19 April 2023
Closure and Continuity
Trade, sovereignty, rights and freedoms, courts, and constitutional change are lenses through which we can examine how two politically, culturally, and linguistically inextricably linked common law countries have defined their diverging relationship with the EU. 50 years on the divergence is complete. The UK is now a third country, charting a future outside the EU, while Ireland remains one of 27 Member States reporting high levels of trust and support for the EU. Hence 50 years on we have both the desire for closure (for the UK) and continuity (for Ireland). In fact, we argue that closure and continuity are necessary for the relations between both states and their relationship with the EU now and in the next half century. Continue reading >>
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18 April 2023
Whispers of Change (Vol. II)
Mexico’s prolonged refusal to eliminate mandatory preventive detention from its legal system has slowly but steadily contributed to the rising tension between the Mexican Supreme Court, the Mexican State, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Following both Courts’ recent decisions on the case of García Rodríguez y Alpízar Ortíz v. México (both have recently decided cases concerning virtually the same set of facts with notoriously varying outcomes), the discussion heats as it now relates to one of the most relevant inquiries of modern constitutional study: judicial review of constitutional provisions and amendments. Continue reading >>
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06 April 2023
Constitutional Change in the UK – People or Party?
The UK’s membership of, and later exit from, the EU has had a dramatic effect on the UK constitution. It also provided a catalyst for further change. These demonstrate the relative ease with which the UK constitution can be modified, reinforcing the UK’s characterisation as a predominantly political, flexible constitution. This post will argue that these transformations illustrate something more fundamental that applies to all constitutions – be they predominantly codified or uncodified, with or without the ability of the courts to strike down unconstitutional legislation. Continue reading >>
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22 September 2022
Whispers of Change
Until recently, a debate on Mexico’s Supreme Court's power to scrutinize the constitutionality of constitutional provisions seemed largely distant. But for the first time in its history, the Supreme Court discussed a draft opinion of one of its members calling for the inapplicability of Article 19 of the Mexican Constitution, which provides the so-called mandatory preventive imprisonment as an automatic measure when investigating specific felonies. With the future of Mexican constitutionalism pending from this decision, the stakes are as high as they have ever been. Continue reading >>
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20 Juni 2022
How the Philippines Could Overcome Its Deep Mistrust of Constitutional Reform
The Philippines has had three constitutions. Despite numerous attempts, the 1987 Constitution has not been amended since its ratification. Initiatives to change a constitution, and moves of resistance, are part and parcel of a constitutional democracy. Actually, the Philippines finds itself in a fortunate position, because the failure of past attempts at amending the 1987 Constitution can offer valuable lessons. Continue reading >>
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05 Mai 2022
Constitutional Ping-Pong
Sri Lanka is at a moment of reckoning, with its political class, its public institutions and with its collective identity. The rupture caused by this unprecedented and tragic crisis has brought the country to a unique political moment in which the majority of Sri Lankans are demanding and imagining a better collective future. For the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, the demands for constitutional governance articulated through traditions of protest and dissent expressed mostly by marginalized groups are now being echoed by the mainstream. Continue reading >>11 April 2022
How to Overcome an Anti-democratic Heritage
Chile and Turkey appear to be more similar than one would initially imagine. In both countries, neoliberal policies were implemented through constitutions made under the shadow of military dictatorships. For the last half-century, the development of democratic culture in both countries was undermined by military coups and military governments using anti-democratic methods. However, in late 2019, Chile has taken off from its old path to become a more democratic state that rests on social justice and gender equality by generating a new constitution through intense popular participation and equal political representation. Continue reading >>
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11 Juni 2021
Kenya and the BBI Five
On May 13 this year, a five-judge bench of the Kenya High Court struck down a state effort to amend Kenya’s 2010 Constitution. The ruling was a shocker when it came down. Will the Court of Appeal rescue or sink President Kenyatta? Continue reading >>26 August 2020
A Momentum of Opportunity for Belarus and a Cautionary Tale from North Macedonia
Belarus has an unprecedented chance to re-invent itself as a new democracy. Only three years ago, in 2017, North Macedonia was in a similar position, transitioning from a 10-yearlong dictatorship of Nikola Gruevski. Some of the mistakes that were made in this process can be avoided in the case of Belarus. Continue reading >>18 Dezember 2015
“Court-packing” in Warsaw: The Plot Thickens
The wheels of Polish constitutional upheaval keep rolling relentlessly and in one direction – to the full dismantling and paralyzing the Constitutional Court and all it stands for. However, it is not just the tempo itself of the legislative process that is out of ordinary, but the ruthlessness with which the new majority carries out its plan. A new chapter in obliterating the Court was added on 15th of December, 2015 when the majority came forward with a draft of the amendments to the Law on the Constitutional Court. Continue reading >>
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