Overuse of pre-trial detention keeps thousands in EU jails, report finds – The Guardian

Posted January 16th, 2012 in detention, EC law, extradition, news, warrants by sally

“Thousands of people who have not been convicted of any crime are being held for months, or even years, because of the failure of pre-trial detention rules in the European Union, according to a survey.”

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The Guardian, 13th January 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Air Transport Association of America v Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (International Air Transport Association and others, intervening – WLR Daily

Posted January 3rd, 2012 in aircraft, carbon dioxide emissions, EC law, law reports, news by tracey

Air Transport Association of America v Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (International Air Transport Association and others, intervening); (Case C-366/10);  [2011] WLR (D)  386

“Certain principles and provisions of international law could be relied upon to assess the validity of Parliament and Council Directive 2008/101/EC amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community. Examination of Directive 2008/101 in the light of those principles and provisions disclosed no factor affecting the Directive’s validity.”

WLR Daily, 21st December 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Ziolkowski and others v Land Berlin (Vertreter des Bundesinteresses beim Bundesverwaltungsgericht intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted January 3rd, 2012 in EC law, freedom of movement, immigration, law reports by tracey

Ziolkowski and others v Land Berlin (Vertreter des Bundesinteresses beim Bundesverwaltungsgericht intervening); (Joined Cases C-424/10 and C-425/10);  [2011] WLR (D)  387

“A Union citizen who had been resident for more than five years in the territory of the host member state on the sole basis of the national law of that member state could not be regarded as having acquired the right of permanent residence pursuant to article 16(1) of Directive 2004/38 if, during that period of residence, he did not satisfy the conditions laid down in article 7(1) of the Directive concerning the need to be a worker or to be self-supporting. Periods of residence completed by a national of a non‑member state in the territory of a member state before the accession of the non‑member state to the European Union, in the absence of specific provisions in the Act of Accession, had to be taken into account for the purpose of the acquisition of the right of permanent residence pursuant to article 16(1) of the Directive, provided those periods were completed in compliance with the conditions laid down in article 7(1).”

WLR Daily, 21st December 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

NS v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Amnesty International Ltd and others intervening); ME and others v Refugee Applications Comr and another (Amnesty International Ltd and others intervening – WLR Daily

Posted January 3rd, 2012 in asylum, EC law, immigration, law reports by tracey

NS v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Amnesty International Ltd and others intervening); ME and others v Refugee Applications Comr and another (Amnesty International Ltd and others intervening); (Joined Cases C-411/10 and C-493/10);  [2011] WLR (D)  388

“European Union law precluded the application of a conclusive presumption that the member state responsible for examining an asylum claim pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 343/2003 observed the fundamental rights of the European Union. Article 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union meant that the member states, including the national courts, could not transfer an asylum seeker to the ‘member state responsible’ within the meaning of the Regulation where they could not be unaware that systemic deficiencies in the asylum procedure and in the reception conditions of asylum seekers in that member state amounted to substantial grounds for believing that the asylum seeker would face a real risk of being subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment within the meaning of that provision.”

WLR Daily, 21st December 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Government to ban payment surcharges before end of 2012 – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 3rd, 2012 in consumer protection, EC law, news by tracey

“Companies will be prohibited from charging consumers “excessive” payment surcharges before the end of next year, the Government has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 23rd December 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

 

EU directive for crime victims undermines Armed Forces, warns MoD – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 3rd, 2012 in armed forces, EC law, news, victims by tracey

“The work of the Armed Forces could be undermined by a European Directive that the Coalition has chosen to adopt, the Ministry of Defence has warned.”

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Daily Telegraph, 3rd January 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina v Ideal Waste Paper Co Ltd and others – WLR Daily

Posted December 16th, 2011 in abuse of process, contamination, EC law, law reports, waste by tracey

Regina v Ideal Waste Paper Co Ltd and others: [2011] WLR (D)  370

“The absence of guidance relating to the permissible levels of contamination of waste which could legally be exported did not render criminal proceedings an abuse of process on grounds that the charges were so imprecise as to offend the requirements of the common law and of article 7 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms concerning accessibility and certainty of criminal offences.”

WLR Daily, 14th December 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Pierre Fabre Dermo-Cosmétique SAS v Président de l’Autorité de la concurrence (Ministère public and another, interveners) (Case C-439/09) – WLR Daily

Posted December 14th, 2011 in competition, EC law, law reports, pharmacists, sale of goods by sally

Pierre Fabre Dermo-Cosmétique SAS v Président de l’Autorité de la concurrence (Ministère public and another, interveners) (Case C-439/09); [2011] WLR (D) 359

“In the context of a selective distribution system, a contractual clause requiring sales of cosmetics and personal care products to be made in a physical space where a qualified pharmacist had to be present, resulting in a ban on the use of the internet for those sales, amounted to a restriction by object within the meaning of article 101(1)FEU of the FEU Treaty where it was apparent that that clause was not objectively justified. The block exemption provided for in article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2790/1999 of 22 December 1999 on the application of article 81(3) of the Treaty to categories of vertical agreements and concerted practices (OJ 1999 L336, p 21) did not apply to a selective distribution contract which contained a clause prohibiting de facto the internet as a method of marketing.”

WLR Daily, 13th December 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Ziebell v Land Baden-Württemberg (Case C-371/08) – WLR Daily

Posted December 14th, 2011 in citizenship, drug offences, EC law, law reports by sally

Ziebell v Land Baden-Württemberg (Case C-371/08); [2011] WLR (D) 358

“Protection against expulsion conferred by article 14(1) of EEC-Turkey Association Council Decision No 1/80 did not have the same scope as that conferred on citizens of the Union pursuant to article 28(3)(a) of Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC with the result that the scheme of protection against expulsion enjoyed by the latter could not be applied mutatis mutandis to Turkish nationals for the purpose of determining the meaning and scope of article 14(1) of Decision No 1/80.”

