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Increased polarisation and challenges to Europe’s fundamental principles, together with the global COVID-19 pandemic, are likely to create the most difficult period we have seen in many years, according to the President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Speaking at the court’s annual press conference in Strasbourg, ECHR President Robert Spano said that democracy, the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law are increasingly being called into question at both the European and global levels. He added that the on-going pandemic has already raised a number of important human rights issues, including the proportionality of measures taken by Council of Europe member states, the legal basis of those measures and the use of domestic procedures to sanction actions or inaction. President Spano underlined that the ECHR has been able to continue its work despite the pandemic, deciding on over 39,190 applications in 2020 and holding online public hearings for the first time.

The Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance of the University of Luxembourg is recruiting a Doctoral researcher (PhD student) in Law. A specialisation is foreseen in (European) Criminal Law and Criminal procedure. The doctoral researcher will be working within the Department of Law. The doctoral researcher is expected to contribute to research projects in the area of Criminal Law. Particular interest in Europeanization of Criminal Law with an interdisciplinary context would be an asset. The candidate’s main task will be to prepare a doctoral thesis in the field of European Criminal Law, under the supervision of Professor Stefan Braum. The thesis work will be undertaken at the University of Luxembourg but can also be part of a jointly-supervised with another university. Τ he doctoral researcher will contribute to the teaching of classes ranging from one to three hours per week, of small group teachings and tutorials. The candidate must have: Master’s degree in Law The  linguistic sk

In response to the unprecedented situation created by COVID-19, many of the EU institutions, agencies and bodies were required to adopt targeted measures and/or to adapt their working processes to deal with the challenges of the emergency. In April 2020, the Ombudsman began examining the work of the EU administration in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. As a first step, at that stage, she  drew the attention of the European Commission and Council  to the fact that their obligations concerning transparency were not diminished in the crisis response. In July 2020, the Ombudsman launched a series of inquiries and initiatives, looking at specific aspects of the work of different EU institutions, agencies and bodies. The Ombudsman’s  inquiry  into the work carried out by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in gathering and assessing data linked to the COVID-19 crisis is at an advanced stage. The Ombudsman’s inquiry team has inspected various ECDC files, carri

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has elected Andreas Zünd as judge to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Switzerland and Ioannis Ktistakis as judge to the Court in respect of Greece. Mr Zünd and Mr Ktistakis, having obtained an absolute majority of votes cast, are elected judges of the European Court of Human Rights for a term of office of nine years which shall commence no later than three months after their election. Judges are elected by PACE from a list of three candidates nominated by each State which has ratified the European Convention on Human Rights. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe elects the judges of the European Court of Human Rights, providing them with democratic legitimacy. According to the European Convention on Human Rights, judges must "be of high moral character and possess the qualifications required for appointment to high judicial office or be jurisconsults of recognised competence". T

Since 1 January 2021, the Council of Bars and Law societies of Europe (CCBE) has been chaired by Margarete von Galen (Germany) following her election by the CCBE Plenary Session on 27 November 2020. Margarete von Galen has been practising as a lawyer in Berlin since 1983 and as a specialist lawyer in criminal law since 1998. Alongside activities as criminal defence lawyer, she advises on compliance issues and acts as External Ombudsperson for several companies. From 2004 to 2009, she was the President of the Berlin Bar. She has been a judge at the Constitutional Court of the State of Berlin since 2014. In 2008, she joined the CCBE Criminal Law Committee and, from 2015 to 2017, she was a member of the German CCBE Delegation. Her presidency will be supported by James MacGuill (Ireland) as 1st Vice-President, Panagiotis Perakis (Greece) as 2nd Vice-President, and Pierre-Dominique Schupp (Switzerland) as 3rd Vice-President. Margarete von Galen declared: “Among all the current challen

