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27/01/2022

Published by Vladimir Shvedov at 27/01/2022

Elena Shakhova: “There have been attempts to humanise the foreign agents law, but they have led to nothing good”

Elena Shakhova is the Chair of Citizens' Watch, a human rights NGO in St. Petersburg, and a Board Member of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum. In a special interview for Legal Dialogue, Elena speaks to journalist Vladimir Shvedov about the situation with human rights in places of detention in Russia and how the pandemic has changed things and discusses a highly sensitive issue for Russian civil society today, the law on "foreign agents."

20/12/2021

Published by Vladimir Shvedov at 20/12/2021

Galina Arapova: “People have little to no understanding of what independent journalism is and how it should function in a normal society”

In a special interview for Legal Dialogue, journalist Vladimir Shvedov asks lawyer and head of the Mass Media Defence Centre Galina Arapova about her vision of the present and future of Russian journalism, IT giants' policies concerning freedom of speech, and whether the “foreign agents" law can be improved.

17/11/2021

Published by Anna Efimova at 17/11/2021

“People here don’t understand that you can’t take a woman by force.” Why sex without consent is rape in Europe, but not in Russia

From an ethical, legal and social standpoint, sexual consent is a complex concept. It has no single definition, and taboos around talking about sex can make it difficult to discuss. Nevertheless, every year more and more countries are recognising sex without consent as rape.

29/09/2021

Published by Ivan Babitski at 29/09/2021

Ministers and Dissertations: Academic Fraud Scandals and Their Political Consequences in Russia and the EU

A 2013 ‘word of the year’ in Russia was Dissernet, the name of an emerging informal network that set out to investigate infractions of academic integrity in Russia – in particular, to expose plagiarism in the dissertations of high-ranking academics and politicians.

28/06/2021

Published by Vladimir Shvedov at 28/06/2021

Tatiana Glushkova: ‘The choice is yours: either to live under constant threat or to post nothing but cute kittens in social media’

In an exclusive interview for Legal Dialogue, lawyer Tatyana Glushkova and journalist Vladimir Shvedov discuss the multiple forms of 'foreign agent' labels in Russia today and their implications for those affected.

03/05/2021

Published by Anastasia Zakharova at 03/05/2021

Searching for balance: freedom of expression and the use of criminal measures to combat COVID-19 misinformation

During the COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation has become an important problem that threatens the health and even lives of people. But where is the line to be drawn between the fight against the spread of disinformation and the attack on free speech?

31/03/2021

Published by Yana Stepaniuk at 31/03/2021

All in the Same Boat?

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, it seemed that we were all equally vulnerable to the coronavirus, which did not discriminate by gender, ethnicity, social status or income. Politicians said that we were all in the same boat. It soon became apparent, however, that this was not entirely true.

22/02/2021

Published by Anna Laletina at 22/02/2021

One Year After Mietendeckel: How Berlin Rent Cap Works

A year ago, Berlin passed the Mietendeckel, "a rent cap law". How does it work today and what do city residents and landlords think about it?

11/01/2021

Published by Simon Cosgrove at 11/01/2021

Brexit: implications for human rights in the UK

How are Brexit and human rights related? Simon Cosgrove, the Chair of the Trustees of "Rights in Russia", in his column reflects on how Britain's exit from the EU has impacted the present and future of human rights.

22/12/2020

Published by Rasa Puzinaite at 22/12/2020

Repaying Historical Dues: Here Is Your European Passport

Today, a number of European states allow the descendants of people who fled their home countries in the 30-40s of the 20th century, or even in the 15th century, to restore their lost European citizenship. How do these legal initiatives work in practice? Can they remedy the injustices of the past?

23/11/2020

Published by Julia Saberova at 23/11/2020

Echoes of Stalin’s “Great Terror.” How the descendants of repression continue to fight for their rights

Massive political repression in the USSR peaked in the late 1930s, but the descendants of the repressed are still fighting to restore the honest name of their ancestors and are trying to return home from their places of exile, to where their families were expelled decades ago.

