Is the EU a human rights organization?

The Embassy of Finland in The Hague and The Centre for the Law of EU External Relations (CLEER) will organize a seminar at the T.M.C. Asser Instituut. Topic of the seminar: Is the EU a human rights organization. Speakers will be Prof. dr. Allan Rosas, Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union and Prof. dr. Martin Kuijer, senior counsel on human rights at the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice.

Program:

17:00-17:05: Welcome and introduction
17:05-17:50: 'Is the EU a human rights organization?' by Prof. dr. Allan Rosas, Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union
17:50-18:00: Comments by Prof. dr. Martin Kuijer, senior counsel on human rights at the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice
18:00-18:45: Discussion
18:45-19:30: Reception

 Venue: T.M.C. Asser Instituut, R.J. Schimmelpennincklaan 20-22

Allan Rosas
Born 1948; Doctor of Laws (1977) of the University of Turku (Finland); Professor of Law at the University of Turku (1978-81) and at the Åbo Akademi University (Turku/Åbo) (1981-96); Director of the latter's Institute for Human Rights (1985-95); various international and national academic positions of responsibility and memberships of learned societies; coordinated several international and national research projects and programmes, including in the fields of EU law, international law, humanitarian and human rights law, constitutional law and comparative public administration; represented the Finnish Government as member of, or adviser to, Finnish delegations at various international conferences and meetings; expert functions in relation to Finnish legal life, including in governmental law commissions and committees of the Finnish Parliament, as well as the UN, UNESCO, OSCE (CSCE) and the Council of Europe; from 1995 Principal Legal Adviser at the Legal Service of the European Commission, in charge of external relations; from March 2001, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission Legal Service; Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union since 17 January 2002.

Martin Kuijer

Senior counsel on human rights of the Minister of Security and Justice, responsible for handling complaints pending before the ECHR and the various UN committees dealing with the policy of the Ministry. Liaison officer of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Committee for the Prevention of Torture of the Council of Europe. He is involved in the negotiations on the accession of the European Union to the ECHR and has published on this topic in the Dutch Journal of Human Rights (NJCM). Kuijer is also part-time human rights professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and deputy justice at the Court of Appeal in Arnhem.