Teilweise bringt die GEAS-Reform Verbesserungen für die Rechtsstellung von Kindern mit sich. Andere Bereiche – wie etwa die Regelungen zum neuen Screening-Verfahren oder Möglichkeiten der (de facto) Inhaftierung von Kindern – werfen aus kinderrechtlicher Perspektive allerdings Bedenken auf. Vor diesem Hintergrund beleuchtet dieser Beitrag, wie das Kindeswohl bei der nationalen Umsetzung der GEAS-Reform angemessen berücksichtigt werden kann.
Innenansichten aus der deutschen Völkerrechtslehre
Russian oligarchs in Malta, descendants of Italians in South America, and Mexicans crossing into the US make unlikely characters for a common story. Yet over the first half of 2025, the ability of each of these groups to acquire or transmit citizenship status has been under scrutiny, signalling a shared preoccupation with ensuring that citizenship reflects “authentic” bonds and is not acquired instrumentally. In the struggle to define these “authentic” bonds each intervention strikes at the heart of some well-known citizenship tenet – the link to soil, blood, or money – without offering a clear alternative. The resulting void calls for a reflection on the principles that ought to inform rules on citizenship attribution.
The Israeli Supreme Court has recently adopted a highly activist approach in rulings that claim to strengthen the structural foundations of democracy, while neglecting its role in protecting the basic human rights of Palestinians. The stark contrast between the Court’s handling of cases involving Palestinians detained incommunicado and its swift intervention in the dismissal of the Shin Bet Director reflects a deeper pattern in the Court’s recent jurisprudence, one that can be described as “democracy washing”.
On May 22, 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held a hearing in Ramos Durand et al. v. Peru. This is only the second forced sterilization case before the Court (after I.V. v. Bolivia) and the first addressing a widespread, state-led policy of coercion like Peru’s. For the first time, the IACHR may explicitly characterize forced sterilizations as reproductive violence and thus as a form of gender-based violence, contributing to a broader and more inclusive understanding of reproductive rights violations within the regional human rights framework.
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (née Swarupa Kumari Nehru) was a famous diplomat, politician and Indian freedom fighter during the 20th century. Her role in international politics and relations as well as the development of the model and formation of the United Nations is oftentimes shadowed by her connection to her brother Jawharlal Nehru, the first president of independent post-colonial India, and Mahatma Ghandi, who she fought alongside with for an Indian state free from British imperial rule.
Mit ihrer Sperrminorität blockiert die Thüringer AfD-Fraktion die Neubesetzung des Richterwahlausschusses. Aber existiert ihr Druckmittel überhaupt? Muss der Richterwahlausschuss tatsächlich erst neu besetzt oder eine Übergangsregelung geschaffen werden, bevor neue Richter:innen ernannt werden können? Die Vorschriften des DRiG eröffnen einen Ausweg.
Despite its modest uptake since its inception in 2012, the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) has become the subject of several cases before the Court of Justice of the EU. The ECI is the world's first and only instrument of direct transnational democracy, allowing a group of at least seven European citizens from seven different EU member states to request that the Union take new action. The growing legal challenges around successful but ineffective ECIs reflect a fundamental mismatch between constitutional recognition of participatory democracy and institutional realities.
In Poland, the narrow defeat of liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski by the ultra-conservative Karol Nawrocki in the June 1st presidential election marked a turning point. The possibility of restoring the pre-2015 constitutional order has effectively vanished. But this does not mean Polish democracy is doomed. Poland’s European partners must recognize the dramatic shift Polish voters delivered. Rather than fixating on the formal legality—or illegality—of the dizzying array of judicial reforms and counter-reforms enacted since 2015, the time has come to encourage all sides to pursue a national constitutional settlement. This new framework must address not only judicial independence but also the deeper social and political polarization now defining Polish life.
Venezuela held local and parliamentary elections on May 25th which Maduro’s allies won with an overwhelming majority. Even though Maduro had severely tilted the playing field in his favor, the regime did not have to alter the results from what was evident in the exit polls. This was partly because an important part of the opposition called for a boycott of the elections. We argue that for a beleaguered opposition, the question whether to boycott an election should reflect both pragmatic and strategic considerations of the prospects for democratic resistance.
13. September 2025
Giovanni Capoccia
12. September 2025
Anne Peters
12. September 2025
Anne Peters