Human Rights

EU Parliament Investigates Countries' Cooperation with CIA

February 20, 2015

Following the release of a report on conduct in U.S. Central Intelligence Agency ("CIA") interrogations by a U.S. Senate Committee, a group of committees in the European Parliament have announced a renewed investigation of the extent of EU member states' cooperation with these CIA interrogations.
EU Committee Seeks Warning System on Rule of Law

February 20, 2015

The EU Committee on the Regions, comprised of regionally and locally elected representatives from member states, has called on the European Commission, as part of its "rule of law framework" announced last year, to provide an opportunity to local and regional officials to inform it regarding threats to the rule of law.
CoE Report Criticizes France on Discrimination

February 20, 2015

A report by Council of Europe ("CoE") Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks calls on the French Government to implement "sustained and systematic" action to combat public and private discrimination and hate speech against disfavored groups, including migrants and people with disabilities.
HRW Calls for EU Action on Hungarian Policies

February 18, 2015

Human Rights Watch ("HRW") has published a report calling for the EU to use the process described in its recently produced "rule of law mechanism" to counter alleged violations of human rights by the Hungarian Government.
ECHR Maintains U.K. Prisoner Voting Ban Violates Convention

February 11, 2015

The European Court of Human Rights ("ECHR") has issued a ruling reiterating its finding that the U.K.'s blanket ban on prisoner voting is a human rights violation but declining to order the payment of monetary damages to the complainants.
CoE Seeks Enforcement of "Social Rights"

February 11, 2015

The Council of Europe ("CoE") has announced that it is following up on the launch by CoE Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland of the "Turin Process," to "fill the gap" between civil and political rights and social and economic rights, with a formal conference on the protection of European social rights in February.
ECHR: Life Sentence Complies with Convention

February 04, 2015

The European Court of Human Rights ("ECHR") has ruled that the U.K.'s imposition of a sentence of life imprisonment on a triple murderer and rapist did not violate the prisoner's human rights, as the Justice Secretary retains the right to release the prisoner under exceptional circumstances.
PACE Report Details Concerns over Mass Surveillance

January 28, 2015

A new report from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe ("PACE") warns that mass surveillance by national governments may violate the rights to privacy, free expression, and a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights.
CoE Committee Describes "Social Rights" Violations

January 28, 2015

The Council of Europe's ("CoE") Social Rights Committee has released conclusions purporting to detail 252 violations of the European Social Charter, which seeks to advance standards in realms such as collective bargaining and work conditions, in 41 CoE member states.
EU Officials in "Disarray" After ECHR Accession Ruling

January 21, 2015

Michael Farrell writes that EU officials who had attempted to strike a deal involving EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights ("ECHR") are uncertain of how to proceed following a ruling from the Court of Justice of the EU rejecting the accession deal.