In the last 25 years, constitutional courts have been major players in the governance of Central and Eastern Europe, and were arguably the most important defenders of the rule of law in the region. Yet the last few years have exposed the institutional fragility of constitutional courts in the face of illiberal democracy, as several countries have moved to pack the courts. Without quick and sustained pressure, the dismantling of the hard fought freedoms associated with the rule of law will succeed, and we will again speak of an Eastern Europe that is closer to Russia than to the West.
About the Authors
Tom Ginsburg
Tom Ginsburg is professor of political science and Leo Spitz Distinguished Service Professor of International Law at the University of Chicago.
Bojan Bugaričis professor of law at the University of Ljubljana. He was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, from 1998 to 2000, and a visiting researcher at the Center for European Studies at Harvard University in 2015.
In East-Central Europe, neither physical proximity nor memories of Soviet domination have united countries in their response to the war in Ukraine. What matters most is who stands to benefit.
