European Institutions

ECtHR Calls for Review of Life Sentences in Ukraine

March 12, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has called on the Ukrainian government to review every case in which the country’s courts have sentenced convicted criminals to life imprisonment to determine whether the detention is justified and inform prisoners the conditions under which they may be granted release.
ECtHR: Icelandic Leaders Violated Rights with Judicial Appointments

March 12, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the appointment by the Icelandic Prime Minister and Parliament of four judges of the country’s High Court against the advice of an evaluation committee was a “flagrant breach of the applicable rules” and violated the rights of an applicant whose case was pending before that Court.
CDU Chief Outlines Vision of Balance Between EU, Nation States

March 11, 2019

Politico reports that the new leader of the governing German CDU Party Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has responded to French President Emmanuel Macron’s vision for a “European renaissance” with an op-ed opposing “European centralism” but calling for focused EU policies on immigration, defense, and climate change.
EU Countries Reject Money-Laundering “Blacklist”

March 08, 2019

EU member states have unanimously rejected a proposed “blacklist” imposing enhanced monitoring requirements on EU banks operating in certain non-EU countries and US territories accused of lax money-laundering enforcement, as national officials asserted the list “was not established in a transparent and resilient process.”
UK Official Raises ECHR as Obstacle to Brexit “Backstop”

March 08, 2019

The Guardian reports that, in recent talks with EU negotiators, UK Attorney General Geoffrey Cox argued that the Irish border “backstop” contingency measure in the UK-EU withdrawal deal could violate the rights, under the European Convention on Human Rights, of the Northern Irish people to democratic representation in EU institutions.