Annual Report chapters related to access to justice

This page lists all annual report chapters from 2010 onwards which are relevant for the theme 'Access to justice'.

Annual Report 2011

  • Chapter 8 - Access to efficient and independent justice (pdf 828KB)
    This chapter covers developments in the EU and its Member States related to core issues of access to justice in general as well as defence rights, but excludes victims’ rights, as they are dealt with in Chapter 9. Additionally, Chapter 10, on obligations of states under international human rights law, discusses the complaints mechanisms under various treaties, which enhance access to justice at the international level. Chapters 5 and 6, dealing with equality and non‑discrimination, offer supplementary overviews of equality bodies, which are relevant to understanding access to justice. The thematic Focus of this Annual report on the fundamental rights architecture of the EU is, likewise, closely connected to this chapter. The Focus illustrates the interrelatedness of the variety of bodies operating at national, EU, Council of Europe and UN levels and how this plays out in various areas, not the least in the area of access to justice.
     
  • Chapter 9 - Rights of crime victims (pdf 713KB)
    This chapter explores key changes in EU and Member State legislation, policies and practices in the area of the rights of victims of crime in 2011. The chapter will first look at developments concerning all crime victims and then turn to groups of victims of particular forms of crime, namely: domestic violence, trafficking and severe forms of labour exploitation and hate crime. For key developments in the area of rights of child victims, see Chapter 4 on ‘The rights of the child and protection of children’, specifically for key developments in the area of the rights of child victims.
     
  • Chapter 10 - International obligations (pdf 1,378KB)
    This chapter traces changes in the level of formal commitment to international human rights obligations of EU Member States and the candidate country Croatia that took place between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011. It thereby updates the information provided in FRA’s last annual report on fundamental rights challenges and achievements in 2010.

Annual Report 2010

  • Chapter 8 - Access to efficient and independent justice (pdf 356KB)
    This chapter covers developments in EU and Member State policies and practices for the year 2010 in the area of access to justice including criminal law and civil law, insofar as these fall within EU competence. In order to gain a comprehensive overview of this area, it should be read together with Chapter 9 on Protection of victims, which focuses on the rights of victims of crimes, Chapter 5 on equality and non-discrimination, and Chapter 6 on racism and ethnic discrimination, dealing with the questions of rights awareness and equality bodies which are also relevant to access to justice.
     
  • Chapter 9 - Protection of victims (pdf 477KB)
    This chapter covers developments in EU and Member State policies and practices in the area of the rights of victims of crime for the year 2010. In order to gain a comprehensive overview of this area it should be read together with
    Chapter 8 on Access to justice, which focuses on developmentsrelating to access to justice in criminal and civil law. The chapter will first outline general developments in legal standards at the EU and Council of Europe levels. It will then move on to discuss particular areas where notable developments occurred in 2010, namely: protection of victims, including compensation and access to information; violence against women; and data collection and evidence-based policymaking.
     
  • Chapter 10 - International obligations (pdf 624KB)
    The European Union (EU) is not a ‘self-contained regime’; it operates – just as its Member States do – in an international environment and it is bound by international obligations. The year 2010 marked the debut of the modern post-Lisbon Union on the international stage, as discussions at EU level paved the way for the EU’s accession to international human rights treaties. Since EU Member States are already bound by a variety of international human rights obligations, the spheres of international law and EU law stand in a communicative process of cross- fertilisation. Against this background, it is of relevance to observe the developments in 2010 with regard to EU Member States’ international obligations.