http://www.alliancealert.org news from the frontlines of the culture war Thu, 24 May 2012 23:12:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/01/31/britain-czechs-snub-europes-fiscal-pact-but-wont-forge-an-alliance-of-critics/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/01/31/britain-czechs-snub-europes-fiscal-pact-but-wont-forge-an-alliance-of-critics/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:54:03 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=124595 ChicagoTribune.com: "This is a treaty outside of the EU," British leader David Cameron insisted Tuesday at the House of Commons. "We are not signing it. We are not ratifying it. We are not part of it." The decision by Cameron and Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas to reject the deal leaves Europe with a clumsy compromise and has thrown up legal questions about using EU-wide institutions like the European Court of Justice to enforce the pact. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/01/31/britain-czechs-snub-europes-fiscal-pact-but-wont-forge-an-alliance-of-critics/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/11/21/roger-kiska-at-european-parliament-press-conference-there-is-no-international-right-to-abortion/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/11/21/roger-kiska-at-european-parliament-press-conference-there-is-no-international-right-to-abortion/#comments Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:18:49 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=119118 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/11/21/roger-kiska-at-european-parliament-press-conference-there-is-no-international-right-to-abortion/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/10/18/top-europe-court-bans-stem-cell-technique-patents/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/10/18/top-europe-court-bans-stem-cell-technique-patents/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:02:37 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=116094 ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/10/18/top-europe-court-bans-stem-cell-technique-patents/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/06/21/eu-court-of-justices-wants-12-more-judges/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/06/21/eu-court-of-justices-wants-12-more-judges/#comments Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:17:44 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=106962 Europolitics: The president of the EU Court of Justice wants 12 more judges to enable his institution to cope with its increased workload. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/06/21/eu-court-of-justices-wants-12-more-judges/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/05/10/european-court-couples-in-civil-unions-must-receive-same-retirement-benefits-as-married-couples/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/05/10/european-court-couples-in-civil-unions-must-receive-same-retirement-benefits-as-married-couples/#comments Tue, 10 May 2011 13:38:01 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=103303 ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/05/10/european-court-couples-in-civil-unions-must-receive-same-retirement-benefits-as-married-couples/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/05/04/eu-nations-cant-jail-illegal-immigrants/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/05/04/eu-nations-cant-jail-illegal-immigrants/#comments Wed, 04 May 2011 21:01:18 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=102797 Courthouse News Service: The highest court of the European Union ruled that member states may not jail immigrants who enter their countries illegally and then refuse to leave. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/05/04/eu-nations-cant-jail-illegal-immigrants/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/28/eu-top-court-throws-out-italian-law-making-illegal-immigration-a-crime/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/28/eu-top-court-throws-out-italian-law-making-illegal-immigration-a-crime/#comments Thu, 28 Apr 2011 21:13:08 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=102282 ADNKronos: The EU Court of Justice ruled that jailing migrants contradicts an EU directive whose main objective is "to set up an effective policy to drive out and repatriate third country nationals whose stay (in the EU) is irregular, while respecting their fundamental rights," the court said in a statement. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/28/eu-top-court-throws-out-italian-law-making-illegal-immigration-a-crime/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/28/ruling-on-stem-cell-patents-may-spell-end-of-research-in-europe/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/28/ruling-on-stem-cell-patents-may-spell-end-of-research-in-europe/#comments Thu, 28 Apr 2011 17:25:13 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=102247 The Independent: A fledgling biosciences industry that promises to revolutionise medicine in the 21st century could be destroyed by a French judge who has declared it immoral to patent inventions based on cells derived from human embryos. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/28/ruling-on-stem-cell-patents-may-spell-end-of-research-in-europe/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/27/scientists-oppose-european-stem-cell-patent-ban/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/27/scientists-oppose-european-stem-cell-patent-ban/#comments Wed, 27 Apr 2011 21:08:47 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=102169 Reuters: Research scientists hit out on Wednesday at a European Court of Justice (ECJ) case they say could block development of embryonic stem cell-based therapies in Europe. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/27/scientists-oppose-european-stem-cell-patent-ban/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/04/reform-of-the-european-court-of-human-rights-response-to-a-modest-proposal/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/04/reform-of-the-european-court-of-human-rights-response-to-a-modest-proposal/#comments Mon, 04 Apr 2011 21:50:05 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=100040 UK Human Rights Blog: In an interesting post, Aidan O’Neill QC concludes that the European Court of Human Rights is “in danger of imminent collapse” due to its backlog of 140,000 applications with around 1,600 arriving every month; a conclusion compounded by inherent delays. He suggests that the way to draw back Strasbourg from the brink of judicial Armageddon is to abolish the individual right to petition Strasbourg and to introduce a referral system whereby national courts request Strasbourg’s opinion on human rights issues, akin to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/04/reform-of-the-european-court-of-human-rights-response-to-a-modest-proposal/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/01/landmark-eu-decision-against-stem-cell-patents/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/01/landmark-eu-decision-against-stem-cell-patents/#comments Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:57:51 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=99880 ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/01/landmark-eu-decision-against-stem-cell-patents/feed/ 1 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/03/04/european-court-could-rule-traditional-marriage-benefits-are-discriminatory/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/03/04/european-court-could-rule-traditional-marriage-benefits-are-discriminatory/#comments Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:24:28 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=97127 C-FAM: The European Union was founded on respect for national sovereignty,” Roger Kiska, Legal Counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, told the Friday Fax. “If the Advocate General's opinion is followed, it destroys this sovereignty making all European nations vulnerable to legislation promoting anti-life and anti-family laws despite the national will of that country. It is not the role of the ECJ to legislate for all of Europe without Europe having a say in the matter," said Kiska. