The European Court of Human Rights based in Strasbourg decided against the High Court of Germany, for it has committed unlawful retroactive implementation through an extension of preventive detention. A German 52-year-old prisoner complained about being castigated twice for the same criminal act; his complaint was followed by the ECHR – a compensation of 50.000 Euro was claimed for the plaintiff. (more…)

Climate change is a much discussed issue since years. With the Kyoto Protocol ending in 2012, the world needs a follow-up agreement. It entered into force on 16 February 2005 and is aimed at fighting global warming. The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). (more…)

The European Court of Human Rights came to the conclusion that German child custody laws discriminate against single fathers. Until now, unmarried fathers needed the consent of the mother to get partial or even full custody of their children. But the latest decision was in favor of  a 45-year-old German father from Cologne who was trying to get  custody of his 14-year-old daughter since years. (more…)

The Swiss referendum against the construction of new minarets caused a lot of criticism from all over Europe. Debates started, whether referendums are suitable to decide on difficult topics. Could highly complex questions be answered by direct democracy or would it be better to count on expert knowledge? Is the Swiss referendum representative for a European Union where the population seems to fear the expansion of muslim religion?

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