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HRW Seeks Use of EU Rule of Law Mechanism in Poland, Hungary
January 13, 2016
An article by Lydia Gall of Human Rights Watch ("HRW") blames controversial Polish legislation regarding the country's constitutional court and public media on a previous weak EU response to similar developments in Hungary, and calls upon the European Commission to launch its potentially punitive "rule of law mechanism" with regard to developments in both countries.
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NGO: ECtHR Strengthens Rights of Criminal Suspects
January 13, 2016
Jennifer Babaie of the Open Society Justice Initiative writes that in three recent cases, the European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR") has expanded its recognition of rights of criminal suspects, including the rights to access and to communicate freely with one's lawyer and the right against the use of confessions elicited through "inhuman or degrading treatment."
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CoE Seeks Review of Polish Media Law
January 13, 2016
In a recent letter, Council of Europe ("CoE") Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland has invited Poland to submit controversial legislation granting Polish officials more authority over the composition of public broadcasting heads to the CoE for assessment prior to the signing of the legislation.
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ECtHR: Hungarian Surveillance Law Violates Rights
January 13, 2016
The European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR") has held that a Hungarian law authorizing officials to engage in surveillance of suspected terrorists violates the right to privacy because it permits officials to "intercept masses of data" without requiring them to demonstrate that the subject of their surveillance has any links to terrorism.
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EU Forces Belgium to Collect Corporate Back Taxes
January 12, 2016
Politico reports that the European Commission has found Belgian rules under which the government did not tax multinational companies on so-called "excess profits" earned due to their global advantages were illegal state aid and ordered the country to collect approximately €700 million in back taxes from 35 of these companies.
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