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The European Court of Human Rights received on 28.9.2020 a request for interim measure lodged by Armenia against Azerbaijan, in which the Armenian Government requested the Court to indicate to the Azerbaijani Government, under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court (interim measures) , as follows:“to cease the military attacks towards the civilian settlements along the entire line of contact of the armed forces of Armenia and Artsakh; to stop indiscriminate attacks; to stop targeting civilian population, civilian objects and settlements.” The request was lodged under the application number 42521/20 and is currently being examined. Under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, the Court may indicate interim measures to any State Party to the European Convention on Human Rights. Interim measures are urgent measures which, according to the Court’s well-established practice, apply only where there is an imminent risk of irreparable harm .Rule 39 (interim measures) of the Rules of Court reads as follow: “1.…

By George Kazoleas, Lawyer, Director at Legalpost.euIt is well known that employees resign not because of their job, but because of their boss. According to a recent survey, half of the employees who quit their jobs did so to escape from their bosses, while in another survey this percentage was 75%.Evaluating the research data, it is concluded that the employees who leave their jobs are useful employees, good employees, those who value themselves and their abilities and consider that they deserve better behavior and treatment from their superiors or that they deserve more opportunities and more active participation in the activity of the company.Data is similar for legal professionals working in law firms. Looking at publications and studies, one easily realizes that the younger mainly lawyers become a systematic target of bad behavior of their employers-lawyers. In fact, the bad behavior that goes as far as verbal abuse and moral harassment, has prevailed to be considered as part of …

The Court of Justice dismissed the appeals brought by EUIPO and a Spanish company against the judgment of the General Court authorising football player Lionel Messi to register the trade mark ‘MESSI’ for sports equipment and clothingIn August 2011, the footballer Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini filed an application with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for registration of a figurative sign as an EU trade mark, inter alia for sports and gymnastics clothing, footwear and equipment.In November 2011, Mr Jaime Masferrer Coma filed a notice of opposition to the registration of the mark applied for by Mr Messi Cuccittini, alleging a likelihood of confusion with the EU word marks MASSI, registered, inter alia, for clothing, footwear, cycling helmets, protective clothing and gloves (the rights to those marks were transferred in May 2012 to the Spanish company J.M.-E.V. e hijos). [1]In 2013, EUIPO upheld the opposition. Mr Messi Cuccittini lodged an appeal with EUIPO again…

Through the new “alternative bar associations” legislation and President Erdogan’s own words “Those who act as the lawyers of terrorists may not act like terrorists themselves. If they do so, there must be a price to pay”, which he said in the presence of judges and prosecutors in the new judicial year opening ceremony, the Turkish government had already signaled that a new phase in the persecution of lawyers was about to start.Only a few days after President Erdogan’s speech, today (11 September 2020), the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor has ordered the arrest of 48 lawyers, 7 trainee lawyers, 4 purged judges and a law graduate, for being “members of a terrorist organisation” According to the report of the state-run Anatolian News Agency, their arrests were sought for no other offence than representing those whom the government considered dissidents and who were accused of being involved in “terrorism”. The arrested lawyers were not to be allowed a conference with anybody and would be…

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) contributes to the ongoing debate on the Reform of the judicial framework of the Court of Justice of the European Union by adopting comments on the efficiency of the General Court, the necessity and effectiveness of the increase to 54 Judges, and the further establishment of specialised chambers and/or other structural changes.The Reform process commenced in 2015 following a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council to double the number of judges at the General Court. The Court of Justice is currently preparing a report on the functioning of the General Court which is expected will be submitted to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission before the end of 2020. The CCBE underlines the importance of ensuring all litigants in the European Union may enjoy effective access to justice and quality of justice, as well as the handling of cases in a relatively short time. The CCBE acknowledges that it is a comple…

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) is deeply shocked by the death of Turkish lawyer Ebru Timtik on 27 August after a 238 days hunger strike.Lawyers Ebru Timtik and Aytaç Ünsal, respectively sentenced to 13 and 6 months and 11 years and 6 months in prison, decided to go on an unlimited hunger strike to denounce their unfair trial as well as the unfair trial of several dozens of Turkish lawyers. (Read more here)Since 2017, several Turkish lawyers belonging to the Progressive Lawyers Association and the People's Law Office, among which Ebru Timtik and Aytaç Ünsal, have been victims of judicial harassment. These lawyers who have fought for Justice and the Rule of Law have defended, among others, persons considered to be opponents of the Turkish government, families of miners massacred in Soma and Ermenek, populations expelled from their homes as victims of urban transformation, families of citizens killed under torture in police stations and prisons as well as pers…