18 September 2025
The ECJ’s Opportunity to Address the EU’s Climate Mitigation Obligations
The pending EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement raises fundamental questions regarding the Union’s climate mitigation obligations under both EU and international law. Members of the European Parliament are considering a request for an opinion from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the agreement’s compatibility with EU law. Such a review is warranted, as the agreement appears incompatible with the EU’s mitigation duties. Continue reading >>
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Blurring the Divide between Legal and Political Liability
The Thai Constitutional Court removed Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the Prime Minister of Thailand, from office due to a scandal involving a leaked phone call. Paetongtarn was accused of carrying out her office “dishonestly” and “unethically”. The suspension order demonstrates the continued judicial encroachment upon the political branch. It also highlights the danger of the 2017 Constitution’s moralistic obsession with unrealistically clean and pure politics. Continue reading >>
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A Warm Body in the Loop
Brussels has recently signalled a shift in its approach to technology regulation, with a focus on simplification through various Omnibus packages. In the digital context and beyond the stated goal of cutting “red tape,” these packages offer an opportunity to reconsider the foundations of human involvement in regulation across EU legal instruments in the age of AI. This post examines human-AI interaction in EU technology regulation and examines whether such involvement is meaningful or merely symbolic. Continue reading >>
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17 September 2025
Learning From Oppressed Groups How to Resist Silently
"Let me put it bluntly, even at the risk of upsetting some colleagues. Although I do not underestimate the mightiness of the brutal, explicit and covert censorship practices at work in countries like France, Germany, and the United States, while also being aware that some colleagues have preferred to act than to speak out, I have been deeply disappointed by the great majority of my tenured peers who have disturbingly remained silent and passive, thus religiously abiding by the bans and suppression practices in place" Continue reading >>
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Warum ich den KI-Vertragsergänzungen des Beck-Verlags nicht zustimme
Der C.H.Beck-Verlag fordert seine (wissenschaftlichen) Autor:innen seit einiger Zeit dazu auf, einer „Vertragsergänzung zur KI-Nutzung“ zuzustimmen. Diese soll den Umgang mit Künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) bei der Textproduktion regeln. Die vom Verlag vorgeschlagenen Änderungen sind aus urheber(vertrags)rechtlicher, wettbewerbspolitischer sowie aus wissenschaftstheoretischer Perspektive problematisch. Man kann den Autor:innen aus der Wissenschaft nur empfehlen, diese KI-Vertragsergänzung nicht zu unterzeichnen. Continue reading >>Demokratie beginnt bei den Jüngsten
Bundeskanzler Merz erklärte kürzlich, der Sozialstaat sei in seiner aktuellen Form „nicht mehr finanzierbar“. Er kritisierte bis zu zehn Prozent Kostenanstieg jährlich, unter anderem in der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe. Doch Kürzungen in der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe sind rechtsstaatlich riskant, demokratiepolitisch kurzsichtig und haushaltspolitisch nicht angezeigt. Continue reading >>
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16 September 2025
Killing For Show
On September 2 and 15, President Trump ordered the United States Navy to destroy small speed boats in the Caribbean. In both cases, all on board died. International lawyers have uniformly criticized the killings as unlawful. The President and his closest advisers have repeated that they simply do not care whether the killings violated the law. This may well be President Trump's most dangerous assault on the rule of law to date. And, yet, government officials in states long committed to the rule of law at home and abroad have remained largely silent. Continue reading >>
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Der EU Space Act
Der Weltraum ist seit dem „Outer Space Treaty“ von 1967 immer wieder Gegenstand internationaler Regulierung. Am 25. Juni 2025 hat die EU-Kommission ihren Vorschlag für den sog. „EU Space Act“ veröffentlicht. Dieser Beitrag stellt den Vorschlag vor und beleuchtet ein zentrales Problem des Rechtsakts: die Ausnahmeregelung für die militärische Nutzung von „Weltraumobjekten“ in der sog. National Security Clause. Continue reading >>
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Null and Void
A judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) from September 4 confirmed that the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court in Poland is illegitimate. The ruling not only exposes the collapse of judicial legitimacy at the highest level, but also shows how chaos in the Polish judiciary disrupts the lives of ordinary citizens, with proceedings suspended because higher courts’ judgments are void. For Waldemar Żurek, the new Minister of Justice, it offers a powerful argument to accelerate efforts to restore the rule of law before the political window closes. Continue reading >>
