Human Rights

Venice Commission: Russia's 'Foreign Agent' Amendments Violate Human Rights

July 14, 2021

The Venice Commission has sharply criticized recent Russian amendments to laws regulating so-called ‘'foreign agents," saying they constitute “serious violations” of basic human rights, referring to Russia's "foreign agent" legislation that was adopted in 2012 that requires noncommercial organizations that receive foreign assistance to be registered and submit to audits.
ECtHR Bolsters ‘Right to be Forgotten’

June 23, 2021

The judges of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled in favor of a man with historical convictions relating to a fatal road accident who requested to anonymize an article in an electronic archive, giving a boost to the ‘right to be forgotten’ in human rights law.
Climate Activists Target Norway at ECtHR

June 17, 2021

In an effort by environmentalists to stop new oil drilling in Norway, the activists have brought the case before European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), arguing that the drilling affects human rights, depriving young people of their future.
New Law Requires Corporate Due Diligence In Germany

June 14, 2021

In a shift to mandatory compliance, the German Parliament passed a law requiring large and medium-sized businesses to do their due diligence in combating human rights violations along their supply chain with fines being up to 2% of their international revenue and exclusion from public procurement for up to three years.
European Courts Face a Rising Tide of Climate Litigation

June 09, 2021

As the climate change movement gains traction, both Union level and the Member State level European courts are being faced with an increasing number of climate litigation cases.
ECtHR Holds Romania Must Compensate LGBT Group for Homophobic Attack

June 02, 2021

The European Court of Human Rights (EctHR) has ordered Romania to pay compensation due to police failing to protect an LGBT film screening that was stormed by protesters in 2013, citing that Romania failed to uphold the prohibition of discrimination as well the right to freedom of assembly and association.
EU Rejects Biden plan to Waive COVID-19 Vaccine Patents

May 19, 2021

At a European Council summit in Porto, Portugal, top EU officials pushed back at U.S. President Joe Biden’s proposal to suspend intellectual property rights for coronavirus vaccines, citing that Washington has not put forward a specific plan.
Finnish Christian Politician Facing Charges for ‘Discriminatory Hate Speech'

May 10, 2021

Päivi Räsänen, a Christian Democrat MP, is facing charges of 'discriminatory hate speech' in her home country of Finland for stating her belief that homosexual activity is sinful according to the Bible.
Top German Court Rules Climate Law Partly ‘Unconstitutional’

May 04, 2021

Germany’s Constitutional Court ruled that the country’s 2019 climate protection law, which sets out to cut emissions to net-zero by 2050, was partly “unconstitutional” citing that “sufficient measures for further emission reductions after 2031 are missing,” putting an improper burden on future generations after 2030.
Politico: EU slams China’s ‘Authoritarian Shift’

April 28, 2021

A high-level internal report shows the EU is increasingly pessimistic about keeping business interests separate from political concerns over President Xi Jinping’s “authoritarian shift.”