High Courts and Autocratic Consolidation: The Venezuelan Supreme Court under Nicolás Maduro‘s Rule

This article discusses the role of high courts in a consolidating autocracy. The use of high courts to entrench authoritarian rule depends on a series of non-exclusive conditions related to the court system, regime features and political context. A supportive judiciary can help the government compile information on a range of actors and provide a...

Panel 118, TUESDAY JUNE 26 2018 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Human rights, national identity, public security and sovereignty – Constitutional questions on the conception of the EU‘s compulsory quota system

In 2015 approximately one million asylum seekers arrived in member states of the European Union, influencing and raising constitutional questions upon human rights, unity, public security, national identity and sovereignty. The Schengen system is known for its open borders, but in the last two years, the flow of migrants has caused some member states to...

Panel 130, WEDNESDAY JUNE 27 2018 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Inaccessible Rights: The Unrealised Potential of the Bulgarian Constitutional Court

The current Bulgarian Constitution, adopted after the fall of communism, introduced a Constitutional Court entitled to centralised judicial review. This unprecedented institution was declared guardian of the fundamental rights entrenched in the new constitution. However, individual citizens were not granted direct access to this court. Moreover, its review powers were subjected to considerable procedural and...

Panel 92, TUESDAY JUNE 26 2018 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM