About the book

Political decision-makers often violate the rules of parliamentary lawmaking, even in reasonably well-functioning democracies. For instance, consider the unlawful prorogation of the UK Parliament in 2019 to achieve a no-deal Brexit or the scandalous enactment of the 2023 French pension reform. The situation is arguably much worse in those countries where autocratic leaders, such as the PiS government in Poland (2015-2023) or the Fidesz government in Hungary (since 2010), aim to monopolize political decision-making by systematically sidelining the opposition and civil stakeholders and push their illiberal pet projects through the parliament as quickly as possible without any compromise.

What is the constitutional significance of procedural irregularities and how to remedy them? This is the central question of Viktor Kazai’s new monograph, “The Equilibrium of Parliamentary Law-making Comparative Perspectives on the Role of Courts in a Democracy” published by Routledge.

On November 8th, the IEE will host a book launch event to present the most important findings of the research from legal and political science perspectives. The author will discuss with Ramona Coman, professor of political science (ULB) and Emmanuel Slautsky, professor of law (ULB). The event will be chaired by Chiara Armeni, professor of law at ULB.

About the author

Viktor Kazai is a lawyer specialized in comparative constitutional law and EU law with a doctoral degree from Central European University (Vienna). He currently holds a post-doctoral researcher position at Université libre de Bruxelles, Institute for European Studies (Belgium) and supports the work of the Berlin-based NGO, Civil Liberties Union for Europe as a senior rule of law expert. In addition to his participation in international research projects focusing on the European rule of law crisis (RECONNECT, RED-Spinel), he has been involved in human rights litigation as a legal advisor, most importantly before the European Court of Human Rights, and has been collaborating with human rights NGOs. Mr Kazai has published in several reputable law journals, including the Hague Journal on the Rule of law, The Theory and Practice and Legislation, Jus Politicum and Annuaire internationale de justice constitutionnelle. 

Practical information

Date : November 8th, 2024

Time : 16:00-17:30 (followed by a drink)

Where: Institut d’études européennes (salle Spaak)

Registration: