Trump in the Right?

805

April 13, 2025

Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(Germany) on 9 April 2025
by Reinhard Müller (link to original link to original)

Translated from by Mallory Matsumoto. Edited by Laurence Bouvard.

Checks and balances are still functioning in the U.S., but we still have to keep a close watch. The civilizing foundations are nonnegotiable.

The American president clearly doesn’t think much of the international order or of judges who hold him back — though that doesn’t mean the rule of law is over in the U.S. The Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of Donald Trump by a slim majority: The judicial order to stop the swift deportation to Venezuela of alleged foreign enemies has no grounds.

At the same time, the Supreme Court highlights the affected persons’ rights to have the measures being taken against them examined in court. The principle of checks and balances, which has been tested in heated battles over centuries, is working — and it is crucial that it continues to do so.

More Politicized Than in Europe

Law, and particularly the selection and power of individual judges in the U.S., has traditionally been much more politicized than in Europe. The system is culturally different, which is apparent right now in dealing with those declared to be “enemies” and in draconian punishments.

However difficult it is, even during Trump’s regency, we have to look closely — and keep looking, especially when it concerns the foundations of the international order. It is a question of civilization: territorial integrity, self-determination and the sovereign equality of all states are nonnegotiable, as are basic human rights.

Ein Kommentar von Reinhard Müller
Noch funktionieren die checks and balances in den USA. Doch man muss weiter genau hinschauen. Unverhandelbar sind die zivilisatorischen Grundlagen.

Der amerikanische Präsident hält offenkundig nicht viel von der internationalen Ordnung und auch nicht von Richtern, die ihm in den Arm fallen – was aber noch nicht heißt, dass der Rechtsstaat in Amerika am Ende wäre. Der Oberste Gerichtshof hat jetzt mit knapper Mehrheit Trump im Ergebnis recht gegeben: Die richterliche Anordnung, das eilige Ausfliegen von mutmaßlichen ausländischen Feinden nach Venezuela zu stoppen, hat keinen Bestand.
Zugleich aber hebt der Supreme Court das Recht der Betroffenen hervor, die gegen sie ergriffenen Maßnahmen gerichtlich überprüfen zu lassen. Die in Jahrhunderten heftigen Streits erprobten checks and balances funktionieren hier – und es ist entscheidend, dass das auch so bleibt.
Stärker politisiert als in Europa
Das Recht und gerade auch die Wahl und die Macht einzelner Richter in Amerika sind traditionell auf viel stärkere Weise politisiert als in Europa. Das System ist kulturell anders – was sich gerade im Umgang mit erklärten „Feinden“ und in drakonischen Sanktionen zeigt.
Auch wenn es schwerfällt: Man muss auch unter Trumps Regentschaft genau hinschauen. Und dranbleiben, insbesondere, soweit es um die Grundlagen der internationalen Ordnung geht. Das ist eine Zivilisationsfrage: Territoriale Integrität, Selbstbestimmung und souveräne Gleichheit aller Staaten sind nicht verhandelbar – und die fundamentalen Menschenrechte auch nicht.

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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