Laurent Pech | Lightnews

Laurent Pech 🇺🇦

@profpech.bsky.social

5.9K followers 1.3K following 1.2K posts

Professor of Law, Dean of @ucdschooloflaw.bsky.social, Senior Research Fellow at the CEU Democracy Institute in Budapest, and co-director of @goodlobbyprofs.bsky.social. Usual disclaimers.

Videos

Political science 77%

Law 13%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 10h

Re 🦘 nature of body masquerading as Poland’s CR: This has already been established of course by the ECtHR at least when any of fake judges sits on bench and Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court also found whole body to be a 🦘 court if my memory doesn’t fail me

Reposted by Steve Peers

Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 10h

This will be the 5th & for now final infringement action decided by CJEU in relation to Poland's rule of law crisis and 1st judgment to directly address PiS 🦘 (un)constitutional tribunal & its (il)legal mumbo jumbo. Irresponsible amount of time it took to get to this poorly reflects on Comm & CJEU

Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 11h

CJEU, rule of law

Judgment due December 18th in Commission v Poland case - whether Poland has breached EU law by not fully accepting the supremacy of EU law - curia.europa.eu/juris/fiche....

CURIA - Case information

curia.europa.eu

Reposted by John L. Cotter, Laurent Pech, Marie-Laure Basilien-Gainche

Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 11h

CJEU, rule of law

Judgment due December 18th in Commission v Poland case - whether Poland has breached EU law by not fully accepting the supremacy of EU law - curia.europa.eu/juris/fiche....

CURIA - Case information

curia.europa.eu

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Jonathan M. Gilligan, Sanford F. Schram , and 3 more Anna O. Law, Jonathan M. Gilligan, Sanford F. Schram, Laurent Pech, Andrew Jacobs, Mark Rice

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 22h

Absolute debasement of academic standards
*student submits opinion in psych class
*gets bad grade
*instructor says she can make whatever arguments she wants but must draw on empirical sources
*student & Turning Point says her religious freedom & first amendment rights violated
*professor suspended

gwen howerton @kissphoria.bsky.social · 23h

OU has put the professor here on administrative leave:

Reposted by Steve Peers, Laurent Pech, David R. Miller

Kim Lane Scheppele @kimlanelaw.bsky.social · 23h

No - US govt officials have an obligation to follow all court orders and to appeal (rather than simply disobey) those orders if they disagree. That's what the rule of law is - and Noem's cagey response is precisely why the rule of law is in danger in the US now.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

KARL: Did you know about the judge's order when you issued your order for the planes to continue?

KRISTI NOEM: This is an activist judge. We comply with all federal orders that are lawful and binding.

Reposted by Laurent Pech, Aaron Sojourner

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d

Incredibly depressing if the lesson of the US is preemptive institutional surrender

Luke McGee @lukemcgee.bsky.social · 1d

This is the most alarming story I’ve read today. Giving up the fight before it’s started

Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 1d

Cambridge uni leadership seemingly keen to emulate elite cowardice and advance obedience we have seen under Trump II

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Reposted by Steve Peers, Steven French, Laurent Pech , and 2 more Steve Peers, Steven French, Laurent Pech, Paul Nightingale, Richard Moorhead

Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 1d

He really does.

Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Rosemary A. Joyce, Eric Goldman , and 7 more Scott L. Greer, Rosemary A. Joyce, Eric Goldman, Anders Nilsson, Daniel W. Drezner, Laurent Pech, David R. Miller, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Manisha Sinha, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 1d

The White House’s new anti-media website includes denunciations of:

-ABC, which bribed the president
-CBS, which bribed the president and moved away from fact-based journalism trying to appeal to him and his fans
-WaPo, which spiked a Harris endorsement and tilts coverage in Trump’s favor

Fools.

Reposted by Michael E. Mann, Laurent Pech, Tom Griffin , and 3 more Michael E. Mann, Laurent Pech, Tom Griffin, Lisa Diedrich, Manisha Sinha, Aviel Roshwald

Senator Ed Markey @markey.senate.gov · 1d

Pete Hegseth is a war criminal and should be fired immediately.

Screenshot of headline reading: Congressional committees to scrutinize U.S. killing of boat strike survivors. In a rare split with the Trump administration, GOP-led panels in the House and Senate say they want a full accounting in the September military attack.

Reposted by Laurent Pech

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 1d

NEW: The Trump administration's lawlessness is front and center, on multiple fronts.

The response to the shooting of two National Guard troops, reporting on the boat-strike murders, and the continued contempt inquiry keep Trump's lawlessness in the news.

