05 June 2023
Spotlight Interpretation and its Devastating Effects
After 1989 Poland struggled to build up a free state based on the rule of law. More recently, illiberal constitutionalism has been damaging these hard-won gains. This blogpost will argue that the systematic dismantling of Poland’s rule of law, without officially amending the Constitution, was possible due to a peculiar interpretative technique called spotlight interpretation. Its essence lies in the opportunistic interpretation of systemically important constitutional provisions to achieve the short-term political goals of the ruling majority, and it has arguably been central to the destruction of judicial independence in Poland’s constitutional order. Continue reading >>
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05 April 2023
In Jerusalem my Heart wanted to Scream out: “I am Polin, too” …
I went to Israel at a moment’s notice to share the lessons and cautionary tales of anti-constitutional capture in Poland and to explain the mechanics behind systemic and legalistic dismantling of the liberal foundations of the legal order. However, during my stay in Israel, I realized that as much the Israelis wanted to learn from me, they might as well teach Poles crucial lessons, not less these of civic engagement and mobilization. Continue reading >>
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03 March 2023
An Existential Threat
"In Hungary, it is about the survival of democracy. In Israel, it is about the survival of Israel." Continue reading >>
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22 February 2023
Democratic Backsliding and the Supreme Court in Mexico
Democratic backsliding begins at the ballot box, and the turning point in Mexico was the election of 2018, which the charismatic leader Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his party won by a landslide. López Obrador’s government has pushed through a comprehensive electoral reform which will negatively affect the right to vote and the legitimacy of the general election of 2024. The Supreme Court will have to decide whether the reform stands or not. Continue reading >>
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13 February 2023
The Economic Fallout from Curtailing Judicial Independence
The attempt to emasculate Israel's Supreme Court has drawn widespread criticism and protest, both at home and abroad. An intriguing aspect of the situation has been the opposition expressed by business interests and economic experts, who are often and perhaps wrongly believed to attach an overwhelmingly high value to efficiency, commonly achieved in an institutional environment characterized by the absence of competing centers of political power. Perhaps the most visible manifestation of the concerns and fears emanating from this source has been the open letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed by fifty-six prominent international economists, including eleven Nobel laureates, stating that judicial reform along the lines contemplated would set Israel on a course akin to that of Hungary and Poland. Continue reading >>
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10 February 2023
Statement by Canadian Law Professors and Jurists on the Proposed Legal Reforms in Israel
The undersigned are Canadian law professors and jurists. We write […] Continue reading >>
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27 January 2023
The Indian Supreme Court Collegium Picking its Battle
In an unprecedented move, the collegium of the Supreme Court of India on the 17th and 18th of January, 2023, passed resolutions calling out the executive’s delay in the judicial appointments of five advocates by publicly countering the government’s objections against their appointment. In this piece, I discuss how the Supreme Court collegium has confronted the discriminatory treatment of persons who openly identify as a part of the LGBTQIA+ community in the process of judicial appointments by standing up to the executive’s bullying. The piece also looks into how the collegium has confronted the union government’s attempt to suppress dissent among advocates and why these resolutions are highly consequential. Continue reading >>25 January 2023
War over Israel’s Judicial Independence
The new Israeli government wasted no time in initiating an all-out attack on the independence of the judiciary. It is promoting in full speed two parallel proposals to reform the judiciary in the hope that at least one of them, or a hybrid of both will be codified. The government claims that its proposed judicial reform will promote a more democratic and representative judiciary. Yet, a careful analysis of its proposed reform suggests that the government intends to fully politicize the judiciary. It will change the process of appointment to the Judicial Selection Committee, placing control in the hands of the government. Simultaneously, it will neutralize the ability of the opposition in the Knesset and the professional elites (the Justices and the Bar Association) to protect judicial independence from governmental takeover. Continue reading >>
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20 January 2023
Judges, Political Mandates and Judicial Independence in Germany
In Germany, 2022 has been a turbulent year regarding former (extreme) right-wing Members of Parliament (MP) returning to their original office as civil servants and judges. Two cases created special great media attention: Jens Maier and Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, demanded (and partly succeeded) to return to serve as judges again. These cases bring the (often problematic) relationship between judges and politics into sharper focus. Therefore, we would like to provide access to the German debate on to an English reading audience as food for possible comparative insights. Continue reading >>
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16 January 2023
Judicial Impartiality in Indonesia Under Attack
The independence of judicial power in Indonesia is in a precarious situation. Lately, the parliament haphazardly dismissed Constitutional Judge Aswanto, a parliament-proposed Constitutional Judge. This situation was exacerbated through the inauguration of the parliament-proposed substitute, Constitutional Judge Guntur Hamzah, by President Widodo who could have refused to authorize this illegal act. Instead, President Widodo took part in the destruction of the Constitutional Court, putting judicial independence in Indonesia in jeopardy, particularly facing the upcoming 2024 election. Continue reading >>
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