Josh BRAVER

Is the current crisis inherent to the Venezuelan ideal of participatory and radical democracy, or is it a result of the perversion of that system by Nicolás Maduro?  I suggest that even if pursued sincerely, in some settings, radical participatory democracy suffers from contradictions that leave it vulnerable to authoritarianism. 

Allan BREWER-CARÍAS

In view of the persistent “disinformation” reflected in the affirmations read in the media stating that Juan Guaidó, President of the National Assembly of Venezuela had “proclaimed himself” as interim President of the Republic, it is worth insisting on the falsehood and error of such an assertion.

Eugénie MÉRIEAU

In the field of Comparative Constitutional Law, Thailand´s Constitutional Court gained an ambivalent notoriety for its repeated dissolution of opposition political parties and cancellation of general elections in the name of protecting democracy – but de facto paving the way for military coups, in 2006 and 2014.

Maryhen JIMÉNEZ MORALES

In Venezuela, there has been a two-decade long effort of all opposition forces to defeat Chavismo, which rose to power with Hugo Chávez’s election as Venezuela’s President in 1998. Ever since, the opposition has tried through different means and strategies to successfully challenge the incumbent – first Chávez and, since 2013, his successor Nicolás Maduro.

Laura GAMBOA-GUTIÉRREZ

On 23 January 2019, National Assembly (AN) member of the Venezuelan legislature (‘National Assembly’), Juan Guaidó, shortly after his designation as President of the legislature, announced he was stepping in as Venezuela´s interim president. The statement took journalists, scholars and the general public interested in Venezuela by surprise.

Raul SÁNCHEZ-URRIBARRI & Carlos GARCÍA-SOTO

Venezuela’s current political crisis has its roots in December 2015, when the opposition won the majority of seats in the National Assembly. Since then, the country has suffered several political battles regarding the legitimacy of both the National Assembly and the Presidency of the Republic; against the backdrop of a deep social, economic and humanitarian crisis…

Raul SÁNCHEZ-URRIBARRI

Venezuela’s troubles have become global news in recent times.  The destruction of the country’s economy, the dramatic collapse of state capacity and services, the intractable political stalemate between its increasingly authoritarian government and the opposition, and the devastating humanitarian crisis that has ensued have all been well documented.    

Erika ARBAN & Tom Gerald DALY

To celebrate our one-year anniversary since re-launch, and reflecting the Blog’s vibrancy and range of coverage, we are publishing 4 Blog Symposia back-to-back as a 'Symposium Season' from today until the end of July.  The first Symposium, on crisis in Venezuela, was put together by Guest Editor Raul Sánchez-Urribarri, and starts today

Constance LEE

In many respects, Park Geun-Hye’s impeachment saga of 2016/17 is just another piece of mounting evidence that the Constitutional Court is gaining status in the political life of South Korea. However, reservations regarding the role of the Court continue to be raised. Is the ‘judiciary’ exceeding its powers in determining issues of a political nature? Or is it simply an example of government posturing to validate majority decisions?  I propose an alternative perspective.

Tom Gerald DALY

Additions in the April Update include:

• ·         New research worldwide from March and early April 2019

• ·         A significant list of additions suggested by DEM-DEC Users

• ·         A growing list of forthcoming research, and

• ·         A list of resources recently added to the DEM-DEC Links section

BUI Ngoc Son

Editor’s Note: this text is a cross-post from I·CONnect Blog where it was published on 10 April 2019. The original text can be viewed here.

On 28-29 March 2019, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law hosted a Symposium on “Global Constitutionalism: Asia-Pacific Perspectives.” The Symposium brought together a diverse group of scholars to discuss how polities in the Asia-Pacific region respond to the global spread of ideas and institutions of constitutionalism…

Durim BERISHA

Nobody seems to have expected the so-called “sui generis” process of state-building in Kosovo would result in “sui generis” events and (mis)conceptions regarding fundamental issues of constitutionality and constitutional justice. Until now, almost all authors I have read praise the so-called internationalized constitutionality and constitutional justice in Kosovo. But these articles disregard the main issues with what has happened and is happening in Kosovo.

Sergio VERDUGO

Iddo Porat and Rehan Abeyratne identify “three dimensions along which a judge may be towering – political, institutional and jurisprudential.” To become a towering figure, a judge should tower at least in one of those dimensions. They also briefly suggest that Eugenio Valenzuela – a judge that served in the Chilean Constitutional Court in the 1980s – was a political towering judge because he helped “to oust an autocratic regime.” Why does Judge Valenzuela fit that description?

William PARTLETT & Zim NWOKORA

In the ongoing drama of Brexit politics, it can be hard to know where to start with an evaluation. In this post, we want to assess a key mistake made in setting up the UK’s referendum on EU membership that took place on 23 June 2016.

Iulia MOTOC

This chapter, recently published in the edited collection Intersecting Views on National and International Human Rights Protection: Essays in Honour of Guido Raimondi, discusses the background to the case of GIEM v Italy with a focus on the relationship between the Italian Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights.

Aeyal Gross

Editors’ Note: As Israel’s general elections on 9 April draw close, this two-part post by Aeyal Gross discusses two issues: (i) the critical change in Israel’s constitutional development occasioned by two recent legislative measures  (one enacted, one still a Bill); and (ii) the gap between the discussion of constitutional changes in Israel and the elephant in the room—the occupation. Part 1 was published on 27 March and is available here. We welcome responses to these posts.

Dennis DAVIS

An appointment as the first head of a newly established Constitutional Court for a democratic South Africa may constitute a necessary but certainly is not a sufficient condition for classification as a towering judicial figure. By towering judicial figure, I mean a judge who dominates the legal field, who carves out a body of jurisprudence that shapes the law in the country for decades after his or her retirement while ensuring the institutional independence and integrity of the judiciary.

Aeyal GROSS

Editors’ Note: As Israel’s general elections on 9 April draw close, this two-part post by Aeyal Gross discusses two issues: (i) the critical change in Israel’s constitutional development occasioned by two recent legislative measures  (one enacted, one still a Bill); and (ii) the gap between the discussion of constitutional changes in Israel and the elephant in the room—the occupation. Part 2 will be published on 29 March. We welcome responses to these posts.

Jaakko HUSA

The Finnish Committee for Comparative Law held a meeting on 19 March 2019 at the Helsinki University’s Law Faculty. Traditionally the annual meeting begins with an invited lecture that concerns comparative law broadly understood. This year’s lecture was given by Professor Heikki Pihlajamäki (Helsinki University).