{"id":9571,"date":"2019-05-01T09:41:20","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T07:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/?post_type=hbi-publications&p=9571"},"modified":"2026-08-11T09:41:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T07:41:34","slug":"courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka","status":"publish","type":"hbi-publications","link":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-publications\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\/","title":{"rendered":"Courts as Drivers of Social Progress between \u0160kocjan and Topeka"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Matthias C. Kettemann<\/a> uses international court decisions to demonstrate how courts can drive social change and act as agents of minority protection.<\/p>\n

\"Cover\"Sind Gerichte Orte und Horte eines konservativen Gerechtigkeitsverst\u00e4ndnisses, das zu sehr ausgerichtet ist an den Lettern des Gesetzes? Dieser Vorwurf wird oftmals erhoben. In vielen wichtigen sozialpolitischen Fragen waren (und sind) es indes Gerichte, die vorpreschen und als Agenten des Fortschritts das Rechtssystem an gewandelte gesellschaftliche Wertvorstellungen anpassen. So der Idealfall. Aber was, wen es einen gesellschaftlichen Backlash gibt? Das zeigen zwei Beispielsf\u00e4lle: Brown v. Board of Education (Rassendiskriminierung im amerikanischen S\u00fcden) und die Umsetzung des Ortstafelerkenntnisses des Verfassungsgerichtshofs.<\/p>\n

[Are courts bastions of a conservative conception of justice that is too focused on the letter of the law? This accusation is often leveled. In many important social policy issues, however, it has been (and continues to be) the courts that take the lead and, as agents of progress, adapt the legal system to changing social values. That is the ideal scenario. But what happens when there is a societal backlash? Two case studies illustrate this: Brown v. Board of Education (racial discrimination in the American South) and the implementation of the Constitutional Court\u2019s ruling on place-name signs.]<\/p>\n

Kettemann, M. C. (2019): Yes, they can! Gerichte als Akteure des gesellschaftlichen Fortschritts zwischen \u0160kocjan und Topeka [Yes, they can! Courts as Drivers of Social Progress between \u0160kocjan and Topeka]. In: Die Stimme – Zeitschrift der Initiative Minderheiten #110.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2433,"template":"","tags":[398],"class_list":["post-9571","hbi-publications","type-hbi-publications","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-miscellaneous"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCourts as Drivers of Social Progress between \u0160kocjan and Topeka - Leibniz HBI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-publications\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Courts as Drivers of Social Progress between \u0160kocjan and Topeka\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dr. Matthias C. Kettemann uses international court decisions to demonstrate how courts can drive social change and act as agents of minority protection. Sind Gerichte Orte und Horte eines konservativen Gerechtigkeitsverst\u00e4ndnisses, das zu sehr ausgerichtet ist an den Lettern des Gesetzes? Dieser Vorwurf wird oftmals erhoben. In vielen wichtigen sozialpolitischen Fragen waren (und sind) es […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-publications\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Leibniz HBI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-11T07:41:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Header-Publikationen_e.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1380\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-publications\\\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-publications\\\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\\\/\",\"name\":\"Courts as Drivers of Social Progress between \u0160kocjan and Topeka - Leibniz HBI\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-publications\\\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-publications\\\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/Header-Publikationen_e.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-01T07:41:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-11T07:41:34+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-publications\\\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-publications\\\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-publications\\\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/Header-Publikationen_e.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/Header-Publikationen_e.jpg\",\"width\":1380,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"flying book with open pages in front of a blue sky\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-publications\\\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Homepage\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Courts as Drivers of Social Progress between \u0160kocjan and Topeka\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Leibniz HBI\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Leibniz HBI\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/HBI_Logo-Kopie-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/HBI_Logo-Kopie-2.png\",\"width\":462,\"height\":123,\"caption\":\"Leibniz HBI\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Courts as Drivers of Social Progress between \u0160kocjan and Topeka - Leibniz HBI","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-publications\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Courts as Drivers of Social Progress between \u0160kocjan and Topeka","og_description":"Dr. Matthias C. Kettemann uses international court decisions to demonstrate how courts can drive social change and act as agents of minority protection. Sind Gerichte Orte und Horte eines konservativen Gerechtigkeitsverst\u00e4ndnisses, das zu sehr ausgerichtet ist an den Lettern des Gesetzes? Dieser Vorwurf wird oftmals erhoben. In vielen wichtigen sozialpolitischen Fragen waren (und sind) es […]","og_url":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-publications\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\/","og_site_name":"Leibniz HBI","article_modified_time":"2026-08-11T07:41:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1380,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Header-Publikationen_e.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-publications\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\/","url":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-publications\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\/","name":"Courts as Drivers of Social Progress between \u0160kocjan and Topeka - Leibniz HBI","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-publications\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-publications\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Header-Publikationen_e.jpg","datePublished":"2019-05-01T07:41:20+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-11T07:41:34+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-publications\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-publications\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-publications\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Header-Publikationen_e.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Header-Publikationen_e.jpg","width":1380,"height":400,"caption":"flying book with open pages in front of a blue sky"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-publications\/courts-as-drivers-of-social-progress-between-skocjan-and-topeka\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Homepage","item":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Courts as Drivers of Social Progress between \u0160kocjan and Topeka"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/","name":"Leibniz HBI","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/#organization","name":"Leibniz HBI","url":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HBI_Logo-Kopie-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HBI_Logo-Kopie-2.png","width":462,"height":123,"caption":"Leibniz HBI"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"permalink_manager":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hbi-publications\/9571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hbi-publications"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hbi-publications"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newws.leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}