Law & Justice

EC Calls for Preparation for Data Protection Rules

February 01, 2018

The European Commission (EC) has warned EU member governments to ramp up their preparation for the entry into force in May of the General Data Protection Regulation, a centralized set of rules regulating the protection of data that will require implementation by their national data authorities and the establishment of a European Data Protection Board.
EC Files New Complaint Against Ireland over Wind Farm

February 01, 2018

The European Commission (EC) has announced that it is filing a new complaint in the EU court system against the Irish government for its failure to perform an adequate impact assessment under EU law evaluating the potential environmental damage involved in the construction of a wind farm in County Galway 13 years ago.
UK Parliament Committee Objects to Brexit Legislation

January 31, 2018

Reuters reports that the House of Lords Constitutional Committee has found "fundamental flaws" in the British government's EU withdrawal legislation replicating the bloc's laws within UK law to provide for a smooth Brexit process, calling the bill "constitutionally unacceptable" because it grants government ministers substantial authority to correct "deficiencies" in the law.
ECJ Rejects Trademarking "Vulgar" Film Name

January 29, 2018

AP reports that the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) has upheld a decision by the EU Intellectual Property Office that a German company is not permitted to trademark the name of a popular film because it is "vulgar" and might "shock" consumers.
EU Officials Call for Romania to Rethink Judicial Law

January 29, 2018

Politico reports that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and First Vice President Frans Timmermans are calling on Romanian legislators to reconsider draft legislation establishing a new body to sanction judges and prosecutors for acting in bad faith in the context of corruption allegations.
EU Official Defines "Rule of Law" for Access to Budget

January 29, 2018

EUobserver reports that European Commissioner for Justice Věra Jourová has responded to prodding by Western European countries by agreeing to develop a definition of the "rule of law" for use in determining the access of countries to development funds from the EU budget.
ECJ Official Finds Residency Rights for Same-Sex Spouses

January 17, 2018

The New York Times reports that Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) Advocate General Melchior Wathelet has advised the ECJ to rule that, regardless of their policies on gay marriage, EU member states must recognize the right of same-sex spouses to live and work in their territories to the same degree they permit opposite-sex spouses to do so.
EU Chief Rejects Talk of Reducing Funding to Poland

January 10, 2018

Politico reports that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has rejected growing calls from officials in Western European countries to withhold development funding from Poland for alleged violations of rule-of-law norms in the country's judicial system, dismissing such proposals as "wild threats."
Commentator: EU Response to Spain Shows "Double Standard"

January 10, 2018

Economist Andrea Hossó writes that the EU's criticism of threats to democratic values in Poland and Hungary "has acquired a tinge of Alice in Wonderland" when the supranational organization fails to call out Spain for its police violence against Catalonian citizens attempting to vote for independence.
CoE Chief Seeks Review of Romanian Judicial Reforms

January 09, 2018

Council of Europe (CoE) Secretary-General Thorbjørn Jagland has published a letter to Romanian President Klaus Iohannis calling for the country's authorities to seek advice from the CoE's constitutional body the Venice Commission on the compliance of a set of proposed reforms to the judiciary with "fundamental rule of law standards."