Month: December 2012

Human Rights Day

Today ist Human Rights Day. It commemorates the day when in 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Amnesty International invites everyone to mark the Human Rights Day by taking part in “Write for Rights”, Amnesty International’s global letter writing marathon. Here’s from Amnesty International:

“This year, we are writing letters, sending SMS messages, taking action online as well as hosting and participating in a variety of events to demand that the rights of individuals are upheld. If you would like to get involved you can write a letter, send an email or SMS, attend an event, or create your own event. To find out more about events and SMS actions, visit your local Amnesty International section website.

Update: Ferdinand Piech, Porsche and the Volkswagen Options

Ferdinand Piech has not been granted admission to appeal (Nichtzulassungsbeschwerde) the judgment of the Stuttgart Court of Appeals (Oberlandesgericht) of February 2012.  In this judgment, the Stuttgart court found that Mr. Piech had violated material fiduciary duties (Kardinalpflichten) which he owed to Porsche as a member of its supervisory board: His public statements showed that he failed to exercise proper control over the Volkswagen share option arrangements that were entered into as part of Porsche’s attempt to take over Volkswagen. If Mr. Piech could not understand what was going on, he should have investigated further, and potentially even tried to stop these transactions. Read More

“Towards Easier and Faster Circulation of Judgments in Europe”: Recast of Brussels I Regulation Adopted

The European Council today passed a recast of the Brussels I Regulation, as the regulation on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters is commonly known. Read More

“Restitution at Any Price” – A Rebuttal

Last week, Matthias Druba, the lawyer representing Peter Sachs in the Hans Sachs restitution case, responded in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) to the critique, published in the same paper, of the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) judgment in his client’s favour. Matthias Druba’s article was originally pay-walled, but has now become available in the free online version. Read More