LAW INSTEAD OF ORDER

Robert Misik in conversation with Maximilian Pichl

LAW INSTEAD OF ORDER

After actions by climate activists or brawls in swimming pools, there are regular calls for »the full rigour of the rule of law« to be applied. What is meant by this is: an end to apologies and the romanticism of social workers, in favour of a robust police response, exhaustion of the punishment framework in court - in short: a »law and order« policy.

In the process, it is forgotten that the »rule of law« actually means something completely different, namely that state action is bound by the law. Maximilian Pichl analyses the reasons and strategies used by political actors to pursue the reinterpretation outlined above and the consequences it has. Pichl contrasts these endeavours with the long history of legal battles in which lawyers and activists have fought to limit political arbitrariness.

Maximilian Pichl, born in 1987, is a legal and political scientist. He is Professor of Social Law and Social Work at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences. His most recent publication is Untersuchung im Rechtsstaat (2022) about the committees of enquiry into the NSU murder series. He is co-editor of the annual report Recht gegen rechts.

Robert Misik, Author and journalist

Maximilian Pichl
Law instead of order. The battle for the rule of law
Suhrkamp Verlag, April 2024, ISBN 978-3-518-12837-4, 18.50 euros