The paper investigates the way the market defines race and gender, in particular on gamete markets and the purchase of racially marked sperm and eggs. The issue has relevance for international debates because it involves multiple ART markets in different countries with different descriptions and different motivations when it comes to representing race. It has...
“Beyond Legitimacy: Europe’s Crisis of Constitutional Democracy“
I engage with the more particular question, if there is currently a crisis of constitutional democracy in Europe, focusing mainly on the European Union rather than Europe more generally. Before taking on that question, however, there are two preliminary questions we need to address: First, what counts as a crisis of constitutional democracy? Second, how...
The Role of Law in National Identity Building in Putin‘s Russia
In Russia, the increasingly authoritarian regime is challenged by a populist anti-corruption agenda. Reaction to such challenges often involves crackdown on freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and the constitutional right to participate in state affairs. Traditional channels of political participation and accountability are narrowing down. At the same time, the state tends to encourage...
Reshaping constitutional identity? Popular initiatives in Switzerland
In Switzerland, law-making provides mechanisms that create a favourable context among political and social actors; mechanisms that also make it possible to include the people. One of them – the popular initiative – allows minority actors to submit their proposal to the vote of the people. Based on the incrementalism model-approach, this paper intends to...
(Il)liberal Constitutionalism and Populism: How “We, the People“ Threat Constitutional Changes
The idea that the constitutional amendment power is limited and that amendments can be unconstitutional gains traction by the day. While scholarship attempts to make a theoretical sense of it, the idea continues to migrate across jurisdictions. This panel will discuss the idea of unconstitutional amendments from both theoretical and comparative perspectives. Is the Slovak...
(Re-)Characterizing Headscarf and Veil Bans as Harassment
This paper considers the possibility of using the prohibition of harassment under European anti-discrimination laws to fight the legality of headscarf bans. In fact, so far Muslim women have been unsuccessful in litigating such bans both before the ECtHR and CJEU. Rather than configuring these cases as violations of religious freedom or direct/indirect discrimination on...
Equal Rights on the Basis of Disability in 193 Constitutions: Movements, Language, and Paths Forward
Nearly 15% of the global population, or one billion people, have some form of disability. However, direct discrimination on the basis of disability remains widespread, while people with disabilities experience among the highest rates of implicit bias. With the advent of the global disability rights movement and the adoption of the CRPD, the share of...
“Systemic democratic backsliding“: reflections on recent experience in the European Union
The integration processes is dealing with many paradoxes. The topic of my presentation focus on two such paradoxes: 1. The Union has strong mechanisms to guarantee the rule of law vis-à-vis states which are applying for accession, but it loses them after accession. 2. Union law is autonomous on national and international terms – we...
“The Decline of Political Parties and Constitutional Democracy“
This paper highlights how the decline of political parties has contributed to the decline of constitutional democracy across the globe.
“Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown“: when national executives are under siege – a South African perspective
The executive branch wields a considerable amount of power. If this power, however, is abused or captured by third parties it may have dire consequences for a state‘s democratic system, people, and economy. Recently the situation in South Africa with regard to the President (national execuitve) has become increasingly strained. The South African President seems...