Law & Justice

ECJ Official Finds High Bar for EAW Refusal

July 24, 2018

The Court of Justice of the EU’s (ECJ) Advocate General Evgeni Tanchev has found that national judges deciding on the execution of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued by a government in breach of rule-of-law norms must determine whether the specific subject of the EAW would experience an unfair trial if sent to the issuing country.
ECJ Official Casts Doubt on Barriers to EU Residence Rights

July 24, 2018

Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) Paolo Mengozzi has found that EU law prohibits national governments from conditioning the grant of an autonomous residence permit to a person who already has a right to family reunification on the person’s passage of a second “civic integration” examination.
Official Finds Exclusive ECJ Jurisdiction over Certain Bank Decisions

July 23, 2018

Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona has asserted that the EU court system has the exclusive authority to review the work of national banks preparing decisions on whether to authorize acquisitions and increases in qualifying holdings in financial institutions.
CoE Body Critiques Ireland on Judicial Independence

July 23, 2018

The Council of Europe’s (CoE) Group of States against Corruption has critiqued Irish legislation setting up a judicial appointments commission that would include a majority of non-judges as a potential violation of European standards on judicial independence.
EU Parliament Rejects Proposed Copyright Reforms

July 13, 2018

Politico reports that the European Parliament has rejected a proposal that would have required internet companies like Facebook and Google to step up their enforcement of EU copyright rules on their platforms and would have granted copyright license holders more power to enforce their rights against encroachment in online fora.
German Official Presses EC on Post-Brexit Security Deal

July 12, 2018

Politico reports that German Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer has sent a letter to the European Commission (EC) warning that the body’s inflexibility on post-Brexit security arrangements is risking the lives of Europeans and calling for a “full security partnership with the UK” after Brexit.
EC Proposes New Mandates for Online Companies

July 09, 2018

The law firm Covington & Burling has published an analysis of the European Commission's (EC) recent proposal for an e-Evidence Initiative that would grant law-enforcement officers of EU member states new tools to access data across the globe and would require online-service providers to maintain a data officer in each member state.
UK Proposes Broad Security Arrangement with EU

June 28, 2018

The UK government recently published a document describing its desired framework for partnering with the EU on security matters after Brexit as a wide-ranging strategy that "goes beyond any existing third country arrangements."
EC Presents Increased Budget Contingent on "Rule of Law"

June 28, 2018

In a recent press release, the European Commission (EC) explains its proposal for an increased 2021 to 2027 EU budget to cover a range of priorities despite the departure of Britain from the bloc and the decision to create a new budgetary mechanism permitting the withdrawal of development funds from countries perceived as violating rule-of-law principles.
EC Proposes Centralized Rules for Online Services

June 28, 2018

The European Commission (EC) recently proposed a set of rules requiring online services used by European businesses to reach customers to clearly communicate their terms and conditions and establish internal complaint mechanisms, as well as setting up an EU Observatory to review "current as well as emerging issues and opportunities in the digital economy."