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Citing “mounting evidence” that spyware has been used for illegitimate purposes by several Council of Europe member states, a committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has urged five governments to provide information on their use of such spyware within three months, and fully investigate all cases of abuse. Approving a draft resolution on Pegasus and similar spyware and secret state surveillance, PACE's Legal Affairs Committee unequivocally condemned “the use of spyware by state authorities for political purposes”. It urged Poland, Hungary, Greece, Spain and Azerbaijan to promptly and fully investigate all cases of abuse of spyware, sanction any they find, and provide redress to victims. The draft resolution, based on a report by Pieter Omtzigt (Netherlands, EPP/CD), also called on other member states which seem to have acquired or used Pegasus – including Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands – to clarify their use of it, and the mecha

According to the Judgment of the European Court of Justice (7.9.2023) in Case C-216/21 ( Asociaţia ‘Forumul Judecătorilor din România’ ), the promotion of judges to a higher court, based on an assessment, by members of that court, of their work and conduct, is compatible with EU law .  The relevant substantive conditions and procedural rules must, however, be such as to dispel any reasonable doubt as to the independence and the impartiality of the judges concerned, once they have been promoted. In 2019, the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) of Romania approved a reform of the procedure for the promotion of judges to higher courts. The ‘Forum of Judges of Romania’ Association and a private individual are contesting that reform before the Court of Appeal, Ploieşti (Romania).  The applicants in the main proceedings submit that replacing the old written exams with an assessment, by (i) the president and (ii) members of the higher court concerned, of candidates’ work and conduct makes th

Vacancy : Legal Expert in the Single Resolution Board (SRB) in Brussels, Belgium. Duration of contract 3 years (renewable). Estimated monthly basic salary: 6.169,72 € The Single Resolution Board (SRB) is the central resolution authority within the Banking Union, which at present is 20 eurozone countries and Bulgaria. Together with the national resolution authorities it forms the Single Resolution Mechanism. The SRB works closely with the European Commission, the European Central Bank, the European Banking Authority and national authorities. Its mission is to ensure an orderly resolution of failing banks, protecting the taxpayer from state bail-outs, which is promoting financial stability. The Legal Expert will contribute to the successful completion of the work of a multidisciplinary and multinational legal team headed by the General Counsel and coordinated by the Team Leaders of the respective teams. The Legal Expert will actively participate in the representation of the SRB as an

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 subsidiarity and t

The significant systemic delays and failure by the European Commission to comply with the time limits in the legislation as regards requests for public access to documents, amount to maladministration. The European Ombudsman’s own-initiative inquiry looked into how the European Commission deals with requests for public access to documents; in particular, how it complies with the time limits for dealing with requests, which are set out in the EU legislation on public access to documents. The Ombudsman’s inquiry found that there are systemic and significant delays, particularly in how the Commission deals with requests to review initial decisions on access requests, and that it often fails to meet the time limits set out in the applicable legislation by a considerable amount.  The Ombudsman has consistently taken the view that ‘access delayed is access denied’, as documents and information sought are often time sensitive and can lose relevance to the requester if delays occur. The si

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Berlin (Germany) has filed an indictment against eight suspects in connection with a VAT fraud scheme involving the trade of luxury cars and medical face masks, with an estimated damage of €80 million. Four of the defendants are charged with orchestrating the VAT fraud as members of an organised criminal group; among them is the suspected ringleader. Another defendant is charged with aiding and abetting. Two others are accused of money laundering activities. A notary, believed to have assisted the organised criminal group during a period of a number of years, is charged with forgery and false notarisation. The investigation uncovered a complex network through which luxury cars and medical face masks were traded, using shell companies in several countries – including Czechia, Germany and Poland. The defendants are believed to have used people in economic difficulty from Poland and Latvia as straw men. It is also alleged that the main s

According to Judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case C-252/21 (Meta Platforms and Others), a national competition authority can find, in the context of the examination of an abuse of a dominant position, that the GDPR has been infringed. Bound by the duty of sincere cooperation, it must nonetheless take into consideration any decision or investigation by the competent supervisory authority pursuant to that regulation. Meta Platforms Ireland operates the online social network Facebook within the European Union. When they register with Facebook, its users accept the general terms drawn up by that company and, consequently, the data and cookies policies. According to those policies, Meta Platforms Ireland collects data about user activities on and off the social network and links them with the Facebook accounts of the users concerned. The latter data, also known as ‘off-Facebook data’, are data concerning visits to third-party webpages and apps as well as data concerning the

