Matej Avbelj, Jernej Letnar Černič, The Impact of European Institutions on the Rule of Law and Democracy: Slovenia and Beyond. Oxford, Hart (Bloomsbury), 2020
Matej Avbelj, Jernej Letnar Černič, The Impact of European Institutions on the Rule of Law and Democracy: Slovenia and Beyond. Oxford, Hart (Bloomsbury), 2020.
Since 2010 the European Union has been plagued by crises of democracy and the rule of law, which have been spreading from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), catching many by surprise. This book argues that the professed success of the 2004 big bang enlargement mirrored the Potemkin villages erected in the new Member States on their accession to Europe. Slovenia is a prime example. Since its independence and throughout the accession process, Slovenia has been portrayed as the poster child of the ‘New Europe’. This book claims that the widely shared narrative of the Slovenian EU dream is a myth. In many ways, Slovenia has fared even worse than its contemporary, constitutionally-backsliding, CEE counterparts. The book’s discussion of the depth and breadth of the democratic crises in Slovenia should contribute to a critical intellectual awakening and better comprehension of the real causes of the present crises across the other CEE Member States, which threaten the viability of the EU and Council of Europe projects. It is only on the basis of this improved understanding that the crises can be appropriately addressed at national, transnational and supranational levels.
Declarations of State of Emergency in the EU Member States: An Overview
This list includes declarations of a state of emergency in the EU Member States concerning the coronavirus pandemic (cut-off date : 17 April 2020, prepared by Prof Jernej Letnar Černič). 17 Member States of the EU (out of 27) have so far declared state of emergency due to the coronavirus. Three of them (Estonia, Latvia, and Romania) have notified the European Court of Human Rights that they have provisionally derogated from their obligations under the Europe Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms invoking its Article 15. Estonia, Lativa and Romania have also informed the Secretary-General of the United Nations that they have provisionally derogated from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights under its Article 4 (3). 10 states that have not so far declared a state of emergency have nonetheless adopted several preventive measures, which in many instances amount to the de facto state of emergency. This list is based on official sources wherever possible. It will be updated as the situation develops. If you notice any errors or if you have any comments, please let me know.
Republic of Austria: State of Emergency in place since 16 March 2020 and will last until 13 April 2020. https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/bundeskanzleramt/nachrichten-der-bundesregierung/2020/bundeskanzler-kurz-massnahmen-zur-eindaemmung-des-coronavirus-werden-bis-13-april-verlaengert.html
Kingdom of Belgium: State of Emergency in place since 13 March 2020 and will last until 19 April 2002, http://www.info-coronavirus.be/en/
Republic of Bulgaria: State of Emergency in place since 18 March 2020 and will last until 13 April, https://www.parliament.bg/en/news/ID/5056, https://www.parliament.bg/en/news/ID/5059; https://www.euractiv.com/section/coronavirus/news/belgium-enters-lockdown-over-coronavirus-crisis-until-5-april/
Republic of Croatia: State of emergency has so far not been declared, https://www.koronavirus.hr/.
Republic of Cyprus: State of Emergency in place since 16 March 2020 and will last until 30 April 2020, https://www.pio.gov.cy/coronavirus/en/index.html,
Czech Republic: State of Emergency in place since 13 March 2020 and will last until 12 April 2020, https://www.mvcr.cz/mvcren/article/state-of-emergency.aspx,
Kingdom of Denmark: State of emergency has so far not been declared, https://www.regeringen.dk/danish-governement-homepage/,
Republic of Estonia: State of Emergency in place since 12 March 2020 and will last until 1 May 2020, derogated from Article 15 of the ECHR on 20 March 2020, https://rm.coe.int/09000016809cfa87,
Republic of Finland: State of Emergency in place since 18 March 2020 and will last until 13 May 2020, https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/article/-/asset_publisher/10616/hallitus-totesi-suomen-olevan-poikkeusoloissa-koronavirustilanteen-vuoksi, https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/article/-/asset_publisher/10616/hallitus-jatkaa-poikkeusoloihin-liittyvia-toimia-13-toukokuuta-saakka.
Republic of France: State of Emergency in place since 24 March 2020 and will last until 23 May 2020, https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000041746313&dateTexte=&categorieLien=id
Republic of Germany: State of emergency has so far not been declared, https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de.
Republic of Greece: State of emergency has so far not been declared, https://government.gov.gr/enimerosi-politikon-sintakton-apo-ton-kivernitiko-ekprosopo-stelio-petsa/.
Republic of Hungary: State of Emergency in place since 11 March 2020 – onwards, https://www.kormany.hu/en/prime-minister-s-office/news/government-to-introduce-state-of-national-crisis, https://www.kormany.hu/en/the-prime-minister/news/restrictions-on-movement-to-be-imposed-in-hungary.
Republic of Ireland: State of emergency has so far not been declared, https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/c36c85-covid-19-coronavirus.
Republic of Italy: State of Emergency in place since 31 January 2020 and will last until 30 July 2020. https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2020/02/01/20A00737/sg.
Republic of Latvia: State of Emergency in place since 13 March 2020 and will last until 14 April 2020, derogated from Article 15 of the ECHR on 16 March 2020, https://rm.coe.int/09000016809ce9f2.
