EU Sanctions Against Ukrainian Fraudsters

The Council this week decided to prolong for one more year, until 6 March 2022, the existing asset freezes directed against 7 individuals identified as responsible for the misappropriation of Ukrainian state funds or for the abuse of office causing a loss to Ukrainian public funds. The restrictive measures against one person were prolonged until 6 September 2021, and those…

ECJ Rules Poland Out of Line

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has issued a ruling that Poland’s legislative amendments to the rules for appointing judges to the Supreme Court in 2018 and 2019 are in breach of EU law.  The ruling on Tuesday, which commands the Polish PiS-government to withdraw the changes, once again highlights the Polish Government’s unacceptable crackdown…

Cryptocurrency and Digital Law

In an exclusive Q&A with EU Political  Report, top Ukrainian lawyer Kostiantyn Kryvopust, a member of the International Union of Lawyers (UIA), gives an insight into  the cryptocurrency market, Ukrainian-style “digitalisation” and the prospects for a “digital law”. EU Political  Report: What legal problems have businesses faced in Ukraine during the pandemic?   Kryvopust: I see three problematic blocks. The…

Slovenia Challenging Press Freedom?

Renew Europe says it is “very concerned” about recent political developments in Slovenia related to press freedom.  “The situation in Slovenia is becoming extremely worrying. We want the European Parliament’s plenary debate in March, on the Government’s attempt to silence free media in Poland and Hungary,  to be extended to the situation in Slovenia”, said Dacian Cioloş,…

Romania’s justice system under further scrutiny as senior judge criticises ministerial decision to abolish department investigating judicial system crimes

In Romania, a battle is under way regarding the essential watchdog organisation that investigates crimes within the justice system. Known as the Special Section for Investigating Crimes in the Judicial System (SIJCO), the organisation is seen by many as an essential defence of the independence of the justice system during an era when Prosecutors have…

Băneasa case judge charged with abuse of office and Wrongfully Convicting Defendant #Romania

Judge Corneliu-Bogdan Ion-Tudoran, who ruled in Romania’s high profileBăneasareal estate development case,has been charged with wrongly convicting a defendant and for abuse of office for his conduct in the case. The Băneasa development involved businessman Gabriel Popoviciu and concerned 221 hectares which was owned by the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV), through…

ECHR Asks Russia to Release Navalny

The Court has granted an interim measure in favour of Aleksey Navalny and has asked the Government of Russia to release him Mr Navalny’s current application before the Court was lodged on 20 January 2021 under Article 34 of the European Convention on Human Rights. On the same date the applicant made a request to…

Vladimir the Underpants Poisoner

On 2 February, a Moscow court sentenced the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny to two years and eight months’ imprisonment. The Russian authorities have pursued his sentencing for the alleged violation of his probation while Mr. Navalny was recovering in Germany from an assassination attempt by poisoning suffered in the Russian Federation by a military…