26 March 2025
Stopping Autocratic Legalism in America – Before It Is Too Late
President Donald Trump’s recent speech to the Department of Justice was meant as a declaration of war against lawyers. His words made clear that the most effective way to consolidate autocracy is by systematically dismantling the independent centers of power that support a healthy democracy, including the independent public prosecutor. As the Executive Orders targeting law firms underscore: the entire legal profession is next. This is no coincidence. Continue reading >>
0 
25 March 2025
The Death Knell for American Free Speech Tradition
In a case that has received global attention and reproach, Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident of the United States and recent graduate of Columbia University (another target of the Trump administration’s ire), was arrested on 8 March by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in front of his apartment in New York and subsequently transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana. In this blog post, my aim is to show that the case of Mr. Khalil implicates perhaps the most sacrosanct of American constitutional rights: free speech. Continue reading >>
0
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 >>
0
26 February 2025
Reading Project 2025 as a Manifesto
Manifestos have very often prefigured constitutional crisis, revolution, the overthrowing of legal orders, and set the terms of what follows. Project 2025, or the 2025 Presidential Transition Project, can be read as a manifesto, and one that is now well on its way to being implemented. Examining it through the lens of constitution (re)making sets out some of the terms in which it could be opposed, including by counter-manifesto. Continue reading >>
0
19 February 2025
Ein Wendepunkt für die globale Korruptionsbekämpfung
In der Kaskade aufsehenerregender Dekrete von US-Präsident Donald Trump sticht der letzte Woche verkündete Schritt, die Anwendung des Gesetzes gegen Auslandsbestechung für sechs Monate auszusetzen, auf den ersten Blick nicht heraus. Näher besehen könnte diese Executive Order aber die globale Antikorruptionspolitik unterminieren und die wirtschafts- und sicherheitspolitischen Interessen Europas nachhaltig schädigen. Zur Debatte steht mit dem Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) nämlich jenes Gesetz, mit dem die transnationale und globale Korruptionsbekämpfung im Jahr 1977 ihren Lauf nahm. Continue reading >>
0
09 February 2025
Trump und der neue Faschismus
Seit der Inauguration Trumps zum 47. US-Präsidenten zieht Elon Musk mit einem Gefolge aus Tech-Ingenieuren und Führungskräften seiner diversen Firmen durch die Bundesbehörden in Washington und verschafft sich Zugang zu Gebäuden, Daten und Computersystemen. In diesem Prozess positionieren sich Akteure der Big Tech Industrie als Profiteure und als Betreiber einer neuen, technologischen Regierungsinfrastruktur – eingeklinkt über die Zugänge zu Computer- und Bezahlsystemen, die Musk sich gerade verschafft. Diese Entwicklung stellt einen neuen Qualitätssprung im politischen Projekt Trumps dar. Sie ist am besten mit dem Wort Faschismus zu beschreiben. Continue reading >>29 May 2024
Untying the Gordian Knot
Much like Alexander the Great’s “untying” of the mythical Gordian Knot in ancient Persia, tracking defamation litigation in this year’s US Presidential election season would appear to not only require formal legal training, but resort to some fairly unconventional tactics. But rather than slicing the metaphorical knot with brute force (as legend has it), this article shines a modest but revealing light on the history and principles of US defamation law to assist foreign jurists with its many technicalities and often perplexing uses. Continue reading >>
0
05 March 2024