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doi: 10.1007/s12027-022-00703-ypmid: N/A
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected workers’, especially women’s, ability to combine their paid work and care obligations in an unprecedented way. However, it has also raised the political relevance of the work-life balance issue. The moment is timely as the Work-life Balance Directive adopted by the European Union (EU) in 2019 comes to its implementation deadline in August 2022. The combination of these two events can lay the ground for new ways of configuring the workplace and new rights to working parents which might enhance work-life balance for workers in the EU.
doi: 10.1007/s12027-022-00701-0pmid: N/A
The status of trade union rights in the EU has been contentious since the CJEU sent shockwaves through the trade unions of Europe in December 2007 with its rulings in the cases of Viking and Laval. In its recent Holship ruling, the ECtHR has challenged these rulings. Contrary to the assertion of the CJEU in Laval that it is inherent in the very exercise of trade union rights and the right to take collective action that they will be prejudiced to a certain degree, the ECtHR stated that “the degree to which a collective action risks having economic consequences cannot (…) in and of itself be a decisive consideration in the analysis of proportionality under Article 11”. This has potentially wide-reaching implications for the relationship between the human rights recognized in international human rights conventions and EU fundamental rights.
doi: 10.1007/s12027-022-00709-6pmid: N/A
This article assesses whether current European law sufficiently captures gender-based biases and algorithmic discrimination in the context of artificial intelligence (AI) and provides a short analysis of a draft EU legislative proposal, the Artificial Intelligence Act. To this end, current trends and uses of algorithms with potential impacts on gender will be analysed through the lens of direct and indirect impacts for gender equality law, highlighting the implications for European gender equality enforcement. This article concludes that legislative and accompanying policy measures are necessary to ensure an effective gender equality policy and to avoid algorithmic discrimination.
doi: 10.1007/s12027-021-00697-zpmid: N/A
Financial information can play a key role in tackling money laundering, terrorist financing and combatting serious crime more generally. Preventing and fighting money laundering and the financing of terrorism were top priorities of the European Union’s (EU) Security Strategy for 2020-2025, which might explain the fast developments regarding legislative measures to further regulate anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorism financing (CTF). In May 2020, the European Commission put forward an Action Plan to establish a Union policy on combatting money laundering and shortly afterwards, proposed a new AML Package.Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) play a crucial role in analysing and exchanging information concerning unusual and suspicious transactions, serving as intermediaries between the private sector and law enforcement authorities (LEAs). Such information includes personal data, which is protected under the EU data protection acquis. The latter is constituted of two main laws, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which applies to general processing and the so-called Law Enforcement Directive (LED) that is applicable when competent law enforcement authorities process personal data for law enforcement purposes.This Article argues that the current legal framework on AML and CTF legislation is unclear on the data protection regime that applies to the processing of personal data by FIUs and that the proposed AML Package does little or nothing to clarify this dilemma. In order to contribute to the discussion on the applicable data protection framework for FIUs, the assessment puts forward arguments for and against the application of the LED to such processing, taking into account the relevant legal texts on AML and data protection.
doi: 10.1007/s12027-022-00699-5pmid: N/A
Recent jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning the Visa Code has brought important clarifications to the interpretation of the right to judicial review in the context of cooperation mechanisms between Member States, such as representation arrangements and the prior consultation procedure. The interpretation chosen by the Court renders more complex the access by applicants to judicial review of refusal decisions, but some procedural guarantees are put in place in order to rebalance these difficulties, such as a reinforcement of the obligation to state reasons. The Amendment Regulation 2019/1155 brings some relevant changes but does not fundamentally alter the Visa Code.
doi: 10.1007/s12027-022-00704-xpmid: N/A
The CJEU has repeatedly found that the obligation to prevent the deterioration of protected sites under Article 6(2) of the Habitats Directive can make it necessary to review existing permits of activities with negative effects on these sites. At the same time, the CJEU has recognised that legal certainty and legitimate expectations are general principles of EU law. Therefore, in principle, final administrative decisions do not need to be reopened, even if they are in conflict with EU law. The present contribution investigates legal mechanisms to achieve coherence between these two lines of jurisprudence.
doi: 10.1007/s12027-022-00707-8pmid: N/A
The topic of the victims of cybercrime is addressed here in the context of a fundamental analysis of modern forms of cross-border crime. In the framework as outlined, international judicial cooperation remains, once again, a key concept in implementing effective and successful strategies, also with a view to ensuring better protection of those who fall victim to these forms of crimes. A powerful stimulus could be provided by the implementation of the new Protocol—adopted in 2021—to the 2001 Budapest Convention, the innovative regulatory framework of which could also positively influence the functioning of the European Agencies long involved in the sector, such as Eurojust and Europol, in their activities in supporting national authorities.
doi: 10.1007/s12027-022-00702-zpmid: N/A
The purpose of this paper is to assess whether current international instruments to counter cybercrime may apply in the context of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies and to provide a short analysis of the ongoing policy initiatives of international organizations that would have a relevant impact in the law-making process in the field of cybercrime in the near future. This paper discusses the implications that AI policy making would bring to the administration of the criminal justice system to specifically counter cybercrimes. Current trends and uses of AI systems and applications to commit harmful and illegal conduct are analysed including deep fakes. The paper finalizes with a conclusion that offers an alternative to create effective policy responses to counter cybercrime committed through AI systems.
doi: 10.1007/s12027-022-00698-6pmid: N/A
This paper examines at what stage of the process of adaptation to European requirements the system of criminal justice in Spain finds itself. First, it focuses on its major achievements regarding the rights of suspects and accused (in particular, the reinforcement of the following guarantees: the right to information, the right to interpretation and translation, the right to legal assistance, the right to legal aid and personal data protection rules) as well as the protection of victims, as reinforced by the promotion of restorative justice. Secondly, the author reflects on areas requiring improvement on which the Spanish legislator might focus its attention in the short term: the protection of children who are accused in criminal proceedings, the legal treatment of internal complaints (and whistleblowers) and, finally, the presumption of innocence. Thirdly, it highlights some failures in the Spanish process of adaptation to European requirements: namely, delays, non-compliance with EU obligations and the lack of resources needed to implement required changes.
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