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15 September 2025
Litigating Over Independent Media
Since the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) fully entered into force on August 8, the key question is how far it can go in securing independent media. Beyond transparency rules and safeguards for editorial independence, Article 3 may establish a justiciable right to independent media – enabling individuals to challenge violations of media pluralism before national courts. Continue reading >>
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Bolsonaro’s Conviction
Last week, former president Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced by the Brazilian Supreme Court to 27 years in prison for orchestrating a conspiracy to stay in power after losing the 2022 election. Some high-ranking military officers involved in the plot also received lighter sentences. Brazil could serve as a lesson to the world about combating authoritarian populism, but the expectation that the decision will restrain the military should be treated with caution. Continue reading >>
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Eingezäunte Freiheit
Die Bundesregierung hat einen Gesetzentwurf vorgelegt, mit dem die Reform des Gemeinsamen Europäischen Asylsystems (GEAS) umgesetzt werden soll. Unter anderem soll die zuständige Behörde in sämtlichen Aufnahmeeinrichtungen die Entscheidung treffen können, dass Geflüchtete diese für bis zu ein Jahr nicht mehr verlassen dürfen. Die Pläne wecken nicht nur Assoziationen an die amerikanische Migrationspolitik, sie sind auch verfassungsrechtlich nicht haltbar. Continue reading >>
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13 September 2025
The Fifth Republic Under Strain
France’s new prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu – the fifth since 2022 – faces a task many already call impossible. Appointed by President Emmanuel Macron on September 9, just one day after the Bayrou government fell on a confidence vote, Lecornu must assemble a working majority – or at least prevent a majority coalition against him – to pass the budget by December 31. Continue reading >>
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12 September 2025
Der Ausschluss von AfD-Bürgermeisterkandidaten vor der Wahl
Im August dieses Jahres wurden in Rheinland-Pfalz und Nordrhein-Westfalen zwei AfD-Bürgermeisterkandidaten nicht zur Wahl zugelassen. Die Wahlausschüsse begründeten ihre Entscheidungen mit Zweifeln an der Verfassungstreue der jeweiligen Kandidaten. Beide Ausschlüsse wurden im Nachgang gerichtlich bestätigt. Die Gerichtsentscheidungen sind im Ergebnis zwar gut nachvollziehbar. Sie verdeutlichen jedoch, wie demokratisch sensibel das Thema ist. Continue reading >>Moving towards a SAFE Defense Policy in Europe
Russia’s attack on Ukraine has presented Europe with new challenges regarding security. As a response, the EU adopted the so-called SAFE Regulation in 2025. It is based on Article 122 TFEU and is intended to accelerate efforts to achieve autonomous defense capability. By choosing this legal basis, the Commission continues a trend which begun in the pandemic and was reinforced during the energy crisis: relying on emergency competences without parliamentary involvement. But whether this exceptional provision can legitimize the profound changes facing the Union is doubtful. Continue reading >>
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Wählen heißt Auswählen – aber zwischen Parteien
Matthias Friehe bringt mit seinem Beitrag semantische Klarheit in den von politischer Rhetorik vernebelten Wahlrechtsdiskurs. Er erinnert daran, dass Wählen „Auswählen“ bedeutet: „Jede Wahl setzt voraus, dass die Wähler eine Auswahl treffen können. Dafür ist wiederum erforderlich, dass klare Alternativen bestehen: dies oder das.“ So weit ist ihm ausdrücklich zuzustimmen. Dann aber macht er einen Gegensatz auf, der hinter den bereits erreichten Stand des Wahlrechtsdiskurses zurückfällt. Continue reading >>
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11 September 2025
Isn’t it Ironic?
Since we do believe in the power of sharing personal experiences and in solidarity, we decided to share ours through this symposium as they highlight the different shapes and forms that silencing attempts and chilling effects can take, as well as the salience of solidarity in academia. They further unearth the hidden costs associated with pursuing publication projects that resist topical normalization and try instead to re-open space for important – yet often uncomfortable – conversations in a highly polarized political environment. Continue reading >>
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Wählen heißt Auswählen
Seit der Entscheidung des Bundesverfassungsgerichts von 2008 kommt das Wahlrecht nicht zur Ruhe. Auch Union und SPD haben sich im aktuellen Koalitionsvertrag auf eine erneute Änderung des Bundestagswahlrechts verständigt. Wenn eine solche Reform konsequent darauf ausgerichtet sein soll, den Wählern klare Auswahlalternativen zu eröffnen, bietet ein modifiziertes Grabenwahlrecht eine überzeugende Alternative zur personalisierten Verhältniswahl. Continue reading >>Is the Hungarian Block Really a Legal Issue?
