02 December 2020
A New Nail in the Coffin for the 2017 Polish Judicial Reform
On 1 December the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR gave an important ruling that may have wide-reaching implications for the ongoing attempts to curb the rule of law backsliding in Poland and other countries. The case addresses the appointment of judges, and the way this affects the status of a court as a “tribunal established by law” in the meaning of Article 6 of the ECHR. Continue reading >>
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02 December 2020
A Momentous Day for the Rule of Law
Five Member States led by example by following the Commission’s lead in defending Union law. That is how the EU system was designed to function. Add a simultaneous important ruling of the Strasbourg Court and an unprecedented Dutch parliamentary motion, and this was an important day for rule of law protection in the EU. Continue reading >>30 November 2020
Time Is of the Essence
The announced veto of the Hungarian and Polish governments on the EU multi-annual budget and the European recovery fund has caused a major stir in recent days in Europe. The conditionality mechanism is designed to safeguard the Union’s financial interests and complements the existing political and judicial mechanisms. It is expedient to review the state of play of the procedures in place and, if necessary, to pose questions, whether they stand up to the challenges posed by developments in the respective countries, if they are carried out in a timely manner and focus on genuine effectiveness. Continue reading >>
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27 November 2020
From Warsaw with Love
Why the Polish government is wooing German jurists Continue reading >>
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27 November 2020
Beyond the Veto of the EU Recovery Fund
Poland and Hungary are threatening to block the EU’s €750 billion budget for the next five years. On the verge of taking the biggest step towards closer economic integration to date, the EU should not compromise on the rule of law. To call Poland and Hungary’s bluff, it needs to hold its ground and present a credible plan B. There are three options for an outside recovery instrument worth considering. Continue reading >>26 November 2020
Dissimilar Similarities
In the EU, most attention is paid to the judicial reforms underway in Hungary and Poland, which threaten judicial independence and the rule of law. The concurrent judicial reforms in Norway and Slovakia have received almost no attention. Although quite dissimilar to the former set, the latter underscore that institutional reforms cannot be viewed apart from their social and political settings. Continue reading >>25 November 2020
LawRules #10: We need to talk about the European Convention on Human Rights
Europe is larger than the EU – and a European framework aiming at preserving basic rights and freedoms as well as rule of law safeguards has been in place for 70 years precisely this November: the European Convention on Human Rights. Today, we take a deeper look at the Convention and at the institutions that work to enforce it: The European Court of Human Rights and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe. Are they capable of adding another layer of human rights and rule of law protection to the European legal framework? What kind of support do those institutions need in order to be able to fulfill their task? And how is their status today, 70 years after the European Convention on Human Rights has been signed? Continue reading >>24 November 2020
EU-Finanzsanktionen für Rechtsstaatsverstöße
Seit Jahren fordern Politiker und Wissenschaftler einen Mechanismus zum Schutz der Rechtsstaatlichkeit bei der Verwendung von EU-Mitteln. Ein Handeln der EU ist dringend, da sich die Lage der Rechtsstaatlichkeit, insbesondere in Polen und Ungarn weiter verschlechtert und die laufenden Verfahren nach Art. 7 EUV keine Wirkung zeigen. In Deutschland wird ein solcher Sanktionsmechanismus nicht zur Anwendung kommen. Continue reading >>
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20 November 2020
The Commission’s Al Capone Tricks
In its judgement dealing with the Central European University, the CJEU had to employ a trick to address the rule of law issue at stake: It found that Hungary had violated the General Agreement on Trade in Services. The legal trick was succesful but in reality, the ruling came too late. The Central European University has moved to Vienna and will not return to Hungary. Continue reading >>
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18 November 2020
LawRules #9: We need to talk about Refugees and Migration Law
We need to talk about refugees and migration law. In discussions about these topics, refugees and migration policy are often being treated as the other of politics and policy. But the way states treat those seeking refuge and asylum on their territory is fundamentally a rule of law issue, and actually says a lot about the current state of the rule of law there: Are refugees able to enter a jurisdiction and apply for their right to asylum? Are due process obligations being observed? Do refugees have access to justice? Does the European migration law system work? Continue reading >>
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