Laurent Pech 🇺🇦
LightNews LightNews
banner
profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦
@profpech.bsky.social
6K followers 1.3K following 1.3K 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

hhesterm.bsky.social
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 22h
No. That is not the law. A state needs to have an effective government to be a state. It does not need to have a strong army. Costa Rica abolished its army a long time ago - that does not mean you can now just seize it.
mollyploofkins.bsky.social Molly Ploofkins @mollyploofkins.bsky.social · 1d
Miller: Denmark is a tiny country with a tiny economy and a tiny military. They cannot defend Greenland… Under every understanding of law that has existed about territorial control for 500 years, to control a territory you have to be able to defend a territory…

Reposted by Elizabeth Saunders, Rebecca Solnit, Patrick A. Jansen , and 11 more

governorwalz.mn.gov
Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov · 1d
Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic.

The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.
washingtonpost.com The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 1d
Breaking news: The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation alleging that they are impeding federal law enforcement officers’ abilities to do their jobs in the state.
Justice Dept. launches criminal investigation of Minnesota governor
The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation into impeding law enforcement.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Elizabeth Saunders, Steve Peers , and 5 more

stevevladeck.bsky.social
Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 1d
This is a transparent attempt to create a pretext for invoking the Insurrection Act.

One provision applies when a group of people "opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws." And when it's (allegedly) the state itself...
peterbakernyt.bsky.social Peter Baker @peterbakernyt.bsky.social · 1d
Trump escalates his attack on Minnesota Democrats as Justice Department launches a criminal investigation into Gov Walz and Mayor Frey apparently on the theory that their objections to ICE amount to illegal interference, sources tell @perrystein.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Justice Dept. launches criminal investigation of Minnesota governor
The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation into impeding law enforcement.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Laurent Pech

andrewstroehlein.bsky.social
Andrew Stroehlein @andrewstroehlein.bsky.social · 1d
"If everyone would just stay out of the Gestapo's way and let them do their job, no one would get hurt."

- Someone in Germany, 1930s

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 2d
Fascism in America (Higher Education dimension)...
gbbranstetter.bsky.social Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d
The University of Arkansas's law school just withdrew the appointment of its new dean six days after hiring her because conservative politicians complained that she filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of transgender students
Culture warriors cancel new U of A law dean before she started - Arkansas Times
Culture warriors claim the scalp of Emily Suski, the would-be law school dean whose legal opinion on transgender athletes seems to have offended Arkansas officials.
arktimes.com

Reposted by Laurent Pech

charlottegarden.bsky.social
Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 2d
Incidentally, U Arkansas has 2 law schools; this happened at the other one:
Law prof fired for online comments after Charlie Kirk's death that led to 'torrent of complaints'
A law professor who called conservative political activist Charlie Kirk “an evil man” on Facebook after his shooting death has been fired from her position at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s William H. Bowen School of Law.
www.abajournal.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Kim L. Scheppele, Lisa W. Fazio , and 18 more

gbbranstetter.bsky.social
Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d
The University of Arkansas's law school just withdrew the appointment of its new dean six days after hiring her because conservative politicians complained that she filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of transgender students
Culture warriors cancel new U of A law dean before she started - Arkansas Times
Culture warriors claim the scalp of Emily Suski, the would-be law school dean whose legal opinion on transgender athletes seems to have offended Arkansas officials.
arktimes.com

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, Stephan Lewandowsky, Tim Bale , and 2 more

davidallengreen.bsky.social
dag @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 2d
Keep watching - Trump and his circle almost have their precious goal: invoking the Insurrection Act.

As per said before: a great deal of what is being done is simply Trump and his circle working backwards from this objective.

