II European Union
| Date | 01 June 2007 |
| DOI | 10.1177/016934410702500207 |
| Published date | 01 June 2007 |
| Author | Mielle Bulterman |
| Subject Matter | Part B: Human Rights News |
Netherlands Q uarterly of Human R ights, Vol. 25/2 (2007) 307
II EUROPEAN UNION
M B
1. THE EU FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AGENCY
On 15 February 2007, the Council gave its approval to the establishment of
the European Funda mental Rights Agency. e Agency replaces the European
Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia. e Agency started its activities on
1 March and is expected to be fully oper ational in the course of 20 07. Its tasks are
con ned to the rst (Community) pillar of t he EU and do not extend to areas such
as crimina l cooperation (which falls w ithin the scope of the third pilla r of the EU).
e geographical scope of the mandate of the Agency is also restricted: it comprises
the current member States and the candidate member States. e ful l text of the
Community Regu lation establishing the Fu ndamental Rights Agency ca n be found at
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/06/st16/st16241.en06.pdf.
2. JUDICIAL PROTECTION AGAINST FINANCIAL
SANCTIONS
In September 2005, in its la ndmark decisions Yu su f and Kadi, the Cour t of First
Instance (CFI) made clear that persons a nd entities listed by the UN Secur ity Council
on grounds of their association with Osama bin L aden and Al Qaeda (Resolution
1267) cannot challenge t he Community measu res implementing the nancial
sanctions imposed upon them by invoking the EC human rig hts protection. ese
implementing measures ca n only be challenged before the CFI by invoking t he norms
of jus cogens. Whi le the CFI seemed to recognise that there is room for improvement
of UN na ncial sanctions system under Resolution 1267, it did not nd any violation
of jus cogens. In its decision of 31 Janua ry (Minin/Co mmission, T-362/04) the CFI
adopted the same approach with respect to the Community mea sures implementing
the UN sanct ions imposed upon the regime of Charles Taylor of Liberia.
is approach di ers from the one adopted with respec t to persons and entities
who are on the EU sanctions l ist (Organisation des Modjahedines du peuple d’Iran/
Council, 12 December 2006, T-228/02). ere is a lso a UN dimension to this list: the
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