09/11/2020

Published by Viktoria Berezyuk at 09/11/2020

National Sovereignty or International Law? The Russian Constitution Has the Last Word

On January 2020, President Putin called for amending the Russian Constitution to establish its precedence over supranational judicial bodies, meaning, primarily, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Interestingly, this was not a new idea: Russian legal experts who for many years have been suggesting such an amendment to the Constitution had referred to German precedent.

12/03/2020

Published by Legal Dialogue at 12/03/2020

Russia passes bill allowing Putin to stay in power past 2024

The Russian parliament has approved a significant constitutional reform that would, among other things, allow Vladimir Putin to run for president for two more terms after 2024 by resetting the number of terms that he has already completed. The Constitutional Court will review the reform before a national vote on the proposed amendments on April 22.

Source: Associated Press

12/03/2020

Published by Legal Dialogue at 12/03/2020

Turkey prepares human rights case over Greece’s treatment of migrants

Turkey announced last week that it is preparing a case about Greece’s treatment of migrants to bring before the European Court of Human Rights. On February 28, Turkey opened its frontiers, allowing refugees and migrants to travel towards Europe. Many of them have since been trying to enter Greece.

Source: Reuters

12/03/2020

Published by Legal Dialogue at 12/03/2020

Germany refuses to extradite Pole under European arrest warrant due to fair trial fears

For the first time in German history, a court has refused to extradite a Polish suspect to his home country because of doubts as to the future of the independence of the Polish judiciary and the guarantee of the right to a fair trial. These doubts have been spurred by the divisive law signed by Polish president Andrzej Duda last month. It allows judges to be punished for questioning and criticising the national judicial system.

Source: Euronews

12/03/2020

Published by Legal Dialogue at 12/03/2020

Women’s rights organisations fear eviction in Rome

Two women’s rights organisations in Rome, ‘La Casa Internazionale delle Donne’ (the International House of Women) and a shelter named ‘Lucha y Siesta’ are worried that they could soon be evicted. Activists in Italy’s capital accuse mayor Virginia Raggi of not taking enough actions to protect women.

Source: Euronews

19/11/2016

Published by Alexander Peredruk at 19/11/2016

Conscripts Allowed to Photograph Their Files

On 31 August 2016, St. Petersburg City Court upheld a district court’s judgement in the case of Artyom Efimov against the Military Commissariat, a […]

19/11/2016

Published by Pascal Detzler at 19/11/2016

How is Healthcare for Asylum Seekers Regulated in the EU and in Russia?

The (fundamental) right to health and healthcare applies to all human beings equally and is codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article […]

19/11/2016

Published by Daria Litvinova at 19/11/2016

Polish Parliament Backtracks on Abortion Ban Amid Mass Protests

A legislative initiative1Draft of the bill on the website of Ordo Iuris conservative organization: http://www.ordoiuris.pl/pliki/dokumenty/stop_aborcji_2016.pdf introduced to the Polish Parliament by several pro-life organisations2Conservative advocacy […]

24/11/2016

Published by Anastasia Chukovskaya at 24/11/2016

Márta Pardavi: ‘The Government has no Appetite to Listen to Us’

In an interview for the Legal Dialogue, Márta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, talks about the shrinking civil space in Hungary as […]

24/11/2016

Published by Legal Dialogue at 24/11/2016

International Cooperation of Legal Clinics and NGOs

Together with with Russia’s Centre for the Development of Legal Clinics, the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum (CSF) organised an international round table devoted to […]

24/11/2016

Published by Anton Kudryakov at 24/11/2016

Private Life: International and National Legal Standards

Conclusions from the VIII Urals International School of Human Rights The right to respect for private and family life was discussed by the VIII […]

24/11/2016

Published by Legal Dialogue at 24/11/2016

International Symposium “Domestic Law in a Global Upswing? The Strained Relationship between International and Domestic Law”

The international Symposium “Domestic Law in a Global Upswing? The Strained Relationship between International and Domestic Law” was held on 30-31 May 2016 in […]

24/11/2016