08 January 2018
Is the Crime in the Eye of the Beholder?
The French Constitutional Council has, for the second time, struck down a law that prohibits the usual consultation of terrorist websites. There is a higher abstract risk associated to the act of publishing a message than in the isolated act of reading it. Focusing on the prevention of the harm likely to be inflicted by the reader of the websites might not be the only way to deal with this statute, though. Continue reading >>
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06 December 2017
Criticizing the new President of the Polish Constitutional Court: A Crime against the State?
L'état c'est moi. Thus said France’s Louis XIV, and thus seems to think of herself Julia Przyłębska – since the 2016 “coup” against the Constitutional Court in Poland, she is the President of that Court, de facto appointed to the post by the man who runs Poland these days, Jarosław Kaczyński. Last October a Polish oppositional daily, Gazeta Wyborcza, described how she allegedly colluded with the Polish State security in the pursuit of her position at the Constitutional Court. Przyłębska tried to defend herself by using criminal-law instruments otherwise designed to protect the State. "By attacking me, you attack the State,” she seems to suggest. Continue reading >>26 July 2017
Inhalt und Schranken der Kunstfreiheit
Der Beschluss des Ersten Senats des Bundesverfassungsgerichts vom 13. Juni [...] Continue reading >>
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25 July 2017
Ist Breitbart News ein Kunstprojekt?
In gewisser Weise scheint die Esra-Entscheidung zehn Jahre nach ihrer [...] Continue reading >>02 June 2017
Ukraine’s Ban on Russian Social Media: On The Edge Between National Security and Freedom of Expression
Can Ukraine's ban of Russian social media be legally justified? While the international community mostly condemns the ban, a closer look at the European Convention of Human Rights reveals that the matter is not so easy. Continue reading >>
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24 April 2017
The Spanish Constitutional Court on the Path of Self-Destruction
Recently, the Spanish Constitutional Court has published one more decision in application of the new reform of the Law on Constitutional Court which increased its powers for the execution of its own decisions. It is clear that Catalonian sovereignist politicians are acting irresponsibly and provoking the Spanish powers. The only good way to answer to this challenge is a balanced and neutral response of the Constitutional Court every time they adopt an illegal act. Instead, the Court assumed a political role. He tries to stop even any talk about independence. By doing so, it fails to respect its own role as keeper of a Constitutional framework where very diverse ideologies can be discussed. Continue reading >>06 October 2016
Can private undertakings hide behind “religious neutrality”?
Is the pursuit of religious neutrality an acceptable aim for public and private organisations alike, on the basis of which they may prohibit their employees from wearing religious signs or apparel whilst at work? In two pending cases before the CJEU, the Advocates General seem to arrive at opposite conclusions on this point. To solve this puzzle, I think it is crucial to see that there are two radically different reasons why a private-sector company may wish to adopt an identity of religious neutrality, which reflect two distinct types of interest a company may have in religious neutrality: a business interest and an interest as a member of society. Continue reading >>01 June 2016
Kunst ist mehr als nur Investition: zum Sampling-Urteil des BVerfG
Nach dem gestrigen Sampling-Urteil des Bundesverfassungsgerichts ist der Kunst nicht alles erlaubt, aber wieder einmal mehr, als die Gerichte außerhalb des Schloßbezirks in Karlsruhe sich vorstellen wollten. Und es gibt ein Recht ohne Rechtfertigung weniger. Continue reading >>
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22 April 2016
Die Causa Böhmermann: Ein Tiefpunkt und noch ein Tiefpunkt und noch ein Tiefpunkt
Die Frage, die der Fall Böhmermann aufwirft, ist nicht, ob Böhmermann sich strafbar gemacht hat oder nicht und die Bundesregierung ihre Ermächtigung zur Strafverfolgung erteilen durfte oder nicht. Sondern die Frage ist, ob es Sinn macht, in diesem Fall mit dem Recht zu kommen. Das hängt auf einer ersten und vordergründigen Ebene davon ab, ob das Recht auf diesen Fall überhaupt eine Antwort oder jedenfalls eine einigermaßen klare Antwort hat. Hat es eine Antwort? Continue reading >>22 April 2016