Fair Trials is an NGO which campaigns for fairness, equality and justice including the right to a fair trial in Europe, Latin America, the UK and the US. The site outlines Fair Trials’ campaigns which include protecting the rights of accused people, the right to counsel, use of pre-trial detention and safeguards for plea bargaining. Free resources on the site include publications, case studies, information, toolkits and legal news which can be searched by issue, region or country.
The European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA) is an independent organisation of specialist defence lawyers based in Council of Europe countries. The aim of the ECBA is to promote “the fundamental rights of persons under criminal investigation, suspects, accused and convicted persons”. Details of working groups covering e-evidence, human rights, extradition and European Arrest Warrant and anti-corruption in Europe are given on the site along with their working documents.
An NGO dedicated to advancing racial, social and economic justice by means of strategic litigation. The website has information about litigation projects, including a BIPOC climate justice initiative. There are details of the lawyers’ network, the Community of Practice, and a ‘Community Toolkit for Change’ is available, consisting of a glossary of legal terms, a guide to strategic litigation and a set of discussion points for community groups. The site also provides reports, recorded talks and a blog.
Search facility covering the national case databases of the EU member states that use ECLI references, plus cases from the Court of Justice of the EU. Searchable by member state, court, area of law and other criteria. Key word searches must, as a rule, use the language of the member state/s whose cases you want to find, however, a small proportion of the cases have been translated into other languages. The search engine is one of the tools offered by the European e-Justice Portal, an initiative of the European Commission and EU member states.
The Council of Europe’s HELP programme provides free online training for lawyers, prosecutors and the judiciary in the CoE member states, with the aim of enhancing the national implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights; it also provides training on the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and European Social Charter (‘HELP in the EU’), as well as carrying out work with academia (‘HELP in Universities’). The HELP website has an e-learning platform and a catalogue of courses.
This section of the Institute for Government (IfG) website provides information on a range of issues relating to Brexit including citizens’ rights, the European Court of Justice, the Customs Union, trade and immigration. There are papers that can be downloaded from the site on topics such as how the UK and the devolved governments should work together on leaving the EU, taking back control of trade policy, legislating Brexit and the challenges facing the civil service during Brexit. The site also has blogs written by IfG staff and gives details of events hosted by the Institute.
Website of the UK Law Societies’ Joint Brussels Office the body that represents UK solicitors with the European institutions. The Joint Brussels Office works with the Law Society of England and Wales, Law Society of Scotland and Law Society of Northern Ireland. They support solicitors by providing information on EU legislation and policies that are relevant to the profession, guidance on practicing in the EU and advice on the effects of Brexit on the legal profession.
