1.
European Court of Justice
–
The European Court of Justice, officially just the Court of Justice, is the highest court in the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union it is tasked with interpreting EU law, the Court was established in 1952 and is based in Luxembourg. It is composed of one judge per member state – currently 28 – although it normally hears cases in panels of three, five or 15 judges, the court has been led by president Koen Lenaerts since 2015. The court was established in 1952, by the Treaty of Paris as part of the European Coal and it was established with seven judges, allowing both representation of each of the six member States and being an unequal number of judges in case of a tie. One judge was appointed from each state and the seventh seat rotated between the large Member States. The Maastricht Treaty was ratified in 1993, and created the European Union, the name of the Court did not change unlike the other institutions. The power of the Court resided in the Community pillar, the Court gained power in 1997 with the signing of the Amsterdam Treaty. Issues from the pillar were transferred to the first pillar. Previously, these issues were settled between the member states, the ECJ is the highest court of the European Union in matters of Union law, but not national law. It is not possible to appeal the decisions of courts to the ECJ. However, it is ultimately for the court to apply the resulting interpretation to the facts of any given case. Although, only courts of appeal are bound to refer a question of EU law when one is addressed. The treaties give the ECJ the power for consistent application of EU law across the EU as a whole, the court also acts as arbiter between the EUs institutions and can annul the latters legal rights if it acts outside its powers. The judicial body is now undergoing strong growth, as witnessed by its continually rising caseload, the Luxembourg courts received more than 1,300 cases when the most recent data was recorded in 2008, a record. The staff budget also hit a new high of almost €238 million in 2009, the Court of Justice consists of 28 Judges who are assisted by 11 Advocates-General. The Judges and Advocates-General are appointed by common accord of the governments of the member states, 37% of judges had experience of judging appeals before they joined the ECJ. In practice, each member state nominates a judge whose nomination is then ratified by all the member states. The President of the Court of Justice is elected from and by the judges for a term of three years
European Court of Justice
–
Seat of the ECJ in
Luxembourg -
Kirchberg
European Court of Justice
–
Emblem of the Court of Justice of the European Union Jurisdiction of the Court of Justice
2.
Council of Europe
–
The Council of Europe is an international organisation focused on protecting human rights, democracy, rule of law in Europe and promoting European culture. Founded in 1949, it has 47 member states, covers approximately 820 million people, No country has ever joined the EU without first belonging to the Council of Europe. Unlike the EU, the Council of Europe cannot make binding laws, the best known body of the Council of Europe is the European Court of Human Rights, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights. The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent institution within the Council of Europe, mandated to promote awareness of, the Secretary General heads the secretariat of the organisation. Other major CoE bodies include the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines, the headquarters of the Council of Europe are in Strasbourg, France. English and French are its two official languages, the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress also use German, Italian, Russian, and Turkish for some of their work. In a speech at the University of Zurich on 19 September 1946, Sir Winston Churchill called for a kind of United States of Europe and he had spoken of a Council of Europe as early as 1943 in a radio broadcast. There were two schools of thought competing, some favoured a classical international organisation with representatives of governments, both approaches were finally combined through the creation of the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly under the Statute of the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe was founded on 5 May 1949 by the Treaty of London and those conventions and decisions are developed by the member states working together at the Council of Europe. Both organizations function as concentric circles around the foundations for European co-operation and harmony. The European Union could be seen as the circle with a much higher level of integration through the transfer of powers from the national to the EU level. The Council of Europe and the European Union, different roles, Council of Europe conventions/treaties are also open for signature to non-member states, thus facilitating equal co-operation with countries outside Europe. The Convention created the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, the Court supervises compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights and thus functions as the highest European court. It is to court that Europeans can bring cases if they believe that a member country has violated their fundamental rights. The various activities and achievements of the Council of Europe can be found in detail on its official website, Promotion of the right to education under Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights and several conventions on the recognition of university studies and diplomas. Promotion of fair sport through the Anti-Doping Convention Promotion of European youth exchanges and co-operation through European Youth Centres in Strasbourg and Budapest, Promotion of the quality of medicines throughout Europe by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and its European Pharmacopoeia. The institutions of the Council of Europe are, The Secretary General, mr Thorbjørn Jagland, the former Prime Minister of Norway was elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe in September 2009. In June 2014, he was re-elected, and his term in office commenced on 1 October 2014
Council of Europe
–
Plaque commemorating the first session of the Council of Europe Assembly at
Strasbourg University
Council of Europe
–
Logo
Council of Europe
–
Session of the Council of Europe's Assembly in the former
House of Europe in Strasbourg in 1967
Council of Europe
–
Japanese flag in front of Council of Europe following the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
3.
