News & Events

Autocratic Legalism in the EU: (Bad) Lessons From Hungary, Poland and Italy

 The Union’s vulnerability in the domain of values, including, but not confined to the rule of law, which is more and more coming to light in Hungary and Poland, is caused by a far-reaching systemic problem of the European Union’s design and also by the modalities of its day-to-day functioning, both falling short of upholding the much-restated rule of law ideal for the Union. Although numerous scholarly propositions have been made as to how to deal with the rule of law deficiencies in the EU to circumvent the perceived difficulties of Article 7 deployment (these are normally formulated in general terms, but, usually for good reasons, have specific member state(s) in mind), the depth of the problem seems to be defying easy solutions, implying the need to move beyond enforcement-dominated thinking in our analysis.

Human Rights Litigation before the European Court of Justice

Expert panelists will discuss human rights litigation before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has played an increasingly important role in the EU since its creation in the 1950s. The Court’s jurisprudential record informs EU Member States as to how EU law is to be interpreted and what types of actions are permissible (or impermissible). CJEU’s decision-making does not occur in a vacuum; rather, it is informed by a wide variety of actors and circumstances in Luxembourg, in the Member States and even in the overseas territories where EU citizens have tangible rights. Most recently, the CJEU’s jurisprudence on migration policy, reproductive rights, freedom of expression, and rule of law challenges to Hungary’s democracy address some of the most salient issues in human rights litigation in Europe. Panelists include:

Michiel Godfried “Mike” Eman, former Prime Minister of Aruba;
Dimitry Kochenov, Prof. of Law, University of Groningen;
Fernanda Nicola, Prof. of Law, American University Washington College of Law
Chair: Macarena Saez, Dir. of Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law

Please RSVP to https://www.wcl.american.edu/secle/registration

Alumni Lunch: National Association of Cannabis Businesses

The National Association of Cannabis Businesses is the first and only self- regulatory organization (SRO) for U.S. cannabis, dedicated to helping its members achieve success in an ever-changing regulatory landscape by promoting compliance, transparency, record-keeping and responsible business practices.

Join the Program on Law and Government for a lunch and conversation with Doug Fischer, NACB's Chief Legal Officer.

Doug Fischer is an experienced attorney whose practice includes advising on white collar crime defense, compliance, cannabis law and financial regulation. RSVPS are required and lunch will be provided. To RSVP for this event, contact lawandgov@wcl.american.edu.

Poverty States: Federalism, Rights, and State Anti-Poverty Efforts

American University Washington College of Law’s Economic Justice Program’s third poverty law conference will be held on March 23-24, 2018. Panels and speakers will present works related to poverty law generally and related to this year’s conference theme, “Poverty States: Federalism, Rights, and State Anti-Poverty Efforts.” The conference theme focuses on the interplay between federal, state, and local anti-poverty efforts and programs, but this conference is a gathering for all whose work focuses on poverty and inequality and includes three main lines to the conference: (1) Federalism (the relationship between the federal and state governments); (2) State and Local Level Anti-Poverty Efforts (what is working and what is not working, including state constitutional rights, access to justice initiatives, supplemental state programs, etc.); and (3) General Poverty Law Works-in-Progress (subject matter not limited in any way).

"Turn it Around" Series: Rule Synthesis/Issue Spotting

 Join the Office of Academic Excellence to improve your rule synthesis and issue spotting in plenty of time for Spring final exams. Lunch provided!