Chair: Axel Gosseries, Franz Weyr Fellow
9h30-9h50 - Radek Píša, PhD. Candidate, Charles University, Constitutional LawDo courts really vary from public opinion? Courts are usually imagined as institutions providing additional, structural perspective; this is one of the very basic assumptions behind the most theories of judicial legitimacy (most notably Alexy’s argumentative representation). My presentation is going to explore reasons why this is possibly an incorrect assessment. I intend to use Czech and Israeli cases during this reasoning.Discusssant: Tom Parr
9h50-10h10 - Darina Jandova, PhD. Candidate, Charles University, Labour LawObesity and discrimination. Did the CJEU go too far?In the recent case Kaltoft vs. Denmark the CJEU has ruled that obesity can be in specific cases considered discriminative on the ground of disability. I will briefly summarize the case and then present arguments to encourage discussion whether this decision is right and desirable or whether the CJEU went beyond the provisions of the European anti-discrimination directives.Discussant: Greg Bognar
10h30-10h50 - Tomas Strelecek, PhD. Candidate, Charles University, Civil LawHow to render Czech evidence-seeking in civil litigation law even more democratic?I will present the main differences between material and formal truth in civil litigation in democratic and totalitarian regimes. I will then present how in the Czech republic we abolished the principle of material truth in contentious civil litigation as in order to render it more democratic and more in line with the idea of a rule of law. The current Czech law regulating contentious civil procedure is rather free of residuals from totalitarianism. However, I will identify points which can be changed to to make it even more democratic.Discussant: Petr Agha
10h50-11h10 - Elmira Lyapina, PhD student, Charles University, Public International LawWhat are the key challenges for creation the adequate legal basis for EU-RUSSIA gas relations?In order to improve the current EU-RUSSIA gas relations, there is a need to establish the dispute resolution body. Moreover, to avoid unpredictable decisions, occurs a need to design substantive legal basis. In my presentation, I will identify which key requirements the dispute resolution body and the substantive legal framework should meet.Discussant: Radek Píša
11h10-11h30 - Tomas Friedel, PhD. Candidate, Charles University, Dept. of Political Sc. and SociologyJudicial Disqualification and Social Media FriendshipsThe presentation considers the impact of social media connections of judges on judicial impartiality. At first, the notion of judicial impartiality is introduced (distinction between actual impartiality and appearance of impartiality is mentioned). In the following part, the nature of social media connections is discussed and compared to the real-life connections with regard to threats they could mean to judicial impartiality.Discussant: Axel Gosseries