European Institutions

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.
CoE Entity Updates Standards for "Equality Bodies"

May 30, 2018

The Council of Europe's (CoE) Commission Against Racism and Intolerance has released a set of revised standards explaining how CoE member states should establish independent "equality bodies" that make proposals for anti-discrimination legislation and pursue litigation on behalf of alleged victims of discrimination.
EC Proposes Tighter Regulation of Food Supply Chain

May 24, 2018

The European Commission (EC) has issued a proposal requiring EU member states to set up regulators to prohibit a variety of "unfair trade practices" by companies in the food supply chain, targeting actions by retailers and others that the EC asserts have harmed European farmers and small businesses by decreasing their bargaining power and lowering their prices.