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EU Legal Framework for Markets in Crypto-assets & Introducing Stablecoins. What’s next?

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Article By Paris Hadjipanayis, Lawyer The European Commission has recently issued a draft proposal [ https://ec.europa.eu/finance/docs/law/200924-crypto-assets-proposal_en.pdf ] for a potential and upcoming Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Markets in crypto-assets (MiCA) with the purpose of creating a legal framework within the European Union in its effort to assert certainty by establishing uniform rules on crypto-assets service providers and issuers on EU level currently not covered under existing financial services legislation. The goal would be to surpass numerous challenges encountered by investors and Service Providers on a transnational level that may be limited by limitations presented by different requirements for transparency and disclosure in relation to issuance and offering purposes imposed on crypto-assets by domestic legislation by each Member State. The proposed Regulation is divided in seven titles. Among the provisions which set up the sub

Request for interim measures lodged by Armenia against Azerbaijan before ECHR

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The European Court of Human Rights received on 28.9.2020 a request for interim measure lodged by Armenia against Azerbaijan, in which the Armenian Government requested the Court to indicate to the Azerbaijani Government, under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court (interim measures) , as follows:          “to cease the military attacks towards the civilian settlements along the entire line of contact of the armed forces of Armenia and Artsakh;            to stop indiscriminate attacks;            to stop targeting civilian population, civilian objects and settlements.” The request was lodged under the application number 42521/20 and is currently being examined. Under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, the Court may indicate interim measures to any State Party to the European Convention on Human Rights. Interim measures are urgent measures which, according to the Court’s well-established practice, apply only where there is an imminent risk of irreparable harm . Rule 39 (interim measures)

The "bad bosses" of the legal profession

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By George Kazoleas, Lawyer, Director at Legalpost.eu It is well known that employees resign not because of their job, but because of their boss. According to a recent survey, half of the employees who quit their jobs did so to escape from their bosses, while in another survey this percentage was 75%. Evaluating the research data, it is concluded that the employees who leave their jobs are useful employees, good employees, those who value themselves and their abilities and consider that they deserve better behavior and treatment from their superiors or that they deserve more opportunities and more active participation in the activity of the company. Data is similar for legal professionals working in law firms. Looking at publications and studies, one easily realizes that the younger mainly lawyers become a systematic target of bad behavior of their employers-lawyers. In fact, the bad behavior that goes as far as verbal abuse and moral harassment, has prevailed to be considered as pa

The Court of Justice upheld the judgment of the General Court authorising football player Lionel Messi to register the trade mark ‘MESSI’ for sports equipment and clothing

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The Court of Justice dismissed the appeals brought by EUIPO and a Spanish company against the judgment of the General Court authorising football player Lionel Messi to register the trade mark ‘MESSI’ for sports equipment and clothing In August 2011, the footballer Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini filed an application with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for registration of a figurative sign as an EU trade mark, inter alia for sports and gymnastics clothing, footwear and equipment.   In November 2011, Mr Jaime Masferrer Coma filed a notice of opposition to the registration of the mark applied for by Mr Messi Cuccittini, alleging a likelihood of confusion with the EU word marks MASSI, registered, inter alia, for clothing, footwear, cycling helmets, protective clothing and gloves (the rights to those marks were transferred in May 2012 to the Spanish company J.M.-E.V. e hijos). [1] In 2013, EUIPO upheld the opposition. Mr Messi Cuccittini lodged an appeal with E

Arrest of 48 lawyers, 7 trainee lawyers, 4 purged judges and a law graduate, for being “members of a terrorist organisation” in Turkey: Joint Statement

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Through the new “alternative bar associations” legislation and President Erdogan’s own words “Those who act as the lawyers of terrorists may not act like terrorists themselves. If they do so, there must be a price to pay”, which he said in the presence of judges and prosecutors in the new judicial year opening ceremony, the Turkish government had already signaled that a new phase in the persecution of lawyers was about to start. Only a few days after President Erdogan’s speech, today (11 September 2020), the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor has ordered the arrest of 48 lawyers, 7 trainee lawyers, 4 purged judges and a law graduate, for being “members of a terrorist organisation” According to the report of the state-run Anatolian News Agency, their arrests were sought for no other offence than representing those whom the government considered dissidents and who were accused of being involved in “terrorism”. The arrested lawyers were not to be allowed a conference with anybody and woul

Reform of the EU Court of Justice: The CCBE adopts comments on the functioning of the General Court in the wake of the 2015 Reform

