2
Thu, 02 Jul 2009
Lisbon Injunction in English
CK - Washington. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe published an English version of its ruling of June 30, 2009 on the Lisbon treaty dispute, docket number 2 BvR 1259/08. The Bundesverfassungsgericht court held that Germany's instrument of ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, signed at Lisbon, 13 December 2007 (Federal Law Gazette 2008 II page 1039) may not be deposited before completing the statutory clarification the court requires.
CK - Washington. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe published an English version of its ruling of June 30, 2009 on the Lisbon treaty dispute, docket number 2 BvR 1259/08. The Bundesverfassungsgericht court held that Germany's instrument of ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, signed at Lisbon, 13 December 2007 (Federal Law Gazette 2008 II page 1039) may not be deposited before completing the statutory clarification the court requires.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009
Election Politics: Placebo for Pornography
CK - Washington. In time for the fall election, the majority coalition in the German federal diet passed a coalition-cabinet-proposed bill to draw virtual curtains before websites offering child-pornograhic material.
The June 18, 2009 vote drew a record 130,000 popular petitions in opposition to a rule widely regarded as the first step toward censorship on the Internet, although Germany has long imposed drastically-enforced sanctions against anonymous speech on the Internet and maintains rules crimping freedom of expression through Internet forums and WiFi communications systems.
These sets of rules suppress freedom of speech but are widely not regarded as means of censorship and are usually enforced civilly or administratively, not criminally.
The new law contains provisions with international effect, such as requiring certain ISPs to place barriers on foreign websites with pornographic material and requiring a federal enforcement agency to notify their foreign counterparts. Even before approving a final bill, the government jawboned major ISPs into contracts that coerce them into enforcing similar restrictions.
The law does not require any removal of child-pornographic material from the Internet, and such material will remain accessible by passing through the curtain. Which version of the bill passed the diet is unclear.
Various sources point to a text containing amendments, Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Bekämpfung der Kinderpornographie in Kommunikationsnetzen, while the diet, Bundestag, lists links leading to blank pages as well as a May 2009 draft.
The final draft is said to contain a sunset provision. The censorship law could become effective shortly before the elections and expire after three years, which would trigger new discussions before the next federal election cycle.
Fortunately, some of the supreme courts, including the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, are fairly Internet-savvy. They may rescue the country from steps that expand the growing suppression of free speech in Germany by her legislators, as they have done before, and by overly zealous courts that rely on uninformed perceptions of the Internet and its mechanics.
CK - Washington. In time for the fall election, the majority coalition in the German federal diet passed a coalition-cabinet-proposed bill to draw virtual curtains before websites offering child-pornograhic material.
The June 18, 2009 vote drew a record 130,000 popular petitions in opposition to a rule widely regarded as the first step toward censorship on the Internet, although Germany has long imposed drastically-enforced sanctions against anonymous speech on the Internet and maintains rules crimping freedom of expression through Internet forums and WiFi communications systems.
These sets of rules suppress freedom of speech but are widely not regarded as means of censorship and are usually enforced civilly or administratively, not criminally.
The new law contains provisions with international effect, such as requiring certain ISPs to place barriers on foreign websites with pornographic material and requiring a federal enforcement agency to notify their foreign counterparts. Even before approving a final bill, the government jawboned major ISPs into contracts that coerce them into enforcing similar restrictions.
The law does not require any removal of child-pornographic material from the Internet, and such material will remain accessible by passing through the curtain. Which version of the bill passed the diet is unclear.
Various sources point to a text containing amendments, Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Bekämpfung der Kinderpornographie in Kommunikationsnetzen, while the diet, Bundestag, lists links leading to blank pages as well as a May 2009 draft.
The final draft is said to contain a sunset provision. The censorship law could become effective shortly before the elections and expire after three years, which would trigger new discussions before the next federal election cycle.
Fortunately, some of the supreme courts, including the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, are fairly Internet-savvy. They may rescue the country from steps that expand the growing suppression of free speech in Germany by her legislators, as they have done before, and by overly zealous courts that rely on uninformed perceptions of the Internet and its mechanics.
Sun, 14 Jun 2009
Free Annotation of Civil Code
CK - Washington. Staudinger is one of the most important annotations of the civil code, Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, which recently sprouted an offshoot called Eckpfeiler des Zivilrechts. Meant as a short reference work for students--as evidenced by the examensrelevant.de blog, the Corner Stone volume of some 1270 pages attracts also full-fledged lawyers. While its €49/$69 price is quite reasonable, there is also a free downloadable version. The Staudinger to go!-version requires a registration. An excerpt is made available for download without registration. It covers the index and historical introduction into the genesis of the civil code as one of the first federal German statutes.