By Evlampia Tsolaki, Attorney at Law* The principle of the most favourable rule (Günstigkeitsprinzip) constitutes a distinct characteristic of Greek labour law as it introduces a noteworthy exception to the strict pyramidal hierarchy that regulates by and large the relationship of the rules of law in the Greek legal order. Its application presupposes that two labour law legal sources of different legal nature and in any case of different origin co-exist and therefore demand to be implemented at the same time, given that they regulate the same issue, such as the days provided for a leave. On the condition, that an employment relationship falls within the ratione materiae, personae, temporis and loci of those both legal instruments and cumulatively both of its parties, namely the employer and employee, are bound by them, then the primacy will not be determined in accordance with the formal weight of each one, but pursuant to their substantive content according to the principle of the mos

The Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy in Munich is offering several PhD Positions (m/f/div) in “Digital Health – Digitalisation in Health Law”. The Institute is looking for dissertation projects in the field of “Digital Health – Digitalisation in Health Law” for a new research group at our Institute. Possible topics include data protection and cybersecurity in healthcare, personalised medicine, and legal regulation of digital health. Applicants are expected to hold an excellent degree in law that meets the doctoral admission requirements of the Law Faculty at Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (LMU). Candidates should have knowledge in digital law and/or international comparative law. Good language skills in English and German are expected, additional languages skills would be appreciated. Applications should include a short project outline (5 pages max.), a curriculum vitae with list of publications, and copies of certificates and qualifications. Please se

European Parliament calls for an EU law that grants workers the right to digitally disconnect from work without facing negative repercussions. In their legislative initiative that passed with 472 votes in favour, 126 against and 83 abstentions, MEPs call on the Commission to propose a law that enables those who work digitally to disconnect outside their working hours. It should also establish minimum requirements for remote working and clarify working conditions, hours and rest periods. The increase in digital resources being used for work purposes has resulted in an ‘always on’ culture, which has a negative impact on the work-life balance of employees, MEPs say. Although working from home has been instrumental in helping safeguard employment and business during the COVID-19 crisis, the combination of long working hours and higher demands also leads to more cases of anxiety, depression, burnout and other mental and physical health issues. MEPs consider  the right to disconnect  a

In Chamber judgment (19.1.2021) in the case of X and Y v. Romania (applications nos. 2145/16 and 20607/16) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights.  The case concerned the situation of two transgender persons whose requests for recognition of their gender identity and for the relevant administrative corrections to be made were refused on the grounds that persons making such requests had to furnish proof that they had undergone gender reassignment surgery. The Court observed that the national courts had presented the applicants, who did not wish to undergo gender reassignment surgery, with an impossible dilemma: either they had to undergo the surgery against their better judgment – and forego full exercise of their right to respect for their physical integrity – or they had to forego recognition of their gender identity, which also came wit

By George Kazoleas, Lawyer Formalism may be inherent in laws, jurisprudence and in procedural law in particular, since the rules of law are specific forms that must be applied in real situations. Excessive formalism, however, which characterizes many judicial systems, can sometimes deprive citizens of their right to access the justice in order to assert their rights. Strict procedural rules that most commonly concern deadlines, the limitation period of claims, the method of filing and deficiencies or errors of Court documents deny in essence the right to go to Court. The European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”) has issued a number of judgments condemning the law of several countries for excessive formalism in certain cases. Despite being a lawyer, he was not allowed to appeal for himself A typical example is the case of  Maširević v. Serbia (No 30671/08, February 11th, 2014,  in which the applicant, a practicing lawyer, had brought an action before a local Court seeking payme

The Swedish Data Protection Authority has issued an administrative fine of SEK 300,000 (about 30,000 euros) against a housing company for unlawful video surveillance in an apartment building. The Swedish Data Protection Authority (DPA) received a complaint concerning video surveillance in an apartment building belonging to the housing company Uppsalahem. The complainant claimed that there was a surveillance camera in the apartment house directed towards the complainant's front door. The DPA's audit shows that the housing company had set up a surveillance camera monitoring the floor where the complainant lives. The camera's monitoring area clearly covered two apartment doors, one of which belongs to the complainant and the other belonging to a resident whom has been subject to disturbances and harassment. The housing company states that the purpose of the video surveillance was to resolve disturbances having occurred in the stairwell over time. "The way the vide