Strasbourg
–
Strasbourg is the capital and largest city of the Grand Est region of France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany in the region of Alsace. In 2014, the city proper had 276,170 inhabitants, Strasbourgs metropolitan area had a population of 773,347 in 2013, making it the ninth largest metro area in France and home to 13% of the Grand Est regions inhabitants. The transnational Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau had a population of 915,000 inhabitants in 2014, Strasbourg is the seat of several European institutions, such as the Council of Europe and the Eurocorps, as well as the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman of the European Union. The city is also the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine, Strasbourgs historic city centre, the Grande Île, was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, the first time such an honour was placed on an entire city centre. The largest Islamic place of worship in France, the Strasbourg Grand Mosque, was inaugurated by French Interior Minister Manuel Valls on 27 September 2012. Economically, Strasbourg is an important centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as a hub of road, rail, the port of Strasbourg is the second largest on the Rhine after Duisburg, Germany. Before the 5th century, the city was known as Argantorati, a Celtic Gaulish name Latinized first as Argentorate, after the 5h century, the city became known by a completely different name Gallicized as Strasbourg. That name is of Germanic origin and means Town of roads, Strasbourg is situated on the eastern border of France with Germany. This border is formed by the River Rhine, which forms the eastern border of the modern city. The historic core of Strasbourg however lies on the Grande Île in the River Ill, which flows parallel to, and roughly 4 kilometres from. The natural courses of the two eventually join some distance downstream of Strasbourg, although several artificial waterways now connect them within the city. This section of the Rhine valley is an axis of north-south travel, with river traffic on the Rhine itself. The city is some 400 kilometres east of Paris, in spite of its position far inland, Strasbourgs climate is classified as Oceanic, with warm, relatively sunny summers and cold, overcast winters. Precipitation is elevated from mid-spring to the end of summer, but remains largely constant throughout the year, on average, snow falls 30 days per year. The highest temperature recorded was 38.5 °C in August 2003. The lowest temperature recorded was −23.4 °C in December 1938. Nonetheless, the disappearance of heavy industry on both banks of the Rhine, as well as effective measures of traffic regulation in and around the city have reduced air pollution
Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg
4.
France
–
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
France
–
One of the
Lascaux paintings: a horse –
Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC
France
–
Flag
France
–
The
Maison Carrée was a temple of the
Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day
Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the
Roman Empire.
France
–
With
Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the
Frankish monarchy,
elective and
secular until then, became
hereditary and of
divine right.
5.
European Convention on Human Rights
–
The European Convention on Human Rights is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the newly formed Council of Europe. All Council of Europe member states are party to the Convention, the Convention established the European Court of Human Rights. Any person who feels his or her rights have been violated under the Convention by a party can take a case to the Court. Judgments finding violations are binding on the States concerned and they are obliged to execute them, the compensations imposed under ECHR can be rather large, in 2014 Russia agreed to pay in excess of $2 billion in damages to former shareholders of Yukos. The Convention has several protocols, which amend the convention framework, the European Convention on Human Rights has played an important role in the development and awareness of Human Rights in Europe. The development of a system of human rights protection operating across Europe can be seen as a direct response to twin concerns. Second, the Convention was a response to the growth of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe and designed to protect the member states of the Council of Europe from communist subversion. The Convention was drafted by the Council of Europe after the Second World War in response to an issued by Europeans from all walks of life who had gathered at the Hague Congress. British MP and lawyer Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe, the Chair of the Assemblys Committee on Legal and Administrative Questions, was one of its leading members, as a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, he had seen first-hand how international justice could be effectively applied. After extensive debates, the Assembly sent its proposal to the Councils Committee of Ministers. So a non-democratic State could not participate in the ECHR system, the Convention was opened for signature on 4 November 1950 in Rome. It was ratified and entered force on 3 September 1953. It is overseen and enforced by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, until procedural reforms in the late 1990s, the Convention was also overseen by a European Commission on Human Rights. Statements of principle are, from a point of view, not determinative. As amended by Protocol 11, the Convention consists of three parts, the main rights and freedoms are contained in Section I, which consists of Articles 2 to 18. Section II sets up the Court and its rules of operation, Section III contains various concluding provisions. Article 1 simply binds the parties to secure the rights under the other Articles of the Convention within their jurisdiction
European Convention on Human Rights
–
Ukrainian stamp, commemorating 60 years of European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
–
Parties to the convention
6.
Appeal
–
In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and interpreting law, although appellate courts have existed for thousands of years, common law countries did not incorporate an affirmative right to appeal into their jurisprudence until the 19th century. Appellate courts and other systems of error correction have existed for many millennia, during the first dynasty of Babylon, Hammurabi and his governors served as the highest appellate courts of the land. Ancient Roman law employed a complex hierarchy of courts, where some appeals would be heard by the emperor. Additionally, appellate courts have existed in Japan since at least the Kamakura Shogunate, during this time, the Shogunate established hikitsuke, a high appellate court to aid the state in adjudicating lawsuits. Although some scholars argue that the right to appeal is itself a substantive liberty interest, in fact, commentators have observed that common law jurisdictions were particularly slow to incorporate a right to appeal into either its civil or criminal jurisprudence. Two years later, the right to appeals was extended to criminal cases. Some states, such as Minnesota, still do not formally recognize a right to criminal appeals, although some courts permit appeals at preliminary stages of litigation, most litigants appeal final orders and judgments from lower courts. A fundamental premise of many legal systems is that appellate courts review questions of law de novo, instead, appellate courts will generally defer to the record established by the trial court, unless some error occurred during the fact-finding process. Many jurisdictions provide a statutory or constitutional right for litigants to appeal adverse decisions, however, most jurisdictions also recognize that this right may be waived. In the United States, for example, litigants may waive the right to appeal, as long as the waiver is “considered, unlike trials, appeals are generally presented to a judge, or a panel of judges, rather than a jury. Before making any formal argument, parties will generally submit legal briefs in which the present their arguments. Appellate courts may grant permission for an amicus curiae to submit a brief in support of a particular party or position. After submitting briefs, parties often have the opportunity to present an argument to a judge or panel of judges. During oral arguments, judges often ask question to attorneys to challenge their arguments or to advance their own legal theories, after deliberating in chambers, appellate courts will issue formal opinions that resolve the legal issues presented for review. When considering cases on appeal, appellate courts generally affirm, reverse, some courts maintain a dual function, where they consider both appeals as well as matters of first instance. For example, the Supreme Court of the United States primarily hears cases on appeal, some jurisdictions maintain a system of intermediate appellate courts, which are subject to the review of higher appellate courts. The highest appellate court in a jurisdiction is referred to as a court of last resort
Appeal
–
The
Karnataka High Court (High Court Building pictured) primarily hears appeals from subordinate courts in the
Indian state of
Karnataka
7.
