Bulletin n. 1-2/2014
November 2014
CONTENTS
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • Franz C. Mayer
    Rebels Without a Cause? A Critical Analysis of the German Constitutional Court’s OMT Reference
    in German Law Journal , vol. 15, issue 2 ,  2014 ,  111-146
    One of the most famous scenes from the 1957 James Dean movie classic “Rebel Without a Cause” is the chicken run scene. Two cars are speeding towards an abyss; the one who slows down or jumps out of the car first loses. The chicken run in the movie ends in tragedy; when one of the protagonists finally tries to get out of his car, it is too late—he is caught in the car and dies. The German Constitutional Court’s latest actions in the Euro crisis remind me of this chicken run: A court speeding towards the edge, trapped in its own reasoning, making it increasingly difficult to get out in time. The decision to submit its first preliminary reference ever to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) appears at first to be a decision to get out of the car in time. But looking closer, it turns out that this reference to the ECJ is, in fact, the right thing done in the wrong way at the wrong time. The one thing it is not is a surrender, as some initial media comments suggested. Let me first explain the decision and its background—Sections B and C—before I turn to an analysis—Section D.
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