EU

By the time of reading, the UK will have informed the EU institutions regarding its decision on whether or not to opt-in to the October 2009 Commission proposal for a regulation on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and authentic instruments in matters of succession, and the creation of a European Certificate of Succession (Procedure reference COD(2009)0157. The Bar, and other branches of the UK legal profession recommended that it should not opt-in at this stage. The proposal as adopted has some good ideas, but there remain two primary areas of concern, being clawback and the current provisions on jurisdiction and certificates of succession. The proposal is available at:http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2009:0154:FIN:EN:PDF 

At the end of last year, the EU and its Member States ratified the World Intellectual Property Organisation (“WIPO”)’s Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, the socalled "Internet" Treaties. The two WIPO copyright treaties contain rules on distribution, rental, the right of public communication and the "making available" of protected content online, all aimed at upgrading the rights of authors, performers and producers to withstand the challenges of the digital age. For more information, 

see: http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/ 

The EP’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) is preparing an own-initiative report responding to the Commission’s recent Communication on enhancing the enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights COM(2009)467). A draft report should be available by the time of reading, with adoption in Plenary planned for April. For more information, see: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/file.jsp?id=5817632

The Bar responded by the end-January deadline, to the Commission’s consultation on how best to obtain and transfer (all forms of) evidence in criminal matters, from one Member State to another, and secure its admissibility. The Commission is expected to adopt a sweeping legislative proposal on this topic later this year. 

See: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2009:0624:FIN:EN:PDF 

By the time of reading, the UK will have informed the EU institutions regarding its decision on whether or not to opt-in to the October 2009 Commission proposal for a regulation on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and authentic instruments in matters of succession, and the creation of a European Certificate of Succession (Procedure reference COD(2009)0157. The Bar, and other branches of the UK legal profession recommended that it should not opt-in at this stage. The proposal as adopted has some good ideas, but there remain two primary areas of concern, being clawback and the current provisions on jurisdiction and certificates of succession. The proposal is available at:http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2009:0154:FIN:EN:PDF 

The entry into force of the TFEU introduces a specific legal basis (Article 118) for the creation of European Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Mindful of this, the Competitiveness Council has adopted Conclusions containing a package of measures, which together will form an Enhanced Patent System in Europe. These include: 

The EP’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI), is preparing an owninitiative report intended to prompt the Commission into proposing a legislative initiative amending the Rome II regulation (EC) No 864/2007, so as to cover the law applicable to noncontractual obligations arising out of violations of privacy and rights relating to personality. JURI held a hearing on the subject on 28 January 2010, at which a member of the Bar was invited to speak.

At the end of 2009 the JHA Council adopted a resolution setting out a “Roadmap” of 6 separate measures intended to protect the procedural rights of suspects and defendants in the criminal justice system. See: 

http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/09/st15/st15434.en09.pdf  The first of these measures, (A) on the right to translation and interpretation was the subject of a 2009 Commission proposal, but as it was not formally adopted by Council before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, it has lapsed. The other measures foreseen in the roadmap are:
B. Information about rights and about the charges;
C. Legal Aid and legal advice;
D. Communication with relatives, employers and consular authorities;
E. Special safeguards for vulnerable persons
F. A green paper on the right to review the grounds for detention. 

The Commission is now under pressure to issue a new proposal for measure A, as well as at least one of the others, during 2010. 

The Lisbon Treaty, signed by the Heads of State and Government in December 2007, entered into force on 1 December 2009. The term “Lisbon Treaty” is shorthand for two new treaties: 

At the end of 2009 the European Council adopted the Stockholm Programme, the EU’s 5-year Justice Liberty and Security work programme, to run from 2010 to 2014. http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/09/st17/st17024.en09.pdf 

The Commission will issue a detailed implementing Action Plan by mid-2010.