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Committee of Ministers refers Kavala v. Turkey case to the European Court of Human Rights

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The Committee of Ministers of the 47-nation Council of Europe has referred the  Kavala v. Turkey  case to the European Court of Human Rights to determine whether Turkey has failed to fulfil its obligation to implement the  Court’s judgment  in this case, in line with proceedings provided for under Article 46.4 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In an  Interim Resolution  adopted on 2.2.2022, the Committee found that, by failing to ensure Mr Kavala’s immediate release, Turkey is refusing to abide by the Court’s final judgment in his case. This view is disputed by the Turkish authorities. In December 2019, the European Court ruled that Mr Kavala’s detention took place in the absence of sufficient evidence that he had committed an offence. It found that his arrest and pre-trial detention pursued an ulterior purpose, namely to silence him and dissuade other human rights defenders, and that the time taken by the Turkish Constitutional Court to review his complaint was insuffici

European Data Protection Supervisor orders Europol to erase data concerning individuals with no established link to a criminal activity

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On 3 January 2022, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) notified Europol of an  order  to delete data concerning individuals with no established link to a criminal activity (Data Subject Categorisation). This Decision concludes the EDPS’ inquiry launched in 2019. In the context of its inquiry, the EDPS admonished Europol in September 2020 for the continued storage of large volumes of data with no Data Subject Categorisation, which poses a risk to individuals’ fundamental rights. While some measures have been put in place by Europol since then, Europol has not complied with the EDPS’ requests to define an appropriate data retention period to filter and to extract the personal data permitted for analysis under the Europol Regulation. This means that Europol was keeping this data for longer than necessary, contrary to the principles of data minimisation and storage limitation, enshrined in the Europol Regulation.   In light of the above, the EDPS has decided to use its corre

Two prisoners punished for singing anthems and reading out poems in prison: Violation of the freedom of expression

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In Chamber's judgment in the case of Mehmet Çiftçi and Suat İncedere v. Turkey (applications nos. 21266/19 and 21774/19) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been: a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights.  The case concerned the sanction of one month’s deprivation of means of communication imposed on the applicants by the prison management for singing anthems and reading out poems (in December 2016) in memory of the prisoners who had lost their lives during the “Return to life” operation conducted by the authorities in prisons in December 2000.  The Court found that the disciplinary sanction imposed on the applicants constituted interference with their right to freedom of expression. It held that, notwithstanding the mildness of the sanction imposed on the applicants, the Government had not demonstrated that the reasons cited by the national authorities as justification for the measure complained o

Gay-marriage-cake case declared inadmissible by ECtHR

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In its decision in the case of Lee v. the United Kingdom (application no. 18860/19) the European Court of Human Rights has, by a majority, declared the application inadmissible. The decision is final. The case concerned the refusal by a Christian-run bakery to make a cake with the words “Support Gay Marriage” and the QueerSpace logo on it which the applicant had ordered and the proceedings that had followed. The applicant, Gareth Lee, is a British national who was born in 1969 and lives in Belfast (United Kingdom). He is associated with QueerSpace, an organisation for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Northern Ireland. Although same-sex marriage had been enacted in the rest of the UK in 2014, it was made legal in Northern Ireland only in 2020.  In 2014, Mr Lee ordered a cake for a gay activist event set to take place not long after the Northern Irish Assembly had narrowly rejected legalising same-sex marriage for the third time. He ordered it from Asher’s bakery.

Associate Lawyer - Specialized in Regulatory and Governance Matters at EIB

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The EIB, the European Union's bank, is seeking to recruit for its Legal Directorate (JU) – Legal Department, Corporate (CORP) – Regulatory Matters Division (REG) at its headquarters in Luxembourg, a (Associate) Lawyer - Specialized in Regulatory and Governance Matters. This is a full - time position at grade 4/5. The term of this contract will be 4 years. Panel interviews are anticipated for end February 2022. The EIB offers fixed-term contracts of up to a maximum of 6 years, according to business needs, with a possibility to convert to a permanent contract, subject to organisational requirements and individual performance. The successful candidate will deliver the legal services required by the Bank in the area of EU and international banking and financial regulations and institutional law, including in relation to prudential and governance regulatory requirements and rules. Deadline for applications: 31st January 2022. More details and applications here (photo: freepik.com)

Artificial Intelligence in judicial systems: New action plan on digitalisation for a better justice