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 2d
I co-authored a TPI with @j4j.bsky.social in this case after being granted leave to intervene by the President of the Section. In the five 🇵🇱 rule of law crisis related cases we joined as third-party interveners, the Court found violations of the ECtHR

cc @medeleurope.bsky.social

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 2d
Latest ECtHR ruling relating to Poland's rule of law crisis is out. Tbomk this is the 1st time the Court found a judge’s right to protection against arbitrary transfers between different courts also applies to arbitrary transfers between divisions of the same court

www.echr.coe.int/w/judgment-c...
Judgment concerning Poland
Biliński v. Poland - 15/01/2026
www.echr.coe.int

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 2d
Tempting. Is room & board on the table? 😎

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 2d
VDL Commission "has postponed most upcoming decisions related to 🇭🇺 in order to avoid any perception of interference in the current election campaign"

With exception of decisions to transfer funds... Also didn't realise EU Treaties provided for a suspension of enforcement prior to national elections
EU Parliament questions defence loan's '€17 billion gift' to Hungary
MEPs worry that without strict conditions, Viktor Orbán will funnel EU funds meant for defence into his upcoming election campaign. #EuropeNews
www.euronews.com

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 2d
Forget "no rule of law, no EU funds"... more evidence of the VDL Commission's lack of serious on this front...

www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...
EU Parliament questions defence loan's '€17 billion gift' to Hungary
MEPs worry that without strict conditions, Viktor Orbán will funnel EU funds meant for defence into his upcoming election campaign. #EuropeNews
www.euronews.com

Reposted by Leo Lucassen, Laurent Pech, Philipp Sarasin

anneapplebaum.bsky.social
Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 3d
Yes, this was predictable. From October, 2024:
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Reposted by Laurent Pech, Scott A. Imberman, Nelson Flores

governorwalz.mn.gov
Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov · 3d
State investigators have been on the scene in North Minneapolis.

I know you’re angry. I’m angry. What Donald Trump wants is violence in the streets.

But Minnesota will remain an island of decency, of justice, of community, and of peace.

Don’t give him what he wants.

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 3d
Latest evidence of undue politicisation of #ruleoflaw monitoring and enforcement in the EU with more irresponsible behaviour from @eppgroup.bsky.social leader Manfred Weber for whom rule of law problems only exist in countries not led by his buddies

www.politico.eu/newsletter/b...

Reposted by Laurent Pech, Els Torreele, Aina Gallego

corporateeurope.org
Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) @corporateeurope.org · 3d
🎁 Just before the holidays, the EU Commission granted Big Tech its Christmas wish-list: an unprecedented attack on our digital rights.

Together with @lobbycontrol.bsky.social we have mapped how the Digital Omnibus closely matches Big Tech lobby demands.

👉 corporateeurope.org/en/2026/01/a...
Article by article, how Big Tech shaped the EU’s roll-back of digital rights | Corporate Europe Observatory
In a new analysis we trace Big Tech's fingerprints on the Digital Omnibus proposals - a major deregulation of EU digital laws including the GDPR and the AI Act. They are helped in this attempt by the ...
corporateeurope.org

Reposted by Axel Bruns, Laurent Pech, David R. Miller , and 1 more

brandonfriedman.bsky.social
Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 4d
Explain to me like I'm five what the 2nd Amendment is for if not for this. King George III never said anything this obnoxious or deliberately inflammatory.
REMINDER. “To all ICE officers: You have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties. Anybody who lays a hand on you or tries to stop you or tries to obstruct you is committing a felony. You have immunity to perform your duties, and no one—no city official, no state official, no illegal alien, no leftist agitator or domestic insurrectionist—can prevent you from fulfilling your legal obligations and duties. The Department of Justice has made clear that if officials cross that line into obstruction, into criminal conspiracy against the United States or against ICE officers, then they will face justice.” @StephenM 13 Jan 2026

Reposted by Leo Lucassen, Laurent Pech

mcopelov.bsky.social
Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 4d
Today in life under competitive authoritarianism

Every day, more textbook stuff

Reposted by Steve Peers, Leo Lucassen, Laurent Pech

kimlanelaw.bsky.social
Kim Lane Scheppele @kimlanelaw.bsky.social · 4d
The rule of law disappears when ICE appears. Witness and act.

