scholarly journals The Extension of the Jurisdiction of Constitutional Court in Assessing the Constitutional Amendments – the Case of Slovakia and Kosovo

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-253
Author(s):  
Luz Balaj ◽  
Florent Muçaj
Keyword(s):  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
Constitutional Amendments ◽  
Initial Work ◽  
Interesting Correlation ◽  
The Impact

Summary This paper examines the jurisprudence of the constitutional courts of Slovakia and Kosovo regarding their assessment of the constitutionality of constitutional amendments. The rationale for the selected countries stands behind the practices of their Constitutional Courts of, in terms of the jurisdiction expansion in assessing constitutional amendments. Considering the fact that these courts have been recently established, the Slovak Constitutional Court with the Constitution of 1992 and the Constitutional Court of Kosovo with the Constitution of 2008, it is the purpose of this paper to further analyze their initial work in assessing the constitutionality of constitutional amendments in the light of the impact of the German jurisprudence. Regardless the lack of experience in this regard, these courts have shown an interesting correlation between scientific doctrines and jurisprudences, which have served the judges to justify their decisions. In this direction, this paper frames its discussion in two key segments. Firstly, is the manner in which these courts have expanded their jurisdiction, an expansion that provided an assess to the constitutionality of constitutional amendments that goes beyond confronting the amendment with the explicit nature of the unamendability of the constitution. Secondly, on the impact of the German jurisprudence, especially in the case of the Slovak Constitutional court.

Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 3-30
Author(s):  
Alejandro Linares-Cantillo
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
Constitutional Amendments ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Comparative Constitutional Law ◽  
The Republic

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the twenty essays compiled for the XIII conference of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Colombia, which was held in Bogota in January of 2019. The collection is divided into three thematic parts which illustrate five subjects at the spotlight of comparative constitutional law, in light of the growing circulation and intensification of the idea of constitutionalism. The first part examines the evolving and leading role of constitutional courts in constitutional democracies. The second part allows constitutional experiences speak for themselves and discusses tensions and debates in three topics: (A) the growing trend to judicially enforce 'constitutional unamendability' under the doctrine of 'unconstitutional constitutional amendments'; (B) the idea of 'transformative constitutionalism' in the area of social rights enforcement; and (C) the models of transitional justice and their implementation in the Colombian case. Finally, the third part analyses vertical and horizontal movements of constitutional law doctrines and decisions.

The Kelsenian Model of Constitutional Review in Times of European Integration – Reconsidering the Basic Features

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-37
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Kustra-Rogatka
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Centralized Control ◽  
Constitutional Treaty ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
Constitutional Review ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Basic Features ◽  
The Eu

Summary The paper deals with the changes in the centralized (Kelsenian) model of constitutional review resulting from a state’s membership of the EU, which unequivocally demonstrates the decomposition of the classic paradigm of constitutional judiciary. The main point raised in the paper is that European integration has fundamentally influenced on the four above-mentioned basic elements of the Kelsenian model of constitutional review of legislation, which are the following: the assumption of the hierarchical construction of a legal system; the assumption of the supreme legal force of the constitution as the primary normative act of a given system; a centralised model of reviewing hierarchical conformity of legal norms; coherence of the system guaranteed by a constitutional court’s power to declare defectiveness of a norm and the latter’s derogation. All its fundamental elements have evolved, i.e. the hierarchy of the legal system, the overriding power of the constitution, centralized control of constitutionality, and the erga omnes effect of the ruling on the hierarchical non-conformity of the norms. It should be noted that over the last decade the dynamics of these changes have definitely gained momentum. This has been influenced by several factors, including the “great accession” of 2004, the pursuit of formal constitutionalization of the EU through the Constitutional Treaty, the compromise solutions adopted in the Treaty of Lisbon, the entry into force of the Charter, and the prospect of EU accession to the ECHR. The CJEU has used these factors to deepen the tendencies towards decentralization of constitutional control, by atomising national judicial systems and relativizing the effects of constitutional court rulings within national legal systems. The end result is the observed phenomenon, if not of marginalisation, then at least of a systemic shift in the position of constitutional courts, which have lost their uniqueness and have become “only ones of many” national courts.

