23 June 2023
Addressing Legal Myths about the Proposed EU Nature Restoration Law
In June 2022, the EU Commission adopted a Proposal for a Nature Restoration law which aims to restore the degraded levels of biodiversity within the European Union. The proposed instrument has been misinterpreted, in part by an active agroindustry lobby, seeking to prevent the adoption of the restoration law. These scientific and economic myths have been contested. Yet, legal myths, oversimplifications or concerns often remain unaddressed. Continue reading >>
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01 February 2023
Anti-Terror Legislation and Property Rights in Egypt
In January 2023, the Egyptian cabinet introduced a new bill for parliamentary discussion proposing the establishment of a new body to manage seized funds and assets confiscated by the state, including the seized assets of individuals and organizations legally designated as terrorists. In the midst of a severe economic crisis, the bill allows the transfer of confiscated funds and assets from the public treasury to a new entity that would have the mandate to take any form of disposition regarding these assets. The Egyptian sheds the light on the problematic “preventive” nature of counter-terrorism regulations, which vanishes criminal law safeguards and rule of law standards. Continue reading >>
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17 November 2022
Nature Restoration and Fundamental Rights
This year’s most heated topic of constitutional contestation in Finland is likely to be the Commission’s recent proposal for nature restoration. While nature restoration has an innocent sound, the matter actually involves a broad spectrum of constitutional issues. In this debate, political undesirability has turned into claims about the EU’s lacking competence in regulating forests and a general failure to respect the principle of subsidiarity. Last Friday the Finnish Parliament’s Constitutional Law Committee approved an interesting statement of principle, which is likely to affect the country’s stance on EU (fiscal) integration far beyond the question of nature restoration. Continue reading >>
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04 February 2022
Property, Proportionality, and Marginality
On 31 January 2022, the Irish Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment that collapsed, at least in respect of remedies, a previously rigidly-drawn distinction between the private law rights and the public law obligations of housing authorities. The judgment breaks important new ground in emphasising the underprivileged and marginalised status of the Travelling community, and furthermore, in identifying that status as a factor that could weigh against the granting of an injunctive remedy. Continue reading >>
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09 December 2021
No Expropriation without Compensation in South-Africa’s Constitution – for the Time Being
This week the Parliament of South Africa voted against amending section 25 of the Constitution to provide for “expropriation without compensation” after four years of contestations. But all is not lost. Land reform has been placed on the public agenda, and the state is under more pressure than ever to ensure that a successful land reform program delivers. Continue reading >>
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17 September 2021
Property is not (just) private
About one of the least familiar and most fascinating articles within the fundamental rights catalogue of the Grundgesetz Continue reading >>
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23 April 2021
Improper Property
Why substantial property taxation might be a lot less unconstitutional than many think Continue reading >>
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26 January 2017