Papers by Adrienne Komanovics
EU and comparative law issues and challenges series
Over the last decade, several new technologies have been adopted that enable more systematic surv... more Over the last decade, several new technologies have been adopted that enable more systematic surveillance of employees, creating significant challenges to privacy and data protection. The risks posed by the new devices and methods were exacerbated with the advent of Covid, with the involuntary introduction of digital tools to measure work output and efforts to get visibility back in the workplace through new means. Against this backdrop, the article aims to examine the main issues in workplace surveillance. After a brief overview of the range of surveillance methods, such as video surveillance, network and e-mail monitoring, and employee tracking softwares (the so-called “bossware”), as well as the challenges posed by the new technologies, the paper goes on to individually analyse the legal aspects of monitoring employees for security or performance-related reasons. The phenomenon is examined in light of relevant EU legislation (the General Data Protection Regulation of 2016 being t...
Faculty of Law, University of Pécs and Faculty of Law, J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, 2013
[Abstract] During the last decades, States no longer tend to invoke the principle of non-interfer... more [Abstract] During the last decades, States no longer tend to invoke the principle of non-interference when it comes to the scrutiny of their human rights record by peer review, reporting mechanisms or judicial procedures. Nevertheless, compliance with the recommendations or judgments of international human rights fora is a persistent concern in a number of States. Infringement proceedings was introduced in the Council of Europe only with Protocol 14 to the ECHR. While for quite a long time dormant, the procedure was invoked in December 2017 against Azerbaijan. This paper lays out the salient features of the procedure and explores whether non-execution could be effectively addressed by the judicialisation of the monitoring mechanism. Whereas the infringement procedure provides strong signals to other States with bad compliance record, it remains to be seen whether it will secure execution, due to the underlying political reasons of non-compliance[Resumen] Durante las últimas décadas, los Estados no han en invocar el principio de no interferencia cuando han sido escrutados acerca de la aplicación de los derechos humanos por mecanismos de supervisión o procedimientos judiciales. No obstante, el cumplimiento con las recomendaciones o foros judiciales internacionales de derechos humanos es una preocupación en un buen número de estados. Los procedimientos de infracción fueron introducidos en el Consejo de Europa en el Protocolo 14 por el ECHR. Tras un tiempo de inaplicación, el procedimiento fue invocado en diciembre de 2017 contra Azerbaijan. Este artículo da cuenta de las principales cuestiones de dicho procedimiento
EU and Comparative Law Issues and Challenges Series
After the introduction of the then Article F.1 TEU by the Amsterdam Treaty, later supplemented by... more After the introduction of the then Article F.1 TEU by the Amsterdam Treaty, later supplemented by the Nice Treaty, Hungary has earned the dubious reputation to be the first Member State against which an Article 7 TEU procedure has been triggered. While the predominantly political process is apparently stalled for the time being, the Court had to deal with various aspects of the deteriorating rule of law situation. Although forming part of an undeniably fragmented approach, the Court’s judgments nevertheless clearly attest the retrogressive developments in Hungary since 2010. The analysis of the Court’s jurisprudence is based on the qualitative measurement of the rule of law indicators drawn up by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe. The identification of the cases pertinent to our investigation presents a challenge by itself as there is no label attached to a case dossier titled “rule of law”. In addition, several relevant cases deal with issues which prima facie do not h...
In less than a decade, the size of the treaty body system has doubled without commensurate resour... more In less than a decade, the size of the treaty body system has doubled without commensurate resources. Such an unprecedented increase generated paralyzing backlogs of States parties' reports and individual communications. In addition, the proliferation of human rights treaties and monitoring bodies sometimes resulted in divergent interpretation. Thus, measures to enhance state compliance as well as to ensure coherence among the various provisions covering identical issues can no longer be delayed. In addressing these challenges, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights launched a project for strengthening the treaty bodies in 2012. She submitted a report setting out various recommendations. The key proposals of the report included establishing a comprehensive reporting calendar ensuring strict compliance with human rights treaties and equal treatment of all States parties. In addition, the report suggested the enhancement of visibility of processes, as well as a more careful sel...
Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law, 2013
Az allampolgarsagi ugyekben altalaban veve minden allam a sajat joga szerint hataroz. Mig korabba... more Az allampolgarsagi ugyekben altalaban veve minden allam a sajat joga szerint hataroz. Mig korabban az allamok a tobbes allampolgarsag eseteinek csokkentesere torekedtek, addig napjainkban a munkaeriaramlas es a vegyes hazassagok elire nem latott mertekő novekedese, valamint a kozep- es delkelet-europai allamok reszeril megnyilvanulo, a hatarokon tuli kisebbsegeikkel valo kapcsolat erisitesere iranyulo torekvesek a nemzeti allampolgarsagi rendszerek ujragondolasahoz vezettek. Ezek kovetkezteben a nyugati demokraciak egyre inkabb elfogadjak a tobbes allampolgarsagot. A tanulmany elsi resze e problemakor egyes aspektusait vizsgalja meg, egyreszt a magyar allampolgarsagi torveny legutobbi modositasan keresztul, amely allampolgarsagot biztosit a kulfoldon eli, magyar szarmazasu szemelyeknek, es ehhez immar nem koveteli meg a magyarorszagi megelhetest es lakast, masreszt a szlovak ellenlepesekre koncentral. A tanulmany bemutatja, hogy a nemzetkozi jog nem tiltja a tobbes allampolgarsagot,...
