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1.    UK: Student protests
2.    Council of Europe: The role of judges in the enforcement of judicial decisions
3.    EU: ECCHR: Report: Blacklisted: Targeted sanctions, preemptive security and fundamental rights
4.    EU: ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS REGULATION: European Court of Justice: Case
5.    France: Statement by Collectif Liberté Egalité Justice : LOPPSI 2: not in our name!
6.    EU: MANDATORY DATA RETENTION
7.    EU: Joint Letter: NGOs’ perspective on the EU accession to the ECHR
8.    EU: Fundamental Rights Agency: proposal would extend the remit to cover polcing and criminal law
9.    EU: European Parliament: Question: “Radicalisation” and data collection
10.  EU: Issuing visas: Lists of the authorities
11.  UK: PEACE IN KURDISTAN CAMPAIGN: Kurdish community leaders questioned by MI5 officers
12.  EU Fundamental Rights Agency reports: Separated, asylum-seeking children
13.  UK: Citizens Advice Bureau report: Uncivil Recovery
14.  EU: Statewatch Analysis: Extending EU long-term resident status to refugees and persons with subsidiary protection status
15.  Norway/Italy: Wholesale seizure of activist e-communications service provider’s data
16.  EU: Statewatch Analysis: The new Directive on trafficking in persons
17.  EU: Council of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers (JHA Council)
18.  IRAQ-USA-GAO REPORT: Displaced Iraqis
19.  EU: EUROPEAN INVESTIGATION ORDER (EIO): Statewatch Analysis

1. UK: Student protester operated on after being ‘hit with police baton’ – Alfie Meadows, 20, treated for bleeding on the brain over incident at tuition fees demo which has been referred to IPCC (Guardian, link):
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/10/student-operation-tuition-fees-protest/print

and Police dragged me from wheelchair twice during protests, says demonstrator – A disabled protester is to lodge a complaint against the Metropolitan Police, claiming he was twice dragged out of his wheelchair by riot officers during last week’s chaotic protests against student fees (Sunday Telegraph, link):
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/10/student-operation-tuition-fees-protest/print

2. Council of Europe: The role of judges in the enforcement of judicial decisions (Press release):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/coe-judges-and-echr-prel.pdf

and Opinion: full-text: www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/coe-judges-and-echr-opinion.pdf

3.  EU: European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR): New ECCHR-Report – Blacklisted: Targeted sanctions, preemptive security and fundamental rights (Press release): www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-ecchr-blacklisted-prel.pdf

and Full-report: Full report (130 pages) written by Gavin Sullivan and Ben Hayes with a foreword by Martin Scheinin, the outgoing UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-ecchr-blacklisted-report.pdf

4.  EU: ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS REGULATION: European Court of Justice: Case T-452/09 before the General Court – ClientEarth v. Council of the European Union:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-council-ecj-case-ce-17586-10.pdf

This case taken by Client Earth concerns the refusal of access to the advice of the Council of the European Union’s Legal Service on the European Parliament’s amendments to the European Commission’s proposals to change the EU Regulation on access to documents (1049/2001) because it:

“failed to explain how full disclosure would damage the protection of legal advice, in particular in the light of the Turco judgment of the Court of Justice”

See Turco judgment full-text: www.statewatch.org/news/2008/jul/ecj-turco-case-judgment.pdf

“The Court takes the view that disclosure of documents containing the advice of an institution’s legal service on legal questions arising when legislative initiatives are being debated increases transparency and strengthens the democratic right of European citizens to scrutinise the information which has formed the basis of a legislative act.”

