12 September 2023
Justice-on-Demand at the Indonesian Constitutional Court?
Indonesia will have the world’s biggest one-day election in 2024. More than 200 million voters will go to the ballots to choose the next president and legislative members on 14 February, opening a fresh chapter for the nation’s leadership after a decade of President Joko Widodo’s rule. In recent weeks, the Constitutional Court has been flooded with back-to-back filings for judicial review of Indonesia’s General Election Law. Against the backdrop of Indonesia’s declining levels of trust in public institution, the Court’s rulings might not only change the rules of Indonesia’s electoral game but also threaten to further impair its own independence and integrity. Continue reading >>
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21 August 2023
Trivialising Privacy through Tribunals in India
On 11th August 2023, India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (‘DPDP Act’) has received Presidential assent. The Act’s passing is critical in light of increasing concerns about data security and surveillance in India, including allegations that the government has illegally been using spyware against activists. Moreover, the government and its agencies are major data fiduciaries, having access to various identification and biometric data that have in the past been breached on a large scale. Given this, it is vital that the DPDP Act is able to function effectively and independently against the government in cases of non-compliance. However, a novel provision bestowing appellate jurisdiction on a Tribunal that lacks both the necessary expertise and independence is likely to hinder this goal. Continue reading >>
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02 July 2023
Poland’s Extended Disciplinary System
The judgement of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on June 5, 2023 (C-204/21) has added a new chapter to the rule of law crisis in Poland. The outcome was largely expected given the well-established jurisdiction of the ECJ on matters of the rule of law. However, a close reading of the judgment demonstrates that it recognizes the more insidious ways in which Poland has undermined judicial independence. Specifically, I argue that the ECJ's ruling paves the way for a legal response to the suppression of judicial independence through public intimidation and stigmatization of judges. Continue reading >>
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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