Guido Raimondi
–
Guido Raimondi is an Italian judge born in Naples and currently the President of the European Court of Human Rights. Raimondi was nominated to the court by Italy and began his 9-year term as ECHR judge on 5 May 2010 and he has been the President of ECHR since 1 November 2015. Between 1997 and 2003 Raimondi served on the Supreme Court of Cassation, first in the Advocate General’s office, during the same period he occasionally served as ad hoc judge in cases before the European Court of Human Rights. In May 2003 he joined the International Labour Organization as Deputy Legal Adviser in Geneva, in February 2008 he became Legal Adviser of that organization. Raimondi has been a judge at the European Court of Human Rights since 2010, in September 2012 he was elected Section President and then Vice-President of the Court for a three-year term of office starting on 1 November 2012
Guido Raimondi
–
Guido Raimondi
8.
French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
French language
–
The
"arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in
Canada while the international stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.
French language
–
Regions where French is the main language
French language
–
Town sign in
Standard Arabic and French at the entrance of
Rechmaya in
Lebanon.
French language
–
An obsolete 100
Lebanese pound note with the French language inscriptions "Banque du Liban" and "Cent livres".
9.
Supranationalism
–
A supranational union is a type of multinational political union where negotiated power is delegated to an authority by governments of member states. The concept of union is sometimes used to describe the European Union. The EU is the entity which provides for international popular elections. The term supranational is used in a loose, undefined sense in other contexts. Another method of decision-making in international organisations is intergovernmentalism, in state governments play a more prominent role. He thought this might begin with the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union and he broached the idea in a November 1945 and November 1947 articles in The Atlantic Monthly that described how the constitution of such an organization might be written. In an April 1948 address at Carnegie Hall, he reiterated, There is only one path to peace and security, the term supranational occurs in an international treaty for the first time in the Treaty of Paris,18 April 1951. This new legal term defined the Community method in creating the European Coal and Steel Community and it defines the relationship between the High Authority or European Commission and the other four institutions. In the treaty, it relates to a new democratic and legal concept, the Founding Fathers of the European Community and the present European Union said that supranationalism was the cornerstone of the governmental system. This is enshrined in the Europe Declaration made on 18 April 1951 and this Europe remains open to all nations. We profoundly hope that other nations will join us in our common endeavour and it was made to recall future generations to their historic duty of uniting Europe based on liberty and democracy under the rule of law. Thus, they viewed the creation of a wider and deeper Europe as intimately bound to the development of the supranational or Community system. This Europe was open to all nations who were free to decide, a supranational union is a supranational polity which lies somewhere between a confederation that is an association of States and a federation that is a state. The EU has supranational competences, but it possesses these competences only to the extent that they are conferred on it by its member states. Within the scope of competences, the union exercises its powers in a sovereign manner, having its own legislative, executive. The supranational Community also has a chamber for organised civil society including economic and social associations, unlike states in a federal super-state, member states retain ultimate sovereignty, although some sovereignty is shared with, or ceded to, the supranational body. Supranational agreements encourage stability and trust, because governments cannot break international accords at a whim, the supranational action may be time-limited. This was the case with the European Coal and Steel Community, supranational accords may be permanent, such as an agreement to outlaw war between the partners
Supranationalism
–
ESCB
10.
Human rights
–
Human rights are moral principles or norms, which describe certain standards of human behaviour, and are regularly protected as legal rights in municipal and international law. They are applicable everywhere and at time in the sense of being universal. They require empathy and the rule of law and impose an obligation on persons to respect the rights of others. They should not be taken away except as a result of due process based on circumstances, for example, human rights may include freedom from unlawful imprisonment, torture. The doctrine of human rights has been influential within international law. Actions by states and non-governmental organizations form a basis of public policy worldwide, the idea of human rights suggests that if the public discourse of peacetime global society can be said to have a common moral language, it is that of human rights. The strong claims made by the doctrine of human rights continue to provoke considerable skepticism and debates about the content, nature, ancient peoples did not have the same modern-day conception of universal human rights. Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the family is the foundation of freedom. All human beings are free and equal in dignity and rights. According to Jack Donnelly, in the ancient world, traditional societies typically have had elaborate systems of duties, conceptions of justice, political legitimacy, and human flourishing that sought to realize human dignity, flourishing, or well-being entirely independent of human rights. These institutions and practices are alternative to, rather than different formulations of, one theory is that human rights were developed during the early Modern period, alongside the European secularization of Judeo-Christian ethics. The most commonly held view is that the concept of human rights evolved in the West, for example, McIntyre argues there is no word for right in any language before 1400. One of the oldest records of rights is the statute of Kalisz, giving privileges to the Jewish minority in the Kingdom of Poland such as protection from discrimination. Samuel Moyn suggests that the concept of rights is intertwined with the modern sense of citizenship. The earliest conceptualization of human rights is credited to ideas about natural rights emanating from natural law, in particular, the issue of universal rights was introduced by the examination of extending rights to indigenous peoples by Spanish clerics, such as Francisco de Vitoria and Bartolomé de Las Casas. In Britain in 1689, the English Bill of Rights and the Scottish Claim of Right each made illegal a range of oppressive governmental actions, additionally, the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776 encoded into law a number of fundamental civil rights and civil freedoms. These were followed by developments in philosophy of human rights by philosophers such as Thomas Paine, John Stuart Mill, hegel during the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the term had been used by at least one author as early as 1742, in the 19th century, human rights became a central concern over the issue of slavery
Human rights
–
The
Cyrus Cylinder, created by king
Cyrus the Great, is sometimes argued to be the world's first charter of human rights.
