15 April 2016
Die Kanzlerin schützt den Rechtsstaat. Oder wie?
In einem Rechtsstaat, so Kanzlerin Angela Merkel in Sachen Böhmermann, sei „es nicht Sache der Regierung, sondern von Staatsanwaltschaften und Gerichten, das Persönlichkeitsrecht und andere Belange gegen die Presse- und Kunstfreiheit abzuwägen“. Wieso eigentlich nicht? Warum gibt es dann überhaupt ein einschlägiges Ermächtigungsdelikt? Tatsächlich ist nach Art. 1 Abs. 3 GG die Bundesregierung durchaus verpflichtet, eine entsprechende Grundrechtsabwägung vorzunehmen. Continue reading >>
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11 April 2016
Erlaubte Schmähkritik? Die verfassungsrechtliche Dimension der causa Jan Böhmermann
Jan Böhmermanns Spottverse auf den türkischen Präsidenten Erdoğan sind erklärtermaßen Schmähkritik und als solche nicht von der Meinungsfreiheit aus Art. 5 GG gedeckt – eigentlich. Kann Schmähkritik so verpackt werden, dass diese ausnahmsweise die Grenzen des Zulässigen nicht überschreitet? Fällt sie auch dann aus dem Schutzbereich der Meinungsfreiheit heraus, wenn ihr Verfasser mit dieser „Verpackung“ deutlich macht, dass es ihm erkennbar gerade nicht um den Inhalt der Schmähkritik selbst, sondern um etwas (wiederum erkennbar) anderes geht. Einiges spricht hier dafür, die Meinungsfreiheit tatsächlich in diesem Sinne zu interpretieren. Continue reading >>07 April 2016
Mit den eigenen Waffen geschlagen: Die Reaktion des EuGH auf den unbedingten Vorrang der Menschenwürde vor dem Unionsrecht nach dem BVerfG
Der EuGH bewegt sich – aber er gibt dabei klar die Richtung vor. Das ist das Fazit zu seinem Urteil von vorgestern zum europäischen Haftbefehl. Die Antwort auf eine Vorlage des OLG Bremen, in der es um die Auslieferung aufgrund eines europäischen Haftbefehls bei der Gefahr menschenrechtswidriger Haftbedingungen im ersuchenden Staat ging, war zuletzt mit besonderer Spannung erwartet worden. Denn das BVerfG hatte vor kurzem einen Auslieferungsfall nach Italien zum Anlass genommen, nach Jahrzehnten die Solange-Rechtsprechung für den Anwendungsbereich der Menschenwürde in den Ruhestand zu verabschieden: Künftig hat Art. 1 Abs. 1 GG über den Hebel der Identitätskontrolle, und zwar ungeachtet des generellen Grundrechtsschutzstandards in der EU, immer Vorrang vor kollidierenden unionsrechtlichen Verpflichtungen. Dies konnte von europäischer Seite kaum unwidersprochen bleiben. Continue reading >>
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06 April 2016
Iceland’s Citizen Constitution: the Window Remains Wide Open
Iceland is, once again, in political turmoil after the Panama Papers revelations. This might revitalize a project which had fascinated constitutionalists from all over the world before it seemingly was derailed by the political establishment - a new constitution written by the citizens of Iceland themselves. Continue reading >>
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04 April 2016
The Panama Papers: What Should Be Done?
If the U.S., the European Union, and Japan were to agree to impose a tax on income flows to tax havens, the tax-evasion problem would largely be solved without the need for cooperation from the havens. Using a 30 percent tax will do the trick. What prevents this obvious solution from happening is that the U.S. is willing to aid and abet tax evasion by Europeans, while the EU is willing to aid and abet tax evasion by Americans. This reflects the political power of the rich on both sides of the Atlantic. Continue reading >>The Panama Papers: Six Preliminary Observations
The Panama papers is a treasure trove of information on the activities and clientele of a large, but not atypical, legal firm operating in an offshore financial centre or the tax haven of Panama. It follows a series of spectacular leaks by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that included the Lichtenstein leak, HSBC, the Lux-leaks and now the Panama papers. What have we learned from this latest leak so far? Continue reading >>02 April 2016
Freedom of Religion vs Islamophobia: Lombardy’s “Anti-Mosque Law” is Unconstitutional
While islamophobia is on the rise after the carnages of Paris and Bruxelles, recent developments in Italy may foster the confidence in the freedom of religion of European Muslims. In a ground-breaking decision, the Italian Constitutional Court has nullified a regional “anti-mosques law” enacted by the Lombardy Region one year ago, discriminating the Muslim community of this rich and populated area of Northern Italy. Continue reading >>31 March 2016
How to protect European Values in the Polish Constitutional Crisis
Does the Polish development concern us — the European citizens and the European institutions we have set up? There is a functional and a normative argument to state that it does. The normative argument is that the European Union organizes a community of states that profess allegiance to a set of fundamental values—among others, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. The functional reason is that the European legal space presupposes mutual trust. European law operates on the presumption that all institutions are law-abiding. Otherwise, the legal edifice crumbles. Continue reading >>30 March 2016
Paradoxes of Constitutionalisation: Lessons from Poland
This comment aims to explain a number of paradoxes of constitutionalization on the example of the current constitutional crisis in Poland. It attempts to demonstrate that this crisis is not only political in its nature, but structural as it results from the inherent tension between the concept of rule of law, democracy and human rights. It is also argued that the success of constitutionalization as a global project depends on strong social endorsement of constitutional institutions and practices, including judicial review. Continue reading >>
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29 March 2016
“Emergency Constitutional Review”: thinking the unthinkable? A Letter from America
With the constitution and the rule of law in Poland under systemic attack and the Constitutional Court weakened by the refusal of the government to publish its decisions, ordinary judges should step in and, if need be, declare unconstitutional laws inapplicable by themselves. An example for this sort of emergency constitutional review has already been set by the Polish Supreme Court in a decision of March 17th. Continue reading >>
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24 March 2016
