Human Rights

European Court Decides Poland Violated Human Rights with CIA Cooperation

July 28, 2014

In a controversial decision, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the Polish Government violated human rights by cooperating with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency ("CIA") in operating "black sites" - where terror suspects were allegedly taken for interrogation and torture - in its territory.
ECJ: EU Countries Cannot Hold Illegal Immigrants in Prison

July 23, 2014

The Court of Justice of the EU ("ECJ") has held that illegal immigrants who are held for deportation from the EU cannot be housed in regular prisons, but must rather be placed in "special detention facilities."
EU Authorities to Meet with Companies over "Right to Be Forgotten"

July 23, 2014

Following a recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU requiring internet companies to take down some search results at the request of individuals, the EU data protection advisory board will meet with representatives from these companies to develop a framework for implementing the decision.
ECHR: No Right in Convention to Same-Sex Marriage

July 23, 2014

The European Court of Human Rights ("ECHR") has held that the European Convention on Human Rights does not mandate the recognition among acceding countries of same-sex marriages.
ECJ Ruling Causes U.K. to Seek New Data Retention Law

July 18, 2014

Responding to a ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU ("ECJ") invalidating an EU data detention directive that it held interferes with the right to privacy, the U.K. Government is now pushing for a new law that would permit companies to retain personal data for twelve months.
U.K. Justice Minister Calls ECJ Right to Be Forgotten "Unmanageable"

July 18, 2014

U.K. justice minister Simon Hughes has called it an "unmanageable task" to enforce a judgment by the Court of Justice of the EU ("ECJ") permitting complainants to demand that internet companies such as Google take out some search results related to their personal information.
ECJ Receives Question on Personal Data Transfer

July 14, 2014

The European Court of Justice ("ECJ") has received a case from an Irish court seeking information on whether it is still bound by the "Safe Harbor Framework" adopted by the European Commission on data transfers to the U.S. in light of recent revelations about mass U.S. government surveillance.
ECJ's "Right to Be Forgotten" Presents Uncertain Implications

July 14, 2014

A new Intellectual Property Watch article argues that the Court of Justice of the EU ("ECJ") decision that Google must take down from its search results certain information about European citizens deemed irrelevant or outdated may have opened a "Pandora's Box" in internet privacy claims.
Khan: Labour Party Supports U.K. Sovereignty on Human Rights

July 10, 2014

Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Sadiq Khan writes that the U.K. Labour Party supports the recognition by British courts that they are not bound by decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, which are only to be taken into account and not to be viewed as binding.
ECHR Pushes Hungary to Reform Life-Without-Parole Sentences

June 20, 2014

In a case involving a man sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, the European Court of Human Rights ("ECHR") has ruled that the sentence violated the man's human rights and that Hungary must afford the opportunity for future review of such sentences.