The Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) brings together justice and interior ministers from the EU member states to make collective decisions on justice and home affairs policy; it is one of the configurations of the Council of the European Union. This page of the Council of the European Union's website introduces the JHA and provides links to information about important current policy areas. Dates of forthcoming meetings are also listed.
Website of the European Commission's Directorate-General for the Environment. The Directorate's main role is to develop and monitor the EU's environment policy. The Policies and Resources sections provide a large amount of information and documentation concerning the work of the D-G, in areas including climate change, land use, nature and biodiversity, sustainable development, waste and water. Materials provided include legislation, reports, conference papers, newsletters, speeches and statistics.
The website of the Hungarian Patent Office provides guidance and legal information on obtaining patents and trademarks in Hungary. Copies of Hungarian laws and regulations are provided online along with contact details of Hungarian patent agents. The site also includes information on plant variety protection, utility model protection, trademarks, designs and copyright issues in Hungary. The Hungarian Industrial Property Database, which has information on patents, utility models, trademarks and designs protected in Hungary, is free to search on the site.
Official website of the Italian Constitutional Court. This site includes information about the work of the court including brief biographical details of its President, Vice President and judges. A calendar of public hearings and closed sessions is given along with court pronouncements and summaries (in Italian only) of judgements back to 1956. Recent judgements (from 2006 onwards), felt to be of interest to foreign users, can be viewed in English in full text.
The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is a regional judicial tribunal established in 2001. It replaced the Privy Council as the final court of appeal for member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 2005. The court's website provides its judgments from 2005 onwards, together with legislation, court rules, papers and articles. There is also background information about the CCJ and its jurisdiction and its judges.
The Sentencing Council website provides information on the work of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales. This body "promotes greater consistency in sentencing, whilst maintaining the independence of the judiciary". There is information on sentencing guidelines, the Sentencing Code and how sentencing works. There is also guidance on going to court and the sentences handed down for common offences.
Website of the Attorney General of Brunei Darussalam, the principal legal advisor to the government. Provides background information on the role of the Attorney General and a list of all holders of the post back to 1959. Outline information on the divisions of the Attorney General's Chambers dealing with civil law, criminal law and legislative drafting is also given. Selected laws of Brunei are available on the site in PDF format.
Website of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is based at the Hague in the Netherlands. It role is to promote the rule of law and deal with the most serious international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The founding Rome Statute is available on the website, together with other basic legal texts, information about ongoing cases and annual reports. Background information about the Court is also provided, including details of its history, organisation and management. The site can be viewed in English or French.
Official website of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa. The site gives background and historical information about the court including brief details of judges and a collection of speeches delivered by the Chief Justice. Full text judgements of the Court are available online back to 1999. These can be browsed by date or name. The Court's bulletin gives information on judgements reserved, cases enrolled for hearing and appeals disposed of without written reasons.The Court roll, practice directions and a page of related web links are also provided.
Website of the Land and Property Services (formerly Land Registers of Northern Ireland) a government agency whose purpose is to "record accurate details of legal interest in land in Northern Ireland". The service is made up of three registries- the Statutory Charges Registry, the Land Registry and the Registry of Deeds. The site explains the land registration systems in Northern Ireland and how to carry out searches. There is a glossary of terms and a selection of FAQs.
