Category Archives: Law
10 FAQ about filing a Constitutional Complaint in Germany
As part of my very popular series of legal FAQ, I introduce the German Constitutional Complaint (“Verfassungsbeschwerde”) today. It is a way by which every citizen – and even foreign citizens living in Germany – can address the Supreme Court, if they … Continue reading
What did Jérôme Kerviel do wrong?
Today, an Appeals Court in France upheld the conviction of Jérôme Kerviel, a former trader with the French bank Société Générale, sentenced him to serve time in prison and ordered him – rather symbolically I assume – to pay 4.9 billion … Continue reading
A short introduction to Italian Criminal Law
In Italy, if you are suspected, accused and tried of bribery of businesses, politicians, judges and the tax authorities, Mafia connections, false accounting, false testimony, soliciting prostitution from underage girls, tax evasion, embezzlement, antitrust violations, drug trafficking, abuse of political … Continue reading
Easily Confused, # 8
Show trial in Ukraine: Show trial in Russia: Show trial in the Vatican: Feel free to add more examples.
FAQ on Child Custody Law in Germany
I noticed that I receive many e-mails with the same questions, so I have started to post the most frequent questions – and of course the answers to them – for everyone to read. For free, can you believe that?! As … Continue reading
The face that says “Oops, what did I do?”
“If only there had been a waiting period”, James Holmes is thinking.
Punishment and Liberalism
The following essay was part of the second year of my MA in Philisophy and set out to examine which problems criminal punishment poses for liberalism, especially in view of John Rawls‘ theory of punishment in “A Theory of Justice”. This … Continue reading
After Aurora, Two Questions for the Gun Lobby
Dear defenders of gun ownership in America, I have gotten used to the fact that in your interpretation, the 2nd amendment to the Bill of Rights dating from 1791 and reading “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of … Continue reading
The Second Most Important Investment Advice
My second most important investment advice: Don’t save anything while you are married. When you get divorced, your wife will take half of it. Most of the rest will go to lawyers. Don’t forget to have a look at my … Continue reading
Not such a “foreign court”
British politicians, especially from the Conservative Party, tend to call the European Court of Human Rights a “foreign court”. Prime Minister David Cameron just did so again in the debate about prisoners’ voting rights: “This should be a matter for Parliament … Continue reading
The Happy Hermit 