With its Schrems II-judgment of 16 July 2020, the Court of Justice declared invalid the EU-US Privacy Shield , governing the transfer of personal data from the European Union to the United States.  In the absence of this EU-US Privacy Shield, in February 2021 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), as an EU institution, referred its contract with its US-based videoconferencing operator to the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS).  It asked the EDPS whether these rules complied with the EU’s data protection rules contained in the EU Data Protection Regulation . The EDPS issued two temporary authorisations, in 2021 and 2022, allowing the CJEU to use these contractual clauses. It adopted its final decision on 13 July 2023.  The EDPS has decided that the CJEU’s videoconferencing services meet the data protection standards under EU Data Protection Regulation. The CJEU is the first EU institution to obtain such approval from the EDPS. The main characteristics of the videoco

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted a dispute resolution decision on the basis of Art. 65 GDPR concerning a draft decision of the Irish Data Protection Authority (DPA) regarding TikTok Technology Limited (TTL).  The binding decision addresses legal questions arising from objections to the draft decision of the Irish DPA as lead supervisory authority (LSA) regarding TikTok Technology Ltd. The EDPB binding decision ensures the correct and consistent application of the GDPR by the national DPAs. The Irish DPA issued the draft decision following an own-volition inquiry into the processing by TTL of personal data of registered TikTok users between the ages of 13 and 17, as well as certain issues regarding TTL’s processing of personal data of children under the age of 13. As no consensus was reached on the objections lodged by DPAs, the EDPB was called upon to settle the dispute between the DPAs within two months. The objections concerned, among other things, whether ther

A Berlin based bank offered a credit card on their website. Using an online form, the bank requested various data about the applicant's income, occupation and personal details. Based on the information requested and additional data from external sources, the bank's algorithm rejected the customer's application without any particular justification. The algorithm is based on criteria and rules previously defined by the bank. Since the client had a good credit rating and a regular high income, he doubted the automated rejection and complained to the Berlin data protection commissioner.  Even when asked by the complainant, the bank only provided blanket information about the scoring procedure, detached from the individual case. However, it refused to tell him why it assumed a poor creditworthiness in his case. The complainant was thus unable to understand which data basis and factors formed the basis of the automated rejection and on the basis of which criteria his credit car

The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether Microsoft may have breached EU competition rules by tying or bundling its communication and collaboration product Teams to its popular suites for businesses Office 365 and Microsoft 365. Microsoft is a global technology company offering productivity and business software, cloud computing and personal computing. Teams is a cloud-based communication and collaboration tool. It offers functionalities such as messaging, calling, video meetings, file sharing and brings together Microsoft's and third-party workplace tools and other applications. The coronavirus outbreak accelerated a shift to remote working as well as businesses' transition to the cloud and the adoption of cloud-based software for communication and collaboration. The transition to the cloud has enabled the emergence of new market players and business models offering customers the ability to use multiple types of software from different pro

According to the Judgment of the European Court of Justice dated 6/7/2023 in Case C-510/21 (Austrian Airlines ),  as regards accidents on board an aircraft, the strict liability of airlines under the Montreal convention extends to inadequate first aid administered on board an aircraft. On a flight operated by Austrian Airlines, a jug containing hot coffee fell from a catering trolley and scalded a passenger. First aid was administered to him on board the aircraft. The passenger brought an action before the Austrian courts seeking damages and a declaration establishing Austrian Airlines’ liability for all future damage resulting from the aggravation of his burns on account of the inadequate first aid administered on board the aircraft. Austrian Airlines contends that the action should be dismissed, since it was brought after the expiry of the two-year time limit provided for in the Montreal convention [1] in respect of actions for damages relating to an accident that took place on

The International Court of Justice will hold public hearings in the case concerning Application of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Canada and the Netherlands v. Syrian Arab Republic) starting on Wednesday 19 July 2023, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court.  The hearings will be devoted to the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Canada and the Netherlands on 8 June 2023. On 8 June 2023, Canada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands filed a joint application instituting proceedings against the Syrian Arab Republic before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), concerning alleged violations of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the “Convention against Torture”).  In their Application, Canada and the Netherlands contend that “Syria has committed countless violations of international law, beginning at least in 2011, with its vi