Republic of Lithuania: State of Emergency in place since 26 March 2020 and will last until 27 March (extension tbc), https://lietuva.lt/en/lithuanias-response-to-covid-19/, http://lrv.lt/en/relevant-information/coronavirus-in-lithuania/relevant-information-1/important-information-to-foreign-nationals-in-lithuania.
Republic of Luxembourg: State of Emergency in place since 18 March 2020 and will last until 18 June 2020, http://www.legilux.lu/eli/etat/leg/rgd/2020/03/18/a165/jo.
Republic of Malta, State of emergency has so far not been declared, https://deputyprimeminister.gov.mt/en/health-promotion/Pages/Novel-coronavirus.aspx.
Kingdom of the Netherlands: State of emergency has so far not been declared, https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-19/tackling-new-coronavirus-in-the-netherlands.
Republic of Poland: State of emergency has so far not been declared, https://www.gov.pl/web/coronavirus.
Republic of Portugal: State of Emergency in place since 19 March 2020 and will last until 2 April 2020; https://dre.pt/web/guest/pesquisa/-/search/130399862/details/normal?l=1, https://dre.pt/web/guest/home/-/dre/130473161/details/maximized.
Republic of Romania: State of Emergency in place since 16 March 2020 and will last until 15 April 2020, derogated from Article 15 of the ECHR on 20 March 2020, https://rm.coe.int/09000016809cee30
Republic of Slovakia: State of Emergency in place since 12 March 2020 until undefined date, https://www.mzv.sk/web/en/covid-19, https://newsnow.tasr.sk/policy/government-declares-state-of-emergency/, https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22356193/emergency-situation-applies-from-thursday-morning.html?ref=tab.
Republic of Slovenia: State of emergency has so far not been declared, https://www.gov.si/en/topics/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/.
Kingdom of Spain: State of Emergency in place since 14 March 2020 and will last until 26 April, https://elpais.com/espana/2020-03-14/consulta-el-real-decreto-por-el-que-se-declara-el-estado-de-alarma-en-espana.html.
Kingdom of Sweden: no state of emergency has so far been declared, https://www.krisinformation.se/en/hazards-and-risks/disasters-and-incidents/2020/official-information-on-the-new-coronavirus
Komentar Ustave Republike Slovenije (2019)
Založba Nove univerze je v lanskem letu pod uredništvom Mateja Avblja in s sodelovanjem številnih slovenskih pravnih strokovnjakov izdala nov komentar Ustave Republike Slovenije. Starejši komentar je dostopen na naslednji elektronski povezavi.
Nova številka slovenske revije za človekove pravice – Dignitas, št. 83-84
Izšla je nova številka znanstvene revije Dignitas – edine slovenske revije za človekove pravice (št. 83-84)! Tokratna številka je posvečena deseti obletnici uveljavitve Listine Evropske unije o temeljnih pravicah. Zahvaljujem se gostujoči urednici Katarini Vatovec za skrbno uredniško delo in vsem avtorjem za prispevke.
25-letnica uveljavitve Evropske konvencije o varstvu človekovih pravic v Sloveniji
14. novembra 2019, je v Ljubljani potekal Akademski forum Nove univerze ob 25-letnici uveljavitve Evropske konvencije o varstvu človekovih pravic v Sloveniji.
Uvodni nagovor je imel sodnik v imenu Slovenije na Evropskem sodišču za človekove pravice izr. prof. dr. Marko Bošnjak, pogovor pa je vodil izr. prof. dr. Jernej Letnar Černič. V pogovoru so sodelovali tudi: prof. dr. Rajko Knez, predsednik Ustavnega sodišča RS; mag. Damijan Florjančič, predsednik Vrhovnega sodišča RS, izr. prof. dr. Janez Čebulj, nekdanji predsednik Ustavnega sodišča RS; prof. dr. Peter Jambrek, prvi predsednik Ustavnega sodišča RS. Povzetek Akademskega foruma bo objavljen v prihodnji številki znanstvene revije Dignitas (št. 83-84) in v eni od prihodnjih številk Pravne prakse. Dogodek je sofinancirala ARRS.
Uresničevanje sodb Evropskega sodišča za človekove pravice v slovenskem pravnem redu
V tretji letošnji številki Pravosodnega biltena je izšel moj prispevek o “Uresničevanju sodb Evropskega sodišča za človekove pravice v slovenskem pravnem redu” (str. 35-50). Povzetek je na voljo spodaj. Vabljeni k branju !
Evropsko sodišče za človekove pravice (evropsko sodišče) je osrednji evropski varuh človekovih pravic in temeljnih svoboščin, kamor se lahko posamezniki obrnejo, če države in njihovi pravni redi ne morejo oziroma ne želijo učinkovito zavarovati njihovih pravic. Ko Evropsko sodišče za človekove pravice poda sodbo zoper državo pogodbenico Evropske konvencije o človekovih pravicah (evropska konvencija), jo mora ta izvršiti v domačem pravnem redu. Pričujoči prispevek v zvezi s tem obravnava uresničevanje evropske konvencije in sodb evropskega sodišča v slovenskem pravnem redu. Namen prispevka je pojasniti značilnosti sodb evropskega sodišča in jasno poudariti obveznosti vseh vej državne oblasti, da izvršujejo sodbe evropskega sodišča zoper Slovenijo in uresničujejo njegove sodbe tudi v drugih primerih. Evropska konvencija je del slovenskega pravnega reda in zato neposredno zavezujoča za slovenska sodišča.
