Month: June 2010
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German Right to Die Case and Supreme Court Confirmation
As has been reported in the press, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany recently issued a ruling making it easier for relatives and others to allow loved ones to die in certain situations. Given the power of the right to dignity and the right to life under the Basic Law, this is significant both there and abroad.
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and Kyrgyz Republic passes the Constitution
Vote-counting is well under way in Kyrgyzstan. With 90% of precints counted, news reports indicate over 90% support for the new Constitution. No doubt this will be seen as a vote of confidence in the interim Otunbayeva government. Russia’s President Medvedev expressed skepticism about the ability of the parliamentary system to resolve Krgyzstan’s difficulties, including the ethnic cleansing of the Uzbeks in the south.
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Embattled Government of Kyrgyzstan seeks referendum for June 27
In early April 2010 bloody riots rocked the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek in response to high utility costs and brutal levels of perceived corruption. For nearly a week, thousands of protesters took to the streets in a bloody clash which reportedly killed at least eighty people and wounded nearly 500 more.
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A Supreme Court vs. Religious Authorities Showdown in Israel
In August 2009 I wrote here about the Israeli Supreme Court ruling that involved a clash between the right to sectarian autonomy in education, and equality rights. A girls-only publicly-funded religious school introduced separation between an educational stream for Ashkenazi Hasidic community girls, and a different stream for Sephardic (Mizrahi) girls.
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More Soccer and Comparative Constitutionalism
The U.S. sports network ESPN has produced a fascinating documentary called The Two Escobars. It examines the link between Columbian soccer and the various drug cartels there during the period of the ascendancy of Pablo Escobar, who led the Medellin Cartel.
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World Cup and U.S. Supreme Court Nominations
This op-ed might be of interest to the readership: http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0610/Beyond-World-Cup-soccer-savvy-US-should-look-to-South-Africa-on-Supreme-Court-nominations
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The Legal Status of the Queen in Canada
Canada is constitutional monarchy, a term which refers to a system of government headed by a monarch whose actions are both constrained and compelled by a constitution. The monarch in Canada is the Queen. The Constitution Act of 1867 says so expressly and the Constitution Act of 1982 affirms it implicity.
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Enacting Constitutionalism
For readers who might be interested in a paper on the constitutional enactment of independent judicial institutions, may I suggest a paper just published entitled “Enacting Constitutionalism,” in which my coauthor and I focus on the political composition of the constituent body and its implications for the type of institutions enacted.
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Political (and constitutional) Turmoil in Belgium
In the world of constitutional design, few things could be more ironic than a country that at the same time is home to the unofficial capital of the new Europe just as its own political and constitutional future is increasingly under siege.
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Xenophobia in South Africa and the U.S.
South Africa has had a problem with outbreaks of violence against foreigners in the last few years. This is especially distressing given the nation’s legacy of oppressing groups based on their backgrounds. These developments also pose real challenges to the nation’s hopeful and progressive constitution.