From Population Control to Reproductive Justice

On 11 April 2019, South Korea’s Constitutional Court ruled that the ban on abortion was unconstitutional. As a result, South Korea’s legislature had to revise its 66-year-old anti-abortion law by 31 December 2020. This historic decision was made possible in response to the advocacy of a number of feminist groups, doctors’ organizations, disability rights groups, youth activists, and religious groups in South Korea. Although the overall goal of reproductive justice movements was to change the law that threatened women’s health and lives through the criminalization of abortion, one of the main steps of the movements toward that goal was to challenge the previous framework of pro-choice versus pro-life.

Die Störerhaftung ist tot, lang lebe die Störerhaftung

In der rechtswissenschaftlichen Debatte melden sich erste Stimmen, die den Urteilen in den Verfahren YouTube II und Uploaded III entnehmen, dass der BGH die Störerhaftung für sämtliche Vermittlungsdienste abgeschafft habe. Mit anderen Worten könnten nun etwa auch Access Provider, Domain Registrare oder DNS-Dienste als Täter von Urheberrechtsverletzungen ihrer Nutzer haften. Diese Lesart der beiden Urteile zur Haftung von Sharing-Plattformen ist nicht nur rechtlich fernliegend, die Ausweitung der Haftung neutraler Diensteanbieter droht die Grundrechtseinschränkungen, die bereits an der Störerhaftung kritisiert wurden, zu potenzieren.

Still a right?

Although abortion in Tunisia has been legal for 50 years and offered for free in government facilities, the revolution of 2011 and the following democratization process have paradoxically put into question the access to this service. The Islamists’ victory and the conservative turn of local society in the 2000s have led to a step backwards in the domain of women’s rights including sexual and reproductive rights. Together with Turkey, Tunisia is the only Islamic-majority country that authorizes abortion for social reasons.

Es war einmal in Straßburg

Ein Märchenbuch für Kinder, in dem gleichgeschlechtliche Beziehungen dargestellt werden, (vorübergehend) aus dem Verkehr zu ziehen und es anschließend als „schädlich für Kinder unter 14 Jahre“ zu kennzeichnen, verstößt gegen das in Art. 10 EMRK gewährleistete Recht auf freie Meinungsäußerung. Dies hat die Große Kammer des Europäischen Gerichtshofs für Menschenrechte (EGMR) in ihrer richtungsweisenden Entscheidung Macatė v. Lithuania festgestellt. Der Gerichtshof betonte außerdem, dass die gleiche und gegenseitige Anerkennung von Personen unterschiedlicher sexueller Orientierungen der gesamten Konvention inhärent ist.

„Marg bar Khamenei“

The Oversight Board has evaluated the use of a protest slogan used by Iranian dissidents, calling for "marg bar Khamenei", which literally translates as "death to Khamenei", yet is often used to mean "down with Khamenei". Meta removed it for violating its community standards against violence and incitement. At EU level, Art. 14(4) DSA provides for an unprecedented obligation, which requires social media platforms to act in a proportionate manner in applying and enforcing their terms and conditions, with due regard to the rights and legitimate interests of all parties involved. Examining the Oversight Board's reasoning, we explore how Art. 14(4) DSA would be operationalized in this case.

A Global Milestone

In 2019, Iceland passed a new law on the termination of pregnancy. Passed with a solid majority and the support of a cross-political coalition, the new law provides pregnant people with the right to decide on a termination, without having to get prior permission from medical personnel, as had previously been the case. The law was a huge step forward to ensure the protection of sexual and reproductive rights in Iceland, but there still remains room for improvement, for example with regard to the rights of trans people and the access of uninsured people to the service. The success of the legislation was also remarkable for the cross-political support it enjoyed, largely based on women’s solidarity as 18 of 22 women in parliament, from nearly all parties, supported the law.

Anti-Terror Legislation and Property Rights in Egypt

In January 2023, the Egyptian cabinet introduced a new bill for parliamentary discussion proposing the establishment of a new body to manage seized funds and assets confiscated by the state, including the seized assets of individuals and organizations legally designated as terrorists. In the midst of a severe economic crisis, the bill allows the transfer of confiscated funds and assets from the public treasury to a new entity that would have the mandate to take any form of disposition regarding these assets. The Egyptian sheds the light on the problematic “preventive” nature of counter-terrorism regulations, which vanishes criminal law safeguards and rule of law standards.

The Long Road to Reproductive Justice

In North Macedonia, abortion law changes when the government does. The practices of the past years vividly demonstrate that abortion is not only a private matter but also a political issue. Depending on whether right or left-wing parties are in power, the law on abortion fluctuates between difficult-to-access and more liberal procedures.

Battling the hydra in EU anti-discrimination law

Can a company refuse to conclude or renew a contract with a self-employed person because he is gay? And may contractual freedom prevail over the prohibition of discrimination in such a situation? A short answer stemming from the recent ECJ judgment in J.K. v. TP would be a resounding no. Yet, a further analysis is in order because the judgment also brings a significant shift in the ECJ’s anti-discrimination case law.

The Force of Social Mobilization

On December 30th, 2020, the Argentinean Congress legalized abortion up to the 14th week. Its legalization in Argentina took place after the rising of the so-called green tide in 2018, which transformed the longstanding movement for abortion rights in the country into a mass phenomenon, and the abortion issue, which used to be a taboo, into a main topic of public discussion. The new law has been challenged through judicial actions without success so far, and it has changed the conditions for the implementation of lawful abortions throughout the country.