Law & Justice

EU: Poland's Disciplining of Judges against EU Law

May 10, 2021

Believing that the independence and the impartiality of Poland's Disciplinary Chamber cannot be guaranteed, the European Commission has brought a complaint to the Court of Justice, asserting that Poland's way of disciplining judges is contrary to EU law.
French Politician Marine Le Pen Acquitted in Hate Speech Trial

May 05, 2021

A court in the Paris suburb of Nanterre found that former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen did not break hate speech laws by publishing gruesome images of Islamist atrocities on Twitter to prove the comparison of her party, National Rally, to IS, was absurd.
EU Drafts Strict Rules for A.I.

April 15, 2021

Politico has obtained a draft of rules written by the European Commission that would ban certain uses of “high-risk” artificial intelligence systems and limit others from entering the bloc if they don’t meet the set standards, as well as fining companies that do not comply up to €20 million.
EU Commission Refers Poland to Europe's Top Court Regarding Judiciary Independence

April 07, 2021

The European Commission announced it will refer the Polish government to the European Court of Justice for undermining the independence of that country's judiciary through a reform law passed in 2019 that prevents judges from referring questions of law to the European Court of Justice.
Ukrainian President Dismisses Two Constitutional Court Judges

March 30, 2021

Following the Ukrainian Constitutional Court’s decision to strike down anti-corruption legislation last October, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has dismissed two judges from the Constitutional Court, who were appointed by pro-Russia former President Viktor Yanukovych.
Georgian Deputy Interior Minister Resigns Amid Surveillance Scandal

March 29, 2021

Following media reports of illegal surveillance of politicians and intentional actions against the gathering of the opposition, Georgian Deputy Interior Minister Kakhaber Sabanadze has resigned.
EU: Due Diligence Law Needed on Environment and Human Rights

March 17, 2021

The European Parliament called on the European Commission to propose legislation forcing companies to find and fix risks to human rights and the environment in their supply chains, which has previously been done on a voluntary basis.
CJEU: Polish Judges have Right to Appeal Nominations

March 08, 2021

The Court of Justice of the European Union has decided that judges applying to join Poland's Supreme Court should have the right to challenge the opinions of a body reviewing candidates, a decision which quickly brought rebuke from Poland's Justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro.
Ruggie: Concerns About EU Rules for Mandatory Due Diligence

February 23, 2021

Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, John Ruggie raises concerns about combining new rules on directors’ duties and mandatory due diligence in same EU instrument as the European Commission is considers a new law to hold businesses accountable for their impact on people and the planet.
UK Police Log 120,000 ‘Hate Reports'

February 17, 2021

Senior UK officials have put into practice the recording of « hate reports » in an attempt to prevent violence, having so far logged 120,000 reports but no related crimes.