Romanian Institute for Human Rights

Access to justice

According to the international and the European documents, the notion “access to justice” bind states to guarantee to any person the right to apply to a court or, under certain circumstances, to apply to another body with a view to find alternative solutions to litigations and obtain redress, in case the person’s rights are found to have been violated.

Thus, the European legislation enshrines, in articles 6 and 13 of the European Convention on the Defence of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and also in article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, on the one hand the guarantee of the right to a fair trial and an effective remedy, according to the interpretation given by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and, respectively, by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), and on the other hand the importance of exercising such a right in the context of a democratic society and a state governed by the rule of law.

These rights are also provided in the international instruments adopted by the United Nations Organization, such articles 8 and 10 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 2 para. (3) and 14 in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The basic elements of these rights include effective access to a body that offers solutions to litigations, the right to a fair trial and to be given a solution in a reasonable time, the right to adequate compensations as well as the general application of the principles referring to the efficiency and the effectiveness of the legal action.

 

Instruments
Publications
Events
Project “CLARITY”

Instruments

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Publications
 

  • Proces echitabil. Jurisprudenţa comentată a Curţii Europene a Drepturilor Omului, IRDO, Bucureşti, 2007 (Fair trial. Comments on the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights)   ro
  • Jurisprudenţa Curţii Europene a Drepturilor Omului, ediţia a VI-a în limba română, IRDO, Bucureşti, 2008 (Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, 6th edition in Romanian)
  • Eficienţa şi echitatea justiţiei. Standarde europene, IRDO, Bucureşti, 2008 (Efficiency and fairness of justice. European standards)   ro
  • Instituţii europene şi drepturile omului, IRDO, Bucureşti, 2008 (European human rights institutions)   ro
  • Protecţia drepturilor fundamentale ale omului în procesele penale, Raport la Congresul Academiei internaţionale de drept comparat: Mexico 2008, IRDO, Bucureşti, 2009 Protection of the fundamental human rights in criminal trials, Report at the Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law: Mexico 2008)   ro
  • Persoanele juridice şi grupurile de particulari în jurisprudenţa Curţii Europene a Drepturilor Omului, IRDO, Bucureşti, 2010 Legal persons and groups of private persons in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights)
  • Aspects de la culture juridique Roumaine - problèmes actuels et droits de l’homme, IRDO, Bucureşti, 2011 (Aspects of the Romanian juridical culture - present-day issues and human rights)
  • Promovarea şi protejarea drepturilor omului prin mijloace contencioase, IRDO, Bucureşti, 2011 (Promotion and protection of human rights by contentious means)   ro
  • Jurisprudenţa Curţii Europene a Drepturilor Omului. Cazuri recente cu privire la România, IRDO, Bucureşti, 2011 (Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. Recent cases related to Romania)
  • Instituţia Ombudsmanului la nivel european, IRDO, Bucureşti, 2013 (The Ombudsman institution at European level)   ro
     

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Events

2020

International Conference „The efficiency of legal norms” – 9th edition

On May 20 - 22, 2020, in Cluj-Napoca, will be held the 9th edition of the International Conference „The efficiency of legal norms”, organized by the Faculty of Law from „Dimitrie Cantemir” Christian University in partnership with Romanian Institute for Human Rights.

The event tackles the interaction between humans and technologies, which cannot be ignored in the nowadays society. Computer networks, systems and, mainly, the internet have an essential role in facilitating the movement of products, services and persons. At the same time, using new technologies in the most various fields led to major changes in everyone’s lives, offering to humanity a new perspective in the day to day life, educational process, interpersonal relationships, relationships with administrative bodies and public institutions, trade, as well as regarding the work of different categories of professionals. There are areas where no activity can be carried on without the help of the new technologies or where important mutations happened, such as the creation of cryptocurrency which broke down the currency monopoly of the states, with consequences which are difficult to evaluate for the time being.

Thus, at this year’s conference, it is submitted for debate an analysis of the efficiency of legal norms in relation to the rapid evolution of new technologies. In order to deepen these dimensions, among the proposed topics on the subject are: human rights in the digital era; GDPR; artificial intelligence in the justice system; artificial intelligence in administration; digital signature; automation of fiscal reporting and fiscal control; digitalization of fiscal administration; Standard Audit File for Tax (SAF-T) ANAF – SPV automation; geo-blocking in the e-commerce sector; consumers’ digital rights; unfair trade practices of professionals in the e-commerce sector; consumers’ vulnerability in the digital environment; cybercrime; preventing and combating money laundering and terrorism financing in cyberspace; B2C business to consumer e-commerce, B2B business-to-business e-commerce; professionals in the digital era; intellectual property right in cyberspace; virtual currency.

