Ajla ŠKRBIĆ
Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a case study of constitution-building, serves as a warning about poor post-conflict processes of territorial division and state restructuring, and how political elites can serve as stumbling blocks. However, reform is not impossible and it is high time to offer equal treatment to every citizen
Read MoreMatteo BONELLI
This blog post argues that that the EU needs to stop searching for a ‘silver bullet’' solution to constitutional decay in its Member States. Instead, the EU should engage in targeted intervention to protect and support those actors that can slow down constitutional decay today, and create the conditions for democratic renewal in the longer run
Read MoreTeodora MILJOJKOVIC
This blog post, through an analysis of Poland as a case-study, addresses a glaring discrepancy in the EU's response to illiberal regimes; between the robust approach of the European Court of Justice on one hand and the vague and still dialogue-driven response of the European Commission on the other
Read MoreAmal SETHI
How can the rapid decay of constitutional democracy in India be halted? This blog post argues that existing methods, such as petitioning the Supreme Court, to date have been unable to act as a speed bump to constitutional decay in India, and that a broader-based approach is needed
Read MoreMichael Henry YUSINGCO
Democratic decay in the Philippines is a direct result of the expansion of political dynasties. Congress has refused to enact a measure to stem, or even just regulate, their growth despite an explicit mandate in the 1987 Constitution. Hence, other ways to counter this socio-political pathology must be pursued
Read MoreAmy RAUB
The impacts on health, economies, and governance of COVID-19 have been profound. This blog post places these impacts in context, presenting available data that allows us to see the tremendous progress made in some areas of social and economic rights in recent decades, but that progress in other areas has stalled
Read MoreJános MÉCS
Tailoring electoral legislation to the governmental parties’ partisan needs has been an important component of creating Hungary’s illiberal political system. This blog post argues, based on the Hungarian case, that constitutional courts should be vigilant, and they should intervene whenever the electoral legislation is being manipulated with
Read MoreGábor MÉSZÁROS
This blog post aims to briefly outline the role of emergency politics in the autocratic transition of Hungary, identifying three milestones demonstrating the shift from ‘autocratic legalism’ to more overt illegality, and how the never-ending emergency arrangements are now being built into the ordinary law
Read MoreEszter KIRS
In this post I provide an insight into the impact of governmental attacks on the professional life of human rights defenders from the personal perspective of a legal officer of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) established in 1989, a leading human rights organization in the Central and Eastern European region
Read MoreMonika CZECHOWSKA
This blog post deals with the criminal liability of representatives of the highest state organs in the light of the Polish Constitution and the current situation in Poland. The aim is to analyze Polish legal solutions regarding the possibility of prosecution of representatives for both violation of the Constitution or statutes, as well as for crimes committed in connection with the position held
Read MorePiotr MIKULI
This blog post presents institutional, legal and practical examples of parliamentary freezing in Poland in the years 2015–2020, analysing the fading role of the Polish parliament, the symbolic role of the opposition-dominated Senate, and the difference between a captured state organ and a façade organ
Read MoreTímea DRINÓCZI & Agnieszka BIEŃ-KACAŁA
“Pushing the limits” is a political and legal game employed by both the Hungarian and Polish governments, comprising a cynical approach to criticism and the combination or different variations of backing off: taking one step back, followed by two steps forward, in advancing the illiberal system
Read MoreMario GOMEZ
The manipulation of constitutions has helped political elites retain power at the expense of democracy and social cohesion in Sri Lanka. The balanced scheme of constitutional government has been jettisoned in 2020 for a return to hyper-presidentialism by another exercise in partisan constitution-making that has heightened social divisions and ethnic polarization
Read MoreAyesha WIJAYALATH
In this post, I aim to trace the systematic attempts at executive power-grabbing by dismantling the already fragile constitutional democracy of Sri Lanka, and how exogenous events such as the pandemic provides the perfect pretext in this process
Read MoreGaurav MUKHERJEE
In India’s parliamentary system, the rise in the use of ‘money bills’ to avoid Rajya Sabha (upper house) scrutiny, set against a steep reduction in the time devoted to discussion of legislation, is of real concern. This post analyses this issue and sets out three ideas to improve parliament's operation as a check on the executive
Read MoreAradhya SETHIA
The operation of the Constitution is significantly shaped by the context of the party system in place. With two consecutive BJP victories, there is emerging consensus that India has now moved into its fourth party system, which is anchored around the dominance of the BJP in national politics
Read MoreAnuj BHUWANIA
For all its expansive powers and rhetorical excesses, the crisis of legitimacy plaguing the Supreme Court is now hidden in plain sight. The repeated public humiliation of the Court, as an institution, by the Modi government has made all its bluster and its new high-minded catchphrases like ‘constitutional morality’ and ‘transformative constitutionalism’ look increasingly hollow
Read MoreThulasi K. RAJ
In the Indian context, two significant threats to democracy have intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first is the assumption of wide powers by the executive. The second is the hands-off approach of the Supreme Court of India in rights adjudication.
Read MoreRaphaël GIRARD
Through its distrust and impatience vis-à-vis liberal institutions and other intermediaries, populism acts as a catalyst for the acceleration of political time and democratic processes, but courts can provide safeguards by acting as ‘'institutional decelerators’'
Read MoreMax STEUER & Sascha KNEIP
The resilience of Slovak democracy is being tested against the backdrop of the emergency measures adopted by governments to address the pandemic, with checks and balances coming under strain. The Constitutional Court is at the center of this struggle
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