30 May 2020
Constitutional Innovation, Democratic Stagnation?
The recovery plan of the Commission entitled “Next Generation EU” proposes a compromise that goes beyond the ominous lowest common denominator. With a package of EUR 750bn in total, comprising EUR 250bn in loans and the rest in grants, the Commission paves the way for both forward-looking public finance and constitutional innovation. The proposals are masterpieces of high-tech legal engineering. Again, European constitutional law evolves through crisis. Yet, again, it stands to reason how far the proposed instruments will shift the European Union towards enhancing solidarity and democracy. Continue reading >>
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23 May 2020
Showdown at the Last Chance Saloon
As a political slogan, and a guideline in times of crisis, ‘whatever it takes’ undoubtedly has enormous appeal, and may in certain circumstances justify novel and untried forms of action. However, in a polity governed by the rule of law, there are limits to this approach which, if not respected, may cause greater problems than those which provoked the action in the first place. Continue reading >>20 May 2020
Corona Constitutional #27: Justiz-Iron Man in Polen
Seit Wochen streiten die Richterinnen und Richter des polnischen Obersten Gerichtshofs darüber, wer für den vakanten Präsidentenposten kandidieren soll. Am Freitag könnte die Entscheidung endlich fallen. Was genau dort vor sich geht, und was auf dem Spiel steht, erklärt ANNA WÓJCIK vom Osiatyński Archiv im Gespräch mit Max Steinbeis. Continue reading >>
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19 May 2020
The Last Chance Saloon
To all intents and purposes, Orbán and his government have ceased to be democratically accountable either to the Hungarian Parliament or to the citizens of Hungary. The words in that last sentence are chosen carefully and with meaning. This blogpost suggest that Article 10 TEU may provide a basis for the exclusion of Hungarian representatives from the European Council and the Council of the European Union. Continue reading >>
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16 May 2020
Covid- 19: Malaysia and the Return of Rule by Law
Two simultaneous narratives are unfolding as Malaysia responds to Covid-19. The first is the specific character of the ongoing legal response. The second is salient backdrop to any evaluation of this legal response that Malaysia is in political turmoil. Continue reading >>
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12 May 2020
Serbia and Covid-19: State of Emergency in a State in Disarray
The reaction of the Serbian authorities to the Covid-19 crisis demonstrated a weakness of Serbian state institutions: The measures imposed by the Serbian Government as a response to the Covid crisis, as well as the reaction of the competent bodies, are problematic both from a procedural and a substantive perspective. To make things worse, the judiciary has not been a great help either. Continue reading >>
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04 May 2020
Being a Lawyer in Times of “Constitutional Pandemics”
Engaging in academic discussions aimed at better understanding the rampant anti-constitutional shenanigans and at finding adequate cures – while crucial conceptual work – is no longer sufficient. Much more is needed, no less a constitutional temperament and engagement on the ground that place us and our work in a more general context and explain what and how we respond on a behavioral level. Looking through the prism of temperament invites questions about the necessary virtues that go beyond academic excellence. This is clearly palpable in the evocative concept of constitutional fidelity. Continue reading >>02 May 2020
Economic Interests and the Rule of Law Crisis in the EU
Legal scholarship needs to be more open to the political reality in order to effectively tackle the rule of law crisis. To go one step further, I argue that without considering the economic interests of all the relevant individual and institutional actors (corporations and governments) we will never fully understand the failures of the EU responses to the rule of law backsliding. Continue reading >>30 April 2020
A Tale of Two: The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Rule of Law in Cyprus
Once the first case of COVID-19 was reported on 9 March 2020, the Republic of Cyprus introduced emergency measures to contain the spread of the virus, as per the powers granted under the Constitution in the event of emergency. Following scientific advice, the Cypriot Government responded quickly by limiting temporarily personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, disrupting once again the constitutional legal order. Continue reading >>
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29 April 2020
The Protection of Health Must Take Precedence: Testing the Constitutional State of Crisis in Luxembourg
In times of neoliberalism, it is healthy hearing the Prime Minister Xavier Bettel of Luxembourg say that “the protection of health and life takes precedence over economic interests”. But this declaration came in the context of the recourse to extraordinary emergency powers, on the day before the Government declared the “state of crisis” to face the Coronavirus situation. In Luxembourg, this tool to regulate emergencies has progressively found its path into the Constitution while elsewhere in Europe philosophers or public law professors argued that a constitutional state of emergency entails the paradox of “constitutionalising the absence of constitution”. It is therefore important to reflect on the effects of the conjugation of these two discourses into the sanitary crisis and their effect on democracy and human rights protection. Continue reading >>
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