RULE OF LAW IN DANGER?

*** FULL ***

Robert Misik in conversation with Heinz Mayer

Rule of law in danger?
On the 101st anniversary of the Austrian Federal Constitution

„Our political situation has made a qualitative leap,“ says Heinz Mayer, constitutional law expert and former dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Vienna. „Of course there has always been corruption. But the question is: how do you deal with it in politically responsible positions? And there has been a huge crack. In other words, this mixing of the public and private spheres, the simultaneous persecution of critics, the media, journalists, but also representatives of civil society - keyword: the Catholic Church. This has never happened before in this form. I certainly can't remember anything like it. And when the Federal Chancellor stands up and sweepingly calls the public prosecutor's office a ‚red network‘ and says: ‚They have made serious mistakes‘ without naming a single one, then that is a massive attack on the independence of the judiciary. And you can't stand by and watch.“

Is the rule of law in danger due to the constant Turkish attacks? Is liberal democracy in danger of being undermined? Is our republic on a slippery slope towards authoritarian, illiberal governance? Heinz Mayer, co-initiator of the anti-corruption referendum, talks about this at the Bruno Kreisky Forum and answers questions from moderator Robert Misik and the audience.

Heinz Mayer, constitutional and administrative lawyer, professor emeritus at the University of Vienna and former dean of the university's Faculty of Law; author of several standard legal works and reviewer
Robert Misik, Author and journalist