Reposted by Steve Peers, Philip Nel, Laurent Pech

marcelias.bsky.social
Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 4d
If any private lawyer acted this disrespectfully towards a federal judge, we would be facing bar proceedings, court sanctions or both. The fact that Trump administration lawyers continue to act this way is a disgrace. It is time for judges to put an end to it. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Disqualified Trump appointee Halligan accuses judge of 'gross abuse of power' for questioning her authority
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com

Reposted by Laurent Pech, Holger Hestermeyer

alemanno.bsky.social
Alberto Alemanno @alemanno.bsky.social · 4d
Europe Is Stronger Than Its Leaders Think

My latest for @projectsyndicate.bsky.social to counter the dominant narrative of a weak EU doomed to fail

prosyn.org/nsSlUOT
Europe Is Stronger Than Its Leaders Think
Alberto Alemanno warns policymakers against panic-driven reforms that threaten to undo hard-won gains.
prosyn.org

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Brendan Nyhan, Steve Peers , and 5 more

kylegriffin1.bsky.social
Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 4d
Breaking: NYT now says *six* federal prosecutors in Minnesota have just resigned over the Justice Department's push to investigate the widow of Renee Good and the department's reluctance to investigate the ICE agent who shot Good, according to people with knowledge of their decision.
Six Prosecutors Quit Over Push to Investigate ICE Shooting Victim’s Widow
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Laurent Pech

ryanenos.bsky.social
Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 4d
With each of these resignations, which I applaud, the DOJ is stocked with more incompetent prosecutors. That is good if the only thing had to do was prosecute Trump's political opponents but eventually we will need prosecutors to prosecute actual crimes. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/u...
3 Prosecutors Quit After Push to Investigate ICE Shooting Victim’s Widow
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Laurent Pech

davidlaufman.bsky.social
David Laufman @davidlaufman.bsky.social · 4d
When DOJ attorneys resign as a matter of principle, it underscores just how corrupt the administration of “justice” has become. Kudos to the Civil Rights Division lawyers who made this wrenching decision for their integrity and dedication to the rule of law.

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
DOJ’s top civil rights prosecutors depart as office is cut out of key probes
Prosecutors resigned from the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota as well amid turmoil over an investigation into a shooting by an immigration officer.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Laurent Pech

tjmcintyre.com
TJ McIntyre @tjmcintyre.com · 4d
I was on Morning Ireland earlier discussing what we need to do about X.
Will the EU ban X?
TJ McIntyre, Assistant Professor in Law in the Sutherland School of Law in UCD and chairperson of Digital Rights Ireland, discusses the possibility of the EU banning X over Grok creating non-consensua...
www.rte.ie

Reposted by Steve Peers, Laurent Pech

tjmcintyre.com
TJ McIntyre @tjmcintyre.com · 4d
Glad to see the Ombudsman for Children leaving X. The office is on Bluesky - @ocoireland.bsky.social

Reposted by Laurent Pech

eublogo.bsky.social
Katalin Halmai @eublogo.bsky.social · 4d
“Musk is an enemy of Europe. He despises our democracy… & everything that stands in the way of his greed,” said MEP @woelken.eu to @politico.eu “For a long time, I was convinced it’s better to engage in dialogue rather than leave the platform [X] to become a far-right circus. But enough is enough”.

Reposted by Laurent Pech

tjmcintyre.com
TJ McIntyre @tjmcintyre.com · 5d
It might be just me, but I don't think public bodies should be posting photographs of children to the 'makes sexual images from photographs of children' website.
Advocacy group questions Department of Education's decision to post images on X
Digital Rights Ireland (DRI) has asked what precautions under GDPR have been taken in terms of the posting
www.irishexaminer.com

Reposted by Laurent Pech

washingtonpost.com
The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 5d
The Justice Department is considering prosecuting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the same time that President Trump has pressured Powell to lower interest rates before the midterms.

The move could threaten the rule of law, experts say.
Analysis | The extraordinary criminal inquiry of a Fed chair, explained
Legal experts warn it threatens the rule of law, and economists warn it threatens the stability of the U.S. economy.
www.washingtonpost.com