Articles for tag: Arbeitsrecht, Crisis, Migrationsrecht, Verfassungsrecht, Völkerrecht, Wissenschaft

Crisis and Legal Scholarship

References to crisis abound. Since the 2008 financial crash and with the popularisation of the term “polycrisis” after the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea that we live in times of crises shapes public opinion, political discourse, and academic debates. A review of posts published on Verfassungsblog between January and July 2025 reveals an average of 15 posts per month mentioning some kind of crisis. Crisis is certainly a catchword, and these are hard to resist. But the pervasiveness of this term can also tell us something about the kind of knowledge produced by legal scholarship.

6. August 2025

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Parteiverbotsverfahren in der öffentlichen Debatte

In der seit einigen Monaten kontrovers geführten Debatte um ein mögliches AfD-Verbot werden immer wieder Positionen mit rechtlichen Argumenten unterfüttert, die mit Blick auf das Verfassungsrecht kaum haltbar oder zumindest stark umstritten sind. Ihnen soll im Folgenden besondere Aufmerksamkeit gelten: als Mahnung an alle, die sich öffentlich zu diesem Thema äußern, dass die juristische Methodik auch dort nicht vernachlässigt werden darf, wo (gefühlte) politische Dringlichkeit auf normative Komplexität trifft.

30. Juli 2025

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Gaming Procedure, Gutting Due Process

The Trump administration has admitted that sending Abrego Garcia to a supermax prison in El Salvador known for human rights abuses was an “administrative error” but contends before the U.S. Supreme Court that there is nothing a federal court can do about that. As I shall explain, the Solicitor General’s argument ultimately rests on the claim that the president who frequently boasts about his abilities as a deal maker is a lousy negotiator.

10. April 2025

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The Executive’s Responsibility for the Constitution

Who is responsible for safeguarding the constitution? Traditionally, constitutional lawyers have focused on the courts. But the alarming actions of Trump 2.0 and democratic backsliding across the world suggests we should think far more about the role of the executive. The UK House of Lords Constitution Committee (“the Committee”) has recently published a report on Executive oversight and responsibility for the UK constitution, which emphasizes institutions, in particular the civil service, as a solution the threats to constitutional governance posed but the executive. But this may be wishful thinking.

31. März 2025

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Transgender Rights at a Crossroads in the United States

In his first month in office, US President Donald Trump has issued a series of sweeping executive orders targeting transgender rights. These orders build on political terrain that is now exceedingly hostile to transgender rights. In this post, I briefly examine the landscape for transgender rights in the United States, analyze what President Trump’s executive orders on transgender rights aim to do, and then discuss the stakes of United States v. Skrmetti, the pending Supreme Court case that will likely set out the framework that federal courts will use in adjudicating transgender rights cases under the Trump administration and beyond.

13. Februar 2025

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Betreutes Regieren

Auf einem viertätigen Symposium "Demokratie in Zeiten der Krise" diskutierten in Elmau der Präsident des Bundesverfassungsgerichts Stephan Harbarth und Bundeskanzleramtsminister Wolfgang Schmidt unter anderem über den Umgang der Politik mit verfassungsrechtlicher Ungewissheit und Schmidts Vorschlag, das Bundesverfassungsgericht wieder als Gutachter in diffizilen Verfassungsfragen einzusetzen. Eine auf den ersten Blick sympathisch klingende Idee, die gleichwohl mit Vorsicht zu genießen ist, drohen doch Politisierung und falsch verstandene Gewaltenverschränkung.

3. Februar 2025

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Carte Blanche for Judicial Appointments?

In the recent Valančius judgment, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (Court of Justice or ECJ), ruled on Union law requirements for the judicial appointment procedure to the EU General Court. Having previously clarified the Union law requirements for the selection procedures of national judges, the Valančius case at first sight confirms the applicability of these requirements to the selection procedure of EU General Court judges. However, a closer look reveals that the judgment risks effectively giving carte blanche for Member States to design the national stage of the appointment procedure regarding EU General Court judges.

31. Januar 2025

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The US Supreme Court and Plutocracy

Populist authoritarianism is a global phenomenon. However, the US is the only so-called consolidated democracy where its ascent has been eased by the systematic dismantling of legal limits on campaign donations. US elections are now not only the world’s most costly, but they are also directly subject to the inordinate influence of wealthy individuals and corporations. The Supreme Court of the United States’ 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling has paved the way for the emergence of so-called “super” PACS (political action committees) that, while formally barred from coordinating with candidates or parties, can accept unlimited corporate contributions.

24. Januar 2025

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On Peru’s Constitutional Crisis

Two hundred years after gaining independence, Peru finds itself in a state of political instability. Over the past six years, the country has had six different presidents — largely due to a persistent power struggle between the Legislative and Executive branches. The ongoing turmoil indicates that Peru finds itself in a constitutional crisis– a crisis that encompasses both the constitutional text, tainted by its authoritarian history, and the political constitution, understood as the actual form of government.

22. Januar 2025

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