Since its ruling on the Maastricht Treaty, the German Federal Constitutional Court has developed a doctrine that elevates the fundamental constitutional principles in conjunction with the right to vote to the status of a ‘right to democracy’. In this Article, we explore how plaintiffs draw on the right to democracy in an effort to activate the Court’s self-asserted prerogative of ultra vires and identity review and keep Karlsruhe in the game of adjudicating on the conditions and boundaries of European integration. We assume that the legal opportunities associated with constitutional complaints invoking the right to democracy involve a dynamic, interdependent relationship where (the same) plaintiffs build on existing case law to develop legal arguments and where the Court evaluates, refines and codifies these arguments. To substantiate this interactive process of an expansion of legal opportunities, we draw on a largely untapped data source and use the original pleadings in four cases against the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) and the Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP) of the European Central Bank, linking these complaints to the respective court decisions.

This article presents the findings of a research project on the internal and external governance of associations of immigrants in Andalucía, Spain. It is divided into three descriptive, interpretative parts. The first lists and analyzes the sociocultural motives behind initiatives for the formation of associations of immigrants, including initiatives related with the transnational context, initiatives stemming from a sense of solidarity and altruism, and initiatives arising from the need to coexist with and become integrated into the host society. The second part of the article focuses on the types of activities such associations organize, their resources and their strategic management practices. The third part looks at the ways in which associations are connected with the third sector in Andalucía, with particular reference to two dimensions of the issue, inter-association relationships and community participation. The findings throw some light on the accountability, institutional support, and networking needs of associations of immigrants. A series of suggestions is also presented concerning points generally linked with the concept of associative governance, such as good management practices and the concept of participatory governance as mechanisms for including civil society in policy and program design.