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profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦
@profpech.bsky.social
5.9K followers 1.3K following 1.2K posts

Professor of Law, Dean of @ucdschooloflaw.bsky.social, Senior Research Fellow at the CEU Democracy Institute in Budapest, and co-director of @goodlobbyprofs.bsky.social. Usual disclaimers.

Videos
Political science 77%
Law 13%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Laurent Pech, David R. Miller

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 9h
What competitive authoritarianism looks like
rgoodlaw.bsky.social Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 10h
Abuse of power extending beyond Senator Kelly

"FBI has requested interviews with six Democratic U.S. lawmakers."

DOJ official "said the interviews were to determine 'if there's any wrongdoing and then go from there.'"

Note: For video accurately stating military law
www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi...

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 10h
"Initially described as enabling the Council to have an in-depth exchange or assessment, the Council discreetly downgraded the purpose of hearings to the provision of an up-to-date picture."

A change of phrasing/practice which I think remains largely unnoticed.

cc @tinekestrik.bsky.social

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 10h
As outlined in my @ceudeminst.bsky.social paper, the Council has proactively sabotaged Art7(1) TEU procedure by applying in practice a new principle of effet inutile aka adopting interpretations of this Treaty provision making it as ineffective as possible
democracyinstitute.ceu.edu/articles/lau...

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 10h
VG on Art 7(1) hearings: "... nor should such hearings be reduced to a mere boxticking exercise allowing a presidency to discharge its responsibilities by holding a
single formal meeting without pursuing meaningful follow-up; calls on the Council to publish comprehensive minutes after each hearing"
tinekestrik.bsky.social Tineke Strik @tinekestrik.bsky.social · 16h
Yes! A broad majority of the Parliament agrees: the EU must take more action against Orbán!

My report on the rule of law in Hungary was adopted with a majority of 415 votes, urging to take away Orbán's voting rights and to freeze EU funds.

We must stop his breakdown of democracy and human rights.

Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce, Laurent Pech, Mark Rice , and 1 more

kjephd.bsky.social
Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 11h
The movement to destroy liberal democracy is international, and so must be its defense
gregsargent.bsky.social Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 11h
NEWS --> BBC confirms to me that they did edit a line out of historian @rutgerbregman.com's speech. It called Trump "the most openly corrupt president in US history."

BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.

New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
Trump’s Fury at BBC Gets Unnerving Results with Pro-MAGA Edit Stunner
First, British Broadcasting Corporation execs resigned after Trump complained about a segment. Now the BBC edited out a line from a historian that was critical of Trump. Where does this end?
newrepublic.com

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Brendan Nyhan, John Horgan , and 8 more

gregsargent.bsky.social
Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 11h
NEWS --> BBC confirms to me that they did edit a line out of historian @rutgerbregman.com's speech. It called Trump "the most openly corrupt president in US history."

BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.

New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
Trump’s Fury at BBC Gets Unnerving Results with Pro-MAGA Edit Stunner
First, British Broadcasting Corporation execs resigned after Trump complained about a segment. Now the BBC edited out a line from a historian that was critical of Trump. Where does this end?
newrepublic.com

Reposted by Laurent Pech

verfassungsblog.de
Verfassungsblog @verfassungsblog.de · 13h
Israel after the ceasefire:

The cautious optimism is accompanied by a growing unease about the government's next steps.

In her editorial, tamarhostovsky.bsky.social shows how and why the government is escalating attacks on the rule of law.

verfassungsblog.de/israel-after...
“Perhaps the most evident indications of the erosion of the rule of law are the incidents that are taking place ‘on the ground’. Settler violence in the West Bank has escalated significantly, and the military appears to have lost control over it.”

Reposted by Laurent Pech, Nicolai von Ondarza

eublogo.bsky.social
Katalin Halmai @eublogo.bsky.social · 15h
🗳️Again, a 2/3 majority backed the report condemning the Orbán government’s rule-of-law violations in the EP: 415 in favour, 193 against, 28 abstentions. As the abstentions aren’t counted in the tally, the 2/3 majority stands, just as it did 7 years ago with the @judithsargentini.bsky.social report

Reposted by Cas Mudde, Kim L. Scheppele, Laurent Pech

tinekestrik.bsky.social
Tineke Strik @tinekestrik.bsky.social · 16h
Yes! A broad majority of the Parliament agrees: the EU must take more action against Orbán!

