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Death penalty: key facts about the situation in Europe and the rest of the world

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Judges’ Freedom of Expression and the Limits of Disciplinary Power: The ECtHR Judgment in Savvas v. Greece

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The ECtHR ruled in favor of a Greek judge in a case involving disciplinary proceedings for improper conduct on and off duty ( Savvas v. Greece ). The judge had served extrajudicial notices ( ex-officio legal notices) on three senior colleagues via a court bailiff, requesting that they retract negative comments made against him during a promotion procedure. He was subsequently placed on a three-month suspension. Invoking Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights, A. Savvas argued that he exercised his legal right to express his opinion in the extrajudicial notices, to defend himself against unfounded accusations, to protect his interests in the context of the promotion process, and to safeguard the public interest by ensuring a fair judicial promotion procedure. The ECtHR found a violation of Article 10 of the ECHR and awarded compensation for pecuniary damage: €5,211.15, non-pecuniary damage: €6,000, and costs and expenses: €1,000. In its judgme...
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The Lawyer's right to refuse the defense of an accused person for ethical reasons

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by Giorgos Kazoleas, Lawyer LL.M. Lawyers have the right to refuse to undertake a case when it conflicts with their moral principles, their dignity and conscience. Both the Code of Lawyers in Greece and the Code of Lawyers 'Ethics in Cyprus provide the legal framework to support this choice.   The Greek Legislation The lawyer's right to refuse the defense of a specific defendant in a criminal trial clearly follows from the wording of article 37 of the Lawyers' Code (Law 4194/2013). According to paragraph 1 of this article, the lawyer has an obligation to undertake any case, unless it is manifestly unfounded, not amenable to defense, conflicts with the interests of other clients or goes against his/her principles. According to paragraph 2, the lawyer must undertake the defense of any accused, if requested by the judicial authorities, subject to paragraph 1. The reasons for refusing to undertake a case are expanded by article 6 of the Greek Code of Ethics of the Legal Pro...
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Ombudsman inquiry on Commission President’s text messages is a wake-up call for EU

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The European Ombudsman inquiry into the Commission’s handling of a request for text messages between its President and the CEO of a pharmaceutical company is a wake-up call for all EU institutions about ensuring accountability in an era of instant messaging. One year after the initial request by a journalist, the Commission has still not clarified whether messages reported to concern major vaccine procurement deals exist and whether the public is entitled to see them. The Ombudsman had asked the Commission, in a finding of maladministration in January, to conduct a more thorough search for the text messages. The Commission’s recent response failed to say whether it had looked directly and correctly for the text messages and if not, why not. While the response recognised that work-related text messages can be EU documents, it reiterated that the Commission’s internal policy is, in effect, not to register text messages. The Ombudsman has closed  the inquiry  and upheld...
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Restriction on right to vote in general election did not breach rights of prisoner serving indeterminate sentence for rape (Hora v. United Kingdom)

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In Chamber’s judgment in the case of Hora v. the United Kingdom (application no. 1048/20) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been no violation of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 (right to free elections) to the European Convention on Human Rights. The case concerned prisoner voting in the United Kingdom. The applicant’s case was the first to come before the Court concerning an election which had taken place following the steps taken by the United Kingdom to enforce the Court’s judgment in the case of Hirst v. the United Kingdom (no. 2) (application no. 74525/01). In the light of the developments since Hirst, the Court examined the manner in which the legislation in question had been applied to the specific applicant, in his particular circumstances. Considering the seriousness of his offending, his conduct, the risk he was found to pose to the public and the resulting imposition of a harsh sentence of indeterminate detention, the Court found that the r...
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The Title Deed Issue in Cyprus and the "Trapped Buyers" Phenomenon

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Article By Giorgos Kazoleas, Lawyer LL.M.  The issue of title deeds in Cyprus and the phenomenon of "trapped buyers" constitutes one of the greatest legal, financial, and social peculiarities of Cypriot real estate law. The Cypriot Peculiarity: Sale Without a Title Deed Under Cypriot law (pursuant to the Immovable Property (Tenure, Registration and Valuation) Law, Cap. 224), legal ownership of a property is transferred and acquired solely upon its registration with the Department of Lands and Surveys and the issuance of the relevant Certificate of Registration (Title Deed). However, a major peculiarity exists: it is entirely legal to sell a property that does not (yet) possess a separate title deed. This typically occurs in new developments (apartment buildings or residential complexes), where the title deed for the plot of land belongs to the developer, but the separate title deeds for each apartment or house can take years to be issued due to bureaucracy, pending ap...
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Balancing Crime Control and Ne Bis In Idem: ECtHR Finds No Violation in Successive Proceedings

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The case concerned the right not to be tried or punished twice – a right protected by Article 4 of Protocol No. 7 and known as the “ne bis in idem” principle. In its Grand Chamber judgment in the case of Jesus Pinhal v. Portugal (applications nos. 48047/15 and 2276/20) the European Court of Human Rights held, by fifteen votes to two, that there had been no violation of Article 4 of Protocol No. 7 (right not to be tried or punished twice) to the European Convention on Human Rights. The applicant had been a member and Vice-Chairman of the Banco Comercial Português bank (“the BCP”). Following a complaint, the Lisbon public prosecutor’s office, the Securities Market Commission (CMVM) and the Portuguese central bank (BdP) initiated proceedings against him for various criminal and administrative offences. Before the Court, the applicant argued that he had been tried three times for the same acts. The Court used this occasion to clarify the criteria to be applied in striking a fair bala...
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From Regulation to Strategy: Europe’s New Tech Agenda

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Written by Efi Thoma, Senior Global Legal Counsel  Europe’s approach to technology regulation is entering a more practical phase. After several years of ambitious rule-making, Brussels is increasingly focused on implementation, enforcement and simplification. For technology companies, the key question is no longer simply “What does the law require?” but “How do we make these requirements work in practice without unnecessarily slowing innovation?” The EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) establishes a risk-based framework covering areas such as transparency, governance, human oversight and high-risk AI systems. As implementation progresses, the emphasis is increasingly on making the framework workable in practice, including through regulatory sandboxes and measures supporting implementation. For businesses, the practical approach is to embed AI governance into existing processes rather than create an entirely separate compliance structure. AI inventories, risk classification, procu...
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