Miguel Blesa, the former chairman of Caja Madrid, the main savings bank in Spain’s largest nationalised banking operation, Bankia group, was taken into provisional custody on May 16 in Madrid.

Blesa is charged with “dishonest management, falsifying official documents, and misappropriation and abuse of corporate assets” in connection with Caja Madrid’s purchase of the City National Bank of Florida in 2008. According to El Periódico, the deal resulted in €500m of losses for Caja Madrid.

The judge took the view that the former banker represented a “flight risk” and ordered him to post bail of €2.5m if he wants to be released from custody.

“It is in the small Swiss town of Bellinzona on the Italian border that a trial will begin today [May 13] that could have historic implications for both the Czech Republic and Switzerland,” writes Hospodářské noviny.

Four executives (three Czechs and one Belgian) of the Czech mining company MUS are facing corruption and money laundering charges relating to the alleged misappropriation of corporate assets between 1997 and 2003, and the acquisition of 97 per cent of the company’s shares.

The trial, which is set to run for two months, has come at a time when Switzerland is eager to present itself as a more transparent country, remarks the business daily.

On May 8, the National Court of Spain rejected a request submitted by Bern to extradite Hervé Falciani with what amounts to a “very harsh ruling for Switzerland and the bank HSBC," notes El Mundo. The court took the view that none of the charges faced by Falciani, and in particular the theft of banking secrets and economic espionage, “were considered offences in Spain". The daily remarks that —

… the man who informed on tax evaders can continue touring countries concerned by the intricacies of the enormous quantities of data he amassed over several years he spent working as computer technician for HSBC in Geneva.

With regard to his next port of call, El Mundo points out that —

Falciani is now free to travel to the United States, which is ready to welcome him with open arms.

“Spain has proudly given the finger to Switzerland,” writes Libération, in a report that remarks on the poisonous impact that Falciani’s delivery of 130,000 HSBC records to French authorities has had on Franco-Swiss diplomatic relations.

Also in France, news website Mediapart notes that Falciani’s lawyer “is counting on the Spanish decision to encourage the European Union to assume its responsibilities”. Lawyer William Bourdon believes —

… it is a decision that looks to the future, which should pave the way for a common European legislation: that is to say a law which encourages and protects those who serve the general interest by disclosing secrets, and thereby reduce the capacity of banks to act as accomplices to tax evasion and havens for dirty money.

A court in Palma, Majorca, has provisionally dropped charges against Princess Cristina relating to her alleged complicity in a corruption case involving her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin.

The court ruled that arguments offered by the prosecution were "insufficient", but nonetheless recommended that it pursue further enquiries to clear up any "doubt or uncertainty" about the possibility of money laundering via the company, Aizoon, which is co-owned by the princess and her husband, who remains under investigation.

The trial of five members of the neo-Nazi terrorist group NSU, which began on May 6 in Munich, was adjourned when lawyers for the main defendant challenged the impartiality of the judge, who had ordered that representatives of the defence be searched before entering the courtroom. Hearings will resume on May 14.

At the opening of the trial, “alleged neo-Nazi terrorist Beate Zschäpe did not say anything,” recounts Tageszeitung. The newspaper continues —

She chewed gum and showed no sign of emotion when looking at victims families [...] When silence reigns, it is a moment for the interpretation of non-verbal signs. At first glance, Beate Zschäpe is a woman approaching her 40s, dressed in a navy jacket and white blouse [...] With her arms folded, she appears to be physically very tense, […] and also serious, discrete, conventional, […] and careful about her appearance. […] The facade representing normality is a role that Zschäpe knows how to play.

The German Constitutional Court decided on April 23 to impose a strict separation between the work of the police and intelligence services.

For the Karlsruhe based court, the exchange of data between the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, intelligence services, military counter-intelligence and the police amounts to —

a severe infringement of the rights of those concerned, which is why it can only be allowed in exceptional cases.

The judges did, however, authorise an “anti-terrorist” listing, while declaring another “secret service contact” listing unconstitutional. Initiated in 2006, the second database contains information on 18,000 potential terrorists, supplied by 38 intelligence services.

On the initiative of three MPs of Turkish origin, 55 members of the German federal parliament have demanded that the trial of five members of the far right terrorist group Nationalsozialistischer Untergrund, which will begin in Munich on April 17, be fully open to journalists who wish to attend.

Five people are to go on trial for race crimes including the murders of Greek and Turkish immigrants between 2000 and 2011 and a bomb attack which took place in Cologne in 2004. Large numbers of journalists, and in particular Turkish journalists, asked to attend the hearings, however, the Munich appeal court turned down their request arguing that there was insufficient room to accommodate them.

