Judicial independence and rule of law in Poland have been increasingly under challenge before national and European courts. Departing from a case study of Judge Żurek, an emblematic figure of the Polish judicial community prosecuted for criticizing the post-2015 judicial reforms, this article assesses how the European Human Rights framework can play out in a particular case of a judge defending the rule of law in his country. After having outlined the circumstances of his prosecution, it follows his journey to Luxembourg and Strasbourg. Namely, it lays out the legal issues before the Courts and examines the standards they establish, commenting on how they translate into prospects of redress. It finds that, while both the cjeu and the ECtHR establish standards on court transfers, judicial nominations, premature termination of office or the link to freedom of expression, the level of judicial independence required for their successful implementation creates a paradox.
Establishing criminal liability for environmental offences remains daunting, particularly with regard to the ‘no plaintiff—no judge’ element as a result of which the public seems to be ultimately deprived of the possibility to participate in criminal environmental proceedings. While there is arguably a lack of specific instruments at the European Union (EU) level which would prescribe such legal obligation on the part of the State, there has been a shift in understanding the role of the public and its participation in criminal liability cases, namely under the auspices of the so-called effective investigation and the concept of rights of victims in general. Using the example of the Czech Republic as a point of reference, this article aims to assess the relevant legal developments at both EU and Czech levels to illustrate why the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), essentially acting as public agents, should be granted an active role in environmental criminal proceedings. After examining the applicable legal framework and case law development, the article concludes that effective investigation indeed stands as a valid legal basis for human rights protection which incorporates an entitlement to public participation. Despite that, this pro-active shift is far from being applied in practice, implying that the legislation remains silent where it should be the loudest, and causing unsustainable behaviour of companies.
This case report discusses the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights in Vavřička and Others v. the Czech Republic, which remains the only case concerning compulsory vaccination to date. This is particularly important in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which many European States restricted unvaccinated individual’s freedoms in a post-lockdown setting. After outlining the relevant facts and arguments brought by both the applicants and the Government, it comments on the Court’s assessment under Article 8 ECHR by evaluating inter alia the notion of interference and conflicting interests of parents versus children. First and foremost, however, it sheds light on how the case fits into the wider discussion on COVID-19, particularly what standards it puts in place and what implications it bears on future applications concerning COVID-19 vaccination rules. Namely, it illustrates how the threshold of necessity may be established in relation to Article 8 interferences.
Criminal liability of legal entities has gained an inalienable place in the system of legal liability in most European jurisdictions, including the Czech Republic. Departing from the premise that it is a suitable supplement to the liability of a legal entity in the event of serious unlawful acts of natural persons from which the legal entity benefits, this article aims to characterize the position and role of this form of liability in the Czech legal system. Essentially, however, it seeks to determine under which circumstances it is possible for legal entities to be relieved of liability using an exculpatory clause. Based on a case study of the Czech Republic, it illustrates the added value of criminal compliance programs, which, if properly set up and implemented in practice and complemented by prevention, detection and response measures, play a decisive role in establishing such criminal exculpation. The article further finds that rules pertaining to ethical codes of conduct are in fact ‘elevated’ to the level of legal rules through compliance programs. Compliance, one of the components of Corporate Social Responsibility, thus becomes an expression of a legal obligation, i.e., the obligation to properly manage and control the corporation, which has important legal implications.
Abstract. It is substantiated that the factor of economic growth, increase of economic and energy security, preservation of the environment from the detrimental impact of the consequences of consumption of hydrocarbon energy sources is the sustainable development of renewable energy. The state and prospects of using renewable energy sources in the world are considered (RES). The rating of countries by the share of electricity produced from renewable sources as a percentage of primary sources during 2015—2019 is presented, which shows that the largest share of RES is in countries such as: Iceland, Kenya and Latvia; Currently, the largest growth in renewable energy is observed in Ukraine, Great Britain, Turkey, Denmark, Japan, France, the USA and Germany. The generalized factors of growth of demand for renewable energy sources are: parity of the price and productivity owing to decrease in the price of RES; increasing the efficiency of energy production due to technological progress and the introduction of innovative technologies in foreign trade; integration of power grids and balancing the load on them; stimulating the demand for RES by large cities — the implementation of the strategy of «smart city» includes «smart» energy; development of public ownership of networks and sources of renewable energy; active participation of developing countries in the dissemination of renewable energy; growing participation of the corporate sector in the development of renewable energy. The relationship between the goals of energy development in terms of its accessibility, reliability, sustainability and goals in the field of sustainable development is determined. Thus, poverty reduction (goal 1) involves expanding access to basic resources and services and the availability of modern infrastructure, an element of which is RES; the use of clean renewable energy will help reduce health risks (disease prevention and pandemic control) (objective 3); creation of sustainable infrastructure, promotion of innovations (goal 9) involves the use of clean and environmentally friendly technologies and sustainable energy development; the use of RES activity has a synergistic connection with the implementation of goal 13 — urgent measures to combat climate change and its consequences. Keywords: sustainable development goals, economic growth, energy security, renewable energy sources, hydrocarbon fuel, decarbonization. JEL Classification F29, F43, L94, O10 Formulas: 0; fig.: 0; tabl.: 2; bibl.: 17.
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