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A notary does not breach the sanctions against Russia when he or she authenticates the sale of a property owned by an unlisted Russian company (ECJ)

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In tis Judgment in Case C-109/23 (Jemerak) [1] the Court of Justice ruled that a notary does not breach the sanctions against Russia when he or she authenticates the sale of a property owned by an unlisted Russian company.  By authentication, a notary does not provide legal advisory services, but acts independently and impartially in the context of a function entrusted to him or her by the State.  A notary in Berlin (Germany) refused to authenticate a contract for the sale of an apartment situated in Berlin and owned by a Russian company. According to that notary, it cannot be ruled out that that authentication infringes the prohibition on the provision of legal advisory services to legal persons established in Russia. The European Union introduced that general prohibition [2] in 2022 with a view to increase pressure on Russia to end its war of aggression against Ukraine [3] . The Berlin Regional Court referred questions to the Court of Justice on this matter. The Court replies that th
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The banks Crédit agricole and Credit Suisse participated in a cartel in the sector for suprasovereign bonds, sovereign bonds and public agency bonds denominated in US dollars

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According to the Judgment of the General Court in Cases T-386/21 (Crédit agricole and Crédit agricole Corporate and Investment Bank v Commission) and T-406/21 (UBS Group and Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) v Commission), the banks Crédit agricole and Credit Suisse participated in a cartel in the sector for suprasovereign bonds, sovereign bonds and public agency bonds denominated in US dollars (‘SSA Bonds’).  The General Court of the European Union confirms the Commission’s finding of an infringement and maintains the amount of the fines imposed in 2021. In 2018, the European Commission initiated proceedings for infringement of the competition rules involving Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Crédit agricole and Credit Suisse (now UBS Group [1] ).  In 2021, the Commission found that those banks had entered into an agreement on the secondary market for suprasovereign, sovereign and agency bonds denominated in dollars (SSA bonds). According to the Commission, traders employed by those ban
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Ethics committee opinions on commissioners’ intended new jobs should be made public, says Ombudsman

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The European Ombudsman has suggested the European Commission make public all future opinions adopted by the independent ethics committee concerning former commissioners’ post-mandate jobs. Former commissioners are required to give the Commission two months’ notice when they intend to pursue a professional activity during the two years following their departure. The Commission then examines whether the intended activity is compatible with the commissioner’s post service obligations. If the activity is related to the former commissioner’s portfolio, the Commission consults with the Independent Ethical Committee before taking a decision. Under the Commission’s current practices, if a commissioner withdraws an approval request following a negative opinion from the ethics committee, the Commission does not publish the committee’s opinion. The Ombudsman noted that publishing these opinions would improve transparency and public scrutiny around the Commission’s ability to ensure former c
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Unreasoned decision dismissing objections by applicant who was imprisoned pursuant to judgment not concerning him violated ECHR: Judgement against Greece

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In Chamber's judgment dated 15.10.2024 in the case of Nsingi v. Greece (application no. 27985/19) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been a violation of Article 5 §§ 1 and 5 (right to liberty and security / right to compensation) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case concerned the rejection of the applicant’s claim for compensation for having been imprisoned pursuant to a sentence that had been handed down in respect of a different person, for whom he had been mistaken at the time of his arrest.  On 6 June 2018 the applicant was arrested by the police and, after verification of his identity, was registered under the name of an individual who had been sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for drug possession. The prosecutor ordered that he be sent to prison.  On 20 June 2018 the applicant demanded that he be released, objecting that he was not the person who had been convicted and sentenced. The Criminal Court dismissed the applicant
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Personal data protection: The supervisory authority is not obliged to exercise a corrective power in all cases of breach and, in particular, to impose a fine

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In its Judgment in Case C-768/21 (Land Hessen/ 26.9.2024) the Court of Justice ruled that, the data protection supervisory authority is not obliged to exercise a corrective power in all cases of breach and, in particular, to impose a fine. It may refrain from doing so where the controller has already taken the necessary measures on its own initiative.  In Germany, a savings bank found that one of its employees had consulted a customer's personal data on several occasions without being authorised to do so. The savings bank did not inform the customer of this, as its data protection officer had taken the view that there was no high risk for him. The employee had confirmed in writing that she had neither copied nor retained the data, that she had not transferred them to third parties and that she would not do so in the future.  In addition, the savings bank had taken disciplinary measures against her. The savings bank nevertheless notified the Land Hessen’s Commissioner for Data Prote
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A national court is not required to apply a decision of its constitutional court that infringes EU law (ECJ)