“It would be fatal to give the public and the international press, and especially the Turkish press, the impression that they are being excluded at a time [...] light is to shed on racist crimes,” point out the MPs who signed the request.

“The North Bohemia regional ‘boss’ Alexandr Novák was arrested yesterday after he avoided a prison term [for corruption]. The very same day police brought criminal charges against Roman Janoušek [for attempted murder following a car accident], and the court decided not to release [corrupt politician] David Rath from custody,” writes the daily.

Ex-senator Novák, sentenced to four years for corruption in 2010, was preparing to escape to the US, while Janoušek, a lobbyist known as the “Godfather of Prague business” will be prosecuted over a car accident that left a female motorist critically injured.

Rath, an incumbent Socialist MP, was arrested carrying a box filled with cash, which prosecutors claim was a bribe he received in exchange for allocating construction contracts.

According to a Europol report on organised crime, there are 3,600 gangs operating in the EU, and 70 per cent of these operate in multiple countries with members from across the world.

Among the gangs detected in Portugal, there are groups which have activities in more than 35 countries, indicating that they have "international criminal cooperation, mobility and range," the report adds.

“[The problem] of theft from the EU money box has become so acute,” Europe needs an institution to protect its financial interests, reports the Warsaw daily, which gives details of plans to establish a European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO).

Draft legislation to establish the EPPO is expected in June. According to a criminal law expert quoted by the newspaper, the new institution will pave the way for “more effective prosecution of cross-border crime.” However, it appears that the UK has yet to be convinced that the EPPO is truly necessary.

The owner of the detective agency Método 3, two former employees and its chief of operations have become the first arrested as part of an inquiry into wiretaps targeting Catalan public figures.

They are charged with discovery and disclosure of secrets linked to illegal wiretaps.

The ministry of interior is investigating if the minister himself, Jorge Fernández Díaz, was spied on by the network in a meeting with top police officers in Barcelona in 2012.

After Monte dei Paschi di Siena and ENI, another Italian economic heavyweight is rocked by a corruption scandal: Giuseppe Orsi, CEO of leading military contractor Finmeccanica, and Bruno Spagnolini, chairman of aviation firm AgustaWestland, have been arrested under suspicion of paying a €51m bribe to Indian authorities to secure the sale of military helicopters in 2010.

Orsi is also accused of trying to manipulate the investigation to avoid conviction.

"Gotcha," says Catalan daily El Periódico regarding several celebrities currently implicated in various corruption scandals. In the latest instalment on January 29, Carlos García Revenga, secretary to Princess Cristina, is suspected of being implicated in the "Urdangarin Affair."

Revenga was ordered to appear before a judge on February 23 with Iñaki Urdangarin, the princess' husband and son-in-law to King Juan Carlos. Urdangarin was ordered to pay an €8.1m bond. If he fails to pay, his home and belongings up to the value of €8.1m will be seized. These conditions also apply to Diego Torres, his partner in the Institue Noos, the firm suspected of being used to win public contracts that had not been offered for public tender.

"The political parties and the institutions are overwhelmed with corruption cases," warns El Periódico, noting that in Catalonia, elected officials from the (centre-right, Catalan nationalist) CiU and from the Catalan Socialist Party are accused of malfeasance and that Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's Popular Party is embarrassed by the 'Bárcenas' Affair, in which the former party treasurer is accused of corruption.

All of these scandals, says Enric Hernández, editorial director of El Periódico, could call into question the foundation of the political system –

Either through complicity or foolishness, politicians seem to not understand what is endangered. It is the survival of democracy and not their electoral expectations. And as long as they do not hurry to revive the political-financial system, populism is next in line to cash in on it.

This outcome is a direct threat to the premier institution in the country, the Crown, says daily El País. On the 45th birthday of Prince Felipe, the heir to the throne, the paper is calling for greater transparency regarding the public and private roles of the members of the royal family –

The Urdangarin case presents a genuine risk for the Crown's prestige, as is show by opinion polls. Steps must be taken towards financial transparency and establishing institutional rules for the Casa Real [the Royal Household, responsible for managing royal affairs]. A clear separation between the public functions of the royals and all other activities or private business would have avoided the confusion that now surrounds the secretary of the princesses [Cristina and Elena]. These institutional rules require that the heir also be considered. Felipe de Bourbon, who does not have his own properly defined status, continues [...] to prepare to play a key role in the institutional stability and balance of a country suffering from strong political and territorial tensions.

