Читать книгу A Citizen’s Guide to the Rule of Law - Kalypso Nicolaidis - Страница 5

From Bucharest, Rome and Budapest all the way to Sarajevo, Belgrade and Priština: the rule of law is under serious attack in Europe. That’s nothing new. The rule of law is a weapon against arbitrary power, the power to confiscate our goods, our dignity, or our freedom. For centuries, although the powerful have tried to resist its entrenchment, the rule of law prevailed against the odds, because once people start to appreciate all its benefits, it is hard to take these away without some resistance.

But at the beginning of our Millennium, the rule of law appears increasingly unable to hold its ground against its countless attackers. If its defenders eventually lose this fight, the rule of law will not expire as a supernova, visible throughout the galaxy. Rather, much like the proverbial frog that keeps sitting in a constantly heating pot without realising the imminent danger, its agony will have been so gradual and unremarkable that its eventual demise would come as a surprise to most of us.

In recent years, a number of governments have imposed limits on the freedom of media and expression. They have actively sought to undermine the independence of the judiciary. They have decriminalised certain acts of corruption. They have changed statutes of limitations to suit particular individuals. They have given themselves the rights to freely appoint or dismiss judges to the highest courts in the land, or to dictate court proceedings. They have ordered police forces to investigate certain crimes while ignoring others. And they have used their privileged positions to ensure legal immunity for friends and allies. Clearly, in this ongoing fight, the rule of law is the underdog.

Each of these examples comes from a European country, ranging from European Union (EU) Member States such as Italy, Poland, Romania, and Hungary, to countries aspiring to join the EU such as Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Turkey. Each of them reflects a sad state of affairs, but what do they have in common?