Articles for category: English Articles

Privileges Constrained

Last week, the Indian Supreme Court delivered its judgment in Sita Soren v. Union of India, holding that parliamentary privilege – the constitutionally recognized legal immunity of legislators – does not extend to bribe-taking for exercising their legislative vote or speech a certain way. In this blog post, I discuss the Court’s formulation of the essentiality test, as well as its conclusions on the availability of privilege for bribe-taking. I argue that while the ruling can strengthen democratic institutions since it protects the integrity of legislative processes, certain risks in the essentiality test’s composition – which risk depriving important legislative functions of privilege – must be addressed.

13. März 2024

, , , ,

What is Living and What is Dead in the Turkish Parliament?

On January 30th, 2024, the Turkish Parliament officially revoked the mandate of Can Atalay, an opposition MP representing the earthquake-affected city of Hatay. Atalay's incident, from its inception to the recent parliamentary drama, not only exposes the diminished authority of the Constitutional Court but also exemplifies the tacit cooperation among the regime's loyal officers—judges, MPs, or civil servants. In this subtle network, the Parliament occupies a peculiar place with its distinct symbolism, serving as a fig leaf for authoritarian politics.

13. März 2024

, , , ,

Conspicuously Absent

Nicaragua alleges that Germany violates the Genocide Convention and international humanitarian law by assisting Israel and also by failing to prevent violations of these bodies of law. It requests the International Court of Justice to indicate provisional measures, which would oblige Germany inter alia to stop assisting Israel. While the Court may be barred from exercising its jurisdiction over Nicaragua’s claims relating to the Genocide Convention it may be able to hear the claims regarding Germany’s duties under IHL.

13. März 2024

, , , , , , , , , ,

Why Courts will not Stop Global Warming, but Climate Litigation is Still Useful

Despite the global trend of record temperatures and the increasing number of disasters caused by extreme weather events, the political impetus to combat global warming is weakening all over Europe. Not only far-right forces want to stop ambitious climate policy, but also other political parties tend to neglect this field. To counter those political forces, climate litigation tries to hold national governments accountable to their goals as enshrined in the Paris Agreement. Courts represent one of the arenas in the struggle for climate protection. However, the battle is ultimately won or lost in the legislative arena.

12. März 2024

, , ,

How Populist Politicians Are Weakening the Kenyan Judiciary

The Kenyan President and his parliamentary allies are guilty of constitutional vandalism. In what has become an increasingly popular political move, they conveniently blame the judiciary for their unfulfilled promises, making the courts an easy target in a democracy backsliding. Lacking public outreach – judges neither organise rallies nor post on social media –, the judiciary has become a scapegoat to rally political support. While courts aren't beyond criticism, some attacks are self-serving, often from those with pending or impending court cases.

12. März 2024

, ,

Shipwreck after Shipwreck

On 26 February 2024, the European Ombudsman issued a decision OI/3/2023/MHZ on the fundamental rights obligations of Frontex with regard to search and rescue in the context of its maritime surveillance activities. While affirming Frontex’s compliance with the applicable rules and protocols, the inquiry exposed significant shortcomings in how the Agency handles maritime incidents, including the issuance of emergency signals. Given the persistent scale of recurrent shipwrecks, I argue that integrating AI systems into Frontex’s activities has the capacity to significantly improve the decision-making process in responding to boats in potential distress and the overall SAR system.

11. März 2024

, , , ,

A Constitutional Dignitary Conceived in the Orbán-Regime

On 26 February, Tamás Sulyok, the former President of the Hungarian Constitutional Court, was elected Head of State by the Parliament. The election of Tamás Sulyok as a member of the Constitutional Court and then as its president was part of the process during which Fidesz took over the Constitutional Court. Sulyok’s presidency (2016-2024) was a testimony to the fact that the Constitutional Court has become subservient to the Fidesz-dominated political branches, and there is no sign that he has actively tried to do anything against it. Based on what we have seen so far, therefore, Tamás Sulyok is part of the Orbán-regime, and nothing suggests that he will exercise greater autonomy and independence in his role as Head of State.

11. März 2024

,

Ecocide à la Bruxelloise

Belgium's new ecocide provision has been hailed as a resounding victory for environmental activists, particularly so for the burgeoning Stop Ecocide campaign. But is the widespread excitement justified? Can the new law deliver on the lofty expectations? And how does it fit within the soon-to-be adopted revision of the Environmental Crime Directive at the EU level? Despite constituting a highly symbolic step, I argue that the Belgian law’s constrained scope makes it a toothless tool to punish environmental outlaws in practice.

9. März 2024

, , ,

Enshrining Abortion Rights in the French Constitution

On International Women’s Day 2024, President Emmanuel Macron signed an amendment, that enshrines abortion rights in the French Constitution. Abortion is now a constitutionally “guaranteed freedom” for women in France: but constitutionally guaranteeing this freedom is also — if not even more — a call-out to the rest of the world. By constitutionalizing the right to abortion, French parliamentarians and government officials aimed to signal this commitment to the global community, with a particular emphasis on the United States.

9. März 2024

, , ,