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The Court of Justice of the European Union, ultima ratio for saving the independence of the judges in Romania – a commentary of the CJEU preliminary ruling in C‑83/19, C‑127/19, C‑195/19, C‑291/19 and C‑355/19 and C‑397/19, AFJR and others

Introduction On 18th of May 2021, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered a long awaited judgment in the so-called Romanian rule of law preliminary references (Opinion 1 and Opinion 2 of AG Bobek was delivered 8 months earlier). These references offered the Court the opportunity to comprehensively assess for the first time the multi-prong […]

Illiberalism as a Symptom. Reading ‘The End of the Liberal Mind’

The Greek word krísis originally has meant ‘the turning point in a disease’. In this reading, crisis indicates a decisive moment, a point of revelation of ‘the real’, when a profound change, for good or for worse, is anticipated. Hence, while speaking about the current crisis of liberal democracy, we wait for the outcome and […]

Striking While the Iron is Hot: A Guide to a Second Scottish Independence Referendum for the Confused

Boris Johnson will reportedly head to Scotland this week in order to demonstrate the benefits of the British union. His visit is likely triggered by the 11 point ‘roadmap’ unveiled on Sunday by the Scottish National Party (SNP) to hold another independence referendum, should they win the Scottish Parliamentary elections in May. While Mr Johnson has a relatively straightforward […]

The crumbling compromise: German abortion law at the brink of a third reform debate?

By many Germany is regarded as a model student when it comes to human rights protection. However, this expectation remains unfulfilled in the abortion context since contrary to recommendations by international organizations (e.g. by the World Health Organization, the European Commissioner for Human Rights or the United Nations Human Rights Committee), Germany still criminalizes and […]

Abortion, Constitution and the Role of Constitutional Court: Lessons from Poland

On October 22th, 2020 the Polish Constitutional Tribunal (hereinafter: CT or Tribunal) made a judgment on the legality of abortion (case K1/20). The CT has decided about the unconstitutionality of abortion in the circumstances of malformation or serious disease of a foetus[1]. The decision has triggered mass social protests and heated debates – of both […]