Category: Developments
-
The Indonesian Constitutional Court at a Tipping Point
—Stefanus Hendrianto, Santa Clara University On Wednesday, October 2, 2013, the Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi – KPK) arrested Akil Mochtar, the Chief Justice of the Indonesian Constitutional Court, for alleged bribery. The spokesperson of the Commission said that the alleged bribery was linked to a regional election dispute case.
-
Note on the Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia
—Antonios Kouroutakis, University of Oxford, Faculty of Law The Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia (the Constitution) is the supreme law of Federal Republic of Somalia (Somalia). The drafting process occurred under the auspices of United Nations, and on 1 August 2012, the National Constitutional Assembly approved the Constitution by an overwhelming majority.
-
Recent Developments in Egypt: Interview with Mohamed Arafa
–Richard Albert, Boston College Law School In this installment of I-CONnect’s interview series, I speak with Mohamad Arafa about recent developments in Egypt. Professor Arafa teaches at Alexandria University in Egypt, where he specializes in constitutional, criminal and Islamic law. In our conversation, Professor Arafa provides an update on the latest developments in Egypt, discusses…
-
Amending the Greek Constitution in a Time of Crisis: The Greek Socialist Party’s (PASOK) Blueprint
–Christina M. Akrivopoulou, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece On the 24th of July 2013, on the 38th anniversary of the Greek Constitution of 1975 and the return to Democracy after the ‘Colonels’ dictatorship (1967-1974), the President of the Greek Socialist Party and a well known constitutionalist, Evangelos Venizelos, presented a proposed fourth amendment of the…
-
Freedom of Expression or Freedom from Electoral Unfairness?: The ECHR Upholds a Ban on Political Advertising
—Eoin Carolan, University College Dublin The decision in Animal Defenders International v. U.K. represents the European Court of Human Rights’ latest effort to resolve the contentious and long-running debate about the compatibility of a prohibition on political advertising with the protection afforded to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human…
-
The Constituent Power of Student Protests in Chile
–Fernando Muñoz León, Assistant Professor, Universidad Austral de Chile 2011 was an important year for social movements and popular protest in liberal democracies. For instance, the United States had the Occupy movement and Spain the Indignados. Chile had its own share in the form of massive student protests that put the government on the ropes…
-
Nathan Brown: Quick Reactions to Egypt’s New Draft Constitution
–Nathan Brown, George Washington University A verson of the new draft Constitution has been published this morning in Egypt. Al-Shuruq says that it is still undergoing linguistic correction, and the draft as published has some gaps, so it is not clear how authoritative it is.
-
Margin of Appreciation at the African Court
Our sometimes contributor Adem Kassie Abebe has a new post over at AfricLaw in which he further analyzes the recent case of the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights against Tanzania, Tanganyika Law Society and The Legal and Human Rights Centre and Reverend Christopher Mtikila v.
-
Liberalizing Abortion in Ireland: The New Legal Framework
–Christina M. Akrivopoulou, Adjunct Lecturer, Democritus University of Thrace The new Irish Law on “Protection of life during pregnancy” acknowledges the potential risk for the pregnant woman’s life as a reason justifying abortion, and represents the greatest evolution regarding the liberalization of abortions in Ireland since the 19th century.
-
The Spanish Constitutional Tribunal’s Same-Sex Marriage Decision
—Christina M. Akrivopoulou, Adjunct Lecturer, Democritus University of Thrace The Spanish Constitutional Court, in judgment 198/2012 of November 28, 2012, upheld Law 13/2005, which guarantees same-sex marriage in Spain. Prior to the democratic transition that followed the death of Franco and the end of his dictatorship, Spain was characterized by a very religious and conservative…