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In its Judgment of 26.9.2024 in Case C-792/22 (Energotehnica) the Court of Justice ruled as regards the right to an effective remedy that a national court is not required to apply a decision of its constitutional court that infringes EU law. In such a case, the national court may not be penalised.  Following the death of an electrician by electrocution during a maintenance operation, an administrative procedure was initiated against his employer. At the same time, criminal proceedings for negligence and manslaughter were initiated against the supervisor. The victim’s next of kin also became civil parties to the criminal proceedings.  The administrative court hearing the dispute concluded that the present case did not involve an ‘accident at work’. It annulled the administrative penalties imposed on the employer. According to national legislation, as interpreted by the Romanian Constitutional Court, that administrative decision prevents the criminal court from reconsidering whether the
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ECtHR elects a new Vice-President of the Court and two new Section Presidents

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The European Court of Human Rights has elected on 23.9.2024 a new Vice-President of the Court – Judge Ivana Jelić (elected in respect of Montenegro). She will take up her duties on 1 November 2024.  The Court has also elected at the same date two new Section Presidents – Judges Lado Chanturia (elected in respect of Georgia) and Ioannis Ktistakis (elected in respect of Greece). They will also take up their duties on 1 November 2024. Ivana Jelić was born on 17 March 1975 in Podgorica, Montenegro and was elected Judge of the European Court of Human Rights on 12 July 2018. Lado Chanturia was born on 14 April 1963 in Tsalenjikha, Georgia, was elected Judge of the European Court of Human Rights on 8 January 2018 and is Vice-President of Section since 18 May 2023. Ioannis Ktistakis was born on 3 January 1971 in Thebes, Greece and was elected Judge of the European Court of Human Rights on 8 March 2021. (source/photo: echr.coe.int) Read more here
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Legal Officer's position in the International Labour Organization

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ILO - International Labour Organization, based in Geneva, Switzerland seeks to recruit a Legal Officer. The Off ice of the Legal Adviser/Office of Legal Services (JUR) provides a wide range of legal services to the International Labour Organization and its various organs (in particular the Office, the International Labour Conference and the Governing Body of the ILO).   The work is carried out by a small, dedicated team at ILO headquarters. The unit reports directly to the Director-General.  It is responsible for furthering and defending the legal interests of the Organization. The Development Cooperation position of Legal Officer will report to the Legal Adviser.  This position will provide the Office of the Legal Adviser with the necessary capacity to provide legal support for the increasing development cooperation demand from headquarters and field units of the ILO. The position will better enable JUR to respond in a sound and timely manner to the demands placed upon it. Educati
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Imposition of fines and order to comply following a leak of expats’ personal data file by Greek Data Protection Authority

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The Greek Supervisory Authority for Data Protection imposed on the Greek Ministry of the Interior,  an administrative fine totalling EUR 400,000 and on a Member of European Parliament an administrative fine totalling EUR 40,000 for infringements of GDPR. The Hellenic Data Protection Authority received a large number of complaints regarding unsolicited political communication via e-mail sent on 1/3/2024 and entitled "100 days before the European elections", by Member of European Parliament Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou. Following this, the Authority investigated the case ex officio, exercising immediately its powers of investigation and auditing the bodies involved. Following a series of on-the-spot audits and the receipt of evidence and data in the context of the audit, it was found that a file containing personal data of all registered Greek expatriate voters for the June 2023 elections, for which the Hellenic Ministry of the Interior is the controller, and for which the leg
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Fair trial: Minors subject to criminal proceedings must have the practical and effective opportunity to be assisted by a lawyer (ECJ)

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According to ECJ's Judgment in Case C-603/22 (M.S. and Others), minors subject to criminal proceedings must have the practical and effective opportunity to be assisted by a lawyer. Such assistance must be offered at the latest by the time they are first questioned by the police. Criminal proceedings against three minors were brought before a Polish court. They were charged with having broken into the buildings of a disused former holiday centre. During those proceedings, it was found that the suspects had been questioned by the police in the absence of a lawyer. Before they were first questioned, neither they nor their parents had been informed of their rights or the conduct of the proceedings. The court-appointed lawyers therefore requested that previous statements made by the suspects be removed from the file as evidence.  The national court, questioning the effectiveness of the procedural guarantees in place for minors during the pretrial phase, made a reference to the Court of
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European Ombudsman asks Commission to publish details of its handling of senior staff move to law firm

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The European Ombudsman has asked the European Commission to publish details about how it has handled the planned move by a former director in its competition department to the Brussels office of a US corporate law firm as a partner. Any restrictions that have been placed on the activities of the former director to mitigate potential conflicts of interest should be made public without delay, said the Ombudsman. She noted that public information about the move came from the law firm and gives the impression that the Commission has allowed a senior official to work for a company that anticipates major benefits from their inside knowledge.  The Ombudsman also noted that the Commission declined to give details about the individual’s professional experience despite the fact that the law firm itself has put out a press release detailing it. The Ombudsman has previously criticised a tendency in the EU administration to underestimate the potential negative effects of staff moves to the pr
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European Court of Human Rights refuses request for advisory opinion from High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania

