European Institutions

ECJ Requires Mental-Health Exceptions to Returns

June 04, 2018

The Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) recently held that EU law requires a member state not to return a person to his home country if it determines he could be intentionally deprived of mental health services, and that the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights prohibits countries from returning a person who would as a result suffer a deterioration in his mental health disorders.
ECJ Rejects Challenge to Citizens' Initiative Response

June 04, 2018

The Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) has rejected a legal challenge to the European Commission's (EC) refusal to take action in response to a European citizens' initiative seeking a ban on the funding of the destruction of human embryos because the binding of the EC using such a citizens petition would violate the institution's "near-monopoly on legislative initiative."
CoE Body Seeks Improved Complaints Systems for "Torture"

June 01, 2018

In its recently released annual report, the Council of Europe's (CoE) Committee for the Prevention of Torture criticized CoE member states for failing to provide "effective" complaints mechanisms offering redress, including compensation, for prisoners and others in state custody alleging that they have been subjected to torture or other "inhuman" or "degrading" treatment.
Article: Macron Struggles to Find Broad Audience for EU Vision

June 01, 2018

The Economist has published an article asserting that intra-EU mistrust and caution have meant that the broad, reformist EU vision of French President Emmanuel Macron has largely fallen on deaf ears, other than his desires for short-term protectionism of European industry and its labor force.
Investigators Identify "Strong Suspicion" of PACE Corruption

June 01, 2018

AFP reports that external investigators of alleged corruption at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have established a "strong suspicion" that certain governments, including that of Azerbaijan, doled out lavish gifts, including caviar and luxury hotel stays, to prevent the adoption of a critical report on the status of political prisoners.