Human rights
–
The Bill of Rights (1688 or 1689)
Human rights
–
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen approved by the
National Assembly of France, August 26, 1789.
Human rights
–
The
UN General Assembly
11.
Political rights
–
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure ones ability to participate in the civil and political life of the society, Civil and political rights form the original and main part of international human rights. They comprise the first portion of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the phrase civil rights is a translation of Latin ius civis. Roman citizens could be either free or servile, but they all had rights in law. After the Edict of Milan in 313, these included the freedom of religion. Roman legal doctrine was lost during the Middle Ages, but claims of rights could still be made based on religious doctrine. According to the leaders of Ketts Rebellion, all men may be made free. In the 17th century, English common law judge Sir Edward Coke revived the idea of rights based on citizenship by arguing that Englishmen had historically enjoyed such rights, the Parliament of England adopted the English Bill of Rights in 1689. The Virginia Declaration of Rights, by George Mason and James Madison, was adopted in 1776, the Virginia declaration is the direct ancestor and model for the U. S. Bill of Rights. The removal by legislation of a civil right constitutes a civil disability, in early 19th century Britain, the phrase civil rights most commonly referred to the issue of such legal discrimination against Catholics. In the House of Commons support for civil rights was divided, the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 restored their civil rights. In the 1860s, Americans adapted this usage to newly freed blacks, congress enacted civil rights acts in 1866,1871,1875,1957,1960,1964,1968, and 1991. Marshall notes that civil rights were among the first to be recognized and codified, followed later by political rights, in many countries, they are constitutional rights and are included in a bill of rights or similar document. They are also defined in human rights instruments, such as the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Civil and political rights need not be codified to be protected, although most democracies worldwide do have formal written guarantees of civil, Civil rights are considered to be natural rights. Thomas Jefferson wrote in his A Summary View of the Rights of British America that a free people their rights as derived from the laws of nature, the question of to whom civil and political rights apply is a subject of controversy. According to political scientist Salvador Santino F. Regilme Jr. Custom also plays a role, the United States Declaration of Independence states that people have unalienable rights including Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. It is considered by some that the purpose of government is the protection of life. Ideas of self-ownership and cognitive liberty affirm rights to choose the food one eats, the one takes
Political rights
–
Savka Dabčević-Kučar,
Croatian Spring participant; Europe's first female prime minister
12.
Member states of the Council of Europe
–
The Council of Europe has 47 member states. It was founded on 5 May 1949 by ten Western and Northern European states, with Greece and it now has 47 member states, with Montenegro being the latest to join. Article 4 of the Council of Europe Statute specifies that membership is open to any European country, provided they meet specific democratic, Belarus applied for full membership on 12 March 1993, and its parliament held special guest status with the Parliamentary Assembly from September 1992 to January 1997. A second change of the Belarus constitution in October 2004, moreover does not respect minimum democratic standards and violates the principles of separation of powers, as of May 2013, this condition had not been met. Kazakhstan applied for the Special Guest status with the Parliamentary Assembly in 1999, Kazakhstan signed a co-operation agreement with the Assembly in April 2004. The country acceded to the Council of Europe European Cultural Convention on 24 February 2010 and this milestone emboldens Kazakhstans Path to Europe programme, as outlined by Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana in 2008. Hashim Thaçi, Kosovos Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated in December 2014 that an application for membership of the Council of Europe was planned to be filed within the first quarter of 2015, observer status was designed for non-European democracies willing to contribute to democratic transitions in Europe. Canada, Japan, Mexico, the U. S. and they may contribute financially to the activities of the Council of Europe on a voluntary basis. The parliaments of Canada, Israel and Mexico have observer status with the Parliamentary Assembly and their delegations can participate in Assembly sessions, there has been criticism concerning the observer status of Japan and the United States because both countries apply the death penalty. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has been lobbying for the United States, the Council also voted to restore Special Guest status to Belarus, on condition that Belarus declares a moratorium on the death penalty. CoE has adopted the policy of dialogue with the regions of the southern Mediterranean. Several of these parliaments have expressed interest in upgrading the status of the existing co-operation, so far only the Kazakhstan Parliament had taken advantage of it since 2004. In November 2006, the Kazakhstan Parliament officially asked to be granted observer status with the Assembly
Member states of the Council of Europe
–
Founder states
13.
Berlin Wall
–
The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Its demolition officially began on 13 June 1990 and was completed in 1992, the barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area that contained anti-vehicle trenches, fakir beds and other defenses. The Eastern Bloc claimed that the Wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the will of the people in building a socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that had marked East Germany, the West Berlin city government sometimes referred to it as the Wall of Shame—a term coined by mayor Willy Brandt—while condemning the Walls restriction on freedom of movement. Between 1961 and 1989, the Wall prevented almost all such emigration, during this period, around 5,000 people attempted to escape over the Wall, with an estimated death toll ranging from 136 to more than 200 in and around Berlin. After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced on 9 November 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany, crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the Wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, euphoric people and souvenir hunters chipped away parts of the Wall, contrary to popular belief the Walls actual demolition did not begin until the summer of 1990 and was not completed until 1992. The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, the capital of Berlin, as the seat of the Allied Control Council, was similarly subdivided into four sectors despite the citys location, which was fully within the Soviet zone. Within two years, political divisions increased between the Soviets and the occupying powers. Property and industry was nationalized in the East German zone, if statements or decisions deviated from the described line, reprimands and punishment would ensue, such as imprisonment, torture and even death. Indoctrination of Marxism-Leninism became a part of school curricula, sending professors. The East Germans created a political police apparatus that kept the population under close surveillance. In 1948, following disagreements regarding reconstruction and a new German currency, Stalin instituted the Berlin Blockade, preventing food, materials and supplies from arriving in West Berlin. The United States, Britain, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and several countries began a massive airlift, supplying West Berlin with food. The Soviets mounted a public campaign against the Western policy change. Communists attempted to disrupt the elections of 1948, preceding large losses therein, in May 1949, Stalin lifted the blockade, permitting the resumption of Western shipments to Berlin. The German Democratic Republic was declared on 7 October 1949, by a secret treaty, the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs accorded the East German state administrative authority, but not autonomy. The Soviets permeated East German administrative, military and secret police structures and had full control, East Germany differed from West Germany, which developed into a Western capitalist country with a social market economy and a democratic parliamentary government
Berlin Wall
–
View from the West Berlin side of
graffiti art on the wall in 1986. The wall's "death strip", on the east side of the wall, here follows the curve of the
Luisenstadt Canal (filled in 1932).
