Topic 1

On March 6, 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its judgment in Slovak Republic v. Achmea BV,[1] concluding that the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)[2] precluded a provision in a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between two member states of the Europe Union (EU) authorizing investor-state arbitration.

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

European Union (EU) member states discover and report cross-border fraud worth thousands of millions of euros every year, including the loss of at least 50 billion in Value Added Tax (VAT).[1] However, national measures to fight large-scale transnational financial crimes remain limited and unable to effectively protect the EU budget.

With seventeen days of competition, 102 sporting events, 2925 athletes, and 92 nations represented, the XXIII Winter Olympic Games (OG) in PyeongChang, South Korea, were likely to involve disputes. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) established two special divisions designed to address Olympic competitions, following the practice of previous editions of the OG. The “Ad Hoc Division” addresses sport-related disputes while the “Anti-doping Division” (CAS ADD) adjudicates doping claims.

On June 3, 2015, Catherine Samba-Panza, the then transitional president of the Central African Republic (CAR), promulgated organic law 15/003 establishing the Special Criminal Court (SCC).[1] A hybrid tribunal integrated into the Central African justice system, the SCC will employ international and national staff and apply a mix of Central African and international law.

Introduction

The consequences of the referendum on independence, held in Catalonia on October 1, 2017, have given rise to a broad debate and are still to be assessed in their entirety. In fact, the vote was just the last of a decade-long series of moves by the Catalan government and parliament, and counter-moves on the Spanish side,[1] putting the Spanish democracy and all of its branches of government under stress as never before in its recent history.

In recent years a number of European countries have prohibited women from publicly wearing veils that cover their faces.[1] The European Court of Human Rights (the ECtHR or the Court) recently found that Belgium’s veil ban did not violate the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention).[2]