The released version of the Council’s Legal Service is massively censored containing no information on the issues: Opinion of the Legal Service (dated 17 February 2009):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-council-ls-access-reg-ep-position-pa-6865-09.pdf

However, the substantive point in the Council Legal Service’s Opinion was clearly stated in Council document no: 7791/09 (pdf).
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/may/eu-access-reg-council-table-7791-09.pdf

The Council Legal Service argued that the EP could amend the Commission proposals but could not introduce new amendments of its own – this rejecting 27 EP amendments. The Opinion of the Legal Service of the European Parliament’s (EP): Opinion on the EPs’ amendments (issued in 14 April 2009)
www.statewatch.org/news/2009/may/eu-access-reg-ep-ls-opinion.pdf

took on, and rejected, the arguments used by the Council Legal Service. Tony Bunyan, Statewatch Director, comments: “The opinion of the Council’s Legal Service was an “open” secret.”

5. France: Statement by Collectif Liberté Egalité Justice (CLEJ, Collective for Freedom, Equality and Justice): LOPPSI 2: not in our name!
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/02france-loppsi-2.htm

“In the name of the protection of the State against its “enemies”, measures that derogate common law are about to become the norm, surveillance and social control are extended,”

6.  EU: MANDATORY DATA RETENTION: Data Retention Directive evaluation: expect the unexpected? (Bits of Freedom, link):
https://www.bof.nl/2010/12/08/data-retention-directive-evaluation-expect-the-unexpected/

“The evaluation of the controversial Data Retention Directive takes an unexpected turn, for the worse. At a crucial one-day conference in Brussels, aimed at gathering input for the evaluation, long-term critic of the Directive Commissioner Malmström (Home Affairs) surprisingly announced that ‘data retention is here to stay’.”

Peter Hustinx, European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) said of the “notorious” Directive

“Let me underline this today: retaining communication and location data of all persons in the EU, whenever they use the telephone or the internet, constitutes a huge interference with the right to privacy of all citizens. The Directive is without doubt the most privacy invasive instrument ever adopted by the EU in terms of scale and the number of people it affects.”

– Commissioner Cecilia Malmström speech: Taking on the Data Retention Directive (3 December 2010):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-com-mallstrom-speech-mand-dret.pdf

– European Data Protection Supervisor: speech (3 December 2010):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-edps-dp-speech-3-dec-10.pdf

and Press release: www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-edps-dp-prel-3-dec-10.pdf

– Data retention conference, 3 December 2010: Discussion paper:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-mandatory-data-retention-discussion-paper-dec-10.pdf

– Note on the consultation meeting, 3 December 2010 :
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-mandatory-data-retention-meeting-note.pdf

– Directive on the retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks and amending Directive 2002/58/EC:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-mandatory-data-retention-directive-2006.pdf

See also Statewatch Observatory The surveillance of telecommunications in the EU on the controversial adoption of the Directive and what followed:
www.statewatch.org/eu-data-retention.htm

7.  EU: Joint Letter: NGOs’ perspective on the EU accession to the ECHR: The proposed co-respondent procedure and consultation with civil society signed by
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Liberty, Justice, International Commission of Jurists, European Human Rights Advocacy Centre, Aire Centre:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-ngo-joint-submission-eu-accession-echr.pdf

8.  EU: Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) : Commission proposal for a Council Decision amending Decision (2008/203/EC) of 28 February 2008 implementing Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 as regards the adoption of a Multi-annual Framework for the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for 2007-2012. At last this would extend the remit of the FRA to enable it to cover polcing and criminal law:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-com-708-10-fra-powers-crim-law-policing.pdf

9.  EU: European Parliament: Question to Council of the European Union: ‘Radicalisation’ and data collection from MEPs Sarah Ludford, Rui Tavares, Hélène Flautre:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/ep-radicalisation-question.pdf

See: Statewatch Analyses: Intensive surveillance of “violent radicalisation” extended to embrace suspected “radicals” from across the political spectrum Targets include: “Extreme right/left, Islamist, nationalist, anti-globalisation etc”:
www.statewatch.org/analyses/no-98-eu-surveillance-of-radicals.pdf

and Protests in the EU: “Troublemakers” and “travelling violent offenders [undefined] to be recorded on database and targeted:
www.statewatch.org/analyses/no-93-troublemakers-apr-10.pdf