Berlin Wall
–
Satellite image of Berlin, with the wall's location marked in yellow
Berlin Wall
–
East German
Combat Groups of the Working Class close the border on 13 August 1961 in preparation of the Berlin Wall construction.
Berlin Wall
–
East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, 20 November 1961.
14.
Fall of the Berlin Wall
–
The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Its demolition officially began on 13 June 1990 and was completed in 1992, the barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area that contained anti-vehicle trenches, fakir beds and other defenses. The Eastern Bloc claimed that the Wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the will of the people in building a socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that had marked East Germany, the West Berlin city government sometimes referred to it as the Wall of Shame—a term coined by mayor Willy Brandt—while condemning the Walls restriction on freedom of movement. Between 1961 and 1989, the Wall prevented almost all such emigration, during this period, around 5,000 people attempted to escape over the Wall, with an estimated death toll ranging from 136 to more than 200 in and around Berlin. After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced on 9 November 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany, crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the Wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, euphoric people and souvenir hunters chipped away parts of the Wall, contrary to popular belief the Walls actual demolition did not begin until the summer of 1990 and was not completed until 1992. The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, the capital of Berlin, as the seat of the Allied Control Council, was similarly subdivided into four sectors despite the citys location, which was fully within the Soviet zone. Within two years, political divisions increased between the Soviets and the occupying powers. Property and industry was nationalized in the East German zone, if statements or decisions deviated from the described line, reprimands and punishment would ensue, such as imprisonment, torture and even death. Indoctrination of Marxism-Leninism became a part of school curricula, sending professors. The East Germans created a political police apparatus that kept the population under close surveillance. In 1948, following disagreements regarding reconstruction and a new German currency, Stalin instituted the Berlin Blockade, preventing food, materials and supplies from arriving in West Berlin. The United States, Britain, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and several countries began a massive airlift, supplying West Berlin with food. The Soviets mounted a public campaign against the Western policy change. Communists attempted to disrupt the elections of 1948, preceding large losses therein, in May 1949, Stalin lifted the blockade, permitting the resumption of Western shipments to Berlin. The German Democratic Republic was declared on 7 October 1949, by a secret treaty, the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs accorded the East German state administrative authority, but not autonomy. The Soviets permeated East German administrative, military and secret police structures and had full control, East Germany differed from West Germany, which developed into a Western capitalist country with a social market economy and a democratic parliamentary government
Fall of the Berlin Wall
–
View from the West Berlin side of
graffiti art on the wall in 1986. The wall's "death strip", on the east side of the wall, here follows the curve of the
Luisenstadt Canal (filled in 1932).
Fall of the Berlin Wall
–
Satellite image of Berlin, with the wall's location marked in yellow
Fall of the Berlin Wall
–
East German
Combat Groups of the Working Class close the border on 13 August 1961 in preparation of the Berlin Wall construction.
Fall of the Berlin Wall
–
East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, 20 November 1961.
15.
Case law
–
Case law is the set of existing rulings which made new interpretations of law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents. In other countries, such as most European countries, the term is applied to any set of rulings on law which is guided by previous rulings, for example, patent office case law. Trials and hearings which are not selected as courts of first impression do not have rulings that become law, therefore. The legal systems of the Nordic countries are included among the civil law systems, but as a separate branch. In Sweden, for instance, case law plays a more important role than in some of the Continental civil law systems. The two highest courts, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court, have the right to set precedent which is in practice binding on all future application of the law. Courts of appeal, both courts and administrative courts may also issue decisions that act as guides for the application of the law. In the common law tradition, courts decide the law applicable to a case by interpreting statutes and applying precedents which record how, normally, the burden rests with litigants to appeal rulings to the higher courts. If a judge acts against precedent and the case is not appealed, the decision will stand. A lower court may not rule against a binding precedent, even if it feels that it is unjust and this may happen several times as the case works its way through successive appeals. High Trees House Ltd K. B.130, the different roles of case law in civil and common law traditions create differences in the way that courts render decisions. By contrast, decisions in civil law jurisdictions are generally very short, some pluralist systems, such as Scots law in Scotland and so-called civil law jurisdictions in Quebec and Louisiana, do not precisely fit into the dual common-civil law system classifications. Such systems may have heavily influenced by the Anglo-American common law tradition, however. Because of their position between the two systems of law, these types of legal systems are sometimes referred to as mixed systems of law. Law professors in common law traditions play a smaller role in developing case law than professors in civil law traditions. Historically, common law courts relied little on legal scholarship, thus, at the turn of the twentieth century, thus common law systems are adopting one of the approaches long common in civil law jurisdictions. Judges may refer to types of persuasive authority to reach a decision in a case. Widely cited non-binding sources include legal encyclopedias such as Corpus Juris Secundum and Halsburys Laws of England, some bodies are given statutory powers to issue Guidance with persuasive authority or similar statutory effect, such as the Highway Code
Case law
16.
