Abstract: The year 2020 marked the 20th anniversary of the proclamation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. It was drawn up at the end of a long process, to which the Court of Justice has contributed substantially, affirming since the seventies the obligation to protect fundamental rights in the Community. The drafting of a...
Abstract: In December 2020, the European Parliament and the Council adopted a new piece of legislation aimed at protecting the rule of law in the Member States of the Union – the so-called rule of law Conditionality Regulation. This contribution tracks the legislative process in the run up to the new Regulation, analyses the substance and the...
Abstract: In Centraal Israëlitisch Consistorie van België and Others (case C-336/19 ECLI:EU:C:2020:1031) the Court of Justice held that EU Member States are allowed to require, in the context of ritual slaughter, a reversible stunning procedure which cannot result in the animal’s death. According to the Court, Regulation 1099/2009 on the...
Abstract: As EU criminal law has expanded over the years, so have the opportunities for the application of relevant provisions of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The present Insight analyses the situations where the right to liberty has become relevant to pre-trial detention in areas covered by EU rules. It critically discusses the gaps of protection...
Abstract: The Court of Justice of the European Union is once again invited to rule on the conciliation between animal welfare and freedom of religion. Mainly relying on the lack of consensus among the Member States, the Court finds that a national legislation introducing an obligation of reversible stunning is admitted according to Regulation (EC)...
Abstract: In Bank Refah Kargaran (case C-134/19 P Bank Refah Kargaran v Council ECLI:EU:C:2020:793), the Court of Justice decided that it has jurisdiction to award damages for non-contractual liability incurred by the EU for harm caused by certain restrictive measures in Common foreign and security policy (CFSP) decisions. In so...
Abstract: In the Bank Refah Kargaran judgment (case C-134/19 P, judgment of 6 October 2020) the Court of Justice adds the action for damages against CFSP decisions to the list of legal remedies available to individuals targeted by EU restrictive measures. After a brief overview of the case, this Insight examines the reasoning of...
Abstract: This Insight discusses the Court of Justice’s judgment of 14 May 2020 in the joined cases C-924/19 and C-925/19, which concerned two couples of asylum seekers detained in the Röszke transit zone, at the Hungarian-Serbian border. The analysis focuses on the approach followed by the Court, that has addressed several issues under EU...
Abstract: In Bank Refah (judgment of 6 October 2020, case C-134/19 P) the Court of Justice provides important clarifications on the type of judicial remedies available in relation to CFSP decisions establishing restrictive measures. As in Rosneft, the Court seems to extend its jurisdiction beyond the so-called “claw-back” provision...
Abstract: The case DB v. Consob (request lodged on 21 June 2019, case C-481/19), pending before the Court of Justice, deals with preliminary questions referred by the Italian Constitutional Court on the applicability and scope of a natural person's right to remain silent during administrative proceedings which may lead to the imposition of...