A shoot-out occurred in front of the Sofia Courthouse on January 29 between bodyguards protecting Zlatko Ivanov and a gunman who had set an ambush for the former special forces soldier. Ivanov, who is nicknamed "The Beret" and who police suspect may be a drug lord, survived the assassination attempt.

Bulgarian daily Standart is upset by the "spectacular and brazen" nature of the attempt. The shooting occurred on the day the justice and interior ministers, together with the attorney general, visited Brussels to discuss Bulgaria's progress in its fight against organised crime. Many see this as a show of force or even as a warning on the part of the mafia.

It took the Romanian state four years to recover € 550 000 from two police officers who could not justify how they came by such a sum. The daily reports that this is the first concrete victory won by state institutions in their battle to combat corruption in the civil service. However, it has come a full six years after the launch of the National Integrity Agency (ANI) and the opening of hundreds of investigations.

The news has made headlines on a day when the European Commission is expected to publish its latest report on justice systems and the drive to fight corruption in Romania and Bulgaria.

Former Austrian interior minister and MEP Ernst Strasser’s jailing for four years for corruption should be “proclaimed the length and breadth of the European Union” as a deterrent against graft, trumpeted the European Voice. The politician was caught by Sunday Times journalists posing as lobbyists, who offered him money in return for his political support. “Ernst Strasser's sentence highlights the EU's need for its own public prosecutor,” continues the weekly, praising the Austrian authorities for “swiftly and energetically” pursuing the case. The weekly adds –

It is hard to think of a similar instance of a national authority cracking down so heavily against corrupt behaviour in the corridors of the EU. Notwithstanding the Strasser conviction, which sadly is an exception rather than the norm, the EU still needs its own public prosecutor, with the authority to pursue cases anywhere in the EU, in defence of the EU's financial interests. The Lisbon Treaty gave the EU the possibility to establish such a European public prosecutor. It is high time that potential was realised.

“In the crosshairs of justice”, headlines Kleine Zeitung. On November 26, Ernst Strasser, former MEP and former Austrian interior minister, went on trial for corruption. During his tenure in Brussels, he was secretly filmed in 2011 by two journalists from The Sunday Times posing as lobbyists who discussed the fee Strasser would accept in exchange for trying to influence European Union legislation. The European Union deputy demanded €100,000 a year for his services. According to the Austrian prosecutor, the paper notes –

Money was more important to him than his integrity. Most of the 60 delegates approached by the two British journalists – all but Strasser, and two other MEPs, a Romanian and a Slovenian – withstood the temptation.

Strasser, however, protests his innocence. In talking about money with the journalists, his lawyer claims, he intended “to reveal a conspiracy against him, possibly by a secret service,” writes Die Presse, which calls the transcript of the conversations with Strasser published by The Sunday Times “impressive testimony to his arrogance, megalomania, haughtiness and unscrupulousness.” If convicted, Strasser faces up to 10 years in prison.

“You are a corrupt prime minister and a war profiteer”: quoting the judge presiding over his trial, Jutarnji List announces the conviction of Ivo Sanader, who received a ten year sentence for corruption. The Zagreb daily explains that the verdict against Sanader, Croatia’s prime minister from 2003 to 2009, has set –

… a historical precedent. The rule of law and the vox populi are finally in agreement. The verdict confirmed something that was common knowledge: that Croatia had a corrupt prime minister and corrupt authorities, which were willing to sell out vital state interests for a few million euros. [...] Sending Sanader to jail should mark the definitive end of the gangster government model. [...] It is good news for Croatia’s image in the world, [because] the drive to combat corruption was one of the main conditions imposed on Croatia in the process of its accession to the EU.

The disgraced former head of state will leave behind a somewhat paradoxical legacy, adds Jutarnji List –

He cleaned up the HDZ [the Croatian Democratic Union which ruled the country in the wake of independence in 1991], getting rid of the hard right. He rebuilt bridges with Serbian minority and gave the impression of being a cultivated statesman (speaking fluent English, German, Italian and French), who knew what he wanted. He opened doors to EU accession negotiations with his determination to give full cooperation to the tribunal in The Hague, which included handing over General Gotovina who was on the run [His arrest was one of the conditions of the EU accession negotiations. However, Gotovina was finally acquitted on 16 November].