Commissioner for Human Rights
–
The current Commissioner is Nils Muižnieks, a Latvian-American, who began his six-year mandate on April 1,2012. The Commissioner conducts visits to member state for an evaluation of the human rights situation. The mandate of the Commissioner is based on the resolution 50 of the Council of Europe, while the Commissioner shall function independently and impartially. The Commissioner may act on any information relevant to the Commissioners functions, the Commissioner may directly contact governments of member States of the Council of Europe. The Commissioner may also issue recommendations, opinions and reports, the Commissioner enjoys immunity from arrest and all legal proceedings in the territories of all members, in respect of words spoken and votes cast. In the course of visits, he meets with the highest representatives of government, parliament. The Commissioner also has the right to intervene as a party in the proceedings of the European Court of Human Rights. Thematic reporting and advising on human rights systematic implementation The Commissioner also conducts work on subjects central to the protection of human rights in Europe. He provides advice and information on the prevention of human rights violations and releases opinions, Issue Papers, awareness-raising activities The Commissioner promotes awareness of human rights in member states, by organising and taking part in seminars and events on various human rights themes. The Commissioner engages in permanent dialogue with governments, civil society organisations and he further contributes to the debate and the reflection on current and important human rights matters through contacts with the media, the publication of periodic articles and thematic documents. The office also cooperates closely with human rights structures, leading human rights NGOs, universities
Commissioner for Human Rights
–
Institutions
17.
European Union
–
The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2, the EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency. The EU operates through a system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the basis of the EU. The EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world, additionally,27 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7, because of its global influence, the European Union has been described as an emerging superpower. After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the nationalism which had devastated the continent. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. These men and others are credited as the Founding fathers of the European Union. In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome and they also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958, the EEC and Euratom were created separately from the ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland, Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum
European Union
–
In 1989, the
Iron Curtain fell, enabling the union to
expand further (
Berlin Wall pictured).
European Union
–
Flag
European Union
–
2009, the
Lisbon Treaty entered into force.
European Union
–
The 65,993 km (41,006 mi) coastline dominates the European climate (
Cyprus).
18.
Lisbon Treaty
–
The Treaty of Lisbon is an international agreement which amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union. The Treaty of Lisbon was signed by the EU member states on 13 December 2007 and it also amends the attached treaty protocols as well as the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community. The Treaty also made the Unions bill of rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the Treaty for the first time gave member states the explicit legal right to leave the EU and the procedure to do so. Supporters argue that it brings more checks and balances into the EU system, with powers for the European Parliament. Although ratified by a majority of states, this was abandoned after being rejected by 54. 67% of French voters on 29 May 2005. After a period of reflection, member states agreed instead to maintain the existing treaties, an amending reform treaty was drawn up and signed in Lisbon in 2007. It was originally intended to have been ratified by all states by the end of 2008. The need to review the EUs constitutional framework, particularly in light of the accession of ten new Member States in 2004, was highlighted in a declaration annexed to the Treaty of Nice in 2001. The agreements at Nice had paved the way for further enlargement of the Union by reforming voting procedures, the final text of the proposed Constitution was agreed upon at the summit meeting on 18–19 June 2004 under the presidency of Ireland. The Constitution, having been agreed by heads of government from the 25 Member States, was signed at a ceremony in Rome on 29 October 2004, before it could enter into force, however, it had to be ratified by each member state. Ratification took different forms in each country, depending on the traditions, constitutional arrangements, in 2005, referendums held in France and the Netherlands rejected the European Constitution. This led to a period of reflection and the end of the proposed European Constitution. In 2007, Germany took over the rotating EU Presidency and declared the period of reflection over, by March, the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, the Berlin Declaration was adopted by all Member States. This declaration outlined the intention of all Member States to agree on a new treaty in time for the 2009 Parliamentary elections, that is to have a ratified treaty before mid-2009. On 4 June 2007, the released their text in French – cut from 63,000 words in 448 articles in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe to 12,800 words in 70 articles. The meeting took place under the German Presidency of the EU, after dealing with other issues, such as deciding on the accession of Cyprus and Malta to the Eurozone, negotiations on the Treaty took over and lasted until the morning of 23 June 2007. The hardest part of the negotiations was reported to be Polands insistence on square root voting in the Council of Ministers, but the implementation of the Agenda was less impressive than the declarations made at its adoption by the European Council in March 2000. In addition, it was agreed to recommend to the IGC that the provisions of the old European Constitution should be amended in certain key aspects
Lisbon Treaty
–
Signing in the
Jerónimos Monastery of
Lisbon,
Portugal
Lisbon Treaty
–
50th anniversary in the summer of 2007, Berlin. (
Merkel and
Barroso)
Lisbon Treaty
–
The rights charter bans, among other things,
capital punishment and
eugenics
19.
Jurisconsult
–
A jurist, also known as legal scholar or legal theorist, is someone who researches and studies jurisprudence. Such a person can work as an academic, legal writer or law lecturer, thus a jurist, someone who studies, analyses and comments on law, stands in contrast with a lawyer, someone who applies law on behalf of clients and thinks about it in practical terms. Many legal scholars and authors have explained that a person may be both a lawyer and a jurist, but a jurist is not necessarily a lawyer, nor a lawyer necessarily a jurist, both must possess an acquaintance with the term law. The work of the jurist is the study, analysis and arrangement of the law — work which can be wholly in the seclusion of the library. Any highly civilized society requires both lawyers and jurists, both philosophers and doers and it is important however to note the fundamental difference between the work of the lawyer and that of the jurist. The term jurist has another sense, which is wider, synonymous with legal professional, i. e. anyone professionally involved with law, in some other European languages, a word resembling jurist is used in this major sense. This is a classification of some notable jurists. History of the legal profession Law professor Legal profession List of jurists Paralegal Media related to Jurists at Wikimedia Commons
Jurisconsult
–
Detail from the sarcophagus of Roman jurist Valerio Petroniano (315–320 AD).