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The European Court of Human Rights has refused the request for an advisory opinion (no. P16-2024-001) received from the High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania (“the High Court”) on 27 February 2024.  The request was submitted in the context of an appeal pending before the High Court, concerning the confiscation of a sum of money from a civil servant following an audit of her assets by the National Integrity Agency (Agenția Națională de Integritate – “the ANI”).  The Romanian authorities had considered that the civil servant – who belonged to one of the 39 categories of individuals working in the public sector who were required to declare their assets and interests – had been unable to prove the source of the money, which had been confiscated following an audit of her income.  The High Court requested the European Court to give an opinion on two questions concerning the interpretation of Article 6 (right to a fair hearing) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 1
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A consumer having booked a trip abroad may sue the organiser before the court of the place of his or her domicile (ECJ)

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As ruled by the Judgment of the Court of EU in Case C-774/22 (29.7.2024) (FTI Touristik), a consumer having booked a trip abroad may sue the organiser before the court of the place of his or her domicile. This is also true where the consumer and the organiser are domiciled in the same Member State. A consumer residing in Nuremberg (Germany) concluded a contract for a trip abroad with the tour operator FTI Touristik, which has its registered seat in Munich (Germany). Considering himself to have been inadequately informed of the entry conditions and necessary visas, the consumer brought an action for damages against FTI Touristik before the Local Court, Nuremberg. FTI Touristik contends that that court does not have territorial jurisdiction.  In particular, the ‘Brussels Ia’ Regulation on jurisdiction [1] [2], does not apply where the two parties are domiciled in the same Member State. The Local Court, Nuremberg submitted a question to the Court of Justice on that point.  The Court repli
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Rule of Law Report 2024: National justice systems, anti-corruption frameworks, media freedom and pluralism in the EU member states

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The European Commission has published its fifth  annual Rule of Law Report,  examining systematically and objectively rule of law developments in all Member States on an equal basis. In comparison to the first issue of the Rule of Law Report adopted in 2020, Member States and the EU as a whole are much better prepared to detect, prevent and address emerging challenges. This contributes to the resilience of our European democracies and to mutual trust in the EU. It also contributes to a good functioning of the single market and benefits a business environment that fosters competitiveness and sustainable growth. Since its first publication in 2020, the report has become a true driver of positive reforms: Two thirds (68%) of the recommendations issued in 2023 have been, fully or partially, addressed. However, in some Member States systematic concerns remain and the situation has further deteriorated. These concerns are addressed in the recommendations of this year's report. There
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Mortgage loans: the transparency of ‘floor’ clauses may be reviewed in the context of a collective action concerning the entire banking system of a country (ECJ)

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According to the Judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case C-450/22 (Caixabank and Others) as regards mortgage loans, the transparency of ‘floor’ clauses may be reviewed in the context of a collective action concerning the entire banking system of a country. In its review, the court may take account of changes in the perception of the average consumer in relation to those clauses. ‘Floor’ clauses are standard terms that were contained in variable-rate mortgage loan agreements concluded with consumers by a significant number of financial institutions in Spain.  Those clauses set a threshold (or ‘floor’) below which the variable interest rate could not fall, even if the reference rate (generally the Euribor) fell below it. Several thousands of lawsuits were filed in Spain claiming the illegality of ‘floor’ clauses in the light of the Directive on unfair terms[1][2] .  The Spanish association of users of banks, savings banks and insurance (ADICAE) brought a collective action again
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State of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful: Advisory Opinion by International Court of Justice

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The International Court of Justice has given on 19.7.2024 its Advisory Opinion in respect of the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. It is recalled that, on 30 December 2022, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolution A/RES/77/247 in which, referring to Article 65 of the Statute of the Court, it requested the International Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on the following questions: “(a) What are the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, from its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures? (b) How do the policies and practice
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Anti-torture Committee again calls on Greece to reform its immigration detention system and stop pushbacks

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Council of Europe anti-torture Committee again calls on Greece to reform its immigration detention system and stop pushbacks. In a  report  on its ad hoc visit to Greece, which took place from 21 November to 1 December 2023, published together with the  response of the Greek authorities , the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ( CPT ) once again urges the Greek authorities to improve the conditions in the country’s immigration detention facilities, and especially the newly-built and EU-funded centres on the Aegean islands, while ensuring that foreign nationals are treated both with dignity and humanity (see the executive summary of the report in  English  or in  Greek ). The main objective of the November 2023 visit to Greece was to examine the treatment of foreign nationals deprived of their liberty under immigration legislation in pre-removal detention centres, in police and border guard stations and in
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Editorial

Editorial
George Kazoleas, Lawyer