CK - Washington. Staudinger is one of the most important annotations of the civil code, Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, which recently sprouted an offshoot called Eckpfeiler des Zivilrechts. Meant as a short reference work for students--as evidenced by the examensrelevant.de blog, the Corner Stone volume of some 1270 pages attracts also full-fledged lawyers. While its €49/$69 price is quite reasonable, there is also a free downloadable version. The Staudinger to go!-version requires a registration. An excerpt is made available for download without registration. It covers the index and historical introduction into the genesis of the civil code as one of the first federal German statutes.
Tue, 02 Jun 2009
New Holocaust Pensions
CK - Washington. Workers forced by Nazis and occupying German forces into jobs outside of Germany, such as military postal work in Poland and Belarus, can qualify for German pension claims, the top German court for employment matters ruled on June 1, 2009. A Deutsche Welle report contains detailed information which may assist eligible persons now residing outside of the regions where the Nazis operated.
CK - Washington. Workers forced by Nazis and occupying German forces into jobs outside of Germany, such as military postal work in Poland and Belarus, can qualify for German pension claims, the top German court for employment matters ruled on June 1, 2009. A Deutsche Welle report contains detailed information which may assist eligible persons now residing outside of the regions where the Nazis operated.
Mon, 01 Jun 2009
Broadcasters Cut Net Fare
CK - Washington. German public TV broadcasters begin to delete Internet material a few days after publishing it. Sports shows will disappear after 24 hours. WDR implements its new policy on June 1, 2009 and will immediately delete its database of legal opinions related to its legal advisory program, ARD Ratgeber Recht, while ZDF will phase in its policy through the end of 2009. The broadcasters argue that the state broadcasting compact, Rundfundstaatsvertrag, requires such cuts.
CK - Washington. German public TV broadcasters begin to delete Internet material a few days after publishing it. Sports shows will disappear after 24 hours. WDR implements its new policy on June 1, 2009 and will immediately delete its database of legal opinions related to its legal advisory program, ARD Ratgeber Recht, while ZDF will phase in its policy through the end of 2009. The broadcasters argue that the state broadcasting compact, Rundfundstaatsvertrag, requires such cuts.
Sat, 30 May 2009
Opel Bankruptcy Precedes GM Bankruptcy
CK - Washington. While IP holders scramble to gather their contracts and open invoices for review by attorneys in light of the imminent GM bankruptcy and for the preservation of their potentially preferred handling in the bankruptcy case under 11 USC §365, while bondholders have until 5 p.m. this afternoon to make up their minds on the offer to lose some or all of their paper, and while union members settle into the reality of the new trust arrangement to preserve health insurance and pension rights, developments in Germany set into more relaxed state after feverish negotiations at the highest levels of corporations and the state and federal governments.
Under an widely published arrangement reached last night, GM subsidiary Opel GmbH will benefit from rescue funds provided in large part by the German federal government and Russian financiers. The arrangement gives majority control to Magna, the Canadian auto-parts maker, of Opel GmbH which also includes British make Vauxhall. To prevent a GM bankruptcy from nixing the deal and sucking German taxpayer funds into the anticipated GM bankruptcy, Opel GmbH will file for bankruptcy, Insolvenz, on Saturday -- two days before the expected GM filing.
Addendum: More recent reports note that the parties tentatively agreed on a trust agreement to avoid an Opel bankruptcy filing.
CK - Washington. While IP holders scramble to gather their contracts and open invoices for review by attorneys in light of the imminent GM bankruptcy and for the preservation of their potentially preferred handling in the bankruptcy case under 11 USC §365, while bondholders have until 5 p.m. this afternoon to make up their minds on the offer to lose some or all of their paper, and while union members settle into the reality of the new trust arrangement to preserve health insurance and pension rights, developments in Germany set into more relaxed state after feverish negotiations at the highest levels of corporations and the state and federal governments.
Under an widely published arrangement reached last night, GM subsidiary Opel GmbH will benefit from rescue funds provided in large part by the German federal government and Russian financiers. The arrangement gives majority control to Magna, the Canadian auto-parts maker, of Opel GmbH which also includes British make Vauxhall. To prevent a GM bankruptcy from nixing the deal and sucking German taxpayer funds into the anticipated GM bankruptcy, Opel GmbH will file for bankruptcy, Insolvenz, on Saturday -- two days before the expected GM filing.
