Soon Brussels' newest big thing - the Artificial Intelligence Act - will enter the Trilogues. In order to better understand what’s at stake, who are the main actors and their motivations, and how to make one’s mind about all the conflicting claims we need to dive into the legal, … | Continue reading
On 15 June, the Bundestag approved a minimum percentage threshold for elections to the European Parliament (EP). Shortly before the summer break, the Bundesrat (Federal Council) also agreed to the clause. German lawmakers already failed twice in this endeavour before the Federal … | Continue reading
On 9 December 2021, the European Commission announced its proposal for a Directive on improving working conditions in platform work—the ‘Platform Work Directive.’ The Directive’s main goals are to reduce false self-employment among persons performing platform work, to regulate al … | Continue reading
The judicial reform recently passed by the Hungarian Parliament ostensibly seeks to restore the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in Hungary. Crucially, it is also a vital step for the government to gain access to the 27 billion in frozen EU funds. While some migh … | Continue reading
In 2010, Kenyans adopted a new constitution that was meant to limit the power of the presidency and entrench the culture of constitutionalism. However, the past 13 years have shown that ‘the forces of authoritarianism appear to have regrouped and are staging a comeback’. These at … | Continue reading
On 16 June, just two days after the catastrophic Pylos shipwreck in the Mediterranean with probably hundreds of deaths, the EU Commission organised the 4th meeting on a European framework for search and rescue in the Mediterranean. The framework is supposed to address „the specif … | Continue reading
It looks like a good week for data protection. On Tuesday, the Commission presented a new proposal for a Regulation on additional procedural rules for the GDPR, and a few hours later, the ECJ published its decision C-252/21 on Meta Platforms v Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Off … | Continue reading
Nach dem Ergebnis des Volksentscheids entschied sich die damalige rot-rot-grüne Regierung dazu, eine Kommission mit Expert*innen mit der Erstellung eines Gutachtens über die Verfassungsmäßigkeit der Vergesellschaftung zu beauftragen, das nun vorgelegt wurde. Der regierende Bürger … | Continue reading
Over the weekend, the world’s attention was gripped as a well-equipped Russian private military company led by Evgeny Prigozhin seized control of a key Russian city and military hub, and marched on Moscow. Prigozhin’s actions reveal a deeper truth about Putin’s Russia: the absenc … | Continue reading
On 25 May 2023, we mark the fifth anniversary of the General Data Protection Regulation’s (GDPR) full application in the European Union (EU). While the Regulation is primarily known for its impact on business, it also fostered significant changes to data processing by media outle … | Continue reading
That was fast. On 8 June, only 11 days after the Polish so-called ‘Lex Tusk’ was signed into force, the Commission launched an infringement procedure against Poland. For the first time, the Commission is relying on the principle of democracy in Art. 10 TEU as an autonomous plea, … | Continue reading
Five years in the making, the EU’s e-evidence Regulation was finally adopted by the European Parliament on June 13. The Regulation will allow law enforcement authorities to directly compel online service providers operating in the EU to preserve or produce e-evidence in the conte … | Continue reading
Die Idee, dass die Form eines Artefaktes nach dessen Funktion gestaltet werden müsse, ist seit dem Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts eine zentrale Design-Maxime: Form follows function. Wo die Formen sich aber verändern, zum Beispiel, weil sich ein Produkt neu in digitaler Form erstellen … | Continue reading
The extent of (private) media regulation depends on the willingness to trade private for public power. This blogpost takes the Commission's EMFA proposal as an opportunity to question the assumptions about media, markets, and politics behind it. It finds that the Commission’s app … | Continue reading
On April 26, 2023, Disney escalated its public feud with Ron DeSantis, Florida’s current Governor and a 2024 presidential hopeful, by suing him in federal court. The complaint turns on a series of legislative actions DeSantis took in response to Disney's criticism of the so-calle … | Continue reading