Sanader was found guilty of receiving 10 millions euros from the Hungarian energy consortium MOL, and 500,000 euros from the Austrian bank, Hypo Group Alpe Adria. “The long fall of Ivo Sanader” culminated with the first ever corruption conviction against a former European prime minister, remarks Die Presse. The Viennese daily looks back on the many scandals involving Hypo Group Alpe Adria, which was very present in the Balkans in the 1990s before being nationalised when the financial crisis erupted in 2008, and notes that the implications of the affair go beyond the borders of Croatia –

Sanader played a key role, but he was not the only one. In comparison to the sums that disappeared after the nationalisation of the bank, the kickbacks received by Sanader amounted to peanuts. [...] For Croatian journalist Predrad Lucić, there should be a slew of convictions: “from Munich to Thessaloniki. Everyone is delighted to have found a scapegoat in Sanader.

“Europe supports Spanish judges in their move to halt evictions,” leads El Economista following the publication by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) of the findings of one of its Advocates General on a case brought by a court in Barcelona.

The case concerns a client of the Spanish bank Caixa Catalunya who saw his housing repossessed by the latter because he could no longer pay his mortgage, the newspaper writes. According to the newspaper, the Advocate General, Juliane Kokott, believes that the Spanish law on mortgages – which dates back to 1909 – is “incompatible” with EU law because it does not sufficiently protect consumers from banks.

In particular, it is almost impossible for those consumers to ask the EU judge examining the foreclosures to rule on the “abusive character” of the national clauses that provide for the foreclosures. Since 2007, nearly 400,000 such evictions have taken place in Spain.

The ECJ's is expected to hand down its verdict early next year. In the meantime, the findings of Kokott furnish a weighty argument for those proposing that the law be reformed, starting with the group of Spanish judges that have become highly mobilised around the issue, writes El Economista –

Normally the Court follows the criteria of the Advocate General in almost all cases, and so the final decision could give the Spanish judges another tool to stop the evictions.

The verdict eagerly awaited by the people of Norway finally came at around 10am on August 24. Anders Behring Breivk is to serve 21 years in prison for the Oslo bomb attack on July 22, 2011, which left eight dead, and the mass killing of 69 young labour supporters on the island of Utøya on the same day. The judges in the Oslo court took the view that the extreme right terrorist was mentally responsible, thereby ruling out the possibility that he would be sent to a psychiatric hospital. Breivik’s defence team announced that he would not submit an appeal.

This was the outcome demanded by Norwegian public opinion, a fact reflected by the coverage of the verdict in the Norwegian press –

It is easier to accept an outcome in which the perpetrator will have to serve a sentence and not just undergo medical treatment. We should not treat terrorists as though they were minors

remarked the daily Dagbladet. This view was also shared by the tabloid VG, which expressed relief that Norway’s justice system had to some extent been able to compensate for the country’s government and police, which were both criticised in an independent report on the July 22 killings for their failure to adequately protect citizens against the danger of terrorist attack –

After all of the things that were done wrong, it is heartening to hear that Anders Behring Breivik has been sentenced to 21 years in prison.

The decision by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa to grant political asylum to Assange has aroused strong reactions in the Swedish and British press. The UK is committed to extradite the founder of WikiLeaks to Sweden, where he is suspected of rape and sexual assault. Assange has been taking refuge in the South American country's London embassy since June 19 to avoid being extradited, having exhausted all avenues of appeal to escape the warrant issued by Stockholm in 2010.

The Times describes the offer of political asylum in Ecuador as “hypocritical”, given the treatment of journalists in Ecuador, while suggesting that the notion of revoking the diplomatic status of the embassy “would not be a proportionate way of dealing" with Assange.

For the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter as well, it's a shame that Assange, champion of transparency, is finding refuge in a country where press freedom is threatened –

According to the most recent report on press freedom published by Freedom House, Ecuador suffers from a 'culture of intimidation of journalists, which is partly the result of Correa's animosity towards the media'.

“Justice must take its course”, states Dagens Nyheter, which lambasts the claim that the Swedish court would not guarantee Assange's right to a fair trial. The Swedish daily believes that –

The very negative image of Swedish justice that has been broadcast around the whole world has no merit. Sweden is a constitutional state and the investigation of Assange is following this principle.

The newspaper concedes, however, that the Swedish government's representatives “could have acted more thoughtfully.” The Minister of Social Affairs, for example, has called Assange a “kräk” (worm).

Meanwhile, notes Dagens Nyheter –

In practice, Assange is likely to stay put at the embassy, which means that justice is being prevented from running its course and the rights of the two women are being sidelined.

