predating the adoption of the constitution. The preservation of these laws has sentenced countries to a long battle to reconcile between their democratic and liberal values and the ghosts of a more anachronistic past. Continue reading >>
0
27 May 2022