Jurisconsult
–
Tribonian
Jurisconsult
–
Plato
Jurisconsult
–
Chanakya
20.
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
–
The Assembly held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, making it one of the oldest international assemblies in Europe. In general the Assembly meets four times per year in Strasbourg at the Palace of Europe for week-long plenary sessions, the nine permanent committees of the Assembly meet all year long to prepare reports and draft resolutions in their respective fields of expertise. The Assembly sets its own agenda, but its debates and reports are primarily focused on defending human rights, promoting democracy, protecting minorities and upholding the rule of law. Judges of the European Court of Human Rights are elected by PACE from a list of three candidates nominated by member state which has ratified the European Convention on Human Rights. As a result, around one third of the current bench of 47 judges are women, the Assembly has a total of 636 members –318 principal members and 318 substitutes – who are appointed or elected by the parliaments of each member state. Delegations must reflect the balance in the parliament, so contain members of both ruling parties and oppositions. The population of each country determines its number of representatives and number of votes and this is in contrast to the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europes executive body, where each country has one vote. The special guest status of the National Assembly of Belarus was suspended on 13 January 1997, parliaments with Partner for Democracy status pledge to work towards certain basic values of the Council of Europe, and agree to occasional assessments of their progress. In return, they are able to send delegations to take part in the work of the Assembly and its committees, the Assembly has five political groups. The official languages of the Council of Europe are English and French, in 2015 he was re-elected for a second five-year term, which began in February 2016. However, the Russian delegation remained members of the Assembly, the sanction applied throughout the remainder of the 2014 session and was renewed for a full year in January 2015, lapsing in January 2016. It did so again in January 2017, leaving empty seats in the Assembly for a further year, the sanctions applied only to Russian parliamentarians in PACE, the Council of Europes parliamentary body. Russia continues to be a member of the Council of Europe, and retains full rights in the organisations other bodies, including its statutory executive body. According to the report, said member states also hire lobbyists to fend off criticism of their human rights records, German news magazine Der Spiegel had earlier revealed details about the strategies of Azerbaijan’s government to influence the voting behaviour of selected members of the Parliamentary Assembly. Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Le Conseil de lEurope, Jean-Louis Burban, publisher PUF, collection « Que sais-je. », n°885
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
–
The
hemicycle of the PACE at the
Palace of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
–
The emblem of the PACE
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
21.
Jurisdiction
–
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a legal body to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility, e. g. Michigan tax law. In federations like the U. S. areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, colloquially it is used to refer to the geographical area to which such authority applies, e. g. the court has jurisdiction over all of Colorado. The legal term refers only to the authority, not to a geographical area. International laws and treaties provide agreements which nations agree to be bound to, supranational organizations provide mechanisms whereby disputes between nations may be resolved through arbitration or mediation. When a country is recognized as de jure, it is an acknowledgment by the de jure nations that the country has sovereignty. However, it is often at the discretion of each nation whether to co-operate or participate, if a nation does agree to participate in activities of the supranational bodies and accept decisions, the nation is giving up its sovereign authority and thereby allocating power to these bodies. The fact that organizations, courts and tribunals have been created raises the difficult question of how to co-ordinate their activities with those of national courts. But, to invoke the jurisdiction in any case, all the parties have to accept the prospective judgment as binding. This reduces the risk of wasting the Courts time, each such group may form transnational institutions with declared legislative or judicial powers. For example, in Europe, the European Court of Justice has been given jurisdiction as the appellate court to the member states on issues of European law. This jurisdiction is entrenched and its authority could only be denied by a member if that member nation asserts its sovereignty. Hence, in the Netherlands, all treaties and the orders of international organizations are effective without any action being required to convert international into municipal law, in nations adopting this theory, the local courts automatically accept jurisdiction to adjudicate on lawsuits relying on international law principles. Otherwise the courts have a discretion to apply international law where it does not conflict with statute or the common law. According to the Supreme Court of the United States, the treaty power authorizes Congress to legislate under the Necessary and this concerns the relationships both between courts in different jurisdictions, and between courts within the same jurisdiction. The usual legal doctrine under which questions of jurisdiction are decided is termed forum non conveniens, to deal with the issue of forum shopping, nations are urged to adopt more positive rules on conflict of laws. In addition, the Lugano Convention binds the European Union and the European Free Trade Association, council Regulation 44/2001 now also applies as between the rest of the EU Member States and Denmark due to an agreement reached between the European Community and Denmark. In some legal areas, at least, the CACA enforcement of judgments is now more straightforward. At a national level, the rules still determine jurisdiction over persons who are not domiciled or habitually resident in the European Union or the Lugano area
Jurisdiction
–
United States Federal Civil Procedure doctrines
22.