"The [ruling coalition] USL's attack on the rule of law is steering us away from Schengen," argues daily Rom�nia Liberă. The paper blames the USL for the severity of the European Commission's report regarding the country's current deficit in justice and in democracy. This "failure" is the result of a rapid escalation of events based on –

As for daily Adevărul, it notes that the European Commission report comes within the framework of the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification (MCV) "outlining the conditions under which our entry into the EU and that of Bulgaria was agreed to in 2007." It further notes that the tone of the report is worrisome –

In a leader article, the Bucharest daily stresses that the continuous progress made over the past few years was destroyed in just a few days and blames Prime Minister Victor Ponta, interim President Crin Antonescu and media mogul Dan Voiculescu –

As for Bulgarian daily Sega, it notes that "the European Union's devastating report did not prevent [Interior Minister Tsvetan] Tsvetanov from swaggering." A few hours before the report was published, speaking in Parliament, Tsvetanov made a "desperate attempt" to attenuate the criticism from Brussels –

Faced with what many consider as "the worse report since the country's entry in 2007," some, like the daily Standart, look for the silver lining –

A member of the centre-right GERB party of Prime Minister Bojko Borisov, Euro MP Andre� Kovatchev for his part sees "good news" in the fact that Bulgaria and Romania are now treated in separate reports. In fact, the unprecedented criticism levelled at Romania is keeping Bulgarian commentators busy wondering about this reversal in situations. Previously, Bulgaria was always lagging behind Romania. But for another daily, Troud –

"A predictable verdict: no lustration in Romania," headlines Bucharest daily România Liberă, following a decision by the Constitutional Court, which, for the second time, ruled that the law is unconstitutional. The bill would temporarily restrict the access to civil service jobs by high-level officials of the former Communist regime.

First declared unconstitutional in 2010, the law was revised in February 2012 at the request of the ruling Democrat-Liberal Party. The proposed bill was then approved by parliament.

"Demanded insistantly by civil society, supported by politicians in election campaigns, the law now risks being buried for good," regrets România Liberă. This is not surprising, because in its new incarnation the law included former prosecutors. "With, among them, perhaps some judges on the constitutional court," the paper suggests.

On 12 March, the European Commission presented a proposal for new rules to reinforce the fight against organised crime, which notably include simplified procedures for the confiscation and freezing of assets linked to criminal activities in member states. If the proposal is approved, assets belonging to criminals could be frozen before they are tried and national authorities will be able to investigate assets belonging to criminals who are already serving sentences in prison. Finally, national authorities will have the right to take charge of assets belonging to criminals who are deceased, on the run or infirm.

Although it welcomes the proposal presented by Home Affairs Commissioner, Cécilia Malmström, Dagens Nyheter warns that there is a risk that it will undermine individual rights –

If authorities believe that a person has transferred money to his or her spouse or children, it will be possible to freeze the assets of the relatives concerned. What exactly the proposal intends in such cases is not clear and there is a risk that it could be used against innocent people. [...] Errors will certainly occur in member states. And who will defend the rights of those affected?

Dagens Nyheter expresses its concern that the EU judicial system which is currently being created could be “heavily weighted in favour of police and prosecutors”.

The former star judge was convicted of ordering illegal wiretaps as part of the investigation into the “Gürtel” corruption case implicating officials of the Popular Party (PP, in the government) in the Valencia region. The conviction, in fact, ends the career of the man who had become famous for arresting the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

The conviction also divides the Spanish press.

“The Supreme Court finishes with Garz�n,” leads the centre-left newspaper El Pa�s on its front page. Challenging the decision, the paper writes that its purpose was to

For its part, El �Mundo points out the unanimity of the Supreme Court judges’ decision, which in its view is “very important, because it confirms that there were no ideological divides, but a shared legal criterion, which is reflected in the decision.” The conservative daily goes on to criticise Garz�n for publishing a statement in which he called the decision “unjust and predetermined“:

The opinion is shared by another conservative daily, ABC: �

P�blico, finally, concludes on its front page that Garz�n has been “executed”. The daily sums up the split in opinion in a single sentence:

"Give and take: the corrupt republic," headlines Die Presse in its report on "the wave of corruption scandals that has rocked the country." According to an OECD specialist quoted by the conservative newspaper, Austria is a "haven for corruption" that "the courts are no longer able" to keep in check. The daily details "the wave of scandals" that has swept the country in recent years: three ministers, a member of the Telekom board of directors, the wife of the railway services CEO, a trader working for BAWAG (the trade union federation bank) have been implicated in a range of shady deals. Die Presse regrets that they are unlikely to face court action for their involvement.

"DSK case dismissed," headlines Aujourd'hui, following news that the New York State district attorney, Cyrus Vance, has informed Nafissatou Diallo "that charges against her alleged aggressor," Dominique Strauss-Kahn, “are to be dropped.” The former managing director of the IMF had been accused of attacking Diallo, who worked as a chamber maid, in a New York hotel on 14 May.  

