13 December 2021
Not Above the Law
In the joined cases EMA and ELA on the determination of EU agencies’ seats, a decision of the EU-Court is pending very soon. According to AG Bobek’s opinion, delivered on 6 October 2021, intergovernmental decisions the seats of the European agencies fall outside the EU Court’s judicial review. Ezio Perillo, former Judge at the General Court, does not agree with this solution. For him court has the duty to assure the effective judicial protection of intergovernmental decisions when they do not respect the institutional balance as in the EMA and ELA cases. Continue reading >>
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03 March 2021
A Paean to Judicial (Self) Restraint
The UK Supreme Court Shamima Begum decision is widely reported to be a win for former home secretary Sajid Javid who had stripped Begum of her citizenship. Yet, is it really a vindication of this action? The decision of the Supreme Court is not based on a factual assessment of Begum’s case but only on whether she has to be given permission to return to the UK to participate in an effective and fair manner in the immigration appeal. A limited decision, and by no means a final adjudication on Begum’s deprivation of citizenship case. Continue reading >>
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08 April 2020
Constitutional Crisis in Israel: Coronavirus, Interbranch Conflict, and Dynamic Judicial Review
The Covid-19 pandemic hit Israel in fragile political and constitutional times. After three consecutive national elections and during unprecedented and continuous constitutional crisis, it has deepened an interbranch conflict that has led to the High Court of Justice (HCJ) taking part, in real time, in a dynamic judicial review. The HCJ not only facilitated the functioning of the parliament but also expedited its oversight on the government’s use of emergency powers. Continue reading >>
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23 November 2019
The Battle for Jurisdiction over Hong Kong
Beijing's reaction to the Hong Kong High Court's judgment regarding the constitutionality of the face-mask ban is eerily similar of the approach taken by the German Reichskommissar against the Norwegian Supreme Court during the German occupation of Norway in 1940. Continue reading >>15 November 2019
Right-Wing Crits
In which I take issue with the Judicial Power Project. Continue reading >>24 October 2019
Between Legislative Defiance and Legal Security
In Portugal, a recent decision of the Constitutional Court rejected another legislative attempt to implement a successful system of surrogacy. For the first time in its 26-year history, the Court faced legislative defiance of its previous case law, but asserted its role as the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution with arguments of “legal security” which provided the formal ground to escape the conflict between branches. Continue reading >>
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11 October 2019
Creating a Safe Venue of Judicial Review
On 24 September 2019, Advocate General Tanchev delivered his opinion in joined cases C-558/18 and C-563/18. It is his latest involvement in a series of cases which concern the rule of law in Poland and which is questionable from a legal as well as factual standpoint. Continue reading >>
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04 March 2019
Crossing the Baltic Rubicon
Last week, a constitutional moment took place in the European Union. In a rather technical area of law, the Statute of the European System of Central Banks, the Court of Justice ruled for the first time in a case that ensued in the annulment of a decision of a Member State. The Court did not declare that a Member State had failed to fulfill its obligations under EU Law. What the Court did was much more ambitious. Continue reading >>
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24 April 2018
Gerrymandering and Judicial Review in Malaysia
On 28 March, the Malaysian Parliament passed new electoral maps. The re-delineated boundaries create an imbalance in constituencies, prompting allegations of mal-apportionment and gerrymandering. They remain largely unchallenged, not only through ouster clauses in particularized elections legislation, but also through the unwillingness of the judiciary to recognize the importance of the constitutional question relating to fair and equitable electoral management. Continue reading >>24 April 2017