Author Archives: marcwillers

Which human rights would you discard?

Posted on March 4, 2013

As the late Lord Bingham said in 2009  (see link to his lecture): ‘The rights protected by the Convention and the Act deserve to be protected because they are, as I would suggest, the basic and fundamental rights which everyone … Continue reading →

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Landmark victory for Roma living in shanty town in Bulgaria

Posted on May 3, 2012

Chris Johnson, Community Law Partnership and Marc Willers of Garden Court Chambers Yordanova & ors v Bulgaria, European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), application no. 25446/06, 24th April 2012. Introduction In Yordanova the ECtHR found that the threatened forcible eviction … Continue reading →

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Fundamental Rights Platform 5th Annual Meeting, Vienna, 19-20 April 2012

Posted on April 19, 2012

I’m in Vienna today at the 5th annual meeting of the Fundamental Rights Platform (FRP) – a collective of over 350 Civil Society Organisations which work on a wide variety of fundamental rights issues across the European Union (EU).

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New Planning Policy on Site Provision for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople

Posted on April 11, 2012

On 25 March 2012 the government issued its new planning policy on the provision of caravan sites for Gypsies and Travellers: Planning policy for traveller sites (‘PPFTS’). The policy document replaces both Circular 1/2006 Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Caravan … Continue reading →

Posted in Gypsy and Traveller Law, Human Rights, News | 3 Comments

Legal Aid Bill Update

Posted on December 7, 2011

The Second Reading of the Bill in the House of Lords took place in the Lords on 21st November 2011. Most of the peers who spoke were opposed to the legal aid cuts in whole or in part.

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Access to Justice in Russia

Posted on June 13, 2011

I visited Piatisgorsk in the Stavropol Region of Russia this week in order to speak about Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights provision of legal aid to Chechen judges and lawyers. The Council of Europe and the … Continue reading →

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Roma rights conference

Posted on April 10, 2011

From Marc Willers in Budapest: I attended a conference today in the Roma district in a very sunny Budapest. The speakers came from all over Europe and gave accounts of the fantastic work their NGOs are doing to empower Roma … Continue reading →

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Roma rights in Hungary – International Roma Day 8th April.

Posted on April 7, 2011

From Marc Willers: I’m travelling to Hungary to attend conferences being held in Budapest on Roma Rights at a time which coincides with the International Roma Day on 8th April. Last night  I gave a presentation at the premises of … Continue reading →

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