10 November 2016
A Crisis of Representation
The failure to offer a serious alternative to the current maladies of capitalism should not be construed as a constitutional crisis. Continue reading >>
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17 October 2016
Is the EU Commission’s Rule of Law Fight about Poland already lost?
In ten days, the deadline set by the EU Commission to Poland in the current stand-off about the Polish constitutional crisis will expire. A lot is at stake for both sides. In Warsaw few expect that the Commission will still be able to keep the ruling party from having it their way. Continue reading >>17 October 2016
Hat die EU das Kräftemessen mit Polen bereits verloren?
Zehn Tage. So lange hat Polens Regierungspartei mit dem schönen Namen "Recht und Gerechtigkeit" (PiS) noch Zeit, den Konflikt mit der EU-Kommission um das polnische Verfassungsgericht beizulegen. Für beide Seiten steht enorm viel auf dem Spiel. Doch in Warschau rechnet kaum jemand damit, dass die EU die Entmachtung des Verfassungsgerichts noch stoppen kann. Eine Recherche. Continue reading >>11 October 2016
“The National Council of the Judiciary is under attack in different ways”
While the crisis about the Polish Constitutional Tribunal remains unresolved, ordinary judges in Poland and the constitutional body responsible to safeguard their independence increasingly find themselves in the crosshairs of the vindictive governing party PiS as well. An interview with Waldemar Żurek, spokesman of the National Council of the Judiciary of Poland. Continue reading >>03 September 2016
Constitutional justice in Handcuffs? Gloves are off in the Polish Constitutional Conflict
A high-ranking PiS politician has announced that those Constitutional Tribunal judges who will not bend to the will of the PiS majority will be removed from office. This marks a new step of escalation in the ongoing constitutional crisis in Poland. Continue reading >>25 July 2016
Statutory tinkering: on the Senate’s changes to the Law on the Polish Constitutional Tribunal
The infamous law on the Polish Constitutional Tribunal of July 7th has met with an outcry of criticism among constitutional scholars. Last week, the upper chamber of the Polish Parliament, the Senate, has introduced a number of changes to meet some of the concerns. On the whole the effort amounts to little more than statutory tinkering, though. The effect, the emasculation of constitutional control in Poland, remains unchanged. Continue reading >>
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08 July 2016
Wie kommt die FAZ darauf, dass “Warschau auf Kritiker zugeht”?
Polens Regierung will uns glauben machen, die Verfassungskrise sei mit dem jüngsten Gesetz zur Reform der Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit aus der Welt geschafft - und nicht wenige Medien fallen drauf rein. Dabei ist das Gegenteil richtig. Continue reading >>30 June 2016
A Citizens’ Attempt to Solve the Polish Constitutional Crisis
Polish civil society groups have drafted a bill regarding the Act on the Constitutional Tribunal, expecting that the governing party PiS does not intend to legally solve the severe constitutional crisis it has created. We document the speech the representative of these groups, Jaroslaw Marciniak, gave in the Sejm on June 9th 2016. Continue reading >>19 May 2016
“De-constitutionalism” in Turkey?
Can “de-” be a modifier to describe the constitutionalism in a country? "De-constitutionalism" is what Prof. Kemal Gözler, a constitutional law scholar, has termed the current state of constitutionalism in Turkey. His argument is that constitutional bad faith practices employed by the constitutional institutions (mainly the executive, but also the judiciary) lead one to hold the view that there is no more a (valid) constitution in Turkey. Whatever it is termed, one thing is certain: that Turkey is undergoing a constitutional deadlock or crisis, and its indicators can be observed on many occasions. Continue reading >>17 March 2016
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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