This post engages with the exchange between Spieker and von Bogdandy and Dawson and van den Brink over the Hungarian block in the European Council (EUCO) and Council on CFSP issues. The issue at the heart of this debate is not one of fantasticalness but of formal legal orthodoxy. The Hungarian block is not a legal constitutional issue but a political one; one that has been reinforced by the 30 June 2025 Council decision to extend the sanctions. Accordingly, any suggested response ought to be political rather than legal. Continue reading >>
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10 September 2025
Whose Common Sense?
On September 8, 2025, in the case of Noem v. Vazquez Perdomo, the Supreme Court signaled its support for ICE’s continued use of racial profiling in immigration policing. By staying a lower court’s restraining order, the Court allowed agents once again to stop and arrest people based on how they look, the language they speak, where they live, and the kind of work they do. The closest the Court came to providing reasons for its intervention came in the form of a non-precedential concurrence authored by Justice Kavanaugh. In it, “common sense” is doing the heavy lifting, just as it has in the Court’s immigration policing jurisprudence for decades, at the expense of facts, evidence, and individual rights. Continue reading >>
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The Logic of Domestic Military Deployments
With all the outlandish legal arguments the Trump administration has deployed in the nine months since Inauguration Day, it has been genuinely puzzling that the president hasn’t yet invoked the Insurrection Act. Previously undisclosed facts revealed during the Newsom v. Trump bench trial, however, shed light both on how the motivations for these military deployments are being internalized by the military establishment and why there is not yet demand for invoking provisions of the Insurrection Act. Continue reading >>
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Starker Präsident, verschlissene Minister
Am 8. September 2025 verlor Premierminister François Bayrou im französischen Parlament die von ihm selbst angestrengte Vertrauensfrage – als erster Regierungschef der V. Republik überhaupt. Sein Scheitern ist mehr als eine Episode tagespolitischer Instabilität – es legt fundamentale Probleme im Verfassungssystem offen. Continue reading >>To Uniformity and Beyond
After the Hungarian judiciary had already faced controversy over the preliminary reference procedure under Article 267 TFEU in the question phase, a new tension has emerged. The supreme judicial body in Hungary now seeks to intervene in the answer phase of the procedure – aiming to shape the referring court’s interpretation and application of the CJEU’s ruling. These dynamics foreshadow an institutional conflict over how the Hungarian judiciary internalizes and operationalizes the jurisprudence of the CJEU. At stake is the fulfillment of the principle of sincere cooperation enshrined in Article 4(3) TEU. Continue reading >>
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09 September 2025
Das dosierte Menschenrecht
Die Bundesregierung plant erneut, die bereits enorm prekäre Gesundheitsversorgung Geflüchteter weiter zu verschärfen. So stellt sie sich weiter in schroffen Gegensatz zur umfassenden Gewährleistung des Rechts auf Gesundheit. Seit dem 8. September prüft nun der UN-Fachausschuss den jüngsten Staatenbericht Deutschlands zur Umsetzung des UN-Sozialpakts. Mehrere NGOs weisen gemeinsam auf eine lange „List of Issues“ systemischer Defizite hin, die zeigen: Deutschland verstößt mit der Vorenthaltung von Gesundheitsleistungen für Geflüchtete gegen seine grund- und menschenrechtlichen Verpflichtungen. Continue reading >>
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A Step Forward in Italian Climate Litigation
Climate litigation achieved an important milestone in Italy. In a landmark order on 18 July 2025, the Supreme Court of Cassation confirmed that Italian courts may assert jurisdiction over climate-related damages for the first time. The ruling opens the door to holding both public and private actors liable for climate inaction. Continue reading >>
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Volkswagen, Oxen, Timber, and Slave Labour in Brazil
Last week, a Brazilian Court ordered Volkswagen to pay the historic sum of US$ 30 million for collective moral damages for slave labour in the Amazon during Brazil’s military dictatorship (1964-1985). The judgment contains numerous significant findings that will serve as important references for future cases involving serious corporate human rights violations. In this piece, however, we focus on its reliance on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which not only impose due diligence obligations on Volkswagen but also play a key role in strengthening collective memory. Continue reading >>
