Articles for category: AAA General

Why the Provisional Measures Order in Nicaragua v. Germany severely limits Germany’s ability to transfer arms to Israel

In an application before the International Court of Justice brought by Nicaragua against Germany, Nicaragua requested that the ICJ indicate provisional measures as a matter of extreme urgency with respect to Germany’s ‘participation in the ongoing plausible genocide and serious breaches of international humanitarian law and other peremptory norms of general international law occurring in the Gaza Strip’. While Nicaragua did not get any of the provisional measures requested, the request for provisional measures may nevertheless have achieved its aim of preventing Germany from providing arms to Israel for use in the Gaza Strip.

2. Mai 2024

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Ten Commandments to Stifle Academic Freedom

Since 2010, the beginning of the populist takeover and the authoritarian transition, Hungary has gathered a lot of experience on how to dismantle academic freedom. This knowledge can be useful for other autocrats as well. But even if we don’t want to give them tips on how to repeat what happened and is happening in this country, it might still be worth reconstructing how it all took place. This can be especially useful for calculating what to expect from autocrats and preparing how to defend against them.

2. Mai 2024

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Nicaragua Comes Up Empty

On 30 April 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejected a request by Nicaragua for the indication of provisional measures in connection with claims relating to Germany’s support for Israel in the ongoing Gaza conflict. In a terse, sparsely-reasoned decision, the Court decided 15-1 that the circumstances were ‘not such as to require the exercise of its power under Article 41 of the Statute to indicate provisional measures’. While this outcome was not necessarily surprising to those who had followed the proceedings, the Court’s approach—in which it declined to address the usual requirements for the indication of provisional measures—was unusual.

1. Mai 2024

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International Trade and “Embedded Emissions” after KlimaSeniorinnen

A key and underrated aspect of the recent triad of climate rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is that the ECtHR has brought to the fore the role of trade-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in states’ carbon footprints. While most international climate agreements focus on the reduction of domestic GHG emissions, in the Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland Judgment (KlimaSeniorinnen), the ECtHR found ‘attributable’ to Switzerland the GHG emissions taking place abroad, ‘embedded’ into goods (and possibly services) ‘consumed’ in Switzerland. As I will argue, the ruling appears to require Switzerland to adopt a climate-oriented trade policy.

1. Mai 2024

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Chaos, Verwirrung und republikanischer Kurswechsel

Das US-amerikanische Abtreibungsrecht ist schwer nachvollziehbar – für Schwangere, für Ärzt:innen, und auch für außenstehende Beobachter, die verstehen wollen, wie Abtreibung mit den Präsidentschaftswahlen 2024 verstrickt ist. Die Geschichte ist kompliziert, dynamisch und noch nicht vorbei. Eine Warnung in den Worten von Bette Davis: “Fasten your seatbelts; it’s going to be a bumpy night”.

30. April 2024

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Separation of Powers and KlimaSeniorinnen

Especially in Switzerland, the KlimaSeniorinnen ruling has been met with sharp criticism. The rightwing Swiss People’s party (Schweizerische Volkspartei, SVP) (predictably) accused the Court of judicial overreach and demanded that Switzerland leave the Council of Europe. The ECtHR decision directly addresses separation of powers and the role of the judiciary in adjudicating human rights, specifically in the context of climate change. This post unpacks the decision and argues that concerns about ECtHR overreach are unwarranted. It shows how the judgment forms an integral part of democratic governance (particularly in Switzerland) whilst being conducive to better laws and policies.

30. April 2024

Chaos, Confusion and Republican Change-Up

Grasping the rules for getting an abortion in the American states is no easy matter for pregnant women, for abortion doctors, or for outside observers trying to understand how deeply entangled abortion is with the 2024 Presidential Election in November. The story is complicated, fast-moving, and not over yet. As Bette Davis warned her party guests, “Fasten your seatbelts; it’s going to be a bumpy night”.

29. April 2024

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Rebuilding the Rule of Law

The victory of the opposition in the parliamentary elections in Poland in 2023 followed by the formation of a coalition government paved the way for the rebuilding of the rule of law after a period of its systematic violation during the 8-year rule of PiS. The first four months of the new government have already shown that this process will not be easy. However, certain actions aimed at rebuilding the violated standards have already been taken. Three goals and values ​​should be among the guiding principles in the process of rebuilding the rule of law in Poland: legalism, legal certainty, and building citizens' trust in public institutions.

29. April 2024

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The Enemy Within

It is an oft-forgotten fact that Poland has a coalition government. And it is oft-forgotten for a good reason: the largest of the coalition partners, PiS, carries a plurality of votes in the Parliament as well as the strongest popular support. For most of the time this allows them to suppress or ignore any dissenting voices within the coalition. The coalition arrangement however causes constant tensions.

29. April 2024

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