Akritas Kaidatzis

Indigenous Peoples in the Rio Conventions A review of the significant advances Indigenous Peoples made in 2024 at United Nations negotiations on climate change, biodiversity, and desertification.

Together with @enb.iisd.org's @jenniferbansard.bsky.social and @paminnyc.bsky.social, we have mapped Indigenous Peoples' participation in the Rio Conventions, including gains and challenges
@unbiodiversity.bsky.social @unccd.bsky.social #ClimateChange

Available at: www.iisd.org/publications...

The first page of the pdf of an academic article titled "Three Concepts of Freedom of Assembly: Liberal, Associative, Radical" in Politics and Society authored by Benjamin Ask Popp-Madsen and Mikkel Flohr. https://doi.org/10.1177/00323292251359556

Hot of the press, new article "Three Concepts of Freedom of Assembly: Liberal, Associative, Radical" co-authored with @bpoppmadsen.bsky.social, and available Open Access from Politics and Society: doi.org/10.1177/0032... 1/3

The US is a constitutional pariah:

- death penalty
- % of ppl in prison
- cult of an antiquated Text written by racists, slaveowners etc.
- unrestrained power to either One Man or Nine Wise, depending on the circumstances

And yet, courts around the globe aspire to become like SCOTUS

#Juristocracy

Problem is that, quite often, people find what/who you are more important than what you say

I once approvingly referenced one of Schmitt's earlier and lesser known works, "Geserz und Urteil" (which I genuinely find brilliant).
A senior colleague adviced me afterwards that I should never publicly mention Schmitt without adding that he was a nazi.
Of course he was.
But I really don't get it

CALL FOR PAPERS! 🪩🎉🎊🪩🎉🎊🪩🎉🎊 It's out and full of information. Check it out! Get in touch with questions!
lawandpoliticaleconomy.org

If it only works under "normal" circumstances, but not in times of crisis, then it doesn't work at all.

I know it was a bad guy who said it -a brilliant mind though- but the "norm proves nothing, exception proves everything" saying is 100% spot on

American-style culture war erupts over German high court nominee Fights in Congress over a Supreme Court nominee's views on cultural hot topics like abortion are legendary. That's largely not been the case in Germany — until now.

The row over the nomination of Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf to the BVerfG shows how politicised legal processes are becoming across the entire democratic world - and why 'populists v the rest' distinctions are too simplistic. www.courthousenews.com/american-sty...

From Tushnet, Taking Back the Constitution (2020). To all the late arrivals welcome aboard. Or Felix Frankfurter: “Wisdom too often never comes so one ought not reject it merely because it comes late.”

Opinion | Don’t count on the courts to save democracy Giving courts the last word is part of what got us into this mess. It won’t get us out.

But I thought the Supreme Court was good www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Some constitutional theorists look like zealots.

Worshipping (liberal) #constitutionalism despite its near-collapse.

Unable to grasp that, as soon as #capitalism doesn't need #liberalDemocracy as an alternative to old and future systems any more, it'll go all the way towards pure #plutocracy

Probably so.
But this doesn't make it less of a political institution (instead of a real court).

On the other hand, both CJEU and SCOTUS, albeit in different ways, tend to influence national constitutional/supreme courts in their politicization.
Context obviously matters but trends are there

Constitutional or quasi constitutional courts are political institutions rather than "real" courts.

Consider this (per se, ridiculous) fact: There are no minority opinions in #CJEU, Europe's arguably most important quasi-constitutional "court".
Not one in tens of thousands of judgements

In #Greece top prosecutor is appointed by Minister of Justice among 3 candidates that he nominates and after an advisory opinion by Parliament.

Minister nominates own brother, who is also Parliament's recommendation.

That's beyond #cronyism. It's #BananaRepublic level.

Hello? #ConflictOfInterest?

The #Greek farm scandal being revealed by #EUProsecutors says more about the unprecedented dependence of the Greek prosecutors, and the Greek #judiciary generally, rather than the unprecedented #corruption of the Greek #government

Almost simultaneously, both #SCOTUS and the Greek #CouncilOfState declared that words in their respective #constitutions don't mean anything and can have whatever meaning conservative-authoritarian majorities wish them to have.

So much for #constitutionalism. It was OK(ish) while it lasted

Anyone putting the words "cradle of democracy" and "Greece" in the same sentence ever again deserves nothing less than a punch in the face

Tushnet's Approach Concluded At Last! | Supreme Betrayal: How the Supreme Court and Constitutional Law Have Failed America The final (!) episode laying out Tushnet’s “craft” account of what judicial review done well looks like. We discuss Tushnet’s argument that good judges use legal reasoning, not direct appeals to justi...

Dropping another episode of Supreme Betrayal to clear out a backlog. This one is "Tushnet's Approach Concluded at Last!": supreme-betrayal-how-the-supreme-court-and-constitutional.simplecast.com/episodes/tus...
creators.spotify.com/pod/show/mar...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Why Public Ownership? Calls for public ownership often highlight the downsides of private ownership: how capitalist firms prioritize profit over providing quality services at fair prices. But what, specifically…

Today, @brettchristophers.bsky.social continues our series on *Democracy in Power* by examining justifications for public ownership.

Is “democracy” the strongest argument for public ownership in the power sector? Is it even a credible argument? And if not, what other rationales are more persuasive?

US is no different than other real existing (so-called) liberal democracies. Perhaps in degree but not in kind.

An oligarchy of wealth invests loads of money to make citizens so stupid that they vote blatantly against their own interests

It's The Oligarchy, Stupid We're staring down the barrel of the largest transfer of wealth in the history of the world. Let's get on the same page.

NEW: Everything wrong in America is because of the ultra-wealthy. My latest: www.muellershewrote.com/p/its-the-ol...

Just out. My essay defends the idea that it’s coherent to have a constitutional commitment to a general right to liberty

Make no mistake: this is not only about Harvard, nor only about the US, or even only about 'Trump'. It is meant to send all universities a reminder that things such as university autonomy and academic freedom are essentially liberal decoration on the precarious balance with the power of the state.

Stupid?
Immoral?
Both?

There is one German word that perfectly captures the German spirit.

Besserwisserei

Fellow US lawyers:
If you really need to interpret the "all persons" 14th Am. clause to mean "all persons except the ones we don't like", hire a Greek constitutional scholar.
You'll be surprised to find how "resourceful" they've been re the "no private universities" clause of the Greek Constitution

Full text of the CFP here: criticallegalthinking.com/2025/05/16/t...

Australian Progressive Legal Studies is back with a call for papers on the law and political economy of contemporary authoritarianism. If you want to help us understand WTF is going on, send us your abstract by the 11th of July.

We are-ahem-low budget, so we can only help with domestic travel.

Well, *his* voters, unless they're super rich, most probably are