The formality of legality: The instrumentalization of the rule of law in crisis response

Activity: Talk or presentationOral presentationAcademic

Description

Contribution to panel 'Democracy and rule of law in crisis'
Abstract: In this paper I examine the handling of two recent (or ongoing) crises, the Dutch pandemic response and the EU response to the rule of law crisis. My purpose is to understand how the rule of law is approached in these situations. I advance the argument is that in both crises the response relies on a formal and technocratic idea of legality as the core of the rule of law. The problem is that such a formal rule of law idea becomes instrumentalized and does not serve the underlying purpose of curbing arbitrary exercise of power. I examine how we can go beyond such a superficial adherence to the rule of law.
Period23 Jun 2022
Event titleNNHRR Toogdag: Human Rights in (Times of) Crisis
Event typeConference
LocationLeiden, NetherlandsShow on map
Degree of RecognitionNational