26 June 2026

Don’t Leave the President at Home

Relations between Czech President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš's government have deteriorated almost since the government took office in December 2025. A few months ago, the political conflict culminated in an unprecedented dispute over the President's participation in the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara and prompted an unusually swift intervention by the Czech Constitutional Court. After the government had tried to prevent the President from attending the NATO summit, he filed a competence complaint and a request for an interim measure on 22 June 2026. Just two days later, on 24 June 2026, the Court released its decision. Continue reading >>
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05 January 2020

Die Tötung von Qassem Soleimani

Die Tötung des hochrangigen iranischen Generals Qassem Soleimani hält die Welt in Atem. Die völkerrechtliche Rechtslage ist einerseits nicht sonderlich komplex, wobei der Fall andererseits dazu angetan ist, Zweifel ob der Leistungsfähigkeit der völkerrechtlichen Regeln weiter zu befeuern und sich Sorgen über die Entwicklung des Völkerrechts zu machen. Vor allem aber unterstreicht er die Besonderheiten des US-amerikanischen Verfassungsrechts, welches mit seiner starken Fokussierung auf die Entscheidungsbefugnis einer einzelnen Person, des US-Präsidenten, kaum in der Lage ist, wirksame „checks and balances“ für den tödlichen Einsatz bewaffneter Gewalt im Ausland zu setzen. Continue reading >>
08 March 2017

South Africa’s Withdrawal from the ICC: The High Court Judgment and its Limits

Domestic legal challenges to the South Africa government’s decision to withdraw from the ICC are underway, and while the first instalment has a distinctly Brexit flavor, it also foreshadows more substantive constitutional arguments to come. Continue reading >>
04 February 2017

Trump’s Muslim Ban and its Constitutional Limits

The dramatic executive orders of the newly inaugurated President of the United States, Donald Trump, including, most infamously, his executive order excluding Syrian refugees from entry into the United States, and popularly known as the “Muslim ban,” has raised not only hackles among many outside observers, but also questions about the legality of these orders. The short answer is that some of the matters set out in his executive orders, including those affecting refugees, are almost certainly legal, while other aspects of those orders raise significant issues under the United States constitution. Continue reading >>
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