Addendum: More recent reports note that the parties tentatively agreed on a trust agreement to avoid an Opel bankruptcy filing.
Fri, 15 May 2009
Constitutional Rulings in Germany
CK - Washington. The German Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe recently published the following decisions. Cases are not cited by party names. Instead, German citation rules rely on docket numbers. The court publishes its decisions in German although it releases some press statements in English.
CK - Washington. The German Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe recently published the following decisions. Cases are not cited by party names. Instead, German citation rules rely on docket numbers. The court publishes its decisions in German although it releases some press statements in English.
- 1 BvR 1155/03 dated May 5, 2009:
- 2 BvR 2009/08 dated April 30, 2009:
- 1 BvR 887/09 dated April 22, 2009:
- 1 BvR 256/08 dated April 22, 2009:
- 1 BvR 2310/06 dated April 21, 2009:
- 1 BvR 3478/08 dated April 15, 2009:
- 2 BvR 1496/05 dated April 15, 2009:
- 1 BvR 467/09 dated April 14, 2009.
Thu, 07 May 2009
New Law Periodical AnwaltSpiegel
CK - Washington. German law publishers German Law Publishers and German newspaper entity FAZ-Institut joined forces today and launched an online periodical with a focus on business law. There is no subscription fee for the new Deutscher AnwaltSpiegel. The topics of the May 7, 2009 issue include various matters in corporate law, bankruptcy law and related fields. The issue contains also information on lawyers and their career moves.
CK - Washington. German law publishers German Law Publishers and German newspaper entity FAZ-Institut joined forces today and launched an online periodical with a focus on business law. There is no subscription fee for the new Deutscher AnwaltSpiegel. The topics of the May 7, 2009 issue include various matters in corporate law, bankruptcy law and related fields. The issue contains also information on lawyers and their career moves.
Wed, 22 Apr 2009
Statute to Monitor Net and Limit Access
CK - Washington. The federal government has decided to introduce new censorship measures and announced the plans in a press release on April 22, 2009. Interestingly, the bill for Internet embargoes originates from the commerce department, not the attorney general's office. The bill includes administrative measures governing ISPs, provisions requiring the monitoring of Internet use and criminal provisions. In the German parliamentary system, bills approved by the cabinet are likely to find the support of a majority of parliamentarians who support the cabinet. Many voters and technology experts oppose such censorship.
CK - Washington. The federal government has decided to introduce new censorship measures and announced the plans in a press release on April 22, 2009. Interestingly, the bill for Internet embargoes originates from the commerce department, not the attorney general's office. The bill includes administrative measures governing ISPs, provisions requiring the monitoring of Internet use and criminal provisions. In the German parliamentary system, bills approved by the cabinet are likely to find the support of a majority of parliamentarians who support the cabinet. Many voters and technology experts oppose such censorship.
Sun, 19 Apr 2009
Germany Joins Censoring Nations
CK - Washington. A divisive issue splits German public opinion before the upcoming elections: To censor or not? The third step of censorship--after the ever-expanding identification requirement for Internet participants known as Impressumspflicht and logging requirements for Internet access providers of their customers' activities--targets trafficking in child-pornographic material.
Despite the fact that there is no statutory basis for a censoring obligation, many ISPs in Germany feel pressured by the federal government to apply censorship standards. A public list contains the ISPs who implement new barriers known as Netzsperre.
Internet experts point to the failure of censorship in Australia and elsewhere and complain that the newest expansion of censorship is driven by technically indefensible, populist arguments. They argue that the targeted traffickers use means other than the Web.
CK - Washington. A divisive issue splits German public opinion before the upcoming elections: To censor or not? The third step of censorship--after the ever-expanding identification requirement for Internet participants known as Impressumspflicht and logging requirements for Internet access providers of their customers' activities--targets trafficking in child-pornographic material.
Despite the fact that there is no statutory basis for a censoring obligation, many ISPs in Germany feel pressured by the federal government to apply censorship standards. A public list contains the ISPs who implement new barriers known as Netzsperre.
Internet experts point to the failure of censorship in Australia and elsewhere and complain that the newest expansion of censorship is driven by technically indefensible, populist arguments. They argue that the targeted traffickers use means other than the Web.
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