CONSTITUTIONALISM AND AMENDMENTS TO THE BASIC LAW OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION 2020: POLITICAL ANALYSIS

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 103-118
Author(s):  
O.A. SIDENKO ◽  
◽  
D.V. SOSUNOV ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Russian Language ◽  
Constitutional Amendments ◽  
Expert Opinions ◽  
Political Analysis ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
Expert Assessments ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Existence Of Value ◽  
Transitional Constitutionalism ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of the article is to reveal the contradictions of the Russian transitional constitutionalism of the 2020 model as perceived by experts. It is achieved by presenting a palette of experts' views on the phenomenon of constitutionalism, expert assessments of the impact of the 2020 constitutional reform on constitutional principles, the distance between citizens and authorities, as well as expert opinions on the existence of value consolidation between the state and civil society in modern Russia. It is extremely important that the constitutional amendments, contributing to adaptation to changing realities, remain within the framework of the system of constitutionalism. There is no relevant developed methodology for political and legal assessment in the Russian-language scientific literature. The research group, having resorted to an expert survey, proposed their own version. The results obtained indicate not only the importance of value connotations in the perception of constitutionalism by experts, the weakening of all groups of constitutional principles (negative assessments prevail over positive ones), the manipulative nature of the process, but also a potential increase in the distance between the governors and the governed. Nevertheless, the threshold values that could indicate the interpretation of constitutional novels by experts as leading to going beyond the framework of constitutionalism are not identified. Since the project is pilot and generalizations are based on expert estimates, the conclusions are debatable.

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.

Mimoprávní vlivy na rozhodování českého Ústavního soudu

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hubert Smekal ◽  
Jaroslav Benák ◽  
Monika Hanych ◽  
Ladislav Vyhnánek ◽  
Štěpán Janků
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Strategic Decision Making ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Judicial Decision ◽  
Judicial Decision Making ◽  
The Media ◽  
Book Studies ◽  
The Impact

The book studies other than purely legal factors that influence the Czech Constitutional Court judges in their decision-making. The publication is inspired by foreign models of judicial decision-making and discusses their applicability in the Czech environment. More specifically, it focuses, for example, on the influence of the judge’s personality, collegiality, strategic decision-making or the impact of public opinion and the media. The book is based mainly on interviews with current constitutional judges.

Shaping Presidential Powers in Hungary: Convention, Tradition and Informal Constitutional Amendments

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 307-320
Author(s):  
Attila Vincze
Keyword(s):  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
Exact Role ◽  
Present Contribution ◽  
Constitutional Amendments ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Fundamental Law ◽  
Constitutional System ◽  
Presidential Systems ◽  
Judicial Interpretations

Abstract There was no tradition of a republican president in Hungary before the fall of communism, and the transitory constitution of 1989 was unclear about the exact role the President should play in the constitutional system of Hungary. Some provisions even resembled those of presidential or semi-presidential systems; some ambiguities were clarified during the first two decades after the transition. Conventions, however, were established to some extent and sometimes very quickly. This period gave rise to guidelines as to how the powers of the President should be exercised. Some other powers were concretized and interpreted foremost by the Constitutional Court. These conventions and judicial interpretations formed the character of the Presidency to the extent of informal constitutional change. Some of these elements have even been incorporated into and formalized by the new Fundamental Law of Hungary. The present contribution will point out how the originally broad competencies of the President have been narrowed in the practice, and what role the Constitutional Court and political actors played in this process.

The Role of the Constitutional Court in the Development of the Rule of Law in Kosovo

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-313
Author(s):  
Enver Hasani
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constitutional History ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Communist Countries

Kosovo’s Constitutional Court has played a role of paramount importance in the country’s recent history. The author uses a comparative analysis to discuss the role of the Court in light of the work and history of other European constitutional courts. This approach sheds light on the Court’s current role by analyzing Kosovo’s constitutional history, which shows that there has been a radical break with the past. This approach reveals the fact that Kosovo’s current Constitution does not reflect the material culture of the society of Kosovo. This radical break with the past is a result of the country’s tragic history, in which case the fight for constitutionalism means a fight for human dignity. In this battle for constitutionalism, the Court has been given very broad jurisdiction and a role to play in paving the way for Kosovo to move toward Euro-Atlantic integration in all spheres of life. Before reaching this conclusion, the author discusses the specificities of Kosovo’s transition, comparing it with other former communist countries. Among the specific features of constitutionalism in Kosovo are the role and position of the international community in the process of constitution-making and the overall design of constitutional justice in Kosovo. Throughout the article, a conclusion emerges that puts Kosovo’s Constitutional Court at the forefront of the fight for the rule of law and constitutionalism of liberal Western provenance.

scholarly journals Revision of the ARRIVE guidelines: rationale and scope

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. e000002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Percie du Sert ◽  
Viki Hurst ◽  
Amrita Ahluwalia ◽  
Sabina Alam ◽  
Douglas G Altman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
System Development ◽  
Animal Research ◽  
Quality Of Reporting ◽  
Research Reporting ◽  
In Vivo Experiments ◽  
Expert Working Group ◽  
Tiered System ◽  
Initial Work ◽  
The Impact