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Rainbow in the Dark
On 16 July, the Hong Kong government introduced the Registration of Same-sex Partnerships Bill in the Hong Kong Legislative Council. This move was mandated by two decisions of Hong Kong’s apex court in a 2023 case. The Bill grants same-sex couples who have already registered overseas the rights to have their relationships legally recognised. The decisions came as a beam of light at the grim time of Hong Kong’s authoritarian turn. They can inspire judicial strategies to navigate a liberal enclave within the authoritarian regime, and demonstrate the correlation between gender backlash and constitutional degradation. Continue reading >>08 September 2025
Introducing the Symposium “Knowledge Under Occupation: Academic Freedom and Palestine on the Global Stage”
Pressures on universities and scholars to conform to prevailing political orthodoxies appear to be intensifying, often under the guise of safeguarding neutrality or combating alleged bias. This symposium intends to make a small contribution to re-opening the ever more restricted space for academic freedom and seek to continue to push against closing channels. Continue reading >>
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Der Ruf nach Strafe
Die SPD fordert die Strafbarkeit von Catcalling – ein symbolischer Akt, der an die „Lust am Strafen“ anknüpft, aber verfassungsrechtlich kaum haltbar und praktisch wirkungslos ist. Zwischen Bestimmtheitsgebot und Ultima Ratio bleibt kein Raum für einen sinnvollen Tatbestand, sodass das Strafrecht hier nur als politische Geste dient. Der Diskurs verschiebt sich damit von Prävention und Strukturreformen hin zu „Hyperpolitik“, die moralisch mobilisiert, aber repressive und rassistische Dynamiken verstärkt. Continue reading >>Schwächung eines starken Gerichts
Weltweit geraten Verfassungsgerichte unter Druck. Während die Delegitimierungsversuche der Justiz in einigen Kontexten gut dokumentiert werden, erhalten andere Fälle bislang nur wenig Aufmerksamkeit. Hierzu zählt auch Ecuador, wo Präsident Daniel Noboa jüngst einen Marsch auf das Verfassungsgericht anführte. Die Schärfe der Delegitimationskampagnen gegen das Gericht ist auch mit den Partikularitäten der ecuadorianischen Verfassungsordnung zu erklären: Deren weitreichende Garantien erschweren es Noboa, den Staat nach seinen Vorstellungen umzubauen. Continue reading >>
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Existenzminimum im Schatten nationaler Migrationspolitik
Auch in der Sommerpause blieben die deutsche Flüchtlingsaufnahme und der Sozialleistungsbezug von Geflüchteten Thema. Im Asylsozialrecht folgt eine Reform der nächsten – ein ewiger Herbst der Reformen. Dies führt zu einer Spannung zwischen dem verfassungsrechtlich geschützten Existenzminimum und dem Drang zu politischem Aktionismus in der Thematik. Diese grundlegende Spannung hat sich, so die These des Beitrags, mittlerweile derart verhärtet, dass sie auch mit Blick auf die rechtliche Systematik dysfunktionale Folgen verursacht. Continue reading >>
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06 September 2025
Déjà Vu
At the resumption of political activity after the summer, France’s Prime Minister François Bayrou unexpectedly announced that he would use his constitutional prerogative to ask for a parliamentary vote of confidence on September 8. The main decision now facing the French president – who has repeatedly declared that he will not leave office early – is whether to attempt to construct a new governing formula within the current parliament or to call new elections just fourteen months after the last dissolution. Neither option is attractive, and both would effectively reset French politics to 2024. Continue reading >>
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05 September 2025
Personhood Across Borders
On 10 July 2025, the Swiss State Secretariat for International Finance recognized the Spanish saltwater lagoon Mar Menor as a legal subject – at least to the extent of granting it access to environmental information. This decision followed a request for information submitted by the lagoon’s legal representative. The case demonstrates that the legal personhood of ecosystems can operate across national borders. Could ecosystems like the Mar Menor, in the future, bring damages actions against companies whose activities in another country cause ecological harm? Continue reading >>
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Authoritarians Who Hate Judicial Accountability
In Slovakia, a unique situation is unfolding. The country is ruled by an authoritarian government that restricts fundamental rights of its citizens, puts independent institutions under political control, exploits fast-track legislative procedures, and threatens the judges of the constitutional court. Yet, this same government is in favour of more judicial autonomy, less accountability, and higher salaries for judges. The government thus seems to have hit upon a convenient strategy: granting judges greater benefits in exchange for their loyalty. Continue reading >>