"Doubts about the credibility of Nafissatou Diallo’s testimony left Vance with little hope of obtaining a unanimous verdict from a 12-member jury were the case to go ahead," explains the daily, which points out that the attorney’s discovery of "lies" told by the plaintiff had already resulted in DSK being granted bail on 1st July. Following a hearing scheduled for 23 August, which is expected to rubber stamp the state attorney’s decision, Strauss-Kahn "will be free to leave America immediately." However, that is not to say that he has been proved innocent. As the daily notes, "the termination of the criminal prosecution will not mark the end of the affair in the US, where it is expected to be followed by a civil case."

“Changes have had no impact,” headlines Dnevnik. Once again, the European Commission’s annual report on progress in judicial reform, and the fight against corruption and organised crime has criticised inefficient legislation and the poor functioning of the country’s justice system. “The problem for Bulgaria is that several of the recommendations have already featured in previous Commission reports,” notes the daily, which highlights “the importance of this report for Bulgaria, because certain countries have announced that the Commission’s conclusions [will play] a decisive role in the vote on Bulgaria’s application to join Schengen.”

There is a chill in relations between Vilnius and Vienna. “Lithuania demands a sentence,” says Lithuanian daily Vilniaus diena concerning Mikhail Golovatov, a former KGB officer arrested in Vienna on July 15 and released the following day. Austria considers that the European arrest warrant issued by Lithuania last October is not sufficiently specific. Golovatov is seen by some as responsible for the January 13, 1991 attack on Lithuania’s television tower by special forces during the country’s struggle for independence from Soviet control. The attack left 14 dead and thousands of wounded. Vilnius has recalled its ambassador from Austria and the Foreign Affairs Ministry was ordered to inform its European collegues of “this unprecedented decision,” reveals Vilniaus diena. In a declaration picked up by the paper, Lithuanian MPs note that “releasing a person capable of having committed acts of war is an affront to the fundamental values of the European Union”. According to Vilniaus diena, Vienna caved in to pressure from Moscow.

“The Court [of Appeal of The Hague] has handed down a historic decision” and has left “the state in disarray” by finding it responsible for the deaths of three Bosnian men during the Srebrenica massacre in 1995, leads Trouw. From 1992 to 1995 Dutch peacekeepers (Dutchbat) were responsible under a UN mandate for the security of the Srebrenica enclave in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was overrun on July 11, 1995 by Serbian troops commanded by Ratko Mladic. These troops then deported and massacred an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 Muslim men. The Dutch peacekeepers had refused to shelter the three men, who were familiar with the Dutch base. According to the court in The Hague, the Dutch “were aware” that “the fate of these three Muslims might turn out very badly.”

In its ruling, the court in The Hague stated that the sentence could not automatically be applied to other lawsuits pending against the Dutch state in the Srebrenica massacre, such as the proceedings brought by the 6000 “Mothers of Srebrenica”. According to the Amsterdam daily, the government, traumatised by the matter, has remained “remarkably silent” following the ruling. “Up until yesterday, the legacy of Srebrenica had focused on the former commander of the Bosnian-Serb army, Ratko Mladic, who is defending himself before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia”, also located in The Hague.

"DSK back" is Libération's headline. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the IMF, was freed on July 1 after doubts came to light over the testimony of the woman who accused him of sexual assault in New York. He is now at the centre of renewed political speculation in France. Even though charges against Strauss-Kahn have not been dismissed, this development "is another upset for the Socialist Party primary", as the deadline for nominations to choose a presidential candidate for 2012 is July 13. There's been much talk of Strauss-Kahn running if he is found innocent, but for now, says Libération, "his team doesn't even want to think about it. They say that judicial procedure must be followed 'all the way'".

While they wait, French commentators are focusing their attention on the American judicial system. Le Monde castigates a "shocking" system in which "the prosecutor is elected, and gambles his re-election on results", criticising the way that "the American media-justice machine has run away with itself, at a time when it most needed to prove its slowness and prudence". By contrast, Libération praises the speed of the American system: "Once part of the accusation had collapsed, the US courts drew their conclusions with astonishing and admirable swiftness. There is a lesson here: that though justice systems are by nature fallible, they prove themselves by their capacity to question and to admit when they are wrong."

