The role of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the protection of human rights. Discussion in Brussels

The HFHR organized a discussion „To Luxemburg instead of Strasbourg? The role of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the protection of human rights”. It took place in the office of the Clifford Chance in Brussels.

The topic of the discussion is of a particular importance nowadays, as we can observe worrisome trends of worsening standards of protection of human rights and the rule of law in many European states. It is necessary to look for alternative mechanisms of human rights protection such as, in particular, the proceedings before the CJEU.

More than 30 participants took part in the meeting, representing the most significant organisations in Europe, such as Human Rights Watch, Fair Trials, ILGA-Europe, Redress, as well as the European Commission and the International Commission of Jurists. Dr. Marcin Szwed and attorney Katarzyna Wiśniewska from the HFHR made a presentation of the main assumptions and conclusions of the HFHR’s report. All the speakers, including Dr. Marcin Ciemiński (Clifford Chance, Warsaw University), Dr. Piotr Bogdanowicz (Clifford Chance, Warsaw University), prof. Agnieszka Frąckowiak-Adamska (Wroclaw University), Dr. Israel Butler (Liberties) and Alex Tinsley (Church Court Chambers, UK) delivered very interesting presentations as well.

The event ended with a debate moderated by Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram, from the Warsaw Clifford Chance. Debate was very fruitful – the participants expressed many interesting opinions with regards to the role NGOs and commercial lawyers in the proceedings before CJEU. We are sure that its conclusions would be very useful in strategic litigation activities in Europe.

The meeting was a part of a project implemented jointly by the HFHR and Clifford Chance.