re:constitution

📢#WorkingPaper Wednesday The latest issue of our #WorkingPaper series is out now. In "What's in a Name? The Meaning of Zeitenwende for German Politics" alumnus Wolfgang Minatti shares the results of his analysis of parliamentary speeches since February 2022. 👉https://lnkd.in/eYRB32TS

A panel with current Fellows & Alumni: we are proud to see you working together & recommend to join the discussion this wednesday 💫

Interesting event coming up with our alumnus Maciej Krogel and our dear colleague Jakub Jaraczewski from Democracy Reporting International, as well as alumna Pola Cebulak in Panel 2! 👇

Our Rule of Law Clinic, our journal, Review of Democracy, and the The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law invite you to this webinar on the state of rebuilding judicial independence in Poland. Panelists: Marcin Mrowicki, Katarína Šipulová, Małgorzata Szuleka Moderators: Barbara Grabowska-Moroz, Oliver Garner Details: https://lnkd.in/dt-4-BQg Registration: https://lnkd.in/dEiihQMt

🚨 I am pleased to share that my latest paper on the EU-#Belarus border crisis has now been published open access in the AVANT journal. ✅ The paper, first, offers a comparative analysis of #Latvian, #Lithuanian and #Polish responses to what has been labelled there as ‘migrant #instrumentalisation’ and a ‘hybrid attack’. ✅ Second, it engages with the migrant instrumentalisation paradigm, relied on by the governments to derogate from EU and international legal framework, and explores the EU-level response to the crisis. The paper approaches the topic from an interdisciplinary perspective by combining an analysis of the relevant legislative measures with empirical research. Among other things, it is based on interviews with:    ✅ ∼15 Polish and Lithuanian NGO representatives, humanitarian aid volunteers and legal practitioners, who have been providing assistance to non-EU nationals crossing from Belarus;    ✅ ∼40 non-EU nationals affected, predominantly from the #Kurdistan region of #Iraq (including #Yazidis), as well as nationals of Syria and Afghanistan. Read the full paper here 👉https://lnkd.in/e5ykMTTX Many thanks to the excellent re:constitution programme for supporting my fieldwork!

On 13-14 November, the Council of Europe hosts its launch event “Academic Freedom in Action” on the democratic mission of higher education. Vicky Kosta (the PI of our AFITE project) will be one of the panelists for the session on 'Academic Freedom, Universal Right or Relative Term: Fundamental Values of Higher Education through the prism of Human Rights', joining other amazing European experts and stakeholders. Registration to follow online is still possible! More info: https://lnkd.in/eevajsnV On that topic, I recently wrote a blog post on the democratic justification of academic freedom (primarily in EU law - but not only!) as part of my re:constitution project: https://lnkd.in/enW9gNfz The full paper coming soon!

Maria Crippa partners with the Tilburg University during her mobility phase to advance her research project "Prosecuting International Crimes against Migrants before Italian Courts: A Collaborative Effort to Close the Accountability Gap". 👉Find Maria's Fellow profile here: https://lnkd.in/euv9Y5NJ Democracy Reporting International, Forum Transregionale Studien e.V.

“Without a strong, independent judiciary, there can be no liberal democracy and there is no rule of law.” – I dive into this concept in my latest interview with #AufRuhr. It was a pleasure to join my re:constitution colleague and friend Jennifer Orlando-Salling, from Malta, in discussing the future of the #RuleofLaw. Poland and Malta—both Catholic countries with restrictive abortion laws—have more in common than we might have expected. Our conversation revealed shared struggles, but also mutual hopes for the future. We see the rise of populism, pervasive fear, and Russia’s aggression as some of the main threats facing our democracies. In this interview, I discuss my current project on the vetting and appointment processes of judges across different countries. I ask how these lessons might apply to Poland, especially after recent judicial reforms by the national-conservative PiS government. Between 2018 and 2024, over 2,500 judges were appointed by the National Council for the Judiciary—a body heavily influenced by legislative and executive powers—under unlawful competitions boycotted by the majority of Polish judges. Today, determining the legal status of these appointments is a pressing challenge for the new government. The interview also emphasizes how the re:constitution fellowship fosters these critical discussions. Special thanks to Stiftung Mercator GmbH, and Philipp Nagels for leading this insightful conversation! The interview is available in German, but Google Translate has your back.

A big thank you to all who joined our recent Alumni Network meeting in Berlin where friends and colleagues re:connected and exchanged inspiring ideas. The programme opened with an engaging session on the “Practical Challenges of Restoring the Rule of Law” with the two guest speakers Małgorzata Szuleka and Luke Dimitrios Spieker to set the tone for insightful discussions. Further sessions focused on strengthening our Alumni network, fostering connections with new fellows, and sharing ongoing research and projects and collaborations within our community. Also: don’t miss the new issue of our #AlumniMagazine "in re:trospect 2023-24", where we dive deeper into highlights from the past Fellowship year. 👉 https://lnkd.in/gpJRgm34 Stay connected, and see you next time! Democracy Reporting International Forum Transregionale Studien E.V.

‘Fear is the greatest challenge for our democracies’, I contend in this interview for #AufRuhr. 🇲🇹⚖️🇵🇱 I loved being interviewed with re:constitution colleague (and fast friend) Marcin Mrowicki, based at the Polish Ministry of Justice, about the future of the #ruleoflaw from my perspective as a Maltese woman. It fascinates me how much Poland and Malta have in common but also our different entry points into the challenges faced. The interview gives insight on what the re:constitution fellowship and network is a platform for, and challenged us to identify our fears but also spaces for optimism. This is not an easy time to stay hopeful and optimistic. In our conversation, we landed on the power of ‘hope’. In the interview, I also speak about my project on (post)colonialism and the development of rule of law infrastructures, from the perspective of Malta, which takes a critical and historical approach. Thank you Stiftung Mercator GmbH for the opportunity and Philipp Nagels in particular for being a wonderful interviewer. The interview is available in German but that can easily be remedied by Google Translate.