"Mladić transferred to The Hague," headlines Nezavisne Novine, following the extradition of the Bosnian-Serb former military leader from Belgrade to the Netherlands. According to the daily based in the Bosnia-Herzegovina Serbian entity, Republika Srpska, Mladić will now face charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. "In deciding to authorise the transfer, Serbia has fulfilled its international and moral obligations. This is a message of reconciliation for the region," points out Snezana Malovic, the Serbian Minister for Justice, quoted by the newspaper. Close to 10,000 people demonstrated their support for Mladić in the streets of Banja Luka, the capital of Republika Srpska. Events took a rapid turn, following the 31 May rejection of an appeal filed with the High Court in Belgrade. Before being transferred to The Hague, the former military leader was allowed to visit his daughter's grave in a Belgrade cemetery. Ana Mladić committed suicide in 1994.

A year and a half after the start of the trial of John Demjanjuk in Munich, the former guard at the Sobibor concentration camp (Poland) has been sentenced to five years in prison for "complicity in the death of 28,000 Jews" – a "jugdement of Solomon" argues Trouw. The Amsterdam daily points out that the verdict "is close to the demand made by Jules Schelvis, one of the camp’s survivors [and a plaintiff in the case]” in his final plea in the Munich court room: “Sentence him but do not punish him, this man is too old." While awaiting his appeal, "Demjanjuk has been released in view of his advanced age [he is 91 years old] and his delicate health."

Seldom has the Süddeutsche Zeitung welcomed with such enthusiasm a decision by the German Constitutional Court: "Security retention is unconstitutional," exults the Munich daily. On May 4, the judges terminated “by a landmark decision" the doctrine of "confinement – and for ever" of prisoners considered dangerous even after they have served their sentences. This doctrine, in force for ten years, has brought a lot of criticism down on Germany from the European Court of Human Rights. The Constitutional Court has now formulated a new approach to detention, one which obliges the state to take all possible measures from the commencement of detention to reintegrate inmates into society (taking into account vocational training, family contacts, psycho-social therapy). “One rarely meets with such a detailed decision from Karlsruhe [seat of the Constitutional Court], with such sharp suspicion of law-makers, with such precise balancing between freedom and security,” writes the paper. The court, the paper concludes, “rejected the idea that judicial policy can be made up of tavern talk."

The "European Court of Justice rules that illegal immigration is not a crime," headlines La Repubblica. In its judgement on an appeal filed by Algerian Hassan El Dridi, the court ruled that a law introduced by the Italian government in 2009, which allows illegal immigrants to be sentenced to up to four years in prison if they refuse to leave the country, does not comply with European legislation. In particular, explains the Roman daily, it fails to respect the terms of the 2008 directive, which aims to establish “an effective removal and repatriation policy, based on common standards, for persons to be returned in a humane manner and with full respect for their fundamental rights and dignity." In response, the Italian Minister of the Interior said "there are other European countries that have made illegal immigration a crime and have not been censured for this.” He also argued that the judgement will undermine the fight against illegal immigration, which "is not just a problem for Italy, but for all of Europe." 

Baltazar Garzón “will be tried for the 'Gürtel affair' before the corruption trials themselves,” leads the Spanish daily El País, following the decision by the Spanish Supreme Court to proceed against the former judge heading the anti-corruption inquiries. Garzón is accused of “prevarication” (abuse of power) and of having used “illegal methods” in his investigation into the “Gürtel” affair, a political and financial scandal involving officials of the Popular Party (PP – right-wing opposition). These methods include wiretapping conversations between some defendants and their lawyers, in violation of their rights. The decision of the court is “most opportune” for the President of the Valencia region, Francisco Camps (PP), whose trial is to commence in the coming weeks, and just a few weeks before the municipal elections of May 22, El País notes. The conservative El Mundo, which accuses Garzón of having shown a “total disregard for the law to achieve his goals throughout his career,” points out that “Garzón the cheater endangers the Gürtel investigation itself”: “through his lack of scruples, he has opened up a legal avenue of escape that may let the accused evade justice."

With a large bandage on his face following surgery to his jaw, the head of the Italian government Silvio Berlusconi has, in a “resumption of hostilites”, has presented a reform of the justice system, announces La Stampa. The bill, which notably foresees separating the careers of judges and prosecutors, eliminating the right of prosectors to appeal not-guilty verdicts, allowing aggrieved litigants to bring suits against judges and granting the power to discipline magistrates to an outside body, is being challenged by the vast majority of judges. The judges, according to the Turin daily, believe the reform aims at "undermining the autonomy and independence of the judiciary." For La Stampa, what’s at issue here is the “revenge of the political class against the judiciary." The newspaper also described as "symbolic" the decision to "initiate a major change in the justice system [...] just as Berlusconi is about to face a series of hearings in high-profile trials." The "Rubygate" trial, in which Berlusconi stands accused of prostitution of a minor and abuse of power, should begin on April 6, reports La Stampa.

