01 June 2021
An Austrian Abyss of Cronyism and Corruption
The Kurz government has been involved in a series of scandals, culminating on 12 May with the Chancellor becoming subject of a formal investigation for allegedly providing false testimony before Parliament. In attempts to cover up the governments’ involvement in the various scandals, the rule of law has certainly been challenged in Austria. However, so far, the Austrian Rechtsstaat prevailed. Continue reading >>
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30 May 2021
Good European Neighbours
On 21 May 2021 the Vice-President of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Ms Rosario Silva de Lapuerta granted interim measures in the case of Czech Republic v Poland, ordering Poland to immediately cease lignite extraction activities in the Turów mine. An action against a Member State which might have breached an EU directive – in this case by extending a lignite mining permit without carrying out an environmental impact assessment – may seem like an ordinary environmental case falling under the remit of EU law. The Czech Republic v Poland case, however, is anything but ordinary for at least two reasons. Continue reading >>
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28 May 2021
Borders
On Zittau, environmental impact and what we can get used to and what not Continue reading >>
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14 May 2021
WEBINAR 4: “The Rule of Law in the Pandemic”
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed extreme strain on legal systems, requiring action in response to fast-changing and complex situation of the pandemic emergency. This panel evaluates state action - and in particular, executive-decision making - in response to the pandemic against the standard of the rule of law, and considers whether this will lead to permanent shifts in legal systems worldwide. Continue reading >>
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12 May 2021
Short but Sweet
On 11 May 2021, Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev issued a decree appointing a caretaker government, which means that the dissolution of the 45th National Assembly is imminent. This National Assembly, which was first convened on 15 April 2021, was rather short-lived, but it paved the way to fairer elections and much needed reforms in the justice system which civil society demands. Continue reading >>
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10 May 2021
The ECtHR Steps into the Ring
For the last two years, the fight for safeguarding the principle of the rule of law in Poland has been dominated by the ECJ’s case law. During this, the Strasbourg Court has mostly been sitting in the bleachers. Yet, with its Xero Flor judgment of 7 May, it strapped on its gloves and stepped into the ring. It concluded that the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, in its current composition, cannot be seen as a tribunal established by law. The decision will undoubtedly have major political and legal consequences. Continue reading >>
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07 May 2021
A Failed State in the Making
On 4 May 2021, the Senate house in Zimbabwe approved the Constitutional Amendment No.2, 2019 with a two-thirds majority. The bill is now on its way to the executive for signature and incorporation into the constitution. However, the bill features three concerning clauses linked to judicial independence and the prosecutor general's appointment. The future of democracy and the rule of law looks gloomy for Zimbabwe. Continue reading >>
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29 April 2021
After Orbán
With a view to the 2022 elections, there is a serious contradiction in Hungarian public opinion: There should be a regime change away from Orbán's Fidesz, but the Basic Law, which they have undermined and weaponized, should not be touched. This will not work. In any case, it is necessary to get rid of the present Hungarian constitution. Continue reading >>28 April 2021
Solving the Copenhagen Dilemma
By proclaiming an entirely new ‘non-regression’ principle in EU law based on the connection between Articles 49 TEU (EU Enlargement) and 2 TEU (EU values, referred to from Art. 49), the Court of Justice achieved huge progress in addressing a well-known lacuna undermining the EU legal order. The ‘non-regression’ principle is a new important direction in the notable fight for the EU rule of law started with the discovery of EU competence in, in particular, the area of judicial independence and the organization of the judiciaries in the EU Member States. Continue reading >>
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28 April 2021