WLR Daily, 8th December 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Draft proposals for new data protection regime include ‘draconian provisions’, expert says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 13th, 2011 in data protection, EC law, news by sally

“Many proposals under consideration for the make-up of a new data protection regime in Europe are “incredibly draconian” and will create extra burdens on compliant businesses, an expert has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 12th December 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Female motorists face £900m hike in annual insurance premiums, Government says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 12th, 2011 in EC law, insurance, news, women by sally

“Women drivers in the UK will pay over £900 million more a year for motor insurance than they currently do as a result of ‘broadly negative’ changes to EU gender laws, the Government has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 12th December 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Russell and others v Transocean International Rescources Ltd and others – WLR Daily

Posted December 9th, 2011 in EC law, holiday pay, law reports, offshore installations, working time by tracey

Russell and others v Transocean International Rescources Ltd and others: [2011] UKSC 57;  [2011] WLR (D)  356

“Employees working on oil and gas installations in the North Sea whose contract of employment provided for a repeating shift pattern of two weeks’ work on the rig, followed by two weeks onshore on non-working ‘field break’, were not entitled to take their statutory holiday entitlement during time when they had been scheduled to work offshore.”

WLR Daily, 7th December 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

New Data Protection Board to co-ordinate EU-wide enforcement, says Commissioner – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 9th, 2011 in data protection, EC law, news by tracey

“A new oversight body will be set up under a new EU data protection regime to help regulators investigate and enforce compliance with EU laws, the EU’s Justice Commissioner has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th December 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Realchemie Nederland BV v Bayer CropScience AG (Case C-406/09) – WLR Daily

Posted December 7th, 2011 in conflict of laws, EC law, intellectual property, law reports, news by sally

Realchemie Nederland BV v Bayer CropScience AG (Case C-406/09); [2011] WLR (D) 350

“Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (OJ 2001 L 12, p1) applied to the recognition and enforcement of a decision of a court or tribunal that contained an order to pay a fine in order to ensure compliance with a judgment given in a civil and commercial matter. The costs relating to an exequatur (enforcement) procedure brought in one member state, in the course of which the recognition and enforcement was sought of a judgment given in another member state in proceedings seeking to enforce an intellectual property right, fell within article 14 of Parliament and Council Directive 2004/48/EC of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights (OJ 2004 L 157, p 45).”

WLR Daily, 18th December 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Charities and universities to benefit from VAT exemption for shared services – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 7th, 2011 in bills, charities, EC law, news, universities, VAT by sally

“The Government will implement EU proposals that will allow charities and universities to share services without charging each other VAT, according to proposals published in today’s Finance Bill 2012.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 6th December 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV v Lucheng Meijing Industrial Co Ltd and others; Nokia Corpn v Revenue and Customs Comrs (Internationak Trademark Association intervening) (Joined Cases C-446/09 and C-495/09) – WLR Daily

Posted December 6th, 2011 in copyright, counterfeiting, EC law, law reports, sale of goods by sally

Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV v Lucheng Meijing Industrial Co Ltd and others; Nokia Corpn v Revenue and Customs Comrs (Internationak Trademark Association intervening) (Joined Cases C-446/09 and C-495/09); [2011] WLR (D) 349

“Goods coming from a non-EU state which were imitations of goods protected in the European Union by a trade mark or copies of goods protected in the EU by copyright could not be classified as “counterfeit goods” within the meaning of Council Regulation 3295/94/EC (as amended) merely on the basis that they had been brought into the customs territory of the EU under suspensive procedure. However, if it was proved that those goods were intended to be put on sale in the EU, they were classified as ‘counterfeit’.”

WLR Daily, 1st December 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Rodríguez and Others v Air France SA (Case C-83/10) – WLR Daily

Posted December 6th, 2011 in aircraft, airlines, compensation, EC law, interpretation, law reports by sally

Rodríguez and Others v Air France SA (Case C-83/10); [2011] WLR (D) 348

“‘Cancellation’, in article 2(1) of Parliament and Council Regulation 261/2004/EC was not limited to the situation in which an aeroplane failed to take off at all, but also covered the case in which it took off but, for whatever reason, was subsequently forced to return to the airport of departure where the passengers were transferred to other flights. ‘Further compensation’ in article 12 of the Regulation allowed the national court to award compensation under the Montreal Convention for damage arising from breach of the contract of carriage by air. However that meaning was not the legal basis for the national court to order an air carrier to reimburse to passengers whose flight had been delayed or cancelled the expenses the latter had incurred because of the failure of that carrier to fulfil its obligations to assist and provide care under articles 8 and 9 of the Regulation.”

WLR Daily, 13th October 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

UK legal move to stop non-EU nationals getting benefits – BBC News

Posted December 1st, 2011 in benefits, EC law, immigration, news by sally

“The government is taking legal action over rules it says would allow non-EU nationals in the UK to claim benefits without working or paying taxes.”

Full story

BBC News, 1st December 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Discrimination between public and private personal data contrary to balanced rights, ECJ rules – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 28th, 2011 in data protection, EC law, news, privacy by sally

“EU member states cannot generally prohibit organisations’ legitimate and necessary but unauthorised processing of personal data where the information is not stored in specified public sources, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th November 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Courts cannot force ISPs into broad filtering and monitoring for copyright-infringing traffic, ECJ rules – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 24th, 2011 in data protection, EC law, intellectual property, internet, news, privacy by sally

“Court injunctions that force internet service providers (ISPs) to filter and monitor user traffic in order to prevent illegal file-sharing are contrary to EU law and fundamental rights, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th November 2011

Source: www.out-law.com