Holiday break

On By officialblogunioIn UncategorizedLeave a comment 
By the Editorial Board
▪

Dear readers,

We will be taking a short break for summer holidays. We will resume our regular publishing schedule in early September 2024.

In the meantime, we are always open to receiving new academic contributions from our readers. If you have an innovative, dynamic, thoughtful piece that you believe would fit in this blog, feel free to send it to us at: unio.cedu@direito.uminho.pt.

If you would like to catch up on some reading on EU matters please check our news, comments, essays, reviews, and case law of the ECJ sections. Do not forget to subscribe to the blog by filling your email on the “FOLLOW THE OFFICIAL BLOG OF UNIO” section in the sidebar so you can be updated on all our latest posts.


Pictures credits: Photo by VH S on Pexels.com

Romania: A declaration of war from the High Court of Cassation and Justice against the Court of Justice of the European Union

On By revistaunioIn EssaysLeave a comment 

Dragoș Călin (Judge at the Bucharest Court of Appeal and Co-President of the Romanian Judges' Forum Association)
▪           

The judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding the rule of law and the serious fraud against the financial interests of the European Union appear to have been optional for the Romanian courts, and a new interpretative decision of the High Court of Cassation and Justice – Panel for the Clarification of Certain Points of Law in Criminal Matters, Decision No 37/2024, binding erga omnes, is the last proof of this fact.

For qualified researchers, the case of the Constitutional Court of Romania is well known. By Decision No 390/2021, the Constitutional Court of Romania created a ‘brick wall’ between the national courts and the CJEU, in order to maintain the applicability of national legislation contrary to the judgment of the CJEU in Joined Cases C-83/19, C-127/19, C-195/19, C-291/19, C-355/19 and C-397/19, Asociația Forumul Judecătorilor din România and Others, by requiring national ordinary judges not to analyse the conformity of a national provision, already found to be constitutional by a decision of the Constitutional Court, in the light of provisions of European Union law.

Continue reading “Romania: A declaration of war from the High Court of Cassation and Justice against the Court of Justice of the European Union” →

Summaries of judgments: Landeshauptstadt Wiesbaden | NADA e o.

On By revistaunioIn Summaries of judgmentsLeave a comment 
Summaries of judgments made in collaboration with the Portuguese judge and référendaire of the CJEU (Nuno Piçarra and Sophie Perez)

 ▪

Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 21 March 2024, Landeshauptstadt Wiesbaden, Case C-61/22, EU:C:2024:251

Reference for a preliminary ruling – Regulation (EU) 2019/1157 – Strengthening the security of identity cards of EU citizens – Validity – Legal basis – Article 21(2) TFEU – Article 77(3) TFEU – Regulation (EU) 2019/1157 – Article 3(5) – Obligation for Member States to include two fingerprints in interoperable digital formats in the storage medium of identity cards – Article 7 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Respect for private and family life – Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights – Protection of personal data – Regulation (EU) 2016/679 – Article 35 – Obligation to carry out a data protection impact assessment – Maintaining the effects for a certain time of a regulation which has been declared invalid

Facts

The request for a preliminary ruling was made in proceedings between RL, a German national, and the Landeshauptstadt Wiesbaden (City of Wiesbaden, Land capital, Germany) concerning the rejection by the latter of RL’s application for an identity card which does not include RL’s fingerprints. The application was rejected due to a national provision according to which the inclusion of two fingerprints in the storage medium of identity cards is mandatory. This national provision transposes Article 3(5) of Regulation 2019/1157, on strengthening the security of identity cards of Union citizens and of residence documents issued to Union citizens and their family members exercising their right of free movement.

RL brought an action before the Verwaltungsgericht Wiesbaden (Administrative Court, Wiesbaden, Germany), seeking an order requiring the Landeshauptstadt Wiesbaden to issue him with an identity card with no fingerprints being collected. The referring court had doubts regarding the validity of Regulation 2019/1157 or, at least, the validity of Article 3(5) thereof, on the grounds that, firstly, it was adopted on an incorrect legal basis, secondly, it violates Article 35 of the GDPR and, thirdly, it violates Articles 7 and 8 CFREU.