In its final decision (8.6.2023) in the case of Ferrara and Others v. Italy (application no. 2394/22 and 18 others) the European Court of Human Rights has unanimously declared the applications inadmissible.   The case concerned the failure of the State authorities to pay legal fees awarded to the applicants by “assignment orders” (ordinanze di assegnazione) – enforcement orders aimed at implementing decisions or judgments issued under Law no. 89 of 2001 (“the Pinto Act”, a remedy dealing with excessively long proceedings before the courts).  The applicants are lawyers who were acting in this case as avvocati antistatari (lawyers who covered legal and other court fees for their clients and were directly awarded repayment by the courts). The Court held that the multiple applications lodged by the applicants were an abuse of the right of application under Article 35 § 3 (a) (admissibility criteria) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Facts The applicants, Alessandro Ferrara, Ferd

During its 40th plenary meeting (Strasbourg, 15-16 June 2023), the  Council of Europe European Commission for the efficiency of justice (CEPEJ) adopted the revised Time Management Checklist and its Explanatory Note.  The first version was adopted by the CEPEJ in 2005 and was very successful since then within the European judicial systems. The Checklist is a diagnostic and management tool to help the judiciary to collect information on and analyse relevant aspects of the duration of judicial proceedings. It provides an initial set of questions with purpose of helping in collecting appropriate information about the cases and to analyse relevant aspects of duration of court proceedings. The questions are structured around six indicators pertaining to the establishment and monitoring of duration of proceedings, timeframes, case weighting and use of information and communication technologies in courts. Based on the collected information and outcomes of the analysis, its purpose is to suppor

Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY) issued an administrative fine against Spotify for shortcomings regarding transparency. The General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR, entered into force in 2018 and means, among other things, that the rights of individuals are strengthened. One such right is the right of access, which means a right for individuals to find out what personal data a business handles about the person in question and to receive information about how this data is used. Due to complaints that the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY) received against Spotify AB regarding the right of access, IMY has audited how Spotify handles the right for individuals to access their personal data. IMY finds that Spotify provides to individuals the personal data the company processes when individuals request it. However, Spotify shall also provide information to the person requesting access about how Spotify uses this data and this information must be easy to under

At the Department of Law, University of Southern Denmark, 1-2 PhD fellowships in EU law will be available as of 1 January 2024, or by further agreement. The place of work will be SDU Campus Odense. The responsibilities of the PhD fellows at the Department of Law for this call include the following tasks: Writing a PhD thesis on EU law, taking account of the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) linked to the job description and research project below. Undertake some teaching within the context of the fellowship. Supervise bachelors and master students for their theses. Take part in various knowledge exchange activities both inside and outside the university. Build relations to and cooperate with external stakeholders. Undertake administrative tasks related to research and teaching. The PhD position(s) principally involves research obligations. The position is aimed at candidates who will be able to contribute to the research of the department, wi

The rise of ESG: how important is it for law firms and their client relationships? Webinar on 29 June 2023 at 1300 - 1400 BST. Many countries now require listed companies, for example, to account for their economic, environmental and social corporate governance (ESG) within their annual reports sent to their shareholders. Indeed, companies legislation in certain jurisdictions now require directors of companies to take environmental and social considerations into account when acting in the best interests of the companies they steward. In this webinar, the panelists will discuss the increasing pervasiveness of ESG norms in legal practice and why lawyers need to take this growing development practice seriously in their day-to-day practice. This seminar is the Part 5 of a 9-part webinar series presented by the  China Working Group  of the  IBA Asia Pacific Regional Forum  and  IBA Young Lawyers’ Committee See the Webinar Speakers here More details here

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

According to the Judgment of the European Court  of Justice (22/6/2023) in Case C-579/21 (Pankki S), every person has the right to know the date of and the reasons for the consultation of his or her personal data. The fact that the data controller is engaged in the business of banking has no effect on the scope of that right. In 2014, an employee of the bank Pankki S who was, at the same time, a customer of that bank, learnt that his personal data had been consulted by other members of the bank’s staff, on several occasions, between 1 November and 31 December 2013. Since he had doubts as to the lawfulness of those consultations, that employee, who had in the meantime been dismissed from his post within Pankki S, on 29 May 2018 asked Pankki S to inform him of the identity of the persons who had consulted his customer data, the exact dates of the consultations and the purposes for which those data had been processed.  In its reply of 30 August 2018, Pankki S refused to disclose the ident