Verfassungsrechtlicher Grundrechtsschutz in nationalen Rechtssystemen, einschließlich Freiheitsrechte, Verfahrensrechte und soziale Rechte im Rahmen nationaler Verfassungsordnungen. Umfasst die Verfassungsrechtsprechung zu individuellen Freiheiten, rechtsstaatlichen Garantien und sozioökonomischen Rechten, wie sie von nationalen Verfassungsgerichten geschützt werden.
Satire is protected by the right to freedom of expression. Holocaust denial is not. This is the bottom line of yesterday’s decision by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of the French comedian Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala, notorious for his frequent run-ins with French courts for antisemitic speech, defamation, or advocation of terrorism, and also known for his political involvement with right-wing extremists.
France, once the motherland of human rights, is increasingly clamping down on freedom of expression. According to a recent decision by the French Supreme Court, calling for boycott on Israeli goods is illegal under french law. Fourteen members of the activist group Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS), campaigning for the economic, academic, sports and cultural boycott of Israel, learned it the hard way in two decisions of October 20th which confirmed on the highest level of criminal jurisdiction their conviction to 12,000 € in damages and 1,000 € in fine. Joining Israel, France makes for the only european country to penalize boycott calls on products of Israeli origin.
Das Internet der Gleichheit, in dem alle Daten unter den genau gleichen Bedingungen befördert werden, wird es in Europa langfristig so nicht mehr geben. Diese Entwicklung hat das Europäische Parlament mit dem Erlass der Verordnung zum Telekommunikationsmarkt angestoßen. Daten sollen danach im Grundsatz zwar weiterhin unter gleichen Bedingungen befördert werden. „Spezialdienste“ können davon aber ausgenommen werden. Im Zentrum der öffentlichen Debatte steht daher die Ungleichbehandlung unterschiedlich zahlungsstarker Dienste und Nutzer. Verfassungsrechtlich stellt sich zudem aber die Frage, wie weit die Pflicht des Staates allgemein reicht, Informationsfreiheit zu gewährleisten. Dann wird das Bild komplexer, weil ein Netzmanagement den Zugang zu Daten einerseits reglementiert, die enormen digitalen Datenströme dadurch unter Umständen aber auch gemäß ihren Anforderungen zielführend geordnet werden könnten.
In its recent Grand Chamber decision "Perinçek v Switzerland" the ECtHR, once again, declares Armenian genocide denial protected against criminal prosecution by the right to free speech. The Court substantially disregards the specific atmosphere of denialism and gross violations of the rights of minorities in Turkey, moving central attention instead to Switzerland where – supposedly – no tensions are possible on the anti-Armenian grounds. The Court has failed to acknowledge the existence of the anti-Armenianism as a specific ideology prevalent amongst Turkish and Azeri nationalists, including those scattered in huge Turkish diasporas in Europe these days.
Die Presse hat grundsätzlich ein Recht, Urteilsgründe anonymisiert, aber vollständig einsehen zu dürfen. Mit diesem Kammerbeschluss stärkt das Bundesverfassungsgericht die Pressefreiheit und den Grundsatz der Öffentlichkeit des Gerichtsverfahrens.
Just like Star Wars, the "Solange" saga about German constitutional order’s approach to fundamental rights protection in the context of European integration appeared as a story told and settled. But now there are rumours that in Germany Solange Episode III is in the making, with a release date around 2016. The ECJ’s Schrems decision will bring some turmoil to the Solange Episode III production in Germany.
In Schrems the CJEU has declared the Safe-Harbor-Decision of the European Commission invalid whilst strengthening the EU fundamental rights. The Court has done so with astonishing clarity. Although the matter is about Facebook Ireland’s transfer of data to servers of Facebook, Inc. in the U.S., it, ironically, will not be Facebook but companies of the European “old economy” that will have to face severe consequences in the aftermath of this landmark judgement. In many cases of every day data processing in the business world, the consent of data subjects will be impossible to obtain. It is at the same time nearly impossible to prevent data to be transferred outside the EU. Hence, a vast number of data processing operations which were lawful before Schrems are now illegal.
On Tuesday, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union declared the Commission’s US Safe Harbour Decision invalid. The Court’s ruling in Case C-362/14 of the Austrian Internet activist Maximillian Schrems v the Irish Data Protection Commissioner is a milestone in the protection of European fundamental rights, but it also preserves space for different national supervisory standards and national discretion on whether data may actually be transferred. Is the ruling opening the way for a patchwork of national data protection? How does this ruling influence the TTIP negotiations?
Der somalische Name "Moxamed" bedeutet, mit X ausgesprochen, auf Somali "Toilette". Das soll für eine Namensänderung nicht ausreichen, und zwar dem EGMR zufolge völlig zu Recht. Die Begründung verrät wenig Sensibilität für die Situation von Migranten.
What is remarkable in the CJEU's Schrems decision is that a) the Court actually identified the intrusion in question as falling under the notion of the essence of privacy – something the European Court of Human Rights has never done under the privacy provision of ECHR Article 8, and b) the identification of an intrusion as compromising the essence of privacy meant that there was no need for a proportionality assessment under Article 52 (1.2) of the Charter. For these reasons, the Max Schrems judgment is a pathbreaking development, a major contribution to the understanding of the structure and legal effect of fundamental rights under the Charter.
13. September 2025
Giovanni Capoccia
12. September 2025
Anne Peters
12. September 2025
Anne Peters