In 2010, the NC3Rs published the Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines to improve the reporting of animal research. Despite considerable levels of support from the scientific community, the impact on the quality of reporting in animal research publications has been limited. This position paper highlights the strategy of an expert working group established to revise the guidelines and facilitate their uptake. The group’s initial work will focus on three main areas: prioritisation of the ARRIVE items into a tiered system, development of an explanation and elaboration document, and revision of specific items.

scholarly journals LIBERTAD DE EXPRESIÓN, REDES SOCIALES Y DERECHO PENAL

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Miró-Llinares
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
The State ◽  
Free Expression ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Redes Sociales ◽  
Need To Evaluate ◽  
Derecho Penal ◽  
The Impact

Nowadays it is easy to find public statements about the situation of freedom of expression in different democracies questioning the exercise of this right, perhaps as a result of the political tensions to which democratic states have been subjected in recent years. In this sense, Spain does not escape from these diagnoses. Both international indicators that try to measure the situation and evolution of freedom of expression in different States and academic scholars highlight the excessive criminalization of certain speeches that end up in criminal proceedings that sentence people who make offensive expressions, mainly through social networks. However, in order to reach this diagnosis it is necessary to put together all the symptoms that would lead us to that conclusion. Therefore, in this paper I analyze two main indicators that could shed more light on the state of freedom of expression in Spain and the impact that social networks have had on it. Firstly, I analyze the legislative evolution of expression offences since 1995, to evaluate the limits of certain expressions in order to reach the conclusion that, effectively, over the years the punitive scope of what cannot be expressed has been extended, thus limiting, at least in abstract, freedom of expression. Secondly, I analyze the jurisprudential evolution of all these crimes since 1995 to show that, indeed, the proliferation of sentences from 2015 to the present shows the increase in the criminalization of expressions that are made eminently through social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. To conclude, I reflect on the possibility that the latest absolutory sentence by the Constitutional Court of the singer of the band Def con Dos César Strawberry will increase the feeling that, from now on, all expression is admissible and, therefore, will increase free expression in general and, in particular, in social networks, since, it does not seem that our legislator is willing to rectify in its steps the excessive criminalization of certain offenses. I also reflect on the need to approach freedom of expression in a more empirical way and the need to evaluate not only the limitations that the law and judicial processes impose on freedom of expression, but also the extent to which citizens in general and, in particular, users of social networks, without the need to have gone through any criminal proceedings, have stopped expressing their opinions because only in this way will it be possible to determine the state of health of our right to freedom of expression.

scholarly journals Kebebasan Hak Ijtihad Nikah Beda Agama Pasca Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 604
Author(s):  
Faiq Tobroni
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Interfaith Marriage ◽  
The Third ◽  
Interfaith Marriages ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Marriage Laws ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Impact

This paper has three key issues. The first issue discusses the arguments constructed by applicant of judicial review (JR) to assess the constitutional rights’ violations caused by the application of Article 2 (1) UUP. The second issue discusses on how the Constitutional Court (MK) seated position of state associated marital affairs in the rejection of JR. The third issue discusses model of freedom of ijtihad (legal thought) on interfaith marriage as the impact of MK’s Decision. Based on    the discussion, regarding to the first issue, the applicant of JR assess the application of Article 2 (1) UUP has legitimized the state as the sole interpreters of religious teachings for a requirement validity of the marriage. According to the applicant,  the role is used by the state (The Office for Religious Affairs/KUA) to not accept interfaith marriage. This refusal led to the violation of some other constitutional rights. Furthermore, as the findings of the second issue, MK’s decision has placed   the real position of state not as interpreters of religious teachings, but merely to accommodate the results of religious scholars’s ijtihad regarding marriage into the state law. Thus, it is not true that the state has violated the constitutional right to more intervene the religious life of citizens. Last findings as the third issue, MK’s decision has affected the model of ijtihad freedom on interfaith marriage. Actually interfaith marriage can still be served through the Civil Registry Office (KCS). KCS could be an alternative way to facilitate the interfaith marriages for all religions in Indonesia. Special for KUA, the institution reject to record interfaith marriage.   In this way, it only accommodates freedom of ijtihad within the limits of ijtihad jama’i. KUA just accomodates ijtihad by institutions such as the Majelis Ulama Indonesia, Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah and other similar institutions that reject interfaith marriage. Special for marriage in muslim community, ijtihad jama’i is better than ijtihad fardiy because the second could trigger the liberalization of marriage laws (temporary marriages, polygamy more than four, underage marriages and denial of recording).

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