Syllabus
February 21: Starting Point: Features of constitutional systems of states in CE in late 80s (totalitarian vs. authoritarian regime, tension between formal and practical constitution) and their crisis
February 28: Europeanisation or national model of transformation? Impact of the EU, Council of Europe, experience of western European countries. Reading: De Ridder and D. Kochenov (2011),“Democratic Conditionality in the Eastern Enlargement:Ambitious Window Dressing”, European Foreign Affairs Review 2011
March 7: Dealing with the Past by administrative tools: Lustrations Reading: Kosar: Lustrations and Lapse of Time https://csesp.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/eswp-2008-03-kosar_eclr_.pdf
March 14: Dealing with the Past by Criminal Law: Punishment of old crimes and rehabilitation of victims of political persecution March 21: Property regime I: RestitutionsMarch 28: Property regime II: Privatisation, enforcement of property rights, public intervention into property regime
April 4: No class
April 11: Media and Freedom of Speech April 18: Protection of MinoritiesApril 25: Rule of Law and JudiciaryMay 2: Current developmetns: is there an illiberal revolution in CE?
May 9: Guest lecture
Exam requirments:In class presentationWrittten exam: On your chosen day of exam (thre wil be three terms), I will send you, by email, a question/problem at 10.00 and by 13.00 I would like to receive and 3-4 page answer/analysis.In addition, each student should prepare a 2-3 page analysis of a ECHR/natinal constitutional court case relevant for the CE constitutional transformation. Analysis should contain facts of case, its procedural development, legal argumentation used, case result and national reaction to the judgment. Deadline: June 1.
Annotation
This course gives students an overview of the political and constitutional transition in Central and Eastern Europe since 1989. The course emphasizes democratic changes in political and constitutional structures and specific problems like media transformation, reform of judiciary, minority protection, lustrations or restitution of property.