espanolEl Convenio del Consejo de Europa sobre el Acceso a los Documentos Oficiales (2009) es el ... more espanolEl Convenio del Consejo de Europa sobre el Acceso a los Documentos Oficiales (2009) es el primer instrumento legal internacional vinculante que reconoce un derecho general de acceso a documentos. Aunque hay algunos aspectos positivos, tales como la amplia definicion del alcance material, el grupo de beneficiarios generosamente estipulado, asi como la lista de exenciones, el Convenio muestra, sin embargo, varios defectos. El Convenio no incluye una clara garantia del derecho de acceso a documentos y la presuncion de franqueza. La escueta definicion de "autoridades publicas", la omision del establecimiento de unos marcos temporales claros, asi como la ausencia de limites sobre las reservas del Estado, socavan gravemente la eficacia del derecho a la informacion. Este articulo sostiene que se podrian haber adoptado unas disposiciones mucho mas progresivas, razonablemente sin el riesgo de una participacion limitada en el Convenio. EuskaraEuropako Kontseiluak Agiri Ofizia...
Komisija za ljudska prava, osnovana 1946. godine, odigrala je znacajnu ulogu u postavljanju stand... more Komisija za ljudska prava, osnovana 1946. godine, odigrala je znacajnu ulogu u postavljanju standarda i u nadzoru zastite ljudskih prava. Jednim od najvažnijih doprinosa Komisije u zastiti ljudskih prava smatraju se tzv. posebni postupci i mehanizmi za tužbe. Komisija je, međutim, s vremenom izgubila kredibilitet i legitimitet zbog politizacije, pada profesionalnosti, selektivnosti i dvostrukih standarda. Godine 2006. Vijece za ljudska prava zamijenilo je dotadasnju Komisiju, a njegovo osnivanje trebalo je oznaciti novi pocetak u zastiti ljudskih prava. Osim revidiranih postupaka 1235 i 1503, u njegov mandat usla je i inovativna Opca periodicna revizija kojom su obuhvacene sve države clanice Ujedinjenih naroda. Prvi revizijski krug, koji je obuhvatio i Hrvatsku i Mađarsku, zorno pokazuje u kojem smijeru napreduje rad Vijeca. Opca periodicna revizija nije se pokazala odvec rigoroznom tehnickom revizijom ljudskih prava, a sjednice su, nažalost, potvrdile i njenu politicku narav, kroz ...
Corvinus Journal of International Affairs
While transnational corporations and other business enterprises have the capacity to foster econo... more While transnational corporations and other business enterprises have the capacity to foster economic well-being, development, technological improvement and wealth, trade and investment agreements often lead to policies and governmental measures with a negative impact on the full enjoyment of human rights. In 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Council decided to establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, whose mandate is to elaborate a binding instrument of international law. The paper offers a discussion of the progress achieved on the topic so far by focusing on the key challenges: the added value of a specific treaty, personal scope, material scope, the State duty to protect human rights, the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, the need for greater access to remedy for victims of business-related abuses, etc.
Anuario da Facultade de Dereito da Universidade da Coruña
The fact that international law is characterized by the lack of unified system of sanctions and c... more The fact that international law is characterized by the lack of unified system of sanctions and central enforcement authorities certainly weakens the normative character of international human rights obligations as well. After a brief description of the theoretical and practical problems relating to compliance with international law, this paper focuses on the contemporary challenges the international human rights mechanisms are confronted with. It is argued that in spite of the lack of centralized enforcement, the last decades witnessed the intensification and diversification of compliance procedures. Nevertheless, the persistent gap between commitment and actual compliance calls into question the efficacy of international human rights bodies. The paper analyses the weaknesses of the execution of the decisions of human rights tribunals, notably at universal level and in the European regional system. It is argued that despite the efforts to strengthen international supervision, all international human rights tribunals rely on national implementation. Thus, compliance ultimately depends on the political will of the States. Despite the relative strength of the oversight mechanism in the field of human rights, compliance has remained a domestic issue.
Jado Boletin De La Academia Vasca De Derecho Zuzenbidearen Euskal Akademiaren Aldizkaria, 2010
The Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (2009) is the first binding inte... more The Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (2009) is the first binding international legal instrument to recognise a general right of access to documents. While there are several positive aspects, such as the broad definition of the material scope, the generously stipulated group of beneficiaries, as well as the list of exemptions, the Convention nevertheless displays several shortcomings. The Convention fails to include a clear guarantee of the right of access to documents and the presumption of openness. The narrow definition of "public authorities", the failure to set clear time frames, as well the absence of limits on State reservations seriously undermine the effectiveness of the right to information. The argument of this paper is that much more progressive provisions could have been adopted, arguably without the risk of limited participation in the Convention.
Anuario da Facultade de Dereito da Universidade da Coruña
During the last decades, States no longer tend to invoke the principle of non-interference when i... more During the last decades, States no longer tend to invoke the principle of non-interference when it comes to the scrutiny of their human rights record by peer review, reporting mechanisms or judicial procedures. Nevertheless, compliance with the recommendations or judgments of international human rights fora is a persistent concern in a number of States. Infringement proceedings was introduced in the Council of Europe only with Protocol 14 to the ECHR. While for quite a long time dormant, the procedure was invoked in December 2017 against Azerbaijan. This paper lays out the salient features of the procedure and explores whether non-execution could be effectively addressed by the judicialisation of the monitoring mechanism. Whereas the infringement procedure provides strong signals to other States with bad compliance record, it remains to be seen whether it will secure execution, due to the underlying political reasons of non-compliance.
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Papers by Adrienne Komanovics