Therefore, these aspects do not refer only to the information technology but also to other areas where science and technology lead to major changes, such as medicine or agronomy. The genetic modified organisms (GMO), cloning and other such achievements raise serious ethical problems, generating debates at a global scale.

In this context, the risk of using computer networks, digital data, and new technologies in general, in manners that break the legal norms and with the purpose of committing criminal offences, imposes the need of an efficient legislation.

Furthermore, the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) entitles us to believe that it will play a major role in all the fields of activity, including the justice system, a state of facts that creates an unprecedented challenge for the legal system.

Carrying out a variety of activities with the help of new technologies, such as preventing cybercrime, protecting the fundamental human rights, protecting the intellectual property rights, require the creation of national and international legal frameworks able to keep up with the latest developments in science and technology.

For more details regarding the event please consult the following link: http://www.dimitriecantemir.ro/?page_id=6744.

 

  • International Conference „Efficiency of Legal Norms”
    During May 23-25, 2019 the International Conference „Efficiency of Legal Norms” was held. The event was organized by the Faculty of Law in Cluj-Napoca within the „Dimitrie Cantemir” Christian University, together with its traditional partner, the Romanian Institute for Human Rights. This 8th edition of the conference focused on „Globalization and Justice” and proposed a series of topics such as Human Rights and International Conventions; Legal systems and jurisprudence in a globalized world; Consumers’ rights in a globalized society; Commercial law; Evolution of tax legal norms - advantages and disadvantages of globalization; Environmental Law; Legislation for legal and illegal activities via the Internet; Personal data protection; Intellectual property; Insurance Law; Legal rules on transport; Governance in a globalized age; International cooperation in criminal matters; International Private Law; the legal regulation of the press; International Public Law and International Courts; Constitutional rules and the role of constitutional courts.

    More details: here
     
  • 7th edition of the international Conference on “Efficiency of legal norms. Democracy through civil law, criminal law and justice” (17-19 May 2018)
  • 6th edition of the international Conference on “Efficiency of legal norms” on “Legal norms related to children at national and international levels” (2017)
  • Inauguration of the FRA Information Centre at the Law Faculty of Cluj-Napoca at Christian University “Dimitrie Cantemir” (2016)
  • Inauguration of the FRA Information Centre at the Ecologic University of Bucharest (27 April 2016)
  • Course on “Interpretation and application of the Convention and its additional Protocols. ECtHR jurisprudence” (2016)
  • International Conference on “Justice and administrative law from an interdisciplinary point of view”, 3rd edition (2016)
  • 5th edition of the international Conference on “Efficiency of legal norms” on “The science of law – at the vanguard or at the rearguard of the social, political and economic phenomena?” (2016)
  • International Conference on “Our rights. Our freedoms. Always”, organized under the aegis of the Chamber of Deputies’ Committee for Legal Matters, Discipline, and Immunities and Parliament’s Committees for Human Rights (2015)
  • International Conference on „Justice and administrative law from an interdisciplinary perspective”, 2nd edition (2015)
  • 4th edition of the international Conference on Efficiency of legal norms. Prospects concerning the interpretation and the application of the law” (4-6 June 2015)
  • International Conference on “Efficiency of legal norms. Challenges of the new decade”, 3rd edition, (2014)
  • Annual Conference on “Justice and administrative law from an interdisciplinary point of view” (2014)

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Project “CLARITY”

Project “CLARITY”, achieved by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights in partnership with at first 12 national human rights institutions from member states of the European Union, including Romania through the Romanian Institute for Human Rights. Thus, the Institute aimed at placing Romania amongst the states that support and provide the respect of the fundamental human rights. The purpose of the Project was to identify and offer information on the most adequate non-judiciary body that could solve one or another rights related problem, based on the idea that every state has specialized public institutions that could offer information or assistance in situations of violation of the fundamental rights.

CLARITY materialized in the form of an interactive online instrument that presently covers 14 member states of the European Union (Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Spain) available in English. The online instrument covers various fields of the fundamental rights and is meant to offer information on how to address while indicating the closest place to one’s residence where the person can file a petition or be offered assistance in the case of persons whose fundamental rights have been violated.
 

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