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04 September 2025
The Feasibility of Security Guarantees for Ukraine
The question of possible security guarantees is at the heart of current efforts to end the war against Ukraine. White House special envoy Steve Witkoff stated on 17 August 2025 that “the United States and other European nations could effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee,” which would serve as a trade-off for Russia’s insistence that Ukraine should not be able to join NATO. This has brought the term “Article 5-like protection” into focus. The feasibility of such a guarantee appears impossible given legal and practical obstacles. Russia is demanding untenable concessions from Ukraine in exchange for its consent. The prospect of a credible deterrent is also missing, which is why the entire process appears to be the Russians playing for time. Continue reading >>
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Wenig Freiheit, wenig Schutz
Die Reform des Gemeinsamen Europäischen Asylsystems tritt im Sommer 2026 in Kraft. Nun hat sich die Regierung auf einen Gesetzentwurf für ein GEAS-Anpassungsgesetz geeinigt. Weil viele der europäischen Regelungen menschenrechtliche Risiken bergen, ist es besonders wichtig, dass die Umsetzung in deutsches Recht die Menschenrechte von Schutzsuchenden möglichst breit zur Geltung bringt. Doch stattdessen schränkt der Entwurf sogar Menschenrechte mit Regelungen ein, die die GEAS-Reform nicht vorsieht. Continue reading >>
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Disapplication Unbound
Legal scholars welcomed the Apace ruling by the CJEU as a “total victory” for liberals supporting human rights and the independence of the judiciary. But the ruling has two central faut lines: it fails to acknowledge that Article 37 APD is not unconditional: its direct effect is, at best, dubious. Second, in Member States like Italy, where the judiciary makes extensive use of disapplication in asylum matters, the laissez-faire approach of the CJEU paves the way for legal uncertainty and exposes judges to populist attacks. Continue reading >>Compound Interest
Last week, President Trump purported to fire a member of the Federal Reserve Board, Dr. Lisa Cook. And although he appointed Jerome Powell Chairman of the Federal Reserve during his first term, Trump has since directed constant scorn at Powell and repeatedly threatened to remove him as well. This controversy forms part of Trump’s broader effort to assert sweeping control over the executive branch. It also reveals his particular interest in loosening U.S. monetary policy. Yet his actions carry significant legal and economic risks of their own. Continue reading >>
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03 September 2025
The School Bell That Rings for War
On 1 September, known in Russia as Knowledge Day, thousands of schoolchildren were once again welcomed back with the ringing of the symbolic first bell, marking the beginning of new school year. However, this school bell does not toll for knowledge or peace. Instead, it symbolizes how Russia has transformed schools into factories for transmitting state-sponsored propaganda to younger generations. In this blog, I explain how Russia is strategically weaponizing the educational system to raise a militarized generation of subjects that accepts and embraces the normalcy of war. It seeks to achieve this goal, inter alia, through military training and involvement of children in the production of combat equipment; obligating teachers to teach state-mandated falsification of history; and forcing cultural assimilation of Ukrainians living in occupied territories. Continue reading >>
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02 September 2025
Widerruf
aus Anlass unseres Beitrags „Die Sache mit der Menschenwürde“ vom 15. Juli 2025 Continue reading >>
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01 September 2025
From One ICJ to Another
In early August, Judge Julia Sebutinde of the International Court of Justice was reported as saying that “The Lord is counting on me to stand on the side of Israel”, and that the “whole world was against Israel, including my country.” These statements appear to contradict the requirement that Judges remain impartial. Following these remarks, a non-governmental organization called the International Commission of Jurists sent a communication to the President of the Court to urge him to investigate Judge Sebutinde’s remarks. While this move was met with general acclaim on social media, it could likewise be perceived as attempting to put external pressure on the Court to reach a certain decision. Continue reading >>
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Reproduktive Ungerechtigkeit
