Questions have rarely arisen about the judicial independence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Dimitry Kochenov, lead researcher of our Rule of Law Workgroup and Graham Butler (Aarhus University) write in their article in European Law Journal.

Rule of Law
Attacks on rule of law have long been integral to democratic decay. However, today’s authoritarians often instrumentalize law and democratic norms. Most research in this field focuses on the law or politics. The Institute, by contrast, will bring together lawyers, political scientists, sociologists and political economists to explore the how the erosion of rule of law shapes national developmental models and the extent to which it varies across economic sectors or through the influence of domestic or external actors.
Researchers
Dimitry Vladimirovich Kochenov | Lead Researcher / Senior Research Fellow / CEU Professor |
Antoni Abat i Ninet | Post-doctoral Fellow |
Petr Agha | Research Affiliate |
Beata Bako | Research Affiliate, re:constitution Fellow |
Petra Bard | CEU Research Affiliate |
Elena Basheska | OSUN Post-doctoral Fellow |
Mariam Begadze | OSUN Doctoral Fellow |
Rodion Belkovich | Research Affiliate |
Violeta Besirevic | CEU Research Affiliate |
Andrey Bystrov | Research Affiliate |
Sarah Ganty | Research Affiliate, re:constitution Fellow |
Barbara Grabowska-Moroz | Post-doctoral Fellow |
Joelle Grogan | Research Fellow |
Martin Krygier | Senior Research Fellow |
Andras Laszlo Pap | CEU Research Affiliate |
Laurent Pech | Senior Research Fellow |
Andras Sajo | Senior Research Fellow / CEU Professor |
Maciej Taborowski | Research Affiliate, re:constitution Fellow |
Renata Uitz | Co-director / CEU Professor |
Jacquelyn Veraldi | Junior Research Fellow |
Anna Wojcik | Research Affiliate, re:constitution Fellow |
Projects
News
“The Russian aggression against Ukraine has also served as a pretext for putting aside internal discussions about the rule of law,” our researchers Petra Bard and Dimitry Kochenov write in their article in European Law Journal.
The “EU possesses an arsenal of tools to address dissuasively rule of law problems in the Member States,” our Research Affiliate Petra Bard argues in her article in European Law Journal.
“Rule of law is not secured sufficiently, either in the EU or by the EU, causing all concerned to lose face,” Barbara Grabowska-Moroz and Dimitry Kochenov write in their book chapter published by Cambridge University Press.
“Granting the Polish government more leeway and time over this process is an unnecessary concession,” our Research Affiliate Anna Wojcik said to The Guardian.
Audiovisuals
Co-organized with re:constitution and RECONNECT, the first public event of CEU Democracy Institute’s Rule of Law Working Group allowed key DI experts engaged with the case-law to outline the bigger picture, while focusing on crucial details.
Luiza Bialasiewicz, Nikolaus Forgo, Joelle Grogan, Oskar Gstrein and Dimitry Kochenov discussed European vaccine passports and their impact on the citizens’ rights and the Rule of Law in Europe.
In the latest RevDem Rule of Law podcast, Oliver Garner interviews Professor Nandini Ramanujam on the interplay of the concepts of academic freedom and the rule of law, in both liberal and illiberal societies.
Debates on the state of democracy in EU Member States have been intensifying. In a debate organized by the CEU Democracy Institute, chaired by Dimitry Kochenov and moderated by R. Daniel Kelemen, Vera Jourova, Clement Beaune and Michal Simecka addressed the question how to strengthen democracy at the national level.
Oliver Garner interviews Professor Dimitry Kochenov on the prospects for Member State to Member State infringement actions to enforce the Rule of Law in the EU.