JOURNAL/SYMPOSIUM: The German Law Journal (New) and Privacy and Power - A Transatlantic Dialogue in the Shadow of the NSA

The editors of the German Law Journal have written the following:

This is the third issue in volume fifteen. After kicking-off 2014 with two special issues [Plea Bargains in Germany and OMT Decision of the BVerfG], we return in this issue to our regular “coverage of developments in German, European and International Jurisprudence.” For the most part this rich selection of articles and commentary came to us as unsolicited submissions that were selected for publication after the Editorial Board’s rigorous review.

It is a challenging, invigorating and illuminating slate of contributions.

Francesco de Cecco considers the relationship between the European Union’s fundamental freedoms and fundamental rights. In a related contribution, Sarah Lambrecht offers valued insight into the ongoing negotiation between the Strasbourg system and the push to replace the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights in the UK. Danny Nicol’s article is well-matched with Lambrecht’s. He examines “political herding” in the UK. This, according to Nicol, is one of the social-psychological forces that drive the kind of constitutional change that Lambrecht documents. Anne-Marie Zell’s article brings this issue’s effort back to the tension between EU law and domestic rights. She explores the sensationally relevant theme of data protection in the European and German regimes. Two book reviews and an ECJ case-note fill-out this issue’s “developments” section.

As ever, we hope you will enjoy reading this collection and that it will inspire you to offer the German Law Journal your work for publication. Submit special issue proposals, articles, commentary, case-notes, reviews and reports at: GLJ-Submit@wlu.edu. The Journal enjoys a wide readership around the world and continues to demonstrate its ability to stir debate and impact developments in the law with an impressive “impact factor” score and the citations it attracts. We congratulate Vestert Borger, for example, whose article “The ESM and the European Court’s Predicament in Pringle” (14 German Law Journal 113 (2013)) was cited by the Federal Constitutional Court in its January OMT Decision (para. 85).

Let us once again draw your attention to the Call-for-Papers “Europe and the Lost Generation.” We hope to attract a compelling mix of commentary and reflection on the enduring effects—especially for the project of European integration—of the economic hardship unleashed by the last several years of monetary and debt crises in Europe. The deadline for submissions has been extended to 15 June 2014.

We are also pleased to announce, in conjunction with the Centre for Security and Society at the University of Freiburg, plans for a two-day symposium under the title “Privacy and Power: A Transatlantic Dialogue in the Shadow of the NSA.” The event will be held in Freiburg on 8-9 July 2014 and will feature commentary and scholarly presentations from a number of European and American experts in the fields of security and the legal protection of liberty.