Thema: Menschenrechte

Internationales Menschenrechtsrecht und supranationaler Rechtsschutz durch internationale Gerichte, Verträge und Überwachungsmechanismen. Im Gegensatz zu nationalen Grundrechten liegt der Fokus auf internationalen Rechtsinstrumenten, der Rechtsprechung des Europäischen Gerichtshofs für Menschenrechte und UN-Menschenrechtsmechanismen.

Why Recognizing the Right to a Healthy Environment Would Strengthen the Environmental Human Rights Framework under the European Convention on Human Rights

The ECtHR lacks a mandate for general measures aimed at redressing or preventing environmental harm as such. Only the introduction of the environment as the object of human rights protection, through the Right to a Healthy Environment, could trigger the necessary conceptual shift and legitimise the Court and the CoE Committee of Ministers to require member States to take measures such as mitigation of environmental risks and ecological redress.

7. April 2025

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Frozen Russian State Assets

In February 2022, a coalition of states including all G7 economies froze approximately US$300 billion in Russian state assets. Over the past three years, debates have been unfolding as to how these funds can be used to enforce Russia’s obligation to pay reparations to Ukraine. With the prospect of EU sanctions unravelling in July 2025, legal debates over countermeasures and state immunities appear to be ceding stage to concerns over whether CBR assets ought to be ring-fenced in a separate fund to keep it out of Russia’s reach.

4. April 2025

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Intellectual Property and the Human Right to a Healthy Environment

With the effects of climate change escalating, there has been a notable increase in discussions about the, at first glance, not obvious impact of IP protection on environmental sustainability. At the same time, considerations of human and fundamental rights in the context of IP protection are increasingly shaping the legal discourse. Given these two major trends in IP law – growing attention to environmental sustainability as well as to human and fundamental rights – it seems that the time is ripe to explore what the human right to a healthy environment might mean for IP.

3. April 2025

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How Hungary’s Pride Ban Tests the EU’s Commitment to Democracy

On March 18, 2025, the Hungarian Parliament passed legislation aimed at protecting children from assemblies that promote homosexuality. Although the amendment imposes general limitations on freedom of assembly, it is commonly understood as a ban on the LGBTQ+ Pride march, just ahead of the 30th anniversary in 2025. The new law purposefully violates European human rights standards on freedom of assembly and LGBTQ+ rights, as well as fundamental values of the European Union, such as the rule of law and democracy (Article 2 TEU).

2. April 2025

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Mehr als grenzwertig

Die „Arbeitsgruppe Migration“ hat sich bei den Koalitionsverhandlungen darauf geeinigt, „in Abstimmung mit unseren europäischen Nachbarn Zurückweisungen an den gemeinsamen Grenzen auch bei Asylgesuchen vor[zu]nehmen“. Während zuletzt Personen zurückgewiesen wurden, die (angeblich) keinen Asylantrag stellten, planen CDU/CSU und SPD nun auch Zurückweisungen bei Asylgesuchen. Grundsätzlich sieht das Unionsrecht dafür ein Asyl- bzw. zumindest Dublin-Verfahren vor, wobei Abweichungen nur bei einer „nationalen Notlage“ erlaubt sind. Welche Folgen hätten Zurückweisungen von Asylsuchenden an den deutschen Grenzen?

1. April 2025

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The Price of Getting Duterte

The arrest and transfer of Rodrigo Duterte to the ICC was certainly good news for the heavily beleaguered Court. But the price of getting Duterte could be considerable. The manifest entanglement with Philippine politics is likely to harden Southeast Asian skepticism towards international criminal justice. Existing fears of external politicization are enhanced with a scenario of internal political turmoil, reinforcing Southeast Asian hesitation toward the ICC.

26. März 2025

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The Death Knell for American Free Speech Tradition

In a case that has received global attention and reproach, Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident of the United States and recent graduate of Columbia University (another target of the Trump administration’s ire), was arrested on 8 March by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in front of his apartment in New York and subsequently transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana. In this blog post, my aim is to show that the case of Mr. Khalil implicates perhaps the most sacrosanct of American constitutional rights: free speech. 

25. März 2025

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Weder Rückschritt noch Frustration

Während in den letzten Wochen das sog. Omnibus-Paket die Debatten beherrschte, könnte im Rahmen der anstehenden Koalitionsverhandlungen auch das deutsche Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz verändert werden. Das menschenrechtliche Rückschrittsverbot und das europarechtliche Frustrationsverbot wirken dabei in die gleiche Richtung: Eine vorübergehende Aussetzung oder gar vollständige Abschaffung des LkSG wäre kaum mit den internationalen Verpflichtungen Deutschlands vereinbar.

21. März 2025

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From Hugs to Handcuffs

On 27 February, the Mexican government transferred 29 alleged drug lords to the US. Instead of undergoing the due process required for extradition, they were simply removed of their cells, put on a plane and sent to the USA. This act was termed a “deliver” by Mexico, while the US called it a “expulsion”. This is not just a semantic issue. While combating organised crime is crucial, by bypassing the rules for extradition, Mexico disregarded the rule of law and set a dangerous precedent for sovereignty and the protection of fundamental rights.

19. März 2025

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Balancing on the Edge of Loyalty and Legality

At the end of 2024, the current Dutch government proposed new legislation in the shape of the “asylum crisis measures legislation” and a “two-status-system legislation”. Through advisory reports by the Council for the Judiciary, the broader public was properly introduced to the government’s plans. The reports strongly urge the government not to pursue these proposals for their potential consequences on the judiciary and implementation of the new EU Asylum Pact. Although some of these individual measures may be legal, a holistic approach shows that it is the sum of these parts that finds itself at odds with EU law, balancing on the edge of loyalty and legality.

12. März 2025

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