Human Rights

ECtHR Finds No Infringement in "Violation of Secrecy" Case

April 04, 2016

The European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR") has held that Switzerland complied with the European Convention on Human Rights when the country's courts imposed a criminal fine on a journalist for "violation of secrecy" after he published a news story on a defendant on trial for murder.
ECtHR Finds "Systemic" Problem on Pre-trial Detention in Russia

March 31, 2016

Finding that Russia's practice of keeping a defendant in custody without sufficient reasons has been "the subject of recurrent and numerous complaints," the European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR") called on the country in a recent case to continue efforts to solve problems with pre-trial detention, including by implementing relevant recommendations from the Council of Europe.
FRA Hosts Meeting on Border Control Rights Violations

March 31, 2016

The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights ("FRA") recently hosted a meeting with representatives from the EU, UN, border control agencies, and academia to discuss how countries must avoid human rights violations in working with countries outside the EU to implement border control measures.
Neighbors Invoke ECHR Right in Treehouse Dispute

March 30, 2016

The Independent reports that neighbors of British film director Jasmine Dellal are complaining that a treehouse she built on her property violates their right to "private and family life" under the UK Human Rights Act, which gives domestic legal effect to the European Convention on Human Rights ("ECHR").
CoE Body Expresses Constitutional Court Concerns

March 30, 2016

The Council of Europe ("CoE") body of constitutional experts, the Venice Commission, has expressed concern at what it perceives to be "undue interference" in the work of constitutional courts in Europe, including Polish legislation amending the composition and procedures of the country's Constitutional Tribunal.
New FRA Director Seeks Expanded Impact

March 28, 2016

The new Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights ("FRA"), Michael O'Flaherty, has announced his plans to expand the impact of the FRA by increasing work on police and criminal justice matters, issuing periodic guidance on migration and fundamental rights, and working with national human rights institutions on human rights standards in EU member states.
FRA Points to Legal Obstacles to Use of Passenger Data

March 23, 2016

In a presentation to a recent Operational Heads of Airports Conference in Málaga, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights ("FRA") pointed out "legal and operational challenges" and fundamental rights implications involved in government use of a Passenger Name Record to attempt to disrupt terror plots in the EU.
CoE Body Seeks Limits to French Constitutional Reforms

March 21, 2016

The Council of Europe's ("CoE") body of constitutional experts, the Venice Commission, has called on French authorities to place limits on proposed constitutional reforms relating to stripping terror suspects of their nationality and declaring a state of emergency in the country.
CoE Body: Russia Must Amend Law on International Decisions

March 17, 2016

The Council of Europe's ("CoE") body of constitutional experts, the Venice Commission, has called on Russia to amend recent legislation granting the country's Constitutional Court the authority to set aside decisions of international tribunals, including the European Court of Human Rights.
FRA, Border Agency Ramp up Cooperation

March 17, 2016

The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights ("FRA") and the EU border agency Frontex have announced closer cooperation between the bodies in light of the recent wave of migration into the EU, including by deploying an FRA expert to "provide assistance and support" to EU agencies in migrant registration areas.