18 December 2024
Why Taiwan’s Constitutional Court Is in Danger
Legislators from the leading party in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan are moving to pass an amendment that could effectively paralyze the Constitutional Court. Under the proposed changes to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act, the Court may find itself unable to carry out its constitutional mandate. This week, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan will deliberate the amendments. If the amendments are passed in their current form, Taiwan could face nothing less than a full-blown constitutional crisis. Continue reading >>
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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 >>11 August 2024
Jutta Limbach
Jutta Limbach is remembered as the first female president of the German Constitutional Court. In her career she served as Senator for Justice for the Government of West Berlin from 1989-1994 and prior to that as a Professor at the Free University of Berlin. But there is so much more to be said about a woman who for so many years was the face of Germany's highest court. This post has tried to focus on a period of her professional life that has not yet been very visible to the public. Continue reading >>
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28 November 2023
Dutch Rule of Law Alert
It is never a good sign when Viktor Orbán celebrates the election results of another country. Last Wednesday was one of those days. For the first time in the history of Dutch politics, a far-right party became by far the biggest party in the Dutch parliament. It is bad news in many respects, and even more, because the Dutch constitutional system knows a lack of formal rule of law safeguards. In contrast to countries such as Italy or Germany, the Dutch constitutional system is not prepared for a democratic move to the anti-liberal far right. Continue reading >>30 October 2023
Justifying a Political Dynasty
The Indonesian Constitutional Court has handed down a highly controversial decision lowering the minimum age requirement for presidential candidacy. It raises further alarms about the Court's independence, as the petitioner sought to allow President Jokowi's son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to run in the 2024 presidential elections. Worse, the current Chief Justice is married to the President's younger sister, and the Court's legal reasoning it not sound. Continue reading >>27 July 2023
Perils from Within and Without
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is described as one of the few success stories of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA). In contrast to the state-level legislature, the Court’s decision-making process in principle cannot be vetoed. Voting rules do not condition the presence of all three ethnic groups. This has made it difficult for Republika Srpska’s (RS) political leadership to block, boycott or undermine the work of the Court compared to other state-level institutions. However, recent months saw the RS identifying and seizing a rare moment of vulnerability with potentially severe consequences. If RS does not elect new judges in the meantime, not even a Court’s small chamber will be able to operate. Continue reading >>28 September 2022
The Resistance-Deference Paradox
The Turkish Constitutional Court demonstrates the resistance-deference paradox as a pattern in its judicial behavior under autocratic pressure. The docket management strategies including prioritization and late responsiveness are also employed in politically sensitive cases. The deferring stances of the Court legitimize autocratization when core issues of the regime are at stake. In these cases, the Court develops an autocratic partnership that makes itself an unreliable actor without any commitment to judicial ethos. The resistant stances of the Court trigger the political backlash and clashes with the judiciary, leading to further contestation of political autocratization. Continue reading >>
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27 September 2022
Coping Strategies of the Hungarian Constitutional Court since 2010
The very first step of Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party after its 2010 electoral victory towards an ‘illiberal’ constitutional regime was to substantially limit the once very broad review powers of the Constitutional Court. The Fidesz government also started to pack the formerly activist Court with loyalist. By 2013 was appointed by Fidesz. Before 2013, the Court used some cautious strategies to keep a certain autonomy in the midst of threats to lose its independent status altogether by becoming part of the Supreme Court. Continue reading >>
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26 September 2022
The Brazilian Federal Supreme Court’s Reaction to Bolsonaro
It is a relatively uncontroversial opinion that the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has undermined the rule of law and its constitutional institutions. This contribution concentrates on the Brazilian apex courts to show how a mix of resilience in day-to-day work and a few confrontational positions played an important role in safeguarding the autonomy and independence of the judicial branch in Brazil during Jair Bolsonaro’s term. Continue reading >>
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15 September 2021
Court without a Head
On 16 October 2021, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine will celebrate its 25th anniversary. The Court’s anniversary falls in the middle of a constitutional crisis of unprecedented scale and with no clear prospects of solution. Continue reading >>
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