10. EU: Issuing visas: Lists of the authorities and organisations to which the persons designated by the Member States to represent them belong (pdf).
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-com-comitology-visas-list-of-nat-authorities.pdf

11.  UK: PEACE IN KURDISTAN CAMPAIGN: Kurdish community leaders questioned by MI5 officers (Press release, pdf):
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/uk-kurdish-community-questionned-by-MI5.pdf

12.  EU Fundamental Rights Agency reports: Separated, asylum-seeking children in European Union Member States Comparative Report:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-fra-separated-asylum-seeking-children-in-EU.pdf

and Developing indicators for the protection, respect and promotion of the rights of the child in the European Union:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-fra-developing-indicators-for-rights-of-the-child-in-EU.pdf

13.  UK: Citizens Advice Bureau report: Uncivil Recovery: Major retailers’ use of threatened civil recovery against those accused of shoplifting or employee theft (link):
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/uncivil_recovery

See: Original CAB report: Unreasonable demands? Threatened civil recovery against those accused of shoplifting or employee theft (link):
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/campaigns/policy_campaign_publications/evidence_reports/er_employment/unreasonable_demands

see also Statewatch Analysis: UK: “Speculative invoicing” schemes target internet file-sharers and individuals accused of minor retail crime, by Max Rowlands:
database.statewatch.org/article.asp?aid=30000

14.  EU: Statewatch Analysis: Extending EU long-term resident status to refugees and persons with subsidiary protection status (pdf) by Steve Peers, Professor of Law, University of Essex:
www.statewatch.org/analyses/no-114-ltr.pdf

15.  Norway/Italy: Wholesale seizure of activist e-communications service provider’s data
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/01norway-italy-seizure.htm

On 6 November 2010, on request from the Italian police, the Norwegian police seized the data on the Norwegian servers of Autistici/Inventati (A/I) “a group of people who mantain and develop electronic communication services for individuals, associations, informal groups and movements and, among their particular aims, defend the freedom of expression and privacy” by confiscating and cloning the disks in its server. It hosts mailboxes and a number of activist discussion groups, providing encryption services.

16.  EU: Statewatch Analysis: The new Directive on trafficking in persons (pdf) by Steve Peers, Professor of Law, University of Essex.
www.statewatch.org/analyses/no-113-trafficking.pdf

“The European Parliament (EP) and the Council have agreed on the first substantive criminal law measure to be adopted by the EU after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty – a Directive on trafficking in persons. The following analysis examines the content of the new measure, the negotiations of the new measure, and the particular position of the UK, which has opted out of the negotiations but could opt in to the Directive at any time after its formal adoption.”

17. EU: Council of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers (JHA Council), 2-3 December 2010, Brussels: Press release, 2-3 December 2010:
www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-council-jha-press-release-2-3-dec-10.pdf

– B Points Agenda: www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-council-jha-b-point-agenda-2-3-dec-10.pdf
– A Points Agenda: non-legislative: www.statewatch.org/news/2010/dec/eu-council-jha-a-point-agenda-non-legislative-2-3-dec-10.pdf

18. IRAQ-USA-GAO REPORT: Displaced Iraqis: Integrated International Strategy Needed to Reintegrate Iraq’s Internally Displaced and Returning Refugees (link):
www.gao.gov/new.items/d11124.pdf

See also Statewatch Analysis: EU-IRAQ: The forgotten causalities of the war (pdf)
www.statewatch.org/analyses/no-81-eu-iraq.pdf

19. EU: EUROPEAN INVESTIGATION ORDER (EIO): Statewatch Analysis: Update The Proposed European Investigation Order (pdf) by Steve Peers, Professor of Law, University of Essex: www.statewatch.org/analyses/no-112-eu-eio-update.pdf

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