“Lukashenko: the dictator in the dock,” headlines the Independent, leading for the second day running on the Belarus strongman. With hundreds known to have been jailed and tortured after he ordered a brutal police crackdown against an opposition demonstration on 19 December, British human rights firm H20 Law says it intends to bring both a private prosecution and civil action against Alexander Lukashenko. “The firm represents Free Belarus Now,” the London daily explains, “a pressure group set up by the families of opposition politicians, campaigners and journalists who have been arrested in the crackdown. […] Lawyers hope that a private prosecution could eventually result in an arrest warrant being issued for him or his associates.” Human rights investigators have interviewed hundreds of activists arrested after last December's disputed presidential elections. They have found “that torture, beatings and inhumane prison conditions are commonplace.

Bucharest has decided to fall into step behind the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). On 23 February, the Romanian parliament adopted a law which will "oblige the government to respect human rights," reports Jurnalul National. From now on, all new legislation will have to be accompanied by a study to evaluate its impact on fundamental rights as stipulated by the European Convention on Human Rights. The government will also be forced to comply with the recommendations and decisions of the ECHR within a time frame of three months, which will also make the court’s jurisprudence obligatory. According to a current report produced by the Strasbourg court and quoted by the Romanian media, Romania was guilty of 139 breaches of European human rights legislation in 2009. Between 1998 and 2009, the country was fined 31 million euros for failing to safeguard human rights.

“Day we stood up to Europe,” headlines the Daily Mail, after British MPs “defied” a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that prisoners be granted the right to vote. In what the resolutely Eurosceptic daily terms “six hours of impassioned debate” MPs voted by 234 to 22 not to relax a 140 year ban on convicts taking part in elections, “because those who commit a crime have broken their contract with society”. In 2004, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the British ban was discriminatory, after a legal challenge by John Hirst, convicted for axing his landlady to death in 1979. “The decisive stance plunged Parliament into an unprecedented stand-off against the ECHR,” the London daily notes, before adding – "Britain's Parliament, for too long supine in the face of the erosion of its powers and prerogatives by European institutions, has finally struck back."

"The judges’ revolt spreads across France," leads Le Monde on the eve of an unprecedented national mobilisation. About fifty out of 179 High Courts have in effect decided to suspend court proceedings – judges have no right to strike in France – on Thursday, February 10, the Paris daily reports. The rumble from the judiciary has been provoked by remarks made by the head of state following the murder in early February of an eighteen-year-old girl by a serial rapist. Nicolas Sarkozy labelled the handling of the case an “error" (the suspect should have been monitored by parole and probation officers following his release from prison). The judges have since mobilised to denounce the unfounded accusations levelled at them and the lack of resources allocated to the French justice system.

"The judge: murderers have rights too." The German Constitutional Court has begun to assess complaints filed by four inmates remaining in secure detention even though they have already served their sentences. The Tageszeitung has published an interview with a former German judge of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in which he says that the ECHR has already asked Germany to release a hundred detainees who remain in prison, despite having seen out their sentences, because of the alleged threat they pose. According to the Court, German law that establishes the retroactivity of security detention is unlawful. “What’s at stake is respect for the Convention on Human Rights in Germany", warns the paper. The Karlsruhe court will deliver its ruling in a few months.

“Videoconferencing with hooligans 2012”, leads Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, referring to a new bill drawn up by the Ministry of Justice ahead of the Euro 2012 football tournament in Poland and Ukraine. The proposed law provides for fast-track “video trials” of football hooligans caught “red-handed”. For offences like fighting, setting off firecrackers or carrying dangerous objects, they will be detained at the venue to await trial, which will place in a special room connected with the court via high-speed internet, a solution aimed at speeding up the procedure, which could thus be completed within 48 hours. Some lawyers, however, believe such video trials may violate the defendant’s right to legal representation. “A football stadium is a place for sports, the meting out of justice should be reserved to courts”, an unnamed attorney told the Warsaw daily.

“The European Commission, presided over by José Manuel Barroso, must decide if it wants to launch an investigation against the former [Portuguese] government of its president,” notes the Portuguese daily, i. Barroso, who was the Portuguese prime minister from 2002 to 2004, is the target of an inquiry request filed December 20 by the Socialist member of the European Parliament, Ana Gomes, the paper explains. Gomez is alleging corruption, fraud, violation of internal market regulations and misuse of public funds concerning Portugal’s purchase of two submarines from the German Submarine Consortium in 2004. She is asking for the Commission to cancel the contract despite the fact that, according to the terms of the contract, the Portuguese state gave up the right to sue in case of a dispute.