Articles for tag: DemokratieabbauFrench ConstitutionPräsidialbefugnissePräsidialdemokratie

The French Premiership Saga

The appointment of Michel Barnier as French Prime Minister and the designation of a cabinet even further to the right has led to thousands of protesters rallying across France. Taking a step back from the latest developments, this post looks back to some of the constitutional tensions the events of this summer have exposed. It argues that Emmanuel Macron’s actions following the snap election have relied on a distorted reading of the French constitution. In addition to raising serious legal questions, these actions have also set worrying precedents that arguably fit in a pattern of “executive aggrandizement”.

Es geht um die Demokratie

Der Präsident ist im französischen Verfassungssystem der V. Republik von 1958 das zentrale Verfassungsorgan. Doch ob und wie das so bleiben wird, ist in diesem Jahr aber noch offen.  Nach der Parlamentswahl, die im Juni auf die Präsidentschaftswahl folgen wird, könnte der Reformbedarf des Wahl- und des politischen Systems unabweisbar werden. Und zwar unabhängig davon, ob Macron oder Le Pen gewinnt.

Draghi’s New Cabinet Sails but Italian Political Institutions Do not Risk Reforms

On 13 February 2021, the new Prime Minister Mario Draghi was sworn in with his ministers by President Mattarella. Draghi had received the task of forming the government on 3 February, ten days earlier. The second Conte government had resigned on 26 January. The new government won the confidence of the Senate on 17 February and that of the Chamber of Deputies on the 18th: the crisis was resolved within eighteen days (twenty-three if the two parliamentary votes are taken into account). It must be emphasized that in Italy the government does not take office after the parliamentary vote, but before, with the oath of office (Art. 93 It. Const.). This is fundamental to understand the role of the Head of State.

Impeaching Remnants of the Authoritarian Past: A Constitutional Moment in South Korea

Last Friday, effective March 10 at exactly 11:21 a.m., the sitting President Park Geun-hye was removed from her office by a unanimous decision of the South Korean Constitutional Court. With public life coming to a standstill as eyes focused on TV and internet live broadcasting, the acting Chief Justice delivered the court decision. The conclusion of the constitutional impeachment procedure marked the climax of a transformative ongoing constitutional moment in South Korea.