The Third Fellows‘ Exchange Meeting will bring together our 15 current re:constitution Fellows with iCourts – The Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre of Excellence for International Courts and Governance in Copenhagen shortly before Denmark takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union in July 2025. From 11 until 13 June 2025, this final personal meeting of the Fellow cohort 2024/2025 will provide a space to elaborate on and critically discuss the role of international and regional courts in these critical times in relation to broader rule of law developments.

Third Fellows’ Exchange Meeting: Judicial Re:Actions and the Rule of Law in Crisis

Among other questions, the Fellows will debate how courts re:act in times of increased authoritarianism and what could be potential judicial strategies and forms of resilience. Furthermore, this meeting provides the Fellows with various opportunities to exchange on their respective research projects and to engage in a series of sessions centred around the question of how the increasing erosion of rule of law and democratic backsliding in Europe and its member states are reflected in Denmark, Scandinavia and in the EU-Danish relations.
The Fellows will engage in a conversation on the European and EU rule of law in crisis with Marlene Wind and Marya Akhtar, moderated by our current Fellow Max Steuer. This conversation will also evolve around the implications for European courts which connects to the experiences by Mikael Rask Madsen, Mikkel Jarle Christensen and our current Fellow Ezgi Özlü on studying international courts in critical times. Current Fellow Etienne Hanelt will act as a moderator in this discussion. Further opportunities to engage with iCourts researchers will be provided during a World Café with contributions by Zuzanna Godzirmiska, Jakob v. H. Holtermann, Shai Dothan and Henrik Palmer Olsen. Additionally, Morten Kjærum will provide insights on researching and practicing human rights in continued poly-crisis moderated by Noémi Fanni Molnár, current re:constitution Fellow. The meeting will be complemented by a practical training on advocacy for rule of law by Dennis Wenzl, DRI and a visit to the UN City Copenhagen.