Continue reading “Summaries of judgments: Landeshauptstadt Wiesbaden | NADA e o.” →

Responsible credit in the European Union: on the pre-contractual duty to analyse the consumer’s creditworthiness when granting credit

On By revistaunioIn CommentsLeave a comment 

Mariana Marques (Master's student in European Union Law at the School of Law of the University of Minho)
▪           

Introduction

In practice, financial institutions often grant credit without analysing the consumer’s creditworthiness. In most cases, credit is granted without analysing any variant that could compromise the borrowers’ financial capacity – and this is particularly prevalent in the granting of credit cards. Thus, any individual can obtain a credit card from most organisations without having to provide essential data, such as their salary slip, for example. Without prejudice to the consumer’s responsibility to take out credit that is appropriate to their income, would consumer credit institutions not have any duty in this regard?

On 11 January 2024,[1] the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down a ruling in which it clarified the duty to analyse the consumer’s creditworthiness –imposed on financial institutions before granting consumer credit. This pre-contractual duty, which is often (and unduly) brushed aside by the entities responsible for it, has been the subject of important developments in the new law governing consumer credit – Directive 2023/2225 of 18 October 2023.

Continue reading “Responsible credit in the European Union: on the pre-contractual duty to analyse the consumer’s creditworthiness when granting credit” →

New UNIO issue now online

On By revistaunioIn NewsLeave a comment 
By the Editorial Team
▪

The Editorial Board is happy to announce that a new issue of the UNIO – EU Law Journal is now online. The 10(1) issue of UNIO includes contributions from various highly respected scholars and young academics and heavily focuses on digital issues such as data protection and the challenges of regulating artificial intelligence.

We hope this new issue is relevant for our readers and would like to remind you that we are accepting submissions at UNIO and also at our blog.

You may find UNIO’s 10(1) issue here.

Summaries of judgments: Comune di Copertino | Direcţia pentru Evidenţa Persoanelor şi Administrarea Bazelor de Date

On By revistaunioIn Summaries of judgments1 Comment 
Summaries of judgments made in collaboration with the Portuguese judge and référendaire of the CJEU (Nuno Piçarra and Sophie Perez)

 ▪

Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 18 January 2024, Comune di Copertino, Case C-218/22,  EU:C:2024:51

Reference for a preliminary ruling – Social policy – Directive 2003/88/EC – Article 7 – Article 31(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Allowance in lieu of days of leave not taken at the end of the employment relationship – National legislation prohibiting payment of that allowance in the event of the voluntary resignation of a public servant – Control of public expenditure – Organisational needs of the public employer

Facts

BU was employed by the Municipality of Copertino (Italy), from 1 February 1992 to 1 October 2016, until his voluntary resignation, in order to take early retirement. Taking the view that he was entitled to an allowance in lieu of 79 days’ paid annual leave accrued during the period between 2013 and 2016, BU brought an action before the Tribunale di Lecce (District Court, Lecce, Italy) seeking financial compensation for those days of leave not taken. The Municipality of Copertino opposed that request invoking a national provision which provides, subject to certain exceptions, that no financial compensation may be paid for untaken paid leave. According to the Municipality of Copertino, the fact that BU had taken leave during 2016 showed that he was aware of his obligation, in accordance with that provision, to take the days of leave that he had accrued before the end of the employment relationship.

Continue reading “Summaries of judgments: Comune di Copertino | Direcţia pentru Evidenţa Persoanelor şi Administrarea Bazelor de Date” →

Democratic Integrity in the Era of Digital Disinformation

On By revistaunioIn EssaysLeave a comment 

Eduardo Paiva  (Master in Law and Informatics - UMinho)
▪           

The healthy unfolding of democratic electoral processes – and of democratic life in general – has been threatened by the dissemination of disinformation (defined as “false or misleading content that is spread with an intention to deceive or secure economic or political gain, and which may cause public harm”) by agents who do not uphold the same principles.[1] Under these circumstances, a climate of manipulation and deceit is fostered, which is extremely and particularly malign for crucial moments of political decision,[2] as attempts are made to strip them of their inherent relevance and validity, constituting one of the most dangerous forces deteriorating our democratic foundations.[3]

 In this sense, the role of major digital platforms, as holders of vast power to control and influence communication and information channels on a global scale, is chronic and central in this issue. Taking this into account, they should be compelled to engage in self-criticism towards a certain openness in applying changes to the operational models of their businesses.[4] The enormous capacity of these technological platforms in amplifying and micro-targeting content makes them extremely attractive for the precise propagation of information on a large scale, thus making them systematically targeted for hybrid activities in the field of disinformation. Amidst this web of opaque information, it is more important than ever to know which profiles and posts are genuinely concerned with conveying the reality of facts in an impartial and well-founded manner.