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/03/04/european-court-could-rule-traditional-marriage-benefits-are-discriminatory/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/12/09/german-court-calls-on-european-court-of-justice-to-clarify-religious-refugee-status/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/12/09/german-court-calls-on-european-court-of-justice-to-clarify-religious-refugee-status/#comments Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:55:55 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=85756 Federal Administrative Court of Germany [Google Translation]: "The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig, by orders from today in two cases in which this is about the refugee status because of religious persecution, called [on] the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg . . . for a preliminary ruling [concerning] the interpretation of Council Directive 2004/83/EC of the European Union (Qualification Directive). This [includes] the alignment of legal conditions for the granting of refugee status within the European Union. The German legislature . . . implemented the directive in August 2007." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/12/09/german-court-calls-on-european-court-of-justice-to-clarify-religious-refugee-status/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/11/17/uk-tribunal-rejects-religious-discrimination-claim-by-adoption-panel-member/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/11/17/uk-tribunal-rejects-religious-discrimination-claim-by-adoption-panel-member/#comments Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:56:30 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=82551 Christian Concern: "Employment Judge MacMillan held that there was no discrimination on the grounds of religion as Dr Matthews’ belief in the dangers of placing vulnerable children with same sex couples was based on scientific evidence which happened to dovetail with her Christian beliefs . . . MacMillan said Dr Matthews was not discriminated against because anyone who held the same views on homosexual parenting, of whatever religion or none, would have been treated in the same way." | More from Religion Clause. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/11/17/uk-tribunal-rejects-religious-discrimination-claim-by-adoption-panel-member/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/04/20/law-review-independence-and-diversity-in-the-european-court-of-justice/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/04/20/law-review-independence-and-diversity-in-the-european-court-of-justice/#comments Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:32:59 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=58482 Independence and Diversity in the European Court of Justice (January 1, 2009). Columbia Journal of European Law, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 89-121, 2009. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1592457 "The European Court of Justice (ECJ) currently comprises twenty-seven judges and eight Advocates General who together make law affecting citizens of the European Union over a wide range of social and economic issues, including racial and ethnic equality. However, the ECJ’s composition remains unreflective of the millions of black and migrant European Union citizens whom it serves. As the rulings of the Court reach into the everyday lives of an increasing number of people, the need for it to be legitimate in the eyes of all those it serves also rises. Courts derive their legitimacy from both inputs and outputs. A traditional input is independence; a more recent concern is diversity. This Article argues that the current procedure for appointments to the ECJ undermines both of these. The lack of transparency, coupled with the proximity to the national governments, undermines the independence of the members and precludes racial and ethnic minority representation at the Court. To address this problem, I suggest the development of objective eligibility criteria, the use of which, I argue, can promote both diversity and independence in the ECJ." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/04/20/law-review-independence-and-diversity-in-the-european-court-of-justice/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/05/sweden-defies-eu-directive-to-store-users-phone-data/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/05/sweden-defies-eu-directive-to-store-users-phone-data/#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:00:26 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/wordpress/?p=51028 TheLocal.se: "The European Court of Justice has told Sweden that it must implement a 2006 measure requiring telecom operators to store information about their customers’ phone calls and emails." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/05/sweden-defies-eu-directive-to-store-users-phone-data/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/11/16/taking-values-seriously-towards-a-philosophy-of-eu-law/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/11/16/taking-values-seriously-towards-a-philosophy-of-eu-law/#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:31:36 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=42425 Taking Values Seriously: Towards a Philosophy of EU Law (November 11, 2009). Warwick School of Law Research. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1504067 "This article argues that the existing philosophy of EU law, such as it may be perceived, is flawed. Through a series of propositions it claims that EU law is infected by an underlying indeterminacy of ideal that has deeply affected the appreciation and realisation of stated values. These values, the most fundamental of which appear in Article 6(1) of the Treaty of European Union, have been applied in a haphazard fashion and without an understanding of normative content. The European Court of Justice has instead adopted a largely pragmatic approach that has focused on principles or virtues of governance rather than attempting to offer a way of satisfactorily defining values or ensuring their realisation. The underlying philosophy thus appears to be based on a theory of interpretation (of original political will) rather than a theory of justice. The recent decision in Kadi paradoxically offers both confirmation of the argument presented but also a judicial appreciation that a new direction may be desirable, one inspired by a law based on the predominance of fundamental values with particular emphasis on respect for fundamental rights." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/11/16/taking-values-seriously-towards-a-philosophy-of-eu-law/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/09/10/eu-court-strikes-blow-to-gambling-industry/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/09/10/eu-court-strikes-blow-to-gambling-industry/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:21:26 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=35710 EurActiv: "European Union law may allow countries to ban foreign gambling websites if the intention is to prevent criminal offences, the European Court of Justice said yesterday (8 September) in a judgement that goes against previous rulings by the Court and is sure to reverberate through the betting industry." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/09/10/eu-court-strikes-blow-to-gambling-industry/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/02/09/european-constitution-and-european-evolution-why-does-the-ecj-matter/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/02/09/european-constitution-and-european-evolution-why-does-the-ecj-matter/#comments Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:34:27 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=14931 ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/02/09/european-constitution-and-european-evolution-why-does-the-ecj-matter/feed/ 0