Defending Checks and Balances in EU Member States

Defending Checks and Balances in EU Member States
Author: Armin von Bogdandy
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 478
Release: 2021-01-05
Genre: Law
ISBN: 366262317X

This open access book deals with Article 7 TEU measures, court proceedings, financial sanctions and the EU Rule of Law Framework to protect EU values with a particular focus on checks and balances in EU Member States. It analyses substantive standards, powers, procedures as well as the consequences and implications of the various instruments. It combines the analysis of the European level, be it the EU or the Council of Europe, with that of the national level, in particular in Hungary and Poland. The LM judgment of the European Court of Justice is made subject to detailed scrutiny.

Poland's Constitutional Breakdown

Poland's Constitutional Breakdown
Author: Wojciech Sadurski
Publisher:
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2019
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0198840500

Poland's anti-constitutional breakdown poses three questions that this book sets out to answer: What, exactly, has happened since 2015? Why did it happen? And what are the prospects for a return to liberal democracy?

Białystok Law Books 11

Białystok Law Books 11
Author: Lech Jamróz
Publisher: Wydawnictwo Temida 2
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2014
Genre: Constitutional courts
ISBN: 8362813725

Legal dispute over the Constitutional Court in Poland

Legal dispute over the Constitutional Court in Poland
Author: Bogumił Szmulik
Publisher: Wydawnictwo Instytutu Wymiaru Sprawiedliwości
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2020
Genre: Law
ISBN: 8366344509

The strengthening of the position of courts was, to a large extent, the result of the creation and rapid development of constitutional justice. It has made the power that was “in some measure, next to nothing” a real power, and the apolitical placement of courts changed into a political one, or at least one leading to serious political repercussions.… There is no doubt today that courts are a branch of power in the full sense of the word, and some even point out that because of constitutional justice they have become de facto the first power. From the position of a passive power, they have changed their placement, mainly owing to constitutional justice, to that of an active power, which competes on a par with the authority of the parliament and government in search of a golden mean of political balance. As a consequence, constitutional courts have slowly, but very consistently, forged their position by stepping into the shoes of a power that is as a matter of fact a political and active one. This, apart from prestige and recognition for constitutional courts, has also created the threat that, like with all the other active branches of power, they would become a participant in disputes and polemics, and could enter into a classic power conflict…. Political disputes over the Constitutional Court cannot be eliminated altogether. The Court, by its very nature, may betray political engagement, or at least its judicial decisions will have a political effect, which means that it will be engaged in the political optics of rivalry between the separated branches of power. The constitutional drafters, acting rationally, should therefore exercise due care to eliminate possible tensions. Political disputes cannot be predicted, nor can they be eliminated. However, they can be mitigated, and unfortunately this is still missing in the Polish Constitutional Court model. FROM THE INTRODUCTION

National Constitutions in European and Global Governance: Democracy, Rights, the Rule of Law

National Constitutions in European and Global Governance: Democracy, Rights, the Rule of Law
Author: Anneli Albi
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 1522
Release: 2019-05-29
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9462652732

This two-volume book, published open access, brings together leading scholars of constitutional law from twenty-nine European countries to revisit the role of national constitutions at a time when decision-making has increasingly shifted to the European and transnational level. It offers important insights into three areas. First, it explores how constitutions reflect the transfer of powers from domestic to European and global institutions. Secondly, it revisits substantive constitutional values, such as the protection of constitutional rights, the rule of law, democratic participation and constitutional review, along with constitutional court judgments that tackle the protection of these rights and values in the transnational context, e.g. with regard to the Data Retention Directive, the European Arrest Warrant, the ESM Treaty, and EU and IMF austerity measures. The responsiveness of the ECJ regarding the above rights and values, along with the standard of protection, is also assessed. Thirdly, challenges in the context of global governance in relation to judicial review, democratic control and accountability are examined. On a broader level, the contributors were also invited to reflect on what has increasingly been described as the erosion or ‘twilight’ of constitutionalism, or a shift to a thin version of the rule of law, democracy and judicial review in the context of Europeanisation and globalisation processes. The national reports are complemented by a separately published comparative study, which identifies a number of broader trends and challenges that are shared across several Member States and warrant wider discussion. The research for this publication and the comparative study were carried out within the framework of the ERC-funded project ‘The Role and Future of National Constitutions in European and Global Governance’. The book is aimed at scholars, researchers, judges and legal advisors working on the interface between national constitutional law and EU and transnational law. The extradition cases are also of interest to scholars and practitioners in the field of criminal law. Anneli Albi is Professor of European Law at the University of Kent, United Kingdom. Samo Bardutzky is Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Books Are Weapons

Books Are Weapons
Author: Siobahn Doucette
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
Total Pages: 338
Release: 2018-03-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 0822983192

Much attention has been given to the role of intellectual dissidents, labor, and religion in the historic overthrow of communism in Poland during the 1980s. Books Are Weapons presents the first English-language study of that which connected them—the press. Siobhan Doucette provides a comprehensive examination of the Polish opposition’s independent, often underground, press and its crucial role in the events leading to the historic Round Table and popular elections of 1989. While other studies have emphasized the role that the Solidarity movement played in bringing about civil society in 1980-1981, Doucette instead argues that the independent press was the essential binding element in the establishment of a true civil society during the mid- to late 1980s. Based on a thorough investigation of underground publications and interviews with important activists of the period from 1976 to 1989, Doucette shows how the independent press, rooted in the long Polish tradition of well-organized resistance to foreign occupation, reshaped this tradition to embrace nonviolent civil resistance while creating a network that evolved from a small group of dissidents into a broad opposition movement with cross-national ties and millions of sympathizers. It was the galvanizing force in the resistance to communism and the rebuilding of Poland’s democratic society.

Constitutional Judiciary in a New Democracy

Constitutional Judiciary in a New Democracy
Author: László Sólyom
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages: 444
Release: 2000
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780472109654

Describes the decisions of the most innovative of the new constitutional courts in post Soviet Central Europe

Judicial Cosmopolitanism

Judicial Cosmopolitanism
Author: Giuseppe Franco Ferrari
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 915
Release: 2019-09-24
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9004297596

Judicial Cosmopolitanism: The Use of Foreign Law in Contemporary Constitutional Systems offers a detailed account of the use of foreign law by supreme and constitutional Courts of Europe, America and East Asia. The individual contributions highlight the ways in which the use of foreign law is carried out by the individual courts and the path that led the various Courts to recognize the relevance, for the purpose of the decision, to foreign law. The authors try to highlight reasons and types of the more and more frequent circulation of foreign precedents in the case law of most high courts. At the same time, they show the importance of this practice in the so-called neo constitutionalism.

Courts, Politics and Constitutional Law

Courts, Politics and Constitutional Law
Author: Martin Belov
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2019-10-16
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1000707970

This book examines how the judicialization of politics, and the politicization of courts, affect representative democracy, rule of law, and separation of powers. This volume critically assesses the phenomena of judicialization of politics and politicization of the judiciary. It explores the rising impact of courts on key constitutional principles, such as democracy and separation of powers, which is paralleled by increasing criticism of this influence from both liberal and illiberal perspectives. The book also addresses the challenges to rule of law as a principle, preconditioned on independent and powerful courts, which are triggered by both democratic backsliding and the mushrooming of populist constitutionalism and illiberal constitutional regimes. Presenting a wide range of case studies, the book will be a valuable resource for students and academics in constitutional law and political science seeking to understand the increasingly complex relationships between the judiciary, executive and legislature.