Judicial system

Iran

Iran executes aerospace engineer for alleged CIA and Mossad espionage

Iran has executed a 29-year-old aerospace engineer Erfan Shakourzadeh on Monday for alleged spying, despite his claims of torture and coerced confession, according to his note from prison.

11/05/2026

Iran

Tehran regime executes three protesters, one 'without evidence'

Iran’s judiciary says three protesters detained over the January unrest in the city of Mashhad have been hanged, as rights groups report four murder convicts were executed in a unrelated case in Isfahan.

04/05/2026

Kazakhstan

Can AI systems replace human judges and lawyers?

Can AI make fundamentally ethical decisions? If it delivers an unlawful verdict, who will be punished? In the pursuit of efficiency and speed, can we trust people's fates to artificial intelligence?

14/04/2026

Iran

Swiss national commits suicide in Iranian prison, officials say

According to local reports, prison officials stepped in to rescue the Swiss national at the Semnan prison, some 180 kilometres (110 miles) east of Tehran. But their efforts were in vain.

09/01/2025

Europe

Breaking down the €137 billion that Brussels has unfrozen for Poland

The European Commission approved on Thursday the release of up to €137 billion in funds for Poland that had been frozen over rule-of-law concerns. Here's what the big number means – and hides.

29/02/2024

Europe News

Hungary to get €920 million in EU recovery funds without conditions

The European Commission approved on Thursday the revised version of Hungary’s recovery and resilience plan, a decision that foresees the release of €920 million without strings attached.

23/11/2023

Poland

Poland passes new law to appease EU and release funding

Brussels has suspended billions of euros in aid for Poland, criticising the government's control over the judiciary.

13/01/2023

Europe News

Brussels ends 15 years of special rule-of-law surveillance on Romania

The European Commission concluded Romania had made enough progress on anti-corruption legislation and judicial reforms.

23/11/2022

Europe News

EU Council sued for approving Poland's €35-billion COVID recovery fund

It is claimed the agreement between Brussels and Warsaw fails to restore judicial independence in Poland.

29/08/2022

Europe News

Judicial independence is a concern in some EU countries, says Brussels

The European Commission again highlighted Poland and Hungary as being of particular concern.

20/07/2021

Poland

Euroviews. The day justice was finally served in Poland for vindicated anti-fascist campaigners ǀ View

A judge has ruled in the favour of the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly after a group of women protesting fascism at an Independence Day march in Poland were beaten - and themselves charged instead of their attackers.

29/10/2019

United Kingdom

Euroviews. Zamira Hajiyeva’s case shows the damage that can be done when English courts are at odds ǀ View

How does the English judicial system permit, on the one hand, an English so-called ‘McMafia’ order [...] to be made against Azerbaijani national, Zamira Hajiyeva, forcing her to reveal her wealth and how it was obtained, yet, on the other hand, deny Azerbaijan’s request for her extradition.

04/10/2019

Romania

Romania's top court strikes down changes to criminal code

Monday's ruling comes at a sensitive time, amid public outrage over the slow response of authorities to the abduction and murder of two teenage girls.

30/07/2019

Europe News

Brussels unveils new measures to fight rule of law backsliding

Over the past two years, the EU has threatened legal steps against Romania and launched Article 7 procedures — dubbed the "nuclear option" — against Poland and Hungary over reforms to their judiciary systems.

18/07/2019

Poland

Euroviews. When Polish judges become human rights defenders ǀ View

In a significant move today, the European Commission launched an infringement procedure to protect judges in Poland from political control. [...] By failing to protect judges from political interference, the country’s disciplinary regime [...] threatens the functioning of the EU as a whole.

04/04/2019

Poland

EU moves to sanction Poland over law targeting judges

"The new disciplinary regime undermines the judicial independence of Polish judges," the EU Commission's First Vice-President, Frans Timmermans, said.

04/04/2019