By Hans de Zwart, EDRi member Bits of Freedom, the Netherlands
“You can’t uphold the law by breaking the law”
The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) invited EDRi member Bits of Freedom to speak at their annual New Year’s Seminar. Hans De Zwart, Director of Bits of Freedom, talked about how the rule of law can only be defended by the European Union taking an exemplary role including by strictly adhering to the rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union and urgently taking action to be more transparent in its legislative processes.

By Graeme Hall, UK Human Rights Blog, July 12, 2011
In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that a mechanism should be put in place to review whether convicted sex offenders should remain liable after their release from prison to notify the police of where they live or plans to travel abroad. In June 2011, the government published draft legislation to "ensure that strict rules are put in place for considering whether individuals should ever be removed from the register." However, it is possible that the "strict rules" leave the government vulnerable to further legal challenges.

Ireland today became the sixth country to be fined by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Ireland was fined twice today—once for not complying with a Judgement on Septic Tanks issued in October 2009 and again for not complying with a Judgement on Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) issued in November 2008.

The Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock haswelcomed the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Court in the Sabam v. Netlog case. The Court ruled that an online social network cannot be obliged to install a general filtering system, covering all its users, in order to prevent the unlawful use—copyright infringement—of musical and audio-visual work.

The European Commission has today announced a further step in legal proceedings against Ireland by delivering a formal request to take urgent and concerted action to protect Ireland’s peat bogs. The reasoned opinion specifically addresses continued mechanical peat extraction on protected peat bogs, which Ireland gave assurances to the European authorities would cease in 1999. The need for environmental impact assessment of potentially damaging activities in peat bogs is also addressed. This was the subject of an EU court of Justice ruling in 1999.