Reproduktive Rechte befinden sich weltweit in einer Krise. Der aktuelle Weltbevölkerungsbericht der Vereinten Nationen zeigt, dass Familienplanung und Fortpflanzung unter erheblichem (bevölkerungs-)politischen Druck stehen, auch in Deutschland. Schwarze Aktivistinnen fordern seit langem, diese Entwicklung nicht nur als Einschränkung persönlicher Freiheit zu sehen, sondern die strukturellen Ursachen als Teil der reproduktiven Gerechtigkeit („Reproductive Justice“) zu betrachten. Das erfordert ein Umdenken. Continue reading >>
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31 August 2025
Overcoming Objections to Overcome the Hungarian Veto
This June, we proposed ways to overcome a Hungarian veto on EU sanctions against Russia. Our proposal prompted Mark Dawson and Martijn van den Brink to write a sharp response, arguing that we had ventured beyond the confines of serious legal scholarship into the realm of the fantastical. Our critics and we seem to live in different realities. When reading Dawson’s and van den Brink’s piece, it feels like the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine does not exist. Yet, there lies an uncomfortable truth at the heart of our proposal, one that our critics fail to recognize: the Russian war might grow into an existential threat to the European Union. Continue reading >>30 August 2025
Regelungslosigkeit als Prinzip
Die Vergesellschaftung von Grund und Boden ist eines der umstrittensten Instrumente des Grundgesetzes. Im Zuge der Debatten um eine Neuausrichtung des Berliner Wohnungsmarkts hat die dortige SPD-Fraktion nun einen Entwurf für ein sog. Vergesellschaftungsrahmengesetz erarbeitet. Ein Blick in den Entwurf lässt erahnen: Hier entsteht ein regelungsloses Gesetz, welches die Verfassung lediglich nachbilden soll, ihren Sinn aber verkennt. Denn der Entwurf definiert auch solche Eigentumsregulierungen, die bislang als bloße Inhalts- und Schrankenbestimmungen galten, als eine Vergesellschaftung – und macht sie damit entschädigungspflichtig. Continue reading >>29 August 2025
Marx, Enemy of the Constitution?
Is it constitutionally permissible to hold a Marx reading group in the German Republic? According to a recent judgment of Hamburg’s Administrative Court: unclear. A reading group can apparently only take place as long as it does not “actively and combatively” promote Marx’s ideas, since “the social theory formulated by Marx” is in essential points “incompatible with the principles of the liberal democratic basic order” of the Federal Republic. The judgement is worth examining in detail. Continue reading >>
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28 August 2025
Verfassungsfeind Marx?
Darf man in der Bundesrepublik unbehelligt einen Lesekreis zu Marx veranstalten? Laut Verwaltungsgericht Hamburg: Unklar. Stattfinden darf der Lesekreis ohne Einmischung staatlicher Behörden anscheinend nur, solange er sich nicht „aktiv-kämpferisch“ für Marx‘ Ideen einsetzt, da „die von Marx begründete Gesellschaftstheorie“ in wesentlichen Punkten mit den „Prinzipien der freiheitlichen demokratischen Grundordnung nicht vereinbar“ sei. Es lohnt sich, dieses Urteil im Detail anzuschauen. Continue reading >>Lithium, Law, and the Limits of EU Sustainability
In July 2024, the European Commission entered into a strategic partnership on critical raw materials with Serbia by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on sustainable raw materials and battery value chains. Three days before signing the MoU, the Serbian government had decided to renew the spatial plan for the realization of the “Jadar” project, which includes the exploitation of the mineral Jadarite in western Serbia. These two events have signaled the readiness of the Serbian regime to allow lithium mining in western Serbia and the EU’s commitment to exploit a source of critical raw material (CRM) in its neighborhood, particularly in the Western Balkans. Continue reading >>
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26 August 2025
The Other Side of Trade
On 10 August 2025, Germany announced it would suspend the export of offensive weapons to Israel, citing the risk of mass civilian casualties during Israel’s planned incursion into Gaza City. Yet Germany’s military trade with Israel is a two-way street. As crucial as Berlin’s arms exports are its growing imports of Israeli weapons, military technology, and security expertise, including training. Continue reading >>Not a Curtain Drop, but an Abuse of Rights
The recent Grand Chamber decision in Kovačević v. Bosnia and Herzegovina might send shockwaves through the legal and political landscape in Bosnia and Herzegovina or even across Council of Europe states, as Professor Joseph Marko suggests in his article. However, his analysis presents an incomplete picture of the Court’s decision and overlooks critical context necessary for a full understanding of why the Grand Chamber declared the application inadmissible. Continue reading >>
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