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In Chamber judgment (8.12.2020) in the case of Victor Rotaru v. the Republic of Moldova (application no. 26764/12) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been a violation of Article 2 of Protocol No. 4 (freedom of movement) to the European Convention on Human Rights.  The case concerned the domestic authorities’ refusal over several years to issue the applicant with a passport, on the grounds that he had failed to repay a debt owed to a bank. The Court noted that the civil-registration authority had refused to issue the applicant with a passport after finding that the sole condition imposed by law had been met, namely the nonrepayment of a debt. The duration of the ban on obtaining a passport had not been specified and it did not appear that the proportionality of the measure had been reviewed at any stage. The domestic legislation, as applied in the present case, had not provided the applicant with sufficient procedural guarantees to prevent the risk ...

In its decision in the case of Le Mailloux v. France (application no. 18108/20) the European Court of Human Rights has unanimously declared the application inadmissible. The case concerned the applicant’s objections to the handling by the French State of the Covid-19 health crisis. The Court observed that the applicant was complaining about the measures taken by the French State to curb the propagation of the Covid-19 virus among the whole population of France, but had not shown how he was personally affected. It reiterated that it did not recognise an actio popularis: meaning that applicants cannot complain about a provision of domestic law, a domestic practice or public acts simply because they appear to contravene the European Convention on Human Rights. In order for applicants to be able to claim to be a victim, they must produce reasonable and convincing evidence of the likelihood that a violation affecting them personally will occur. Relying on Article 2 (right to life...

By Christina Poursanidou, Lawyer/Legal and Compliance Officer  Ten days before the end of the United Kingdom (UK) transition period to leave the European Union (EU), there is still uncertainty on whether the two sides will agree on a trade deal agreement. During the transition period the UK continue to apply the EU Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Directives, but from 1st of January 2021 new challenges and concerns for the global effort against money laundering appear. With this article, we will set out the impact of Brexit to the fight against money laundering both for the UK and to EU countries. United Kingdom is historically considered as one of the countries with the strictest AML laws. If it exits the EU without a trade deal, the UK Government has to decide whether it will continue to apply the EU Directives or not. Even from January 2020, the 5th AML Directive (5AMLD) came into force in the UK, while the majority of the provisions of the 6th AML Directive (6AMLD) are already inc...

The Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has published a new factsheet focusing on cases related to the independence and impartiality of the judicial system. The factsheet summarises measures reported by 21 member states to safeguard and reinforce the independence and impartiality of their national judicial systems in response to ECHR judgments concerning the right to a fair trial. It includes a section on the independence and impartiality of prosecutors, which form an integral part of European judicial systems. This is the fifth in a series of  thematic factsheets  on the implementation of ECHR judgments. Previous examples cover constitutional matters, effective investigations into death or ill-treatment caused by the security forces, freedom of religion and the environment. Some of the factsheets are available in other languages in addition to English and French. (coe.int) The factsheet "INDEPENDENCE AND IMPA...

By George Kazoleas, Lawyer LL.M. The digitization of justice and the increasing use of forms of e-justice by legal systems is not only a reality but also a necessity that arose from the unprecedented conditions created and continues to create the covid-19 pandemic. An admittedly more advanced area of digitalisation of justice is artificial intelligence in judicial systems, which, as many experts predict, is the sure future in the way justice is administered. Ιn this matter, the Council of EU [1]  notes that the deployment of artificial intelligence systems in the justice sector is already being researched and developed in the EU and that the practical implementation of such systems is already imminent in some Member States. The Council also notes that a sufficient level of digitalisation is also a prerequisite for the use of artificial intelligence applications. It is also emphasized, that artificial intelligence systems in the justice sector may in the future be capable of perform...

Marialena Tsirli, first female Registrar in the history of the European Court of Human Rights, elected on 7 September 2020 for a five-year term of office, was sworn in on 30 November 2020. Article 17 of the Rules of Court governs the Registrar’s functions. The Registrar has overall responsibility for both the administrative and the judicial activities of the Registry under the authority of the President of the Court. Marialena Tsirli succeeded Roderick Liddell, who has been Registrar of the Court since 1 December 2015. A Greek national, born in 1967 in Thessaloniki, Marialena Tsirli studied law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and holds a master’s degree and a doctorate from the Robert Schuman University of Strasbourg. She was legal officer (1994-1998) in the Secretariat of the former European Commission of Human Rights. Within the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights, she served successively as legal officer (1998-2004), Head of Division (2004-...