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

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Greek Administrative Court rules state liable for Covid-19 vaccine side effects due to "excessive sacrifice"

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Greece: The Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens, in its decision no. 4202/2025, has ruled that the Greek State is liable for damages sustained by an individual due to side effects following a preventive "COVID-19" vaccination. This landmark decision was issued in a compensation lawsuit filed against the Hellenic Republic. The Case: Seeking Compensation for Vaccine-Related Harm The lawsuit was brought by a plaintiff seeking compensation for material damage and moral harm (non-pecuniary damage), alleging that they suffered severe side effects after their preventive COVID-19 vaccination with a specific vaccine. The initial claim was for €461,835.26, but this amount was subsequently restricted during the proceedings. The plaintiff based their claim on two legal grounds: Article 105 of the Introductory Law of the Civil Code (EισNAK): This article concerns the State's liability for compensation arising from illegal acts or omissions of its organs in the exe...
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Annual Report on the execution of the European Court's judgments and decisions

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The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, has called for further efforts to implement judgments from the European Court of Human Rights. Commenting on the  annual report for 2024  on the execution of the Court’s rulings, published today, the Secretary General said: “ This report shows what a concrete, positive impact judgments from the European Court of Human Rights have on the daily lives of the people of Europe. While a lot has been achieved, more needs to be done. The efficient execution of the Court's judgments is essential for the rule of law and democratic accountability in Europe .” The annual report from the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers shows that 992 cases were transferred from the European Court of Human Rights to Committee, which supervises their implementation by member states, in 2024. Of those 992 new cases, 194 were “leading” cases – often requiring action to be taken by states to prevent the same violations happ...
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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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ECtHR Judgement against Greece: Disclosure of the identities and medical data of prostitutes diagnosed with HIV was a breach of their right to private life

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The case of O.G. and Others v. Greece (applications nos. 71555/12 and 48256/13) concerned the publication, by decision of the domestic authorities, of medical data concerning prostitutes who had been diagnosed as HIV-positive, and media coverage of them. It also concerned the circumstances in which they were required to undergo a blood test.  In Chamber 's judgment(23.1.2024) in this case the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been two violations:  -A violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private life) of the European Convention on Human Rights, with regard to two applicants, on account of the blood tests they had been required to undertake.  The Court considered that the blood samples imposed on two applicants had amounted to an interference with their private life and noted that this had not been in accordance with the law within the meaning of Article 8 of the Convention, given that the provisions of domestic law in issue ought to h...
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Fully-funded PhD position in AI, Law and Public Power

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Erasmus University Rotterdam School of Law, department Law & Markets, is looking for a fulltime PhD researcher in AI, Law and Public Power (4,5 years with 20% teaching tasks). PhD AI, Law and Public Power Are you curious about how artificial intelligence is changing state actor powers? Do you want to conduct critical and in-depth legal research at the intersection of technology, law and power? And would you like to combine that with academic teaching? Then this PhD position at Erasmus School of Law is for you. Within the Law & Markets team, you will spend 4.5 years researching the legal regulation of AI in the public sector. How do we protect fundamental rights when algorithms help decide on who receives public benefits, how to perform enforcement or how to enact environmental policy? What is the role of the state, and where is the limit of government power in a data-driven society? You will have plenty of space to choose your own research angle and work in a multidisci...
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The length of court proceedings for 7 years and 8 months violated the right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time (ECtHR)

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In Chamber's judgment dated 5.9.2023 in the case of Van den Kerkhof v. Belgium (application no. 13630/19) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been a violation of Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time) of the European Convention on Human Rights.  The case concerned the length of civil proceedings pending before a court of the Brussels judicial district. In the present case the proceedings were brought by the applicant against the vendors of a flat and the real estate agency that had served as an intermediary for the sale.  The Court held that the applicant’s case had not been heard within a reasonable time, noting that seven years and eight months had elapsed for two levels of jurisdiction and that the proceedings were still pending before the French-Language Brussels Court of First Instance.  It emphasised that the system for protecting the rights guaranteed by the Convention was based on the principle of subsidia...
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Regulation (EU) 2023/2844 on the digitalisation of judicial cooperation and access to justice in cross-border civil, commercial and criminal matters, and amending certain acts in the field of judicial cooperation

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Regulation (EU) 2023/2844 establishes a uniform legal framework for the use of electronic communication between competent authorities in judicial cooperation procedures in civil, commercial and criminal matters and for the use of electronic communication between natural or legal persons and competent authorities in judicial procedures in civil and commercial matters. In addition, it lays down rules on: a) the use of videoconferencing or other distance communication technology for purposes other than the taking of evidence under Regulation (EU) 2020/1783; b) the application of electronic signatures and electronic seals; c) the legal effects of electronic documents; d) electronic payment of fees. Regulation applies to electronic communication in judicial cooperation procedures in civil, commercial and criminal matters, and hearings through videoconferencing or other means of distance communication technology in civil, commercial and criminal matters. This Regulation see...
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