20 January 2023
#DefendingTheDefenders – Episode 6: The European Union
In the sixth episode of our rule of law podcast #DefendingTheDefenders with Deutscher Anwaltverein, we talk about the European Union and the state of the professional freedom of attorneys there. We want to hear from attorneys professional organisations as well as from regulators, and have spoken to both sides. Continue reading >>
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17 January 2023
7 Years Later: Poland as a Legal Black Hole
The EU is faced with a Member State where all of its top courts are now unlawfully composed; where every single judicial appointment procedure since 2018 is inherently defective due to the involvement of an unconstitutional body; and where core EU and ECHR requirements relating to effective judicial protection and the fundamental right to an independent court established by law have been held “unconstitutional” in 2021 and 2022 by the body masquerading as Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal. Continue reading >>
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06 January 2023
Hostile Constitutional Interpretation
What to do with the façade institution that was once known as the Polish Constitutional Court in a way that would respect the Constitution? A recent and important proposal has argued that the judges who were legally elected by the current Parliament though they have supported the politicization of justice should enjoy the same right to retire as their legal predecessors. We have serious doubts as to the long-term desirability of such a solution. We need a theory that explains why also these lawfully elected judges should be let go as a result of their blatantly unconstitutional adjudication, and why the entire unconstitutional body should be extinguished, rather than simply be tinkered with here and there. Continue reading >>06 January 2023
#DefendingTheDefenders – Episode 5: Colombia
The fifth episode of #DefendingTheDefenders, the rule of law podcast by Deutscher Anwaltverein and Verfassungsblog, focuses on Colombia, where the situation for attorneys and human rights defenders is particularly dangerous. Continue reading >>30 December 2022
#DefendingTheDefenders – Episode 4: Turkey
In the fourth episode of #DefendingTheDefenders we talk about the situation of lawyers in Turkey with Veysel Ok. He is an attorney in Istanbul and the Co-Director of the Media and Law Studies Association, a non-profit which monitors and defends freedom of expression cases against journalists. Continue reading >>
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24 December 2022
Фрагментарне реагування на загрозу свободі 3МІ в ЄС
Як відомо, шляхи польського та угорського урядів розійшлися щодо відповідей на російсько-українську війну. Однак на внутрішньому рівні обидві країни продовжують покладатися на схожі структурні зміни в медіа-середовищі, які допомагають їм впливати на виборців і підривають чесність виборів. Реакція ЄС на кризу свободи та плюралізму 3MI в Угорщині та Польщі була більш стриманою та якісно відрізнялася від реакції на кризу суддівської незалежності або загрози академічним свободам та правам меншин. Continue reading >>
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24 December 2022
A fragmented response to media freedom at risk in the Union
The Polish and Hungarian governments have famously parted ways over responses to the Russo-Ukraine war. However, internally, both continue to rely on similar structural changes in the media environment that help them target voters and undermine elections fairness. The EU’s response to the media freedom and pluralism crisis in Hungary and Poland has been more restrained and also qualitatively different from its answer to the judicial independence crisis or threats to academic freedoms and minority rights. Continue reading >>
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23 December 2022
Несподівані ускладнення: вплив російського вторгнення в Україну на кризу верховенства права в ЕС
Якби наприкінці 2021 року мене запитали, які події визначатимуть кризу верховенства права в Європейському Союзі у 2022 році, я б відповів, що вибори в Угорщині стануть найвідповідальнішим моментом у боротьбі за цінності ЄС. 24 лютого 2022 року Володимир Путін зробив застарілими майже всі прогнози щодо європейської політики. Невиправдане, брутальне вторгнення Росії в Україну не лише зруйнувало понад 30-річну парадигму безпеки на континенті, але й мало масштабні наслідки для багатьох аспектів європейського життя, включаючи кризу верховенства права у двох державах-членах ЄС: Угорщині та Польщі. Continue reading >>
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23 December 2022
Unexpected Complications: The impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the rule of law crisis in the EU
If somebody had asked me in late 2021 what events would define the rule of law crisis in the European Union in 2022, I would have said that the elections in Hungary would be the most crucial moment for the struggle for EU values. On 24 February 2022, Vladimir Putin made almost all predictions concerning European politics obsolete. Russia’s unjustified, brutal invasion of Ukraine not only obliterated an over 30-year-old paradigm of security on the continent but also had massive ripple effects on many aspects of European life, including the rule of law crisis in two EU Member States: Hungary and Poland. Continue reading >>
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23 December 2022
Das Ende verstaatlichter Asylrechtsberatung in Österreich?
Vor knapp zwei Jahren kam es zu einem der größten Systembrüche im österreichischen Asylwesen. Die Rechtsberatung von Flüchtlingen, die bis dahin von nichtstaatlichen Organisationen verantwortet war, wurde einer Bundesagentur unter entscheidendem Einfluss des Innenministers übertragen. Nun wird diese Konstruktion vom Verfassungsgerichtshof (VfGH) überprüft. Eine erste Einordnung. Continue reading >>
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