The Special Issue of the Hague Journal on the Rule of Law on the Crisis of Constitutional Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jernej Letnar Černič ◽  
Matej Avbelj
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Constitutional Democracy ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Hague

scholarly journals Martin Krygier’s Passion for the Rule of Law (and His Virtues)

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 255-276
Author(s):  
Nick Cheesman ◽  
Ronald Janse
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Past ◽  
Key Features ◽  
Short Essays

Abstract Why did Martin Krygier become a rule of law guy? This Introduction to a Special Issue of the Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, which consists of 33 short essays celebrating Krygier as a colleague, mentor and friend, discusses some of the factors which prompted him to develop a distinct and influential body of work on the rule of law over the past three decades: the rule of law revival, especially in Central and Eastern Europe; his involvement with Philip Selznick; and his dialogue with other prominent theorists, including Gianluigi Palombella and Jeremy Waldron. The Introduction gives a sense of the importance of Krygier’s personal background and history, and it also discusses some of the key features of his theory, and how these have developed over the past decades.

Central and Eastern Europe: The New Core or the Periphery of Europe?

2020 ◽  
pp. 162-181
Author(s):  
Ireneusz Paweł Karolewski
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Policy Fields ◽  
Visegrad Group ◽  
The Eu

This chapter focuses on Central and Eastern European (CEE) member states of the EU, and how they positioned themselves in the new constellation of conflicts within the EU in the aftermath of the multiple crisis. It deals mainly with the Visegrad Group (V4) and explores its ‘repositioning’ in regard to two crisis-ridden policy fields of the EU: controversies about the rule of law and the refugee crisis. With regard to the former issue, the chapter discusses Poland as the most prominent case among the CEE countries. Against this background, it highlights two specific aspects of domestic politics: the memory games that the V4 countries play with their past and the Euroscepticism of government circles as well as a broader public.

Populism, liberal democracy, and the rule of law in Central and Eastern Europe

2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bojan Bugaric
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Legal Institutions ◽  
Significant Progress ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Electoral Democracy

Populism is on the rise in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Persistent attacks on legal institutions of liberal democracy represent the most troubling aspect of the rising populism in CEE. The democracies in CEE are not about to collapse because of the rise of populism, yet the populist challenge to liberal democracy has to be taken seriously. While there has been significant progress in the development of ‘electoral democracy’ in the region, constitutional liberalism and the rule of law still remain weak. Only strong, independent, and professional legal institutions and respect for the rule of law can bring further consolidation of democracy in the region.

scholarly journals Forging, Bending, and Breaking: Enacting the “Illiberal Playbook” in Hungary and Poland

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Andrea L. P. Pirro ◽  
Ben Stanley
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
Executive Power ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Law And Justice

In recent years, Central and Eastern Europe have furnished several examples of illiberalism in power. The most prominent and consequential cases are Fidesz, which has ruled in Hungary since 2010, and Law and Justice (PiS), which has ruled in Poland since 2015. In both cases, illiberal governments have embarked upon an extensive project of political reform aimed at dismantling the liberal-democratic order. We examine the nature, scope, and consequences of these processes of autocratisation. We first argue that illiberal changes are ideologically founded and identify how both populism and nativism figure in the policymaking of illiberals in power. We then show how these practices emerge from a common “illiberal playbook”—a paradigm of policy change comprising forms of forging, bending, and breaking—and elaborate on the notion that illiberal governments are using legalism to kill liberalism. The fine-grained approach that we employ allows us to distinguish between different rationales and gradations of illiberal policymaking, and assess their implications for the rule of law, executive power, and civil rights and freedoms

Threats and Grounds for Dismantling the European Security Architecture

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (38) ◽  
pp. 38-55
Author(s):  
Adam Kwiatkowski
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Security Architecture ◽  
European Security ◽  
Ruling Class ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Priority Areas ◽  
The Subject

This article deals with one of the priority areas, the area of European security. Based on the literature on the subject and an analysis of the situation in Central and Eastern Europe, the author presents various types of current threats evident in Belarus, Poland, Russia, Turkey and Hungary, as a result of, among other things, societal alienation from the ruling class. The ignoring of their people and lack of tolerance in these countries has provoked a rebellion in society against governments’ exercise of power and approach to the rule of law. By analysing aspects of the threat, the author tries to uncover the motives of governments that are trying to maintain this approach and are ready to sacrifice the health and lives of their citizens.

scholarly journals A Populist Monster and the future of Constitutional Democracy

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-100
Author(s):  
Andraž Teršek
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Constitutional Democracy ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Eu

Abstract The central objective of the post-socialist European countries which are also Member States of the EU and Council of Europe, as proclaimed and enshrined in their constitutions before their official independence, is the establishment of a democracy based on the rule of law and effective legal protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms. In this article the author explains what, in his opinion, is the main problem and why these goals are still not sufficiently achieved: the ruthless simplification of the understanding of the social function and functioning of constitutional courts, which is narrow, rigid and holistically focused primarily or exclusively on the question of whether the judges of these courts are “left or right” in purely daily-political sense, and consequently, whether constitutional court decisions are taken (described, understood) as either “left or right” in purely and shallow daily-party-political sense/manner. With nothing else between and no other foundation. The author describes such rhetoric, this kind of superficial labeling/marking, such an approach towards constitutional law-making as a matter of unbearable and unthinking simplicity, and introduces the term A Populist Monster. The reasons that have led to the problem of this kind of populism and its devastating effects on the quality and development of constitutional democracy and the rule of law are analyzed clearly and critically.

scholarly journals Judicial authority, legitimacy and the (international) rule of law as essentially contested and interpretive concepts: Introduction to the special issue

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-90
Author(s):  
KNUT TRAISBACH
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Ronald Dworkin ◽  
Final Point ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Judicial Authority ◽  
International Rule

AbstractBeyond setting the stage, the Introduction makes three claims about the conceptual triangle of the rule of law, judicial authority and legitimacy. The first is that all three are essentially contested and interpretive concepts in the sense of Walter B. Gallie and Ronald Dworkin. In their expositions, the contested and interpretative nature of such concepts is nothing to be ‘solved’, rather the formulation of different conceptions and contestation about them are central functions of such concepts. The interpretive and essentially contested nature points us to the relevant ‘actors’ and to conflicts and trade-offs between contested competencies. Thus the second point is that arguments about the rule of law and judicial legitimacy are often a means of questioning or securing the authority of a particular actor or institution in relation to other actors and institutions. The final point is that transposing concepts from the domestic to the supranational is a constructive endeavour because it entails creating new conceptions and substituting old ones as well as legitimising new authorities and delegitimising old ones. Thus, this special issue also cautions against discourses that ultimately are more about legitimation than about legitimacy and more about new ways of ruling than the rule of law.

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