National Constitutional Jurisprudence in a Post‐National Europe: The ESM Ruling of the German Federal Constitutional Court and the Disavowal of Conflict

In its pending decision on the constitutionality of the European Stability Mechanism and Fiscal Compact, the German Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has recently ruled on several applications for temporary injunctions against the transposition of these instruments. The problem of democratic self‐determination under the constraints of monetary integration has been a main concern in the ruling. Yet, the democracy‐safeguards the FCC has prescribed are parochial in not considering their impact on other EU Member States, and the Court's view of autonomy is skewed towards the issue of spending. Both concepts are at odds with the current level of transnational interdependence, which the FCC as relay to ‘integration by stealth’ has facilitated during two decades of EU‐jurisprudence. Constitutional jurisdiction should acknowledge its role in this state of affairs and fortify its effort in building judicial networks of deliberative exchange to overcome outworn parochialisms.     

Intimations of Unconstitutionality: The Supremacy of International Law and Judgment 238/2014 of the Italian Constitutional Court

Judgment 238/2014 of the Italian Constitutional Court reopens the debate on the extent of the immunity enjoyed by states for violations of jus cogens. The decision, which questions the authority of the ICJ's 2012 judgment in Germany v Italy, could certainly have effects on the formation of customary international law. In addition, it revives the discussion on the relationship between national and international law and on the supremacy of the latter over the former, especially if read in light of the previous Medellín and Kadi I decisions. Judgment 238/2014 is an opportunity to reappraise the role played by international law in domestic courts, particularly in cases where international law conflicts with core domestic constitutional values.     

最高人民法院关于审理申请注册的药品相关的专利权纠纷民事案件适用法律若干问题的规定(法释〔2021〕13号)

为正确审理申请注册的药品相关的专利权纠纷民事案件,根据《中华人民共和国专利法》《中华人民共和国民事诉讼法》等有关法律规定,结合知识产权审判实际,制定本规定。第一条当事人依据专利法第七十六条规定提起的确认是否落入专利权保护范围纠纷的第一审案件,由北京知识产权法院管辖。     

A Struggle for Competence: National Security,Surveillance and the Scope of EU Law at the Court of Justice of European Union

In Privacy International and Quadrature Du Net, the Grand Chamber of the CJEU ruled that the e-Privacy Directive generally prevents bulk retention and transmission of traffic and location data, unless Member States can prove serious threats to national security. In such cases, bulk data can be retained during a strictly necessary period, subject to review by a court or independent administrative body. The judgments will impact other data retention and sharing arrangements, such as the PNR, proposed e-Privacy Regulation and e-Evidence package, and adequacy decisions under GDPR, including for post-Brexit UK. The rulings suggest the CJEU's significance in national security, which has been outside of European integration, but has become a ground for political struggle between EU institutions and Member States. While Privacy International unequivocally asserts CJEU's authority in national security and is a victory for data protection, Quadrature Du Net does not oppose indiscriminate data retention in principle and is an ambivalent response to political pressure.     

Decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine No. 16-rp of June 10, 2010 (Case of the Parliamentary Control of Combating Organized Crime)

President Dmitry Medvedev has promised that very soon no militiamen will remain in Russia. In the good sense of the term, of course. The public, however, feels no special optimism on this account.     

冲突与协调:安理会与国际法院的关系新论

《联合国宪章》对安理会与国际法院的职责作出了明确规定,由于两个机构在组成与性质方面的差异,在处理共同管辖的国际争端时,两个机构的解决方式有时存在分歧,而且安理会决议与国际法院裁判对《联合国宪章》条文的解释也存在矛盾。因此,在《联合国宪章》的框架内重新构建安理会与国际法院的关系,有迫切的需要。在产生共同管辖时,国际法院应当适当照顾安理会决议的意见,同时,为制约安理会日益扩大的权力,应当肯定国际法院对安理会决议的司法审查权。     

Judicial Impartiality and Independence in Divided Societies: An Empirical Analysis of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia‐Herzegovina

The role of constitutional courts in deeply divided societies is complicated by the danger that the salient societal cleavages may influence judicial decision‐making and, consequently, undermine judicial impartiality and independence. With reference to the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia‐Herzegovina, this article investigates the influence of ethno‐national affiliation on judicial behaviour and the extent to which variation in judicial tenure amplifies or dampens that influence. Based on a statistical analysis of an original dataset of the Court's decisions, we find that the judges do in fact divide predictably along ethno‐national lines, at least in certain types of cases, and that these divisions cannot be reduced to a residual loyalty to their appointing political parties. Contrary to some theoretical expectations, however, we find that long‐term tenure does little to dampen the influence of ethno‐national affiliation on judicial behaviour. Moreover, our findings suggest that this influence may actually increase as a judge acclimates to the dynamics of a divided court. We conclude by considering how alternative arrangements for the selection and tenure of judges might help to ameliorate this problem.     

European Citizenship and EU Immigration: A Demoi‐cratic Bridge between the Third Country Nationals' Right to Belong and the Member States' Power to Exclude

European citizenship entails, for EU nationals, a right to belong across borders. This article questions the implications of this latter right for the status of third country nationals in the EU. It contributes to address a gap between the literature on European citizenship and the literature on the admission and civic integration of third country nationals. The article begins by tracing a disconnect in the rules and narratives on admission and naturalisation of third country nationals in the EU. This is a disconnect between logics of individual rights protection, which European citizenship infiltrates, and logics of state sovereignty and governmental discretion, which otherwise dominate relevant rules and narratives. The article relies on the political science literature on mutual recognition and demoicracy to reinterpret European citizenship's norm of belonging across borders so as to reconcile the disconnect. Ultimately, the theoretical bridge that the article draws between citizenship narratives and immigration narratives offers a novel perspective on the tension between liberal values and integration discourses in Europe. It also sets out a possible frame to begin rethinking rules of engagement and cooperation in the context of the EU common immigration policy.     

Dissenting Opinion of Justice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine A.O. Didkivs'kyi Regarding the Decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine No. 34-rp of December 22, 2009 (Case of the Appointment of Judges to Administrative Positions)

The heads of the financial services of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) system discuss the core financial results of the reform of the Ministry: exclusive federal funding of Russian police, new wages structure, and program-oriented budgeting.