European Institutions

Investigators Identify "Strong Suspicion" of PACE Corruption

June 01, 2018

AFP reports that external investigators of alleged corruption at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have established a "strong suspicion" that certain governments, including that of Azerbaijan, doled out lavish gifts, including caviar and luxury hotel stays, to prevent the adoption of a critical report on the status of political prisoners.
UK Peers Seek to Retain EU Rights Charter After Brexit

May 31, 2018

The BBC reports that the UK House of Lords recently voted to amend the government's EU withdrawal bill to require the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which only applies when a country is implementing EU law, to remain in force in Britain after the country leaves the EU.
ECtHR Finds Right to Be Informed of Family Member's Death

May 31, 2018

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that Russian authorities violated a couple's right to respect for private and family life by failing to make "reasonable efforts" to locate them and inform them that their son had been murdered.
ECtHR: Slovenia Violated Privacy Rights Through IP Address Request

May 31, 2018

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) recently held that Slovenian police had violated the privacy rights of a man convicted of downloading child pornography by requesting and receiving information about the man, who was using a dynamic IP address to transfer the relevant files, from a local internet service provider without first obtaining a court order.
Swiss Official Warns Against UK-EU "Equivalence" Deal for Finance

May 31, 2018

The Belfast Telegraph reports that Swiss state secretary for international finance Jorg Gasser has warned UK officials an "equivalence" deal between the EU and Britain facilitating access between the jurisdictions' financial markets would be subject to the political whims of Brussels, identifying "mutual recognition" as a more stable way forward for such a post-Brexit agreement.