Civil Society and Rule of Law Backsliding in the EU

Abstract

In the realm of the rule of law crisis taking place in several Member States of the European Union (EU), illiberal governments attempt to dilute institutional and non-institutional checks and balances with the aim to unrestrainedly exercise the state power. In this context, civil society, a sphere autonomous from the state where public interests are being expressed and formulated, is constantly undermined. This article tries to illustrate the relation between civil society and the rule of law and its backsliding. In this regard, a theoretical framework indicating the connections of the dominant civil society theories with core rule of law elements will be developed and the points of friction with rule of law backsliding will be indicated. This theoretical framework will, then, be tested in EU institutional practice through the examples of the EU Annual Rule of Law Report and the case Commission v. Hungary (Transparency of Associations, C-78/18). civil society, rule of law backsliding, fundamental rights, participation in decisionmaking, Annual Rule of Law Report