This weekend, at Law Dork:

The Trump administration's lawlessness is front and center, on multiple fronts

The response to the shooting of two National Guard troops, reporting on the boat-strike murders, and the continued contempt inquiry keep Trump's lawlessness in the news.

www.lawdork.com

Reposted by Colin F. Camerer, Laurent Pech

Laurence H. Tribe @tribelaw.bsky.social · 2d

The “kill them all” order by SecDef Hegseth would be a textbook war crime even if the original attack had been legal.

Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 3d

It is unfathomable that the USG lawyers would sign off on a no-survivors boat strike (no get of jail free card).

There's clear precedent dating back to World War II trial of Germans for that very act, which lawyers know well.

The Peleus World War II War Crimes Trial

www.usni.org/magazines/na...

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Laurent Pech

Kim Lane Scheppele @kimlanelaw.bsky.social · 2d

Compare Harvard's resistance aided by law with Northwestern's negotiations and eventual cave-in:

www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...

Majority of Harvard’s Research Funding Has Been Restored

As of Tuesday, Harvard University had recouped most of the federal research funding it lost when the Trump administration froze its access to grants earlier this year, multiple local news organization...

www.insidehighered.com

Reposted by Laurent Pech, Alan Richardson, Aaron Sojourner , and 2 more Laurent Pech, Alan Richardson, Aaron Sojourner, Henry Farrell, Paul Franco

Filipe Campante @filipecampante.bsky.social · 2d

Look, every single “deal” reached by a university with the Trump administration is a moral stain that will be seen with deep embarrassment once we’re through this. But for Northwestern to do this now, when the administration is visibly weakened, is even more shameful and inexcusable.

Reposted by Laurent Pech, Aaron Sojourner, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 2d

When Columbia, Cornell, and Northwestern send material asking for donations, do they include links to a Trump SuperPAC so donors don't have to bother with a middle man?

Reposted by Elizabeth Saunders, Michael Kevane, Laurent Pech

Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 2d

Either Northwestern was not previously providing the care they thought was in the best interest of children or they have agreed to stop providing the best care when faced with extortion. The behavior is shameful and unfit for a university or a medical provider.

Reposted by Laurent Pech, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof @evanbernick.bsky.social · 2d

On international students:

31.
Northwestern will undertake a comprehensive review of its international admissions practices and policies for international students and will ensure that international students are asked questions designed to elicit their reasons for wishing to study at Northwestern and in the United States. Northwestern will also develop training materials to socialize
international students to the norms of a campus dedicated to free inquiry and open debate. 32.
Northwestern will examine its business model and determine whether steps are necessary to decrease financial reliance on foreign student admissions or partnerships with foreign
entities.

Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 2d

"if the evidence stands up then it would seem that the order little more than a command of murder. One may debate whether it is a “war crime” or not, but in a way it does not matter: it would be a crime whether or not the word “war” is placed before crime."

emptycity.substack.com/p/what-do-yo...

What do you do with unlawful orders?

The critical - and topical - issue of when the military and security services can refuse to do what they are told

emptycity.substack.com

Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 2d

Harvard Law School’s Jack Goldsmith:

“In short, if the Post’s facts are correct, it appears that Special Operations Forces committed murder when the ‘two men were blown apart in the water, as the Post put it.’”

open.substack.com/pub/executiv...

11:19
14
in shot, i the Post's facts are correct it appears
that Special Operations Forces committed murder when the "two men were blown apart in the water," as the Post put it.
It is unclear from the Post's Seporting precisely what role Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth

Reposted by Safiya U. Noble, Marc Lynch, Laurent Pech , and 5 more Safiya U. Noble, Marc Lynch, Laurent Pech, Caroline T. Schroeder, Anne Norton, Brian Keegan, Alfie Kohn, Greg Linden

Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 2d

So apparently the administrators at Northwestern have caved to the extortionist demands of the Feds. Faculty voted 595-4 AGAINST this measure.

Reposted by Gavin A. Schmidt, Tom Clark, Steve Peers , and 9 more Gavin A. Schmidt, Tom Clark, Steve Peers, Mark D. White, Rosemary A. Joyce, Laurent Pech, Michael W. Kraus, David R. Miller, Brian Keegan, Sarah Roberts, Nelson Flores, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 2d

The legal, media, and academic institutions capitulating to an authoritarian ordering payments for favorable treatment are damning themselves to irrelevance. They are destroying their institutions. They will be — and should be — shunned for failing in their most basic purposes for existing.

