09 May 2025
“Only a Vigilant Democracy Can Be a Resilient Democracy”
Five Questions to Kyrill-Alexander Schwarz Continue reading >>
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08 May 2025
(De)coloniality and EU Legal Studies
In EU legal studies, time, space, place, and knowledge are locations for contestation, deliberation and reconstruction. Other submissions in this symposium have elaborated on the limitations in understanding and accounting for the ‘what was’ as a fundamental blind spot of EU law. Extending from this starting point, I will show how decolonial approaches can bridge the gap between history, theory, and action, offering practical and alternative solutions for reconciliation. To do so, I will use the rule of law as one such site for contestation. Continue reading >>
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24 April 2025
Criminalising the Legal Profession
Lawyers and bar associations in Turkey have long faced political and legal pressure. The court case against the Istanbul Bar Association that led to the dismissal of its executive board and the criminal prosecution of board members is another troubling instance of such pressure. The case exemplifies how authoritarian regimes increasingly criminalise lawyers and professional organisations that speak out against rights violations. Continue reading >>10 April 2025
Gaming Procedure, Gutting Due Process
The Trump administration has admitted that sending Abrego Garcia to a supermax prison in El Salvador known for human rights abuses was an “administrative error” but contends before the U.S. Supreme Court that there is nothing a federal court can do about that. As I shall explain, the Solicitor General’s argument ultimately rests on the claim that the president who frequently boasts about his abilities as a deal maker is a lousy negotiator. Continue reading >>
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02 April 2025
How Hungary’s Pride Ban Tests the EU’s Commitment to Democracy
On March 18, 2025, the Hungarian Parliament passed legislation aimed at protecting children from assemblies that promote homosexuality. Although the amendment imposes general limitations on freedom of assembly, it is commonly understood as a ban on the LGBTQ+ Pride march, just ahead of the 30th anniversary in 2025. The new law purposefully violates European human rights standards on freedom of assembly and LGBTQ+ rights, as well as fundamental values of the European Union, such as the rule of law and democracy (Article 2 TEU). Continue reading >>
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24 March 2025
Restoring Polish Judicial Independence
Restoring the Polish rule of law without doing more damage to it is a vexing challenge. Building Back Better becomes even more complex when the current president – part of the autocratic Law and Justice (PiS) party, which lost the previous elections – refuses to sign off on any law. Yet few would have expected the Venice Commission (VC), of all institutions, to make things even more complicated. This contribution first tracks the state of play in Poland following the VC Opinions of October 2024 and December 2024. Given the central role of the VC’s thinking in Polish efforts to find a way out, it then goes on to critique the Opinions on legal and strategic grounds before proposing an alternative route. Continue reading >>24 March 2025
International Law Under Pressure
In this blog post, we document and analyse the numerous apparent breaches of international law that have occurred within the first six weeks of the 2025 Trump administration. What began as an informal discussion at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law has evolved into this analytical overview. We believe this documentation serves both academic purposes and potentially supports future legal proceedings. While defenders of these actions will undoubtedly offer justifications for what we identify as clear breaches of international law, our analysis aims to provide an assessment based on established international legal principles. Continue reading >>19 March 2025
From Hugs to Handcuffs
On 27 February, the Mexican government transferred 29 alleged drug lords to the US. Instead of undergoing the due process required for extradition, they were simply removed of their cells, put on a plane and sent to the USA. This act was termed a “deliver” by Mexico, while the US called it a “expulsion”. This is not just a semantic issue. While combating organised crime is crucial, by bypassing the rules for extradition, Mexico disregarded the rule of law and set a dangerous precedent for sovereignty and the protection of fundamental rights. Continue reading >>
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13 March 2025
Romanian Militant Democracy and the Time Machine
Romania was recently rocked by the annulment of presidential elections in December 2024, a crisis stifled by the March 2025 invalidation of Georgescu’s candidacy in do-over elections. Mr. Georgescu, an ultranationalist firebrand, presents himself in a MAGA-style as the tribune of “the People” and a warrior against a “Soros-driven” elite conspiracy. Europhile opponents present the invalidations as valiant examples of militant democracy and rule of law in action. I argue that the story is both simpler and more complex, partly a local variant of “authoritarian liberalism”, partly an example of idiosyncratic Eastern traditions of the RoL in Euro-friendly attire. Continue reading >>27 February 2025