Articles for tag: Corona-Verfassungsrecht, COVID-19, Donald Trump, Wahlrecht

Corona Constitutional #14: Chaos, und wem es nützt

Heute geht es um Wahlen, genauer um Wahlen in den USA, wo sich im November herausstellen wird, ob Donald Trump eine zweite Amtszeit bekommt. Wahlen in der Coronakrise, das ist auch anderenorts ein außerordentlich haariges Thema, und in Amerika ganz besonders: Im Bundesstaat Wisconsin haben die Demokraten kürzlich ihre Vorwahlen abgehalten. In den Streit darüber, wie diese Wahlen ablaufen sollen, hat sich der Supreme Court eingeschaltet, und zwar auf eine Weise, die bei vielen den ohnehin schon vorhandenen Zweifel daran, dass das oberste Gericht politisch unparteiisch unterwegs ist, noch mal massiv verstärkt hat. Was es mit diesen Zweifeln auf sich hat und was das für die Präsidentschaftswahl bedeuten könnte, darüber spricht Max Steinbeis mit DAVID DRIESEN, Professor an der Syracuse University im Bundesstaat New York.

22. April 2020

, , ,

The US Supreme Court’s Activism in the Wisconsin Election

United States lawyers may wonder whether President Trump has captured its Supreme Court. One day before a presidential primary and local election in Wisconsin, the Court intervened in an extraordinary way to add a new voting restriction. The decision in Republican National Committee v. Democratic National Committee provides further evidence that the Court has abandoned its high court role in favor of unusual partisan interventions to effectuate results found congenial by its Republican majority. Furthermore, a Court usually sensitive to national security concerns reached its judgment about the Wisconsin election without taking the threat the coronavirus poses to democratic processes seriously.

22. April 2020

, , ,

Taiwan’s Proactive Prevention of COVID-19 under Constitutionalism

On December 31, 2019, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) sent the above message via email to the International Health Regulations (IHR) focal point under the World Health Organization (WHO). In the meantime, Taiwan also initiated COVID-19 epidemic prevention measures. This article endeavors to explain Taiwan’s emergency command and response system, to summarize Taiwan’s current regulatory actions against the epidemic outbreak, and to provide a few remarks on the emergency measures undertaken from the perspective of constitutionalism.

22. April 2020

, ,

Rescuing Human Rights in Mauritius During the COVID 19 Tsunami

In the evening of 18 March 2020, Mauritians learnt the harsh news that their tropical heaven island of about 1.2 million people was also being swept by the coronavirus (COVID 19) tsunami, with three confirmed cases. As of 21 April 2020, the country has recorded a total of 328 cases, with 73 of them still being active and 9 deaths. Initially recording high increases in the confirmed number of COVID 19 cases, the country has been able to flatten its curve, without even a single case being recorded on some days. Depending on the trend of the spread, the government is working on a COVID 19 Bill that will gradually re-open the economy as from 4 May 2020.

22. April 2020

, ,

Corona Constitutional #13: In Hongkong wird es dunkel

Erinnern Sie sich? In grauer Vorzeit, vor der Krise, im Jahr 2019 gab es eine riesige Protestbewegung in Hongkong. Hunderttausende gingen auf die Straße, um ihre Freiheitsrechte und die Unabhängigkeit ihrer Verfassungsinstitutionen gegen den Zugriff der Zentralregierung in Peking zu verteidigen. Die nutzt jetzt die Coronakrise, um mit ihren Gegnern abzurechnen. Übers Wochenende wurden viele prominente Regimekritiker in Hongkong verhaftet, die Protestbewegung klemmt im Lockdown fest, die Weltöffentlichkeit hat etwas anderes zu tun, als sich über Hongkong aufzuregen. Können wir uns das leisten, in Zeiten, wo ohnehin schon autoritäre Regimes ihr Krisenmanagement als Vorbild anpreisen, das den liberalen Demokratien angeblich überlegen ist? Darüber spricht Max Steinbeis mit der Verfassungsrechtsprofessorin CORA CHAN von der Hong Kong University, die direkt vor Ort von ihrer Einschätzung der Lage berichtet.

21. April 2020

, ,

State of Emergency Through the Back Door

One of the problems for Indonesia’s government when dealing with the coronavirus crisis was its non-transparent approach towards the public. Not least because of that, many people in Indonesia do not trust the government when it comes to handling the pandemic. The government’s attempt to declare the civilian emergency status which would have enabled it to control the flow of information has failed due to public opposition. A move by its police chief, however, is now trying to introduce emergency powers through the back door and in blatant disregard of a Constitutional Court ruling.

21. April 2020

, , ,

The Philippines‹ Dalliance with Authoritarianism in Times of National Emergency

The Philippines is remarkably familiar with national emergencies, having faced just in the past three decades alone two global financial catastrophes, a number of coup attempts, a couple of destructive volcanic eruptions, a slew of ravaging typhoons, deadly terrorist attacks, and a devastating earthquake. Notably, the national response at these moments of crisis is to give the President “emergency powers”. Of course, this also comes with the admonition that citizens must fall in line and obey the commands of the government, which usually means temporarily “adjusting” adherence to human rights and respect for civil liberties.

21. April 2020

, , ,

Belgium and COVID-19: When a Health Crisis Replaces a Political Crisis

The COVID-19 health crisis is happening in the context of a political crisis in Belgium. As the virus was spreading in the EU in early March, political parties were still negotiating the formation of a federal government. The need to provide a unified and strong answer to the situation added another layer to the political crisis and seems to have put the main political disagreements on the backburner. Even though, many institutional and constitutional challenges have been solved without considerably affecting basic democratic principles. This is not true when it comes to fundamental rights, especially fundamental rights of vulnerable groups such as migrants and prisoners, female victims of violence etc.

21. April 2020

, ,

Zwei Schritte vor, einer zurück

Am 16. April um 18 Uhr sollte in Hamburg eine Versammlung unter dem Titel „Abstand statt Notstand – Verwaltungsrechtler*innen gegen eine faktische Aussetzung der Versammlungsfreiheit“ stattfinden. Zu ihrer Zulässigkeit erließen Verwaltungsgericht (VG) und Oberverwaltungsgericht (OVG) jeweils Beschlüsse im einstweiligen Rechtsschutz. Unterschiedlicher hätten sie nicht ausfallen können, beide aber sind (auf ihre Art) bemerkenswert.

21. April 2020

, ,