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The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) contributes to the ongoing debate on the Reform of the judicial framework of the Court of Justice of the European Union by adopting comments on the efficiency of the General Court, the necessity and effectiveness of the increase to 54 Judges, and the further establishment of specialised chambers and/or other structural changes. The Reform process commenced in 2015 following a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council to double the number of judges at the General Court. The Court of Justice is currently preparing a report on the functioning of the General Court which is expected will be submitted to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission before the end of 2020. The CCBE underlines the importance of ensuring all litigants in the European Union may enjoy effective access to justice and quality of justice, as well as the handling of cases in a relatively short time. The CCBE acknowledges that it is a co

Following the tragic death of lawyer Ebru Timtik, the CCBE calls on the EU and Turkish authorities to take urgent measures to prevent the death of lawyer Aytaç Ünsal

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The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) is deeply shocked by the death of Turkish lawyer Ebru Timtik on 27 August after a 238 days hunger strike. Lawyers Ebru Timtik and Aytaç Ünsal, respectively sentenced to 13 and 6 months and 11 years and 6 months in prison, decided to go on an unlimited hunger strike to denounce their unfair trial as well as the unfair trial of several dozens of Turkish lawyers. ( Read more here ) Since 2017, several Turkish lawyers belonging to the Progressive Lawyers Association and the People's Law Office, among which Ebru Timtik and Aytaç Ünsal, have been victims of judicial harassment. These lawyers who have fought for Justice and the Rule of Law have defended, among others, persons considered to be opponents of the Turkish government, families of miners massacred in Soma and Ermenek, populations expelled from their homes as victims of urban transformation, families of citizens killed under torture in police stations and prisons as well as

Protection of persons who report breaches of EU law

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Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of EU law establishes rules and procedures to protect ‘whistleblowers’, individuals who report information they acquired in a work-related context on breaches of EU law in key policy areas. Breaches include both unlawful acts or omissions and abusive practices. KEY POINTS The directive covers reports on: breaches of rules in the following areas (listed in detail in Part I of the annex) public procurement financial services, products and markets; prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing product safety and compliance transport safety in the railway, road, maritime and inland waters sectors protection of the environment, ranging from waste management to chemicals radiation protection and nuclear safety food and feed safety, animal health and welfare public health, including patients’ rights and tobacco controls consumer protection protection of privacy and personal data, security and information

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

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Capital punishment: facts and figures By 2019, 142 countries had abolished the death penalty in law or practice, leaving 56 countries still using capital punishment. There were 657 recorded executions in 20 countries (excluding China, where thousands of executions are believed to have been carried out), with more than 25,000 people on death row. The number of executions in 2019 was at the lowest level in at least a decade, down from 690 in 2018 and 993 in 2017. Some 86% of all recorded executions in 2019 took place in just four countries: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt. Figures are unknown for China, since this data is a state secret. (Source  Amnesty International ) There is strong opposition to abolishing the death penalty in Asia, the Arab World and the US. However, four fifths of the 55 African countries have abolished capital punishment or operate moratoriums. How the EU fights the death penalty As part of its commitment to defending  human rights , the EU is the lar

THE CONCEPT OF WORKER (IN ARTICLE 45 TFEU)

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By Mpia Tsolaki, Lawyer** Freedom of movement for workers is founded on Article 45(1) TFEU and enshrined in fact in the abolition, set out in its second paragraph, of any discrimination based on nationality between workers of the Member States as regards employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment [1] . That prohibition has been regarded since the beginnings of the establishment of the single European Market as an indispensable corollary to its full integration since it has crucially promoted mobility of the workforce throughout the European Union (hereinafter EU) [2] .  From that point of view, it is therefore of outmost importance for ascertaining its ambit to determine at the outset the concept of "worker", which is not defined by neither the primary nor the secondary EU legislation. As expected, the Ariadne’s thread has been offered by the European Court of Justice (hereinafter ECJ) that has been constantly producing an ample case-law, which keepi

Court rejects complaint about conviction for homophobic hate speech

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In its decision in the case of Carl Jóhann Lilliendahl v. Iceland (application no. 29297/18) the European Court of Human Rights has unanimously declared the application inadmissible. The decision is final. The case concerned the applicant’s conviction and fine for homophobic comments he had made in response to an online article. The Court found that the applicant’s comments had amounted to hate speech within the meaning of its case-law. It accepted the Icelandic Supreme Court’s finding that the comments had been “serious, severely hurtful and prejudicial”, and that the decision which had originally sparked the debate, concerning measures to strengthen education in schools on lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender matters, had not warranted such a severe reaction. The domestic courts’ decisions in the case, taken after an extensive balancing exercise between the applicant’s right to freedom of expression and the rights of gender and sexual minorities, had therefore been reasonable and

Editorial

Editorial
George Kazoleas, Lawyer