Taking the example of civil-society mobilisation to legalise euthanasia, law researcher Mario Pagano shows how powerful courts can be in bringing sensitive issues to the political agenda, and how effective litigation can be when the time is ripe for political institutions to act.

Leading up to the 2020 elections in the United States, Professor of Law Martin Scheinin illustrates how weaknesses in the United States constitutional framework, especially with regard to the judiciary, threaten democracy and the rule of law.