The possibility to profit from the dissemination of harmful content triggering views, engagement, and ultimately monetisation does not only concern the contractual relationship between social media and influencers, but also affects how other users enjoy digital spaces. The monet … | Continue reading
It has become common wisdom that “there is no such thing as free lunch.” Social media shows us daily how true this observation remains until today. The ‘conventional’ business model of these platforms focuses on data exploitation, and, increasingly, ‘freemium’ models. While it is … | Continue reading
On 27 April, the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt has unblocked the appointment of the government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by overriding the veto of the largest Bosniak party, SDA. The party, currently in opposition, had blocked … | Continue reading
Many users do not realize that by creating a social media account, they are entering into a legally binding agreement with the platform. It might thus be time to radically rethink the principle of contractual informality online. Social media contracts may regain their importance, … | Continue reading
The social media landscape is changing. The ‚public forum‘ is now filled with citizens selling products, promoting services, charging for subscriptions, and sometimes seeking attention in ways which may not be socially desirable. We ask: How can a space that is becoming increasin … | Continue reading
Over the last five years, cities, counties, and states across the country have sued fossil fuel companies alleging that the companies violated state law in marketing their products as safe. Collectively, these cases are known as climate liability cases or climate deception cases. … | Continue reading
In 2023, Packers Sanitation paid a fine of $1.5 million for employing over 100 children in work environments involving dangerous machinery and chemicals across eight US states. A New York Times investigation also uncovered the prevalence of migrant children working in numerous in … | Continue reading
Wieder einmal wird über die sogenannten Benin-Bronzen debattiert. Die problematische Herkunft der in einem kolonialen Raubzug erbeuteten Kunstartefakte und die Frage ihrer Restitution sorgten bereits in der Vergangenheit für Diskussionen. Als die Bundesregierung letztes Jahr schl … | Continue reading
The last week of the legislative term in Mexico was just another showcase of the clear government's disdain for democratic institutions and the rule of law. At the end of April, MORENA, the party in government, used its legislative majorities to hastily pass a series of laws in v … | Continue reading
It can generally be agreed that the purpose of sovereignty is to enable a government to protect the best interests of its citizens. To what extent did UK membership of the EU preclude this? In the context of the EU, the discussion on sovereignty tends to focus on quantity – the g … | Continue reading
Antisemitismus ist in Deutschland kein Phänomen der Vergangenheit, sondern allgegenwärtig. So auch in der Kunst, wie die Ereignisse um die documenta fifteen im Sommer 2022 eindrücklich gezeigt haben. Aus rechtlicher Perspektive stellt sich dabei insbesondere die Frage nach dem Ve … | Continue reading
Über die jüngst verabschiedete Reform des Wahlrechts für den Bundestag wurde bereits viel Tinte vergossen. Ein Argument aber, das sowohl in der Bundestagsdebatte als auch in der Öffentlichkeit oft wiederholt wurde und wohl den in den novellierten Gesetzesvorschriften zum Ausdruck … | Continue reading
Conflagration in France. | Continue reading
In Frankreich brennt es lichterloh. | Continue reading
Die Wahlrechtsreform, die die Ampelkoalition noch in dieser Woche durch den Bundestag bringen will, könnte dazu führen, dass im nächsten Deutschen Bundestag weder die Linkspartei noch die CSU vertreten sein werden. Auch wenn das nicht alle für einen Verlust halten mögen, beschert … | Continue reading
A Basic-Law Monument and Some Buckets of Ink-Black Paint | Continue reading
Ein Grundgesetz-Monument und ein paar Kübel tintenschwarze Farbe | Continue reading
Two weeks ago, the British Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) rejected Shamima Begum’s appeal against the Home Secretary’s decision to deprive her of citizenship, dealing the latest blow in her on-going battle to regain her status. SIAC’s choice to uphold the Home Secr … | Continue reading
