In his essay, Wojciech Sadurski discusses the history of Art. 7 TEU, the mechanism which allows the EU to sanction, and ultimately to suspend voting rights of a member state. He concludes that the mechanism was framed out of fear of the Eastern enlargement, exactly to react to potential developments which appear lately in Hungary and Romania.
Jan-Werner Müller in turn addresses the same problem in present terms, asking whether the European Union could and should act to protect liberal democracies in Member States. Following a positive answer to this question, the article emphasizes and assesses the practical difficulties with such an endeavour.
Eszter Polgári analyses the different usages of the 'European consensus' argument in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, and how the Court strives, or should strive, to construct a coherent standard.
We have asked researchers and leaders of human rights NGO's to comment on the prospects of "forced compliance", i.e. the means and efficacy of international organizations, treaty bodies and monitoring mechanisms in upholding democracy and protecting human rights in member states.
Gábor Halmai asks Manfred Nowak on his views as to the globalisation of constitutionalism, and the prospects of human rights in Europe and beyond.
Rita de Brito Gião discusses the process of adoption of the death penalty moratorium of the UN, and argues that the moratorium goes beyond a simple non-binding instrument, and enhances compliance with human rights.
Borbála Ivány and András L. Pap provide an overview of a recent strategic litigation case, where the Hungarian Helsinki Committee argued that the overzealous policing of Roma in a Hungarian village amounts to harrassment, and is, thus, discriminatory.
In this column summaries of some of the recent decisions of the Hungarian Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights are presented. ■
Visszaugrás
