LegalPost.eu

by Giorgos Kazoleas, Lawyer Nepotism in the legal profession is not only a domestic but a global phenomenon with timeless characteristics. Lack of meritocracy and favouritism during the process of recruitment and professional development of lawyers have common sources of nepotism and clientelism. Even in countries with advanced legal systems, such as the USA, the phenomenon of placing relatives and friends in high positions in law firms is very common. In the southern countries of Europe, nepotism stems mainly from family-oriented concepts deeply rooted in the subconscious of the societies. In smaller populated countries the phenomenon of employers' relatives and friends being preferred for jobs in law firms is more than common. In countries like India, the phenomenon of nepotism in the legal profession has particularly concerned the legal community, as there is a stronghold of a few privileged and powerful families which prevails  in the legal profession. Among lawyers and jud

In Chamber's judgment in the case of Pająk and Others v. Poland (applications nos. 25226/18, 25805/18, 8378/19 and 43949/19), the European Court of Human Rights held, by a majority (5 votes to 2), that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 (right of access to a court) of the European Convention on Human Rights in respect of all applicants, and a violation of Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) taken in conjunction with Article 8 (right to respect for private life) in respect of the three applicants who had lodged complaints under those provisions.  The case concerned four judges who complained about legislative amendments that had lowered the retirement age for judges from 67 to 60 for women, and to 65 for men, and had made the continuation of a judge’s duties after reaching retirement age conditional upon authorisation by the Minister of Justice and by the National Council of the Judiciary (“the NCJ”).  The Court took the view that judges should enjoy protection from

The Asser Institute, based in The Hague, and affiliated with the University of Amsterdam is seeking an enthusiastic Junior Researcher in International Human Rights Law on a full-time basis (38 hours per week/1 FTE – 32 hours per week also considered).  They will work on the ‘Enabling Civil Society Efforts to Address the Misuse, Diversion, and Abuse of Arms Exports in Latin America’ project and contribute to strengthen our research capacity regarding human rights and arms trade in Guatemala within the Research Strand on ‘ In the public interest: accountability of the state and the prosecution of crimes .’ The Junior Researcher will assist the Asser Project Leader, Senior Researcher  Dr León Castellanos-Jankiewicz  with research on the human rights implications of arms trafficking and diversion, including the development of instruction materials, conducting outreach with civil society organisations, organising conferences and delivering trainings. The Asser Institute is a research ce

According to the Judgment of the Court of Justice (19.10.2023) in Case C-655/21 (G. ST. T.), a custodial sentence of a minimum of five years for trade mark infringement may prove to be disproportionate.  Criminal proceedings for the infringement of trade marks were brought in Bulgaria against the owner of an undertaking selling clothes. The Bulgarian authorities conducted an inspection in a commercial establishment rented by the undertaking. They found that the signs affixed on the goods were similar to already registered trade marks. The trader was charged before the competent Bulgarian court in respect of use of trade marks without the consent of their proprietors. The Bulgarian legislation contains provisions which define the same conduct both as a criminal offence and as an administrative offence.  That court has asked the Court of Justice for clarification on the compatibility with EU law of the Bulgarian law penalising trade mark infringements, given that the penalties provided f

Eurojust is launching a selection procedure to establish a reserve list for the profile of Head of Legal Affairs Unit. The Legal Affairs Unit currently oversee the provision of expert legal advice in the area of regulatory and administrative law applicable to Eurojust. The Unit also provides procurement and contract management services to the organisation. Eurojust is the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation. Through its unique expertise, Eurojust supports, strengthens and improves the coordination of investigations and prosecutions among the competent judicial authorities of EU Member States in the fight against serious and organised cross-border crime. Eurojust is facing considerable change, including the adoption of a new EU Regulation governing Eurojust and a rising caseload. Eurojust seeks to recruit dynamic, flexible, highly qualified staff to support its mission and further enhancement of the digitalisation of justice information systems. More information on th

European Commission called on Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden to fully transpose EU rules on procedural safeguards for children in criminal proceedings. The Commission decided to open an infringement procedure by sending a letter of formal notice to Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden as well as an additional letter of formal notice to Germany for failing to fully transpose the Directive on procedural safeguards for children who are suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings ( Directive(EU) 2016/800 ) into national law. This Directive aims to guarantee common minimum standards regarding the  rights of children who are suspects or accused persons  in criminal proceedings to ensure their right to a fair trial across the EU.  The Commission considers that Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden have failed to correctly transpose some of the Directive's requirements linked to

Written by Efi Thoma*  A new Digital Finance Strategy is being implemented at EU level through Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of 31 May 2023 on markets in crypto-assets (MiCAR), in consistency with the European Commission’s (Commission) agenda to shape Europe’s digital future, by promoting the blockchain technology, since crypto-assets are inextricably linked to the latter. MiCAR will be directly and uniformly applicable in all Member States of the EU, having a binding legal effect, in December 2024, except for Titles III & IV which shall be applicable earlier, i.e. in June 2023. It establishes a bespoke and harmonised legal framework for crypto-assets issuers that seek to offer them across EU, as well as for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) wishing to apply for an authorisation to provide their services in the EU single market. According to the recitals of MiCAR, the definition of crypto-assets is interpreted “as widely as possible to capture all types of crypto-assets which

In Chamber's judgment dated 10.10.2023 in the case of Pengezov v. Bulgaria (application no. 66292/14) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been a violation of Article 6 (right to a fair hearing) of the European Convention on Human Rights as concerned the insufficient extent of the judicial review carried out by the Supreme Administrative Court. The Court held also that there had been no violation of Article 6 (right to a fair hearing) of the Convention as concerned the independence and impartiality of the Supreme Administrative Court, and a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private life).  The case concerned a judge’s temporary suspension from his duties on account of his indictment for irregularities allegedly committed in the performance of his former duties.  The Court noted that following the applicant’s prosecution, he had been suspended from his duties as a judge, indefinitely and without pay, by a decision of the Supreme Judicial Co

The European Commission has prohibited, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Flugo Group Holdings AB (‘eTraveli') by Booking Holdings (‘Booking'). The acquisition would have allowed Booking to strengthen its dominant position on the market for hotel online travel agencies (‘OTAs') in the European Economic Area (‘EEA'). Booking did not offer remedies that were sufficient to address these concerns. The Commission's investigation The decision follows an  in-depth investigation  by the Commission of the transaction, which would have combined Booking and eTraveli, two leading providers of OTA services in a concentrated industry. Booking is the leading hotel OTA while eTraveli is one of the main providers of flight OTA services in Europe. Booking is also active in the market for metasearch services (‘MSS') mainly through its price comparison platform KAYAK. OTAs provide an important intermediation service, matching demand and supply for

PhD Candidate: The Law on the Use and Sharing of Health Data at the Radboud Business Law Institute, Nijmegen, The Netherlands The European legal framework has two competing goals in relation to health data. Health data should be used and shared for better healthcare and research. At the same time, data protection should always be ensured. This project is aimed at the exploration of this tension. It analyses whether the European legal framework leads to an adequate balance between data protection and the free movement of health data, both within and outside the context of Radboud Healthy Data programme. This position is part of the Radboud Healthy Data programme, particularly of work package 4 (ethical, legal and societal aspects, WP4).  Within the broader context of Healthy Data WP4, the legal PhD project is focused on the legal concerns in relation to the use and sharing of health data, both within and outside of the context of the Radboud Healthy Data programme.  Under the Europe