The Italian legal system has known some unprecedented measures during the pandemic, including the lockdown regime, “green pass” system etc. Such measures have been probed by ordinary and administrative judges and by the Italian Constitutional Court (ICC). Notwithstanding some lim … | Continue reading
On 2 February 2023, the Hungarian Constitutional Court published its long-awaited decision on legal gender recognition. For the first time, the Constitutional Court reviewed the provisions introduced into the Act on Registry Procedure in late May 2020 requiring the registration o … | Continue reading
Willst du die globale Debatte über digitale Grundrechte, Demokratie und Rechtsstaatlichkeit voranbringen? Der Verfassungsblog sucht ab 1.3.2023 (ggf. auch später) eine Redakteur*in (m/w/*), die sich genau das schwerpunktmäßig zur Aufgabe macht. Du hast: leidenschaftliches Interes … | Continue reading
After months of difficult negotiations, political parties in Chile agreed on the conditions for a new constituent process. This second attempt at drafting a new constitution for Chile looks radically different than the first process. While in the first process an elected Conventi … | Continue reading
In an unprecedented move, the collegium of the Supreme Court of India on the 17th and 18th of January, 2023, passed resolutions calling out the executive’s delay in the judicial appointments of five advocates by publicly countering the government’s objections against their appoin … | Continue reading
Since the Indian state unilaterally abrogated the autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in August 2019, human rights defenders (HRDs) have been confronted with an unprecedented closing of civic spaces, forcing them to restrict or stop their engagement. While HRDs have been … | Continue reading
In the fourth episode of #DefendingTheDefenders we talk about the situation of lawyers in Turkey with Veysel Ok. He is an attorney in Istanbul and the Co-Director of the Media and Law Studies Association, a non-profit which monitors and defends freedom of expression cases against … | Continue reading
Russia launched its big war against Ukraine at a time when Ukraine has started implementing a comprehensive and genuine judicial reform. Ukraine has not only managed to resist the attack but also kept implementing the reforms and strengthening democratic institutions. This articl … | Continue reading
Росія розпочала свою велику війну проти України в той час, коли Україна розпочала впровадження комплексної та справжньої судової реформи. Україна не тільки змогла протистояти нападу, але й продовжила реалізацію реформ та зміцнення демократичних інститутів. У цій статті описано ук … | Continue reading
This exercise in comparative constitutional law shows how, paradoxically, positioning a country on either side of the spectrum of separation of powers structures may lead to similar curtailment of the judiciary’s power, though courts in the two opposing regimes may use very diffe … | Continue reading
The erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) enjoyed a special position in the political and constitutional landscape of the post-colonial Indian State. While the de-operationalisation (popularly referred to as ‘abrogation’) of Article 370 on 5 August 2019, and other associated m … | Continue reading
Unverhofft ist das Berliner Verwaltungsorganisationsrecht Thema des Wahlkampfes für die vom Berliner Verfassungsgerichtshof angeordnete Wiederholungswahl zum Berliner Abgeordnetenhaus und den Bezirksverordnetenversammlungen geworden. Es scheint einen Konsens der politischen Kräft … | Continue reading
Several national football federations and their teams had planned to wear a rainbow armband (also called the “One-Love” armband) when entering the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which symbolizes solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. Promptly, this simple gesture in favor of respect of … | Continue reading
Das Amtsgericht Flensburg hatte jüngst über die Strafbarkeit eines Klimaaktivisten zu entscheiden, der ein fremdes Grundstück unbefugt betreten hatte, um dort die Rodung eines kleinen Waldstücks zu verhindern. Der Aktivist wurde vom Vorwurf des Hausfriedensbruchs freigesprochen, … | Continue reading
Für den Schutz vor Persönlichkeitsverletzungen in Medien wie Twitter und Facebook gilt im Wesentlichen und kaum verändert das auf den Schutz des Individuums eingestellte Äußerungsrecht, wie es seit vielen Jahrzehnten besteht. Das deutsche NetzDG und der europäische Digital Servic … | Continue reading