My report on the rule of law in Hungary was adopted with a majority of 415 votes, urging to take away Orbán's voting rights and to freeze EU funds.

We must stop his breakdown of democracy and human rights.

Reposted by Catherine Baker, Laurent Pech

notesfrompoland.bsky.social
Notes from Poland @notesfrompoland.bsky.social · 18h
The EU court has ruled that Poland must recognise the marriage of a Polish same-sex couple who married in Germany, even though Polish law does not allow such marriages.

The ruling requires Poland to change its system for recognising such marriages so as not to discriminate against same-sex couples.
EU court orders Poland to recognise same-sex marriages conducted in other member states
notesfrompoland.com

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 1d
Merci

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 1d
For a more concise version of the paper, see 🇬🇧 and 🇮🇹 versions published by Questione Giustizia

www.questionegiustizia.it/articolo/die...
Dieci anni di strumenti a difesa dello lo Stato di diritto: valutazione e prospettive future
Dieci anni di strumenti a difesa dello lo Stato di diritto: valutazione e prospettive future Rivista Questione Giustizia di Magistratura Democratica.
www.questionegiustizia.it

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 1d
Paper also relies on excellent work of orgs such as @liberties.eu @democracyreporting.bsky.social and analyses published by @verfassungsblog.de from authors such as @radosvetavassileva.bsky.social @annawojcik.bsky.social which have allowed me to keep track of crucial developments in multiple EUMS
Dieci anni di strumenti a difesa dello lo Stato di diritto: valutazione e prospettive future
Dieci anni di strumenti a difesa dello lo Stato di diritto: valutazione e prospettive future Rivista Questione Giustizia di Magistratura Democratica.
www.questionegiustizia.it

Reposted by R. Daniel Kelemen

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 1d
Paper reflects years of work/engagement with toolbox, relies on multiple docs secured via access requests, and of course excellent work of colleagues such @rdanielkelemen.bsky.social @kimlanelaw.bsky.social @tommasopavone.bsky.social @petrabard.bsky.social @profkochenov.bsky.social to name but a few

Reposted by Henry Farrell

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 1d
Bonus: Paper includes multiple tables contrasting Comm or Council's positive/panglossian assessments with expert assessments. One of paper's key points: increasing politicisation of toolbox comes with increasing gaslighting to hide this politicisation/gap btw EU rhetoric & reality of its (in)action

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Dimitry Kochenov, Steve Peers , and 2 more

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 1d
Paper now available here democracyinstitute.ceu.edu/articles/lau...
For those of you familiar with the EU's rule of law toolbox, you can go straight to the section offering concrete/multiple examples of timid use, misuse and non-use of the main EU prevention/monitoring & response/enforcement tools

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 1d
"Do the US or China ever refrain from enforcing their own laws simply to please us? We should immediately apply our laws. This must be the first expression of European digital sovereignty ... We can’t let ourselves be intimidated"
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Reposted by Laurent Pech

davidakaye.bsky.social
David Kaye @davidakaye.bsky.social · 3d
not only is trump transforming the united states into a rogue player on accountability (unsurprisingly), but europeans are not fighting back. this is awful and it's not gonna stop. see brazil, too. vindictive & selective - all in the service of impunity.
profpech.bsky.social Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 4d
An absolute scandal compounded in this case by failure of French government and EU institutions to forcefully react and sanction in turn those who have sanctioned ICC judges and prosecutors. Makes a total mockery of FR/EU's repeated commitment to the rule of law/ICC

www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 3d
At long last, some enforcement by Commission re Slovakia's backsliding with letter of formal notice sent yesterday for breach of several fundamental principles of EU law, particularly the principles of primacy, autonomy, effectiveness and uniform application of EU law
ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
November infringements package: key decisions
Overview by policy area\n\nIn its regular package of infringement decisions, the European Commission takes legal action against Member States that fail to comply with their obligations under EU law. T...
ec.europa.eu

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 3d
This sentence/admission should be of interest to the European Parliament considering pending Case C-225/24 as Comm adopts opposite position to the one it has defended before CJEU:
"The Commission highlighted persistent and new concerns in several areas, including: independence of the judiciary"