Matthew Eadie @mattheweadie.bsky.social · 2d

BREAKING: Northwestern University has agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury $75 million, over the course of three years as part of an agreement with the federal government to restore funding and end investigations into the university

Full statement from NU below:

Marty Lederman @martylederman.bsky.social · 2d

How did the @nytimes.com editors let this sentence appear?

"Critics have likened Mr. Trump’s approach to extortion, while others have chalked it up as a cost of doing business with this administration."

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...

Northwestern University Nears Deal to Resolve Its Conflict With the White House

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Ralf Michaels, Laurent Pech

Verfassungsblog @verfassungsblog.de · 3d

Fundamental rights are under attack worldwide. ⏰ The question is no longer if democracy must be defended – but how. In the US, across Europe, in Germany.

Our answer: Build knowledge. Share it widely.

Join our mission with a donation:
verfassungsblog.de/support-us/

Why we need your support 🧵👇

Verfassungsblog Sharepic

5,000,000 VISITS
3,600 AUTHORS
9,500 TEXTS

Completely Open Access.
Intelligible to all.
Read by Millions.

We democratize expertise.
Funded by Readers – Join us!

Reposted by Steve Peers, Laurent Pech

John Morijn @jmorijn.bsky.social · 4d

I gave a talk about Case C-769/22 (Commission v. Hungary), the most awaited pending case before the @eucourtofjustice.bsky.social

For the first time, the Commission invoked Article 2 TEU "separately". But what could that add?

You can watch the full recording here: www.linkedin.com/posts/john-m...

This week I have the very distinct pleasure of visiting Unitelma Sapienza as a guest of ReCLEI (Giulio Fedele, Marco Fisicaro). In that context I was fortunate to give a talk about perhaps the most… ...

www.linkedin.com

Reposted by Will Jennings, Tim Bale, Laurent Pech , and 1 more Will Jennings, Tim Bale, Laurent Pech, Dan Hicks

dag @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 4d

“Also for legal reasons, we’re not able to tell you what that line is.”

From a media law perspective: BS.

There is no "legal" reason for not publishing that line.

www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...

BBC tells staff they cannot quote Trump line removed from Reith Lecture

Journalists not allowed to repeat Rutger Bregman’s corruption claims against US president in coverage of edit

www.theguardian.com

Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 4d

For some reasons, @eppgroup.bsky.social has decided to emulate Orban’s autocratic playbook and target civil society actors. This comes at a time where EPP AFCO Chair previously did his best to normalise fake judges and anti-rule of law pseudo “experts”

Transparency International EU @transparency-eu.bsky.social · 4d

Last week, we called on the progressive groups in the European Parliament to boycott the working group set up by the @eppgroup.bsky.social that will scrutinise, stigmatise and ultimately harm civil society actors.

Last night, they did.

Read our boycott letter: buff.ly/o1wqpnx

Reposted by Laurent Pech

Transparency International EU @transparency-eu.bsky.social · 4d

Reposted by Peter Holmes, Laurent Pech

Dave Keating @davekeating.substack.com · 4d

The EU's ethics watchdog just ruled that 🇪🇺President von der Leyen's use of 'omnibus' packages to implement 🇺🇸President Trump's EU policy wishlist violates fundamental principles of good administration, including transparent, inclusive, and evidence-based law making.

Ombudsman finds maladministration in how Commission prepared urgent legislative proposals

The proposals concerned corporate sustainability due diligence (Omnibus I), the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and countering migrant smuggling.

www.ombudsman.europa.eu

Reposted by Steve Peers, Laurent Pech

European Ombudsman @ombudsman.europa.eu · 4d

We have found a number of procedural shortcomings in how @ec.europa.eu prepared legislative proposals that it considered urgent.

The proposals concerned:
☑️ Corporate sustainability (Omnibus I)
☑️ Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
☑️ Countering migrant smuggling

www.ombudsman.europa.eu/press-releas...

Reposted by Laurent Pech

Kim Lane Scheppele @kimlanelaw.bsky.social · 4d

On this Thanksgiving Eve, here's a good reminder of all of the resistance we've seen this year. A time to give thanks to all those who are rising up to defend American democracy and our constitutional values. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

A year on from Trump’s victory, resistance is everywhere | Rebecca Solnit

Americans have shown a tremendous amount and variety of opposition – more than some may realize

Add to Home Screen

Light up
your news

Add to Home Screen

Light upyour news

Sign in to Lightnews

Sign up to start reading

Connect Bluesky

Connect with Bluesky

Light up
your news