19 December 2024
At Risk of Capture?
On December 21st, the mandates of three judges of the Italian Constitutional Court will expire, creating a total of 4 vacancies. While Parliament is responsible for filling the seats, political parties are far from reaching an agreement on who should get appointed. The majority’s strategic obstruction of the appointment process in combination with Meloni’s assertions that it is up to her political majority to “deal the cards” for these elections raise the specter of the Court’s politicization. While the Italian legal system has several safeguards to preserve the impartiality and effectiveness of its Constitutional Court, these do not immunizes it against practices that could slowly and almost imperceptibly undermine its independence. Continue reading >>
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09 November 2023
How the War in Gaza May Upend Israel’s Constitutional Limbo
The war in Gaza serves, this blog post argues, as the final nail in the coffin of Netanyahu's judicial overhaul. The Israeli political climate, relentless opposition and the political fallout after Hamas' surprise attack on Israel and the current war thwarted the judicial overhaul. However, populism is far from overcome. Therefore, the current failed judicial overhaul remains a warning sign for the democracy-seeking public in Israel and should raise demand for constitutional entrenchment of the democratic values of the Israeli state. As the judicial overhaul of 2023 has shown us – democracy is not safe if it hangs by the thread of a simple majority in parliament. Continue reading >>
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