In eigener Sache: Unsere künftige Kommentar-Moderationspolicy
Lange Zeit war dieser Blog, was Kommentare betrifft, ein relativ [...] Continue reading >>17 March 2016
Hungary’s Struggle: In a Permanent State of Exception
The Hungarian government has called for a referendum on EU relocation quota plan and declared a “nationwide migrant crisis”. The justification given by the government for these measures was the “massive immigration” which “endangers the jobs of Hungarians and redraws Hungary’s cultural and religious identity”. The argument went that, due to a “migrant crisis” the Hungarian government needed a greater room for maneuvre, not limited by constitutional constraints, in order to manage the crisis. This argument presupposes that, as a result of the migrant crisis, Hungary has ended up in a state of exception, when constitutional guarantees have to be limited or suspended; essential powers have to be concentrated in the hands of the prime minister, until the crisis is overcome. Continue reading >>The Power of the Rule of Law: The Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s Forceful Reaction
On 9th March ‒ just two days before the Venice Commission adopted its opinion on the same matter ‒ the Polish Constitutional Tribunal announced its judgment on the statute of 22nd December 2015 amending the Act on the Constitutional Tribunal. This legislative move resembled nothing less than a constitutional coup d’etat against the Polish judiciary and the constitutional state. Fortunately this assault encountered a forceful reaction of its designated target, the Tribunal itself. With the probably most important and in its substance most extraordinary ruling since its establishment thirty years ago the Court asserts itself as the guardian of the Polish constitution. The Court’s reasoning – widely applauded by legal scholars and practitioners – evidences one central point: The Tribunal proved to be a strong opponent within the power play of Kaczyński and its arsenal of puppets holding key public offices. Continue reading >>
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15 March 2016
Rule of law in Greece buckles under institutionalised ill-treatment by law enforcement agents
Rampant police violence, institutionalized racism and a "culture of impunity": The Council of Europe Anti-Torture Committee's latest report on Greece reveals once again a shocking lack of respect for human rights and the rule of law in the Greek law enforcement system. Continue reading >>
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14 March 2016
Poland, Hungary and Europe: Pre-Article 7 Hopes and Concerns
The European Commission’s opening of a rule of law dialogue with Poland in the new pre-Article 7 format developed last year is an important test of European constitutionalism both on the EU and on the Member State level. The mechanism is meant to address systemic violations of the rule of law in several steps, in the format of a structured dialogue. The new procedure does not preclude or prevent the launching of an infringement procedure by the Commission. The probe into Poland’s measures against the Constitutional Tribunal and its new media regulation is expected to test the viability of an EU constitutional enforcement mechanism against a Member State. Continue reading >>
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How to Protect European Values: Assessing European Responses to Recent Reforms in Poland
The European Commission announced its decision to further investigate whether the recent reforms of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal and Public Service Broadcasters are consistent with the rule of law, a common value of the EU. At the same time the Council of Europe´s Venice Commission investigates the reforms at the request of the Foreign Minister of Poland. Are the new mechanism and the evaluation by an expert body fit to protect European constitutional values? A conference organized by the Max Planck Society and Verfassungsblog searches for answers. Continue reading >>
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12 March 2016
Taking refugee rights seriously: A reply to Professor Hailbronner
Reactions to the proposed “refugee swap” between the EU and Turkey have been predictably absolutist. On the one hand, most advocates have opposed the draft arrangement, asserting some combination of the right of refugees to be protected where they choose and/or that a protection swap would clearly breach the ECHR’s prohibition of “collective expulsion” of aliens. On the other hand, Professor Hailbronner argues against any right of refugees to make their own decisions about how to access protection, believes that refugees may be penalized if arriving in the EU “without the necessary documents,” suggests that it does not matter that Turkey is not relevantly a party to the Refugee Convention, and confidently asserts that there is no basis to see the prohibition of “collective expulsion” as engaged here. As usual, the truth is somewhere in the middle. Continue reading >>
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11 March 2016
The Polish Constitutional Crisis and “Politics of Paranoia”
Thanks to the growing interest in the “Polish case”, Europe should now have a clear legal understanding of what is going on in Poland and of the motives of the government: the systemic repudiation of some of the fundamental principles of Polish constitutional order, rule of law, legality, separation of powers, independence of the judiciary, supremacy of the Constitution and the monopoly of constitutional review. Continue reading >>
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Legal Requirements for the EU-Turkey Refugee Agreement: A Reply to J. Hathaway
There are many open questions and objections against the EU-Turkey deal on an agreement whose details are yet to be negotiated to manage the Syrian refugee crisis. In particular on the reciprocity part: could the agreement as an easily available tool by Turkey to blackmail visa liberalization and progress in the EU Accession negotiations? How will the EU make sure the proper treatment of all returnees? How is the resettlement of refugees from Syria to the EU (and to Germany) going to take place? James Hathaway on this blog has listed three legal requirements for the agreement to be legal. In my view none of these are likely to block an agreement. Continue reading >>10 March 2016