Continue reading “Democratic Integrity in the Era of Digital Disinformation” →

CJEU case law on ‘amnesties’: prospects for the Spanish amnesty on the Catalan independence conflict

On By officialblogunioIn Essays1 Comment 

Miryam Rodríguez-Izquierdo Serrano  (Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Seville)
▪           

On 11 June 2024[1], the Spanish Official State Journal published Organic Law 1/2024, of 10 June, on amnesty for institutional, political and social normalisation in Catalonia (Ley Orgánica 1/2024, de 10 de junio, de amnistía para la normalización institucional, política y social en Cataluña).[2] The law entered into force at the same time of its publication. As of this date, it is mandatory for the judicial, administrative and accounting bodies that may be handling cases linked to the sovereignty process in Catalonia (2014-2017) to apply the law. The law orders these bodies to exempt from criminal, administrative or accounting liability those who have been involved in those events, especially those linked to the preparation or consequences of the consultations on independence that took place in 2014 and 2017.

The approval of this Spanish amnesty law has been preceded by some speculation about the position that the EU will adopt in relation to it, as well as others related to possible preliminary rulings: whether the Spanish courts could ask the CJEU for preliminary rulings before adopting their decision on the application of the amnesty law to each specific case. For this reason, it is relevant to recall what the EU’s position has been, to date, regarding amnesties approved in its Member States. But above all, it is important to find out whether the CJEU has previously ruled on the effectiveness of amnesty laws. This will provide basic guidance on whether the CJEU has jurisdiction over an amnesty law passed in a Member State and on the limits within which a Member State may decide to amnesty criminal, administrative and accounting liabilities.

Continue reading “CJEU case law on ‘amnesties’: prospects for the Spanish amnesty on the Catalan independence conflict” →

A matter of principle: the growth of the far right in the 21st century in the light of the structuring principles of the European Union

On By officialblogunioIn Essays1 Comment 

Ricardo Martins de Sousa e Silva (Master in Human Rights by UMinho)
▪           

Once again in contemporary history, the far right occupies the centre of the European and world political scene. We see this in the growing popular support their political movements receive, in their growing ability to determine the themes of national and supranational political debates, as well as to influence the policies and way of doing politics of other political parties, and in their electoral growth, all over the world, but particularly in the Member States of the European Union (EU); either by becoming the main opposition parties, by becoming indispensable for the formation of governments, or by taking power, by forming governments themselves.[1] We also see this in the increase in politically motivated violence, whether it is symbolic violence, with the growth of hate speech[2] and the creation of an environment of insecurity for people on the political left and for ethnic, religious, sexual and gender minorities, or physical violence, with the increase in the number of attacks on members of those minorities. In these matters, Portugal is no exception.[3]

Continue reading “A matter of principle: the growth of the far right in the 21st century in the light of the structuring principles of the European Union” →

Iris collection as a proof of personhood: current trends on biometric recognition

On By revistaunioIn Essays1 Comment 

Maria Inês Costa (PhD Candidate at the School of Law of the University of Minho. FCT research scholarship holder – UI/BD/154522/2023)
▪           

In Portugal, more than 300,000 people have already “sold” their iris scan to Worldcoin Foundation, which in return offers them cryptocurrency. In March 2024, the Portuguese data protection authority (hereinafter, the CNPD) decided to suspend the company’s collection of iris and facial biometric data for 90 days in order to protect the right to the protection of personal data, especially of minors, following in the footsteps of Spain, which also temporarily banned the company’s activities for privacy reasons.[1]

In a statement, the CNPD explains that the company has already been informed of this temporary suspension, which will last until the investigation is completed and a final decision is made on the matter. The adoption of this urgent provisional measure comes in the wake of “dozens of reports” received by the CNPD in the last month, which report the collection of data from minors without the authorisation of their parents or other legal representatives, as well as deficiencies in the information provided to data subjects, the impossibility of deleting data or revoking consent.[2] In CNPD’s press release, one can read that “[g]iven the current circumstances, in which there is unlawful processing of the biometric data of minors, combined with potential infringements of other GDPR rules, the CNPD considered that the risk to citizens’ fundamental rights is high, justifying an urgent intervention to prevent serious or irreparable harm.”[3]

Continue reading “Iris collection as a proof of personhood: current trends on biometric recognition” →