On this day 170 years ago, the Danish King Frederik VII signed the Danish Constitution of 1849, creating a constitutional monarchy. Thus, today marks Grundlovsdagen (Constitution Day). Although a national and bank holiday, the day is not such a grand affair as Constitution Day of Norway. This year may be different, though, as Denmark holds its …
Tomorrow, May 18, 2019, is World Whisky Day, a day that “celebrates all types of whisky/whiskey and encourages everyone to enjoy whisky responsibly.” As a law blog, there is no better way to celebrate such a day than with a post on a whisky court case! On June 7, 2018, the European Court of Justice …
The first semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest (Eurovision) is taking place today. Eurovision is a popular product of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which is made up of the public broadcasting networks of Europe. Twenty-six countries will compete to win in the grand finale being held on Saturday, May 18, in Tel Aviv, Israel. …
This Sunday, May 5, 2019, the Council of Europe (not to be confused with the European Union, the European Council, or the Council of the European Union) celebrates 70 years of existence. On May 5, 1949, representatives from Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom met in London and …
On March 14, 2019, New Zealand‘s new chief justice, The Right Honourable Chief Justice Dame Helen Winkelmann GNZM, was sworn in at the Supreme Court in Wellington. She replaces Dame Sian Elias, who retired on March 13, 2019, from the role to which she was appointed in 1999. Since that time, the Supreme Court of …
Describe your background My first encounter with the Library of Congress (LC) was as a young German legal historian with a fellowship to research the transplantation of European law and government structures into the original American colonies, in particular New Netherlands (New York). My chief adviser and director at the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and …
Today, January 4, is National Spaghetti Day. And no one appreciates pasta more than the self-proclaimed “Pastafarians,” members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM). According to their website, they believe, among others things, that “[p]irates were the original Pastafarians”, that “the Flying Spaghetti Monster created the world much as it exists today, but for …