Court of Justice of the European Union
–
The Court of Justice of the European Union is the institution of the European Union that encompasses the whole judiciary. Seated in Luxembourg, Luxembourg, it consists of two courts, the Court of Justice and the General Court. From 2005 to 2016 it also consisted of the Civil Service Tribunal and it has a sui generis court system, meaning of its own kind, and a supranational institution. CJEU consists of two courts, the Court of Justice, informally known as European Court of Justice which hears applications from national courts for preliminary rulings, annulment. It consists of one judge from each EU member country, as well as 11 advocates general, the General Court, which hears applications for annulment from individuals, companies and, less commonly, national governments. It is made up of 47 judges, which will be increased to 56 in 2019, cJEUs specific mission is to ensure that the law is observed in the interpretation and application of the Treaties of the European Union. To achieve this, it, reviews the legality of actions taken by the EUs institutions, enforces compliance by states with their obligations under the Treaties. CJEU was originally established in 1952 as a court called the Court of Justice of the European Coal. The General Court was created in 1988 and the Civil Service Tribunal was created in 2004, with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, the court system obtained its current name, while the original court itself was renamed Court of Justice. Primacy of European Union law Beck, Gunnar, the Legal Reasoning of the Court of Justice of the EU. Gundega Mikelsone, The Binding Force of the Case Law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, official website The archival fonds of the Court of Justice of the European Union is consultable at the Historical Archives of the European Union
Court of Justice of the European Union
–
Palais de la Cour de Justice, Luxembourg
Court of Justice of the European Union
–
Emblem of the Court of Justice of the European Union
23.
Lord Hoffmann
–
Leonard Hubert Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann, PC is a retired senior British judge. He served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1995 to 2009 and he is also a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong. Born 8 May 1934 in Cape Town, Leonard Hubert Hoffmann, nicknamed Lennie, was the son of a solicitor who co-founded what has become Africas largest law firm. He was educated at the University of Cape Town and then attended The Queens College, Oxford, as a Rhodes scholar, between 1961 and 1973, he was Stowell Civil Law Fellow at University College, Oxford, where he is also an Honorary Fellow. In 1963, he published the first edition of The South African Law of Evidence, a work which became the standard text, on 23 July 1985, he was knighted upon his appointment, as is customary for High Court judges. He was subsequently appointed to be a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1 October 1992, in 1995, Hoffmann was appointed a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and thereby raised to the peerage as Baron Hoffmann, of Chedworth in the County of Gloucestershire. Twinsectra v Yardley and MacNiven v Westmoreland are prominent examples of his judicial positions, both cases led to differences of view between him and Lord Millett. Hoffmann gave the judgment in Investors Compensation Scheme Ltd v West Bromwich Building Society. He retired as a Law Lord on 20 April 2009 and joined the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary, University of London and he has been a Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal since 1998. In 2004 he was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and his failure to declare his links with Amnesty International before ruling on whether Augusto Pinochet was immune from prosecution led to the unprecedented setting aside of a House of Lords judgment. He later commented to the Daily Telegraph that the fact is Im not biased, the fact that my wife works as a secretary for Amnesty International is, as far as I am concerned, neither here nor there. Leonard and Gillian Hoffmann have two daughters and two grandchildren, Secretary of State for the Home Department UKHL71. In Rehman, at para 62, he wrote, Postscript, I wrote this speech some three months before the recent events in New York and Washington. They are a reminder that in matters of security, the cost of failure can be high. It is not only that the executive has access to special information, if the people are to accept the consequences of such decisions, they must be made by persons whom the people have elected and whom they can remove. However, in 2004, Lord Hoffmann took a robust stand against the executive in the Belmarsh case and that is the true measure of what terrorism may achieve. It is for Parliament to decide whether to give the terrorists such a victory, in A v. Secretary of State for the Home Department UKHL71, Lord Hoffmann said, The use of torture is dishonourable. It corrupts and degrades the state which uses it and the system which accepts it
Lord Hoffmann
–
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
24.
Constitutional Court of Belgium
–
The Constitutional Court plays a central role within the federal Belgian state. This is a judicial court founded in 1980 and its jurisdiction was augmented in 1988 and 2003. Founded as the Court of Arbitration, the court owes its existence to the development of the Belgian unitary state into a federal state, the Court of Arbitration was officially inaugurated in the Belgian Senate on 1 October 1984. On 5 April 1985 it delivered its first judgment, in May 2007, upon a change of the Belgian Constitution, the court was renamed Constitutional Court as this name is more in keeping with the actual jurisdiction of the court. With a special law of 2003, this competence was expanded to the Section II, the Court is therefore developing into a constitutional court. The court has two modi operandi, when the Court decides to annul a law, decree or ordinance it counts erga omnes, for all persons. The second modus operandus of the court are the preliminary issues, when the Court finds a breach of these articles, it will pronounce its decision inter partes, meaning the ruling has effect only between the parties of the specific case. Such a judgement, however, has great value and will force the parliament which made the targeted law. The Court is composed of 12 judges appointed for their lifetime by the King within a list of candidates provided by the federal parliament. The list to fill a vacancy contains two candidates proposed alternately by the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate by a majority of at least two-thirds of the members present. Each linguistic group is composed of three judges with a background and three judges who have had at least five years experience as members of parliament. Candidates must be at least forty years of age, the judges may hold office until they reach seventy years of age, when they retire from the bench. In other words, the law, decree or ordinance must be harmful to the party submitting the appeal, cases can also be heard by the whole Court if either President so decides or if at least two judges of the ordinary panel of seven judges so requests. If cases are heard by the whole Court, the Court cannot rule unless at least 10 judges, in this case, if the votes are equally divided, the President of the Court has a casting vote. The appeal must include the subject of the appeal and must be motivated, the party submitting the appeal can also request that the law, decree or ordinance in question be suspended pending a final ruling by the Court. Communities, regions and provinces of Belgium Constitution of Belgium Judiciary Politics of Belgium Rule According to Higher Law Rule of law Homepage of the Constitutional Court of Belgium
Constitutional Court of Belgium
–
Kingdom of Belgium
.svg)
