Strategic Litigation, Fundamental Rights, and Public Security
Podiumsdiskussion | Reihe „Gesellschaft: Status Quo und normativer Wandel“
- Datum: 09.05.2025
- Uhrzeit: 17:00 - 18:30
- Ort: Freiburg, Fürstenbergstr. 19 und online
- Raum: Seminarraum (F 113) | Gäste sind herzlich eingeladen; Anmeldung erbeten
- Gastgeber: Max-Planck-Institut zur Erforschung von Kriminalität, Sicherheit und Recht
- Kontakt: c.thoennes@csl.mpg.de
Our panel will explore the impact of strategic litigation on the development of fundamental rights and public security. Ulf Buermeyer co-founded the Berlin-based NGO Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (GFF, Society for Civil Rights) in 2015 and has since served as its Director and Board Member. The GFF aims to defend fundamental and human rights through strategic litigation. Having argued and won several landmark cases before various courts, including the German Constitutional Court, the GFF has grown into a vital institution of German civil society and has made significant contributions to the doctrinal development of fundamental rights and security law.
After a brief interview focusing on Ulf Buermeyer’s biography and the motivations behind the establishment of the GFF, our panelists will share their perspectives on the philosophy and methods of strategic litigation. Ulf’s experience in spearheading the GFF will serve as a case example for reflection and critical discussion. There will also be ample time for an open discussion with the audience.
Potential questions for our panel discussion include (but are by no means limited to):
- How does strategic litigation shape the development of fundamental rights and the protection of public security?
- Do organizations like the GFF, overall, influence the doctrines of fundamental rights and public security for the better?
- Is there a tension between strategic litigation and the classical liberal conception of fundamental rights, as grounded in the relationship between democratic (legislative) institutions and countermajoritarian (judicial) institutions?
- What does the prominent role that organizations like the GFF play reveal about democratic discourse surrounding public security?
- What role can and should academics play when it comes to strategic litigation?
Our panelists
- Dr. Ulf Buermeyer is a German jurist and former judge. He co-founded the Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (GFF; Society for Civil Rights) in 2015 and has held leadership roles in the organization ever since. He has also gained public recognition as the founder and co-host of Lage der Nation, one of Germany’s most influential political podcasts.
- Johanna Bücker is a doctoral researcher in the Department of Public Law (Prof. Ralf Poscher) at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg. She co-authored a third-party intervention before the European Court of Human Rights relating to cases concerning asylum seekers who were repeatedly pushed back at the EU’s external border with Belarus.
- Leon Hantschel is a PhD candidate and research assistant at the Institute for Constitutional Law (Prof. Johannes Masing) at the University of Freiburg. His research focuses on the theory and legitimacy of strategic litigation.
- Clara Wellhäußer is a PhD candidate at the Chair of European Law (Prof. Dr. Anna Katharina Mangold) at Europa-Universität Flensburg (Germany). Her research focuses on the right to sexual self-determination and non-binary persons in German law.
- Christian Thönnes (moderator) is a doctoral researcher in the Department of Public Law the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law. Before starting his PhD in Freiburg, he worked for the GFF on various projects for four years.
Anmeldung
Externe Gäste – Bitte melden Sie Ihre Teilnahme an bei Christian Thönnes: c.thoennes@csl.mpg.de.
Wenn Sie online teilnehmen möchten, erhalten Sie den Zoom-Link nach Anmeldung bei Christian Thönnes: c.thoennes@csl.mpg.de.