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The Council of Europe’s European Commission for the efficiency of justice (CEPEJ) has adopted an  action plan on digitalisation for a better justice for 2022-2025 , aiming at reconciling the efficiency of new technologies and the respect of fundamental rights. This action plan sets the major orientations of the CEPEJ, whose main objective is always to place the user at the centre of the concerns, even in a digitised environment or in the course of digitalisation, by providing the user effective and quality public service of justice. These orientations are articulated around major axes aiming at ensuring that justice is always transparent, collaborative, human, people-centred and accessible, enlightened, and finally responsible and responsive. The CEPEJ has also adopted a  revised roadmap  for ensuring an appropriate follow-up of its  European Ethical Charter on the use of artificial intelligence in judicial systems and their environment . Finally, the CEPEJ has adopted guidelines o

The abuse of power & influence by credit institutions against borrowers and the moral issue of exploiting their psychological condition when concluding loan agreements

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by Giorgos Kazoleas, Lawyer LL.M. At the stage before concluding a loan agreement between the credit institution and the prospective borrower, the inequality regarding the negotiating power of the parties reaches its peak in order to complete the agreement. The pressure to agree on the contract clauses, which usually reflects the imbalance of rights and obligations between the two parties and while several of which are abusive, is not a neutral pressure, but the pressure of the financially and authoritatevely strong against the financially weak and mentally vulnerable. And this is despite the fact that the basic terms have previously been judged by case law or even legislated as abusive. One of the ways to avoid abuse by the credit institutions' position is the requirement of good faith, in the assessment of which, special attention must be paid to the negotiating power of both parties. It should be also assessed whether the consumer was motivated in any way to accept the clause

Child adoption without taking account of the mother’s wishes breached her human rights (ECtHR)

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In its Grand Chamber judgment in the case of Abdi Ibrahim v. Norway (application no. 15379/16) 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 decision by the Norwegian authorities to allow the adoption of a child by a foster family against his mother’s wishes. The mother, a Somali national who had moved to Norway, did not ask for her son’s return as he had spent a long time with his foster parents, but wished for him to maintain his cultural and religious roots.  The Court decided to examine the applicant’s wish to have her son brought up in line with her Muslim faith as an integral part of her complaint under Article 8, as interpreted and applied in the light of Article 9 (freedom of religion). It was not necessary to examine separately any alleged failures to comply with Article 9.  The Court pointed out that various in

The “digital dimension” of violence against women and girls

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This year’s  UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women  (25 November) shines a spotlight on the digital dimension of violence against women and girls. From body shaming (mocking someone’s bodily shape, size, or appearance) and cyber-flashing (sending unsolicited sexual images online) to doxing (sharing online a target’s personal information without consent), the rapid development of information and communication technologies also facilitates new avenues for violence against women and girls, exposing them to more risks of being abused. In its first recommendation on the “ digital dimension ” of violence against women, the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence ( GREVIO ) defines and outlines the problem of both gender based violence against women committed online and technology-enabled attacks against women, such as legally obtainable tracking devices that enable perpetrators to stalk their victims.

The pre-trial detention of 427 judges in Turkey was illegal - Decision of the ECtHR

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The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled against Turkey on 23.7.2021 for the illegal pre-trial detention of 427 Turkish judges following the failed coup attempt in July 2016. The applicants are 427 Turkish nationals, all members of the Court of Cassation or the Supreme Administrative Court, or judges in lower courts or prosecutors at the time of the events giving rise to the applications.  The case concerns the arrest and pre-trial detention of the applicants, all of whom were sitting as judges or prosecutors at the time, in the aftermath of the military coup attempt of 15 July 2016, on suspicion of being members of an organisation described by the Turkish authorities as the “Fetullahist Terrorist Organisation / Parallel State Structure” (Fetullahçı Terör Örgütü / Paralel Devlet Yapılanması).  Relying on Article 5 § 1 (right to liberty and security), the applicants complain that they were placed in pre-trial detention in breach of the domestic law governing the arrest and p

A finding of civil liability against the author of a historical book for remarks deemed defamatory by the Italian courts did not breach the ECHR

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In its Chamber judgment in the case of Marinoni v. Italy (application no. 27801/12) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been no violation of Article 6 § 2 (presumption of innocence) of the European Convention on Human Rights, and no violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression).  The case concerned a finding of civil liability against the author of a book on account of two sets of remarks deemed by the Italian courts to be defamatory. The book included a reconstruction of the events preceding the summary execution of 43 captured soldiers of the Italian Social Republic (an episode known as the “strage di Rovetta”).  The historical account was overlaid with the author’s private and personal recollections centred on his family life. The applicant was acquitted in the criminal proceedings at first instance but was found civilly liable following an appeal by the civil parties.  The Court held that the domestic courts had not used language liable to cast do

Editorial

Editorial
George Kazoleas, Lawyer