Nr. 21 / 2018

31. Januar 2018 : The Crisis of the Rule of Law - International conference at the European Legal Studies Institute at Osnabrück University

The Crisis of the rule of law will be debated by high ranking representatives of science and practice. The conference will take place at Osnabrück University at the European Legal Studies Institute on 5 and 6 February. The speakers at this international conference include the President of the Federal Constitutional Court, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Andreas Voßkuhle.

The rule of law is not only a universal legal category, but also a political, sociological and philosophical concept. The political developments that have recently taken place in several Member States of the EU have brought the rule of law under the European spotlight. This conference will therefore focus on discussing the foundations of the rule of law, i.e. the functioning and the dilemmas of the judiciary, as well as the impact that the political changes have on the state’s legitimacy.

The conference will be divided in four panels: ‘Constitutional courts – the dilemma of law and politics’; ‘Judges of general jurisdiction courts: the limits of independence, democratic accountability and legitimisation’; ‘Legitimisation based on constitution and legitimisation through revolution’; and ‘Post-revolutionary Europe?’

Questions of fundamental importance for the rule of law concept will be introduced and discussed by high ranking representatives of science and practice from around Europe, such as the President of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany – Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Andreas Voßkuhle, the former President of the Polish Constitutional Court – Prof. Andrzej Rzeplinski, the former President of the Hungarian Supreme Court – Andras Baka, a representative of the Venice Commission – Prof. Martin Kuijer, and a judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union – Prof. Marek Safjan.

The mayor of Osnabrück, Wolfgang Griesert, will welcome the participants of the conference in the historical town hall in the evening on 5 February.

Organisational info: The conference is free of charge, subject to registration by mail at: lsschult@uni-osnabrueck.de. Participants will receive confirmation of the registration.

For more information:
Dr. Aneta Wiewiórowska, Osnabrück University,
European Legal Studies Institute,
Süsterstraße 28, 49074 Osnabrück
Telefon: + 49 541 969 6098,
E-Mail: aneta.wiewiorowska@uni-osnabrueck.de