Der „Hüter der Verfassung“ muss besser behütet werden – darüber besteht in der aktuellen Debatte weitgehende Einigkeit. Der vorzugswürdige Lösungsweg besteht in einer intensivierten Einbindung des Bundesrats. Die Repräsentation der Länder sorgt für demokratische Legitimation des Gerichts und eignet sich als Ersatzventil für eine Richterwahl, die im Bundestag durch eine Sperrminorität blockiert wurde. Zudem ist die Einführung einer Zustimmungspflicht bei Änderungen am BVerfGG sachgerecht, um die Rechtsgrundlage des Verfassungsgerichts vor einer destruktiven Bundestagsmehrheit zu schützen. Sperr ..read more

„Die Demokratie lebt von Voraussetzungen, die sie selbst nicht garantieren kann“1). Das Böckenförde-Diktum ist so ein Satz, auf den sich auch in unsicheren Zeiten viele einigen können. Vor kurzem hat Christoph Möllers den Satz in einem Vortrag als „midcult“ polemisiert, also als im Grunde leicht verdauliche Kunst, die ihre Tiefe nur andeutet. Statt sich in ständiger Reproduktion des „Böckenförde-Diktums“ und gekünstelter Neutralität auf der Stelle zu drehen und dabei allenfalls „midcult“ zu betreiben, sollten auch die Verantwortlichen im Bereich der Demokratieförderung diese Tiefe endlich auss ..read more

In response to Russia’s facilitation of migrants to the Finnish border since last fall, Finland’s newly formed right-wing coalition government temporarily closed the border relying on recent amendments to the Border Guard Act. After renewing the closure on several occasions, it closed the eastern land border indefinitely on 4 April 2024. For anyone arriving from Russia, it is now impossible to reach any remaining open border crossing points. Worried that this step will not be enough to ensure national security, the government is finalising a Draft Act on Temporary Measures to Combat Instrument ..read more

The recent rulings on climate change by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) are—as others have pointed out in this blog symposium—both “historic and unprecedented” for various reasons, not least regarding the question of reparation for climate change-related harm. While redress is a pivotal question to think through in relation to climate change, it has, somewhat surprisingly, received less attention from scholars and has not yet been directly addressed by international courts and tribunals. In this regard, Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland might be considered a ..read more

Following lengthy negotiations within Germany’s coalition government, on 26 April 2024, the Bundestag passed an amendment to the Federal Climate Protection Act (Bundes-Klimaschutzgesetz (KSG)). One part of the amendment in particular has drawn sharp criticism from environmental NGOs, experts, and commentators (see here, here, here, here, and here): the abolition of annual, sector-based targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, which form the basis of the obligation for ministries to submit ‘immediate action programmes’ (Sofortprogramme). Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), for example, spo ..read more

Much has been said already about the decision in KlimaSeniorinnen v. Switzerland granted on Apr 9, 2024 by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR or the Court). The Court’s decision was groundbreaking in that it established an obligation to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a human rights duty, required countries to establish a carbon budget, and arguably established a new right under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (see here, here, and here). Still, there is much more to discuss regarding its broader implications for climate litigation. This blog post discusses the ..read more

In Thüringen finden am 26. Mai 2024 Kommunalwahlen statt. Die sogenannten kommunalen Wahlbeamt*innen – Oberbürgermeister*innen, Landrät*innen sowie hauptamtliche und ehrenamtliche Bürgermeister*innen – müssen wie alle anderen Beamt*innen auf dem Boden der Verfassung stehen. Vergangene Woche hat der Wahlausschuss des Landkreises Hildburghausen Tommy Frenck mit drei zu zwei Stimmen als Kandidaten zugelassen und damit vorläufig die nötige Verfassungstreue attestiert. Sollte der Rechtsextremist zum Landrat gewählt werden, steht den Wahlberechtigten ein bislang wenig beachteter Weg offen, um diese ..read more

In a widely acclaimed judgment, India recently saw its first climate ruling issued by the Supreme Court (M.K. Ranjitsinh and Others v. Union of India). The Court derived the right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change from Article 21 and Article 14 of the Constitution. The ruling of the Supreme Court has been classified in this blog as an important step in connecting human rights and climate change. In this blog post, I offer another overarching route that cases connected to climate change in India have taken, which is genre-bending in that they use environmental litigation as ..read more

Despite being dismissed as ‘toothless’ by several observers, the creation of a dedicated EU Body for Ethical Standards carries the potential to mark a qualitative difference in the development of the EU ethics system as we know it. After over two decades of institutional debates – and amid several high-profile ethical scandals including the recent Qatargate –, the main EU institutions (with the sole exception of the EU Council and the CJEU joining as observer rather than as party) eventually decided set up a joint authority aimed at “strengthening trust in Union institutions and ..read more

The sale of national and European Union citizenship understandably remains highly controversial. It seems arbitrary, perhaps even abject, to grant nationality in exchange for a monetary investment, when most people must wait years and overcome considerable hurdles before they can naturalize. Moreover, citizenship by investment (CBI) is associated with money laundering, tax evasion, and other security risks. But does that make it illegal under EU law? As evidenced by three recent posts on the Verfassungsblog by Joseph H.H. Weiler, Merijn Chamon, and Lorin-Johannes Wagner, this question continue ..read more