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 3d
Got the formal report on the hearing of Hungary held on 21 Oct 2025 in accordance with Art 7(1) TEU released: www.asktheeu.org/request/repo...
cc @verfassungsblog.de @eublogo.bsky.social
Report of Article 7 Hearing of Hungary on 21 October 2025 - a Freedom of Information request to Council of the European Union
As part of the Article 7(1) TEU procedure regarding Hungary, the Council held a formal hearing on 21 October 2025: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/gac/2025/10/21/ - The minutes and/or ...
www.asktheeu.org

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 4d
""This egregious incident underscores both the community’s and the Judiciary’s concerns about how ICE is conducting its operations in Rhode Island,” R.I. Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul A. Suttell said."

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 4d
Latest from Trump's armed masked secret police: "ICE agents then surrounded the judge’s car and demanded everyone to exit the vehicle, threatening to smash in the windows if they did not comply."

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 4d
I would love to read article on “measures” Comm has been considering for months should you be looking for a topic to investigate. Would be interesting to assess legal avenues available to individual ICC judges in EU. No need to thank me for unsolicited ideas 😎

www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/docume...
www.europarl.europa.eu

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, David H. Kaye, Ralf Michaels , and 5 more

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 4d
An absolute scandal compounded in this case by failure of French government and EU institutions to forcefully react and sanction in turn those who have sanctioned ICC judges and prosecutors. Makes a total mockery of FR/EU's repeated commitment to the rule of law/ICC

www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 4d
Got a new (Working) Paper coming out on Monday on "the use, misuse and non-use of the EU’s #ruleoflaw toolbox". Paper will offer a comprehensive, critical and transversal overview of 10+ years of toolbox development/misuse. Overall picture is bleak with Commission & Council now part of the problem

Reposted by Laurent Pech

alemanno.bsky.social
Alberto Alemanno @alemanno.bsky.social · 4d
Can the EU enact Omnibus legislation - be it on digital, sustainability, defense or the environment - under EU law?

NEW PAPER examining the legality of this controversial legislative technique, available for free download here

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... #Omnibus
The Legality of Omnibus Legislation Under EU Law: <div> A Preliminary Analysis of Omnibus I Simplification Directive of CSRD and CSDD and its Legal Consequences on the EU Legal Order </div>
This paper provides a preliminary analysis of the legal issues arising from the European Union's use of the Omnibus as the privileged legislative technique to '
papers.ssrn.com

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll, Laurent Pech, Alan Richardson , and 4 more

mmasnick.bsky.social
Mike Masnick @mmasnick.bsky.social · 4d
The party that promised "free speech on campus" has made sure there can be no free speech on campuses.
littlebadger.bsky.social Darcie Little Badger @littlebadger.bsky.social · 5d
This week, I withdrew from a speaking engagement at a public university because they sent me a list of prohibited “words & concepts.” I will not humor this censorship. It does a disservice to the stories I’m discussing & the audience, who deserve unfettered access to information & conversation.
“Prohibited words and concepts: Equity, diversity, & inclusion; anti-racism; Bias; Critical race theory; implicit bias; oppression; intersectionality; prohibited discriminatory practices; racial privilege; promoting stereotypes based on personal identity characteristics.”

Reposted by Alexander Wuttke, Laurent Pech

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 5d
Tyler Cowen saying again that there is no threat to democracy marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevo... because Trump is facing opposition and is sensitive to public opinion, but this is how competitive authoritarianism works. Please consult @dziblatt.bsky.social or @stevelevitsky.bsky.social!

Reposted by Mark D. White, Sanford F. Schram, Daniel W. Drezner , and 8 more

wpri12.bsky.social
WPRI 12 @wpri12.bsky.social · 5d
#BREAKING: A student intern at Rhode Island Superior Court was briefly taken into custody by ICE this afternoon before a judge intervened, 12 News has learned. Story by @jusolyn.bsky.social and @timwhiteri.bsky.social: ⤵️
RI judge intervenes after ICE mistakenly detains Superior Court intern
A teenager was nearly taken into federal immigration custody in Providence Thursday afternoon before a Superior Court judge intervened, according to the Rhode Island Judiciary.
www.wpri.com