Human Rights

CoE Body Critiques Hungarian University Law

August 14, 2017

The Council of Europe's (CoE) constitutional law body, the Venice Commission, has issued a preliminary opinion on a Hungarian law regulating the operation of foreign universities in the country asserting that, while the government could legitimately apply the law's requirements to new institutions, they are "unjustified" when applied to universities that are already in operation.
ECJ Rejects Canada-EU Passenger Data Sharing Deal

August 14, 2017

The Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) has held that an agreement between EU and Canadian authorities on the sharing of data on air passengers violates data privacy protections of the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights because the shared information is too broad in scope and is not shielded from improper use by Canadian and other government officials.
FRA Expresses Concern on Migrant "Pushbacks," Returns

August 14, 2017

In its latest monthly report on migrant-related human rights issues, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has expressed concern regarding policies among EU member states on either pushing back unauthorized migrants attempting to enter their territory or returning migrants from their territory to countries the FRA deems "unstable."
ECtHR: Lawyer Communication Restriction Violated Rights

August 14, 2017

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that restrictions by the Netherlands on communications revealing classified information between a criminal defendant accused of leaking state secrets and the lawyer defending him hindered the lawyer from providing an effective defense, violating the defendant's right to give information to counsel.
ECtHR: Halving Disability Benefits Violated Property Rights

August 14, 2017

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the Hungarian government violated a woman's right to her possessions by reducing her disability benefit by half as part of a national change in the methodology for the assessment of a disability, which the ECtHR asserted imposed an "excessive individual burden" on the woman.
CoE Body Warns of "Nationalistic Populism"

August 09, 2017

The annual report of the Council of Europe's (CoE) Commission Against Racism and Intolerance warned of a rise in "nationalistic populism" across Europe in 2016, asserting that "racist insults and xenophobic hate speech have reached unprecedented levels" and that Islamophobia is a "persisting trend."
ECtHR: Criminal DNA Database Violated Rights

August 09, 2017

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that a French law requiring the taking of DNA samples from convicted criminals and their storage in a database for up to 40 years violated the right to privacy by failing to take into account the seriousness of the relevant crimes and by not providing the ability for criminals to apply for deletion of their DNA data.
EU Agency Calls for Halt to Child Migrant Detention

August 09, 2017

Raising questions regarding the proposed source and amount of funds it deems necessary to prevent "stress and trauma" among detained migrant children, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights has called on EU countries to "end" detention of such minors in favor of "alternative housing, counselling, coaching," and other methods.
UK Report Details ECHR Extradition Interference

August 09, 2017

The Daily Telegraph reports that an unpublished study commissioned by the UK Home Office reveals that the UK Human Rights Act, which effectively transposes the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into British law, has prevented the extradition of over 40 suspected terrorists to their home countries.
Observer: Poland Fails to Respect ECtHR Asylum Orders

August 09, 2017

Illustrating the authority of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) over government policies related to migration and national security, Lydia Gall of Human Rights Watch writes that the Government of Poland has an obligation to respect emergency orders from the ECtHR requiring entry of asylum seekers crossing the Belarusian border.