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The Protection of Minority and Regional Languages in Germany

Posted by: Jenny Gesley

Moin (“hello” in Low German)! Today, September 26, 2018, is the European Day of Languages. The European Day of Languages celebrates “linguistic diversity in Europe and promote[s] language learning.” In 2001, the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe (CoE) jointly organized the European Year of Languages, which turned out to be so successful that …

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Personal Data Protection and the EU GDPR

Posted by: Jenny Gesley

Everyone is talking about the European Union‘s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which takes effect today. Recent news reports about misuse of personal data suggest that rules to protect personal data are essential in today’s interconnected (online) world. But what is the GDPR exactly? And why should you care about an EU law if …

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Happy Europe Day 2018!

Posted by: Jenny Gesley

Each year on May 9, the European Union (EU) celebrates “Europe Day.” That date marks the anniversary of the Schuman Declaration delivered in Paris in 1950 by Robert Schuman, a lawyer and the then-French foreign minister. In that declaration, Schuman set out his vision of cooperation between the European countries to ensure lasting peace on the continent. …

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Uber at the ECJ – The Legal Saga in Europe Continues

Posted by: Jenny Gesley

The following is a guest post by Catharina Schmidt, a foreign law intern working in the Global Legal Research Directorate of the Law Library of Congress. While Uber recently achieved partial success in the legal fight over a key component for operating driverless cars in the United States, it suffered a defeat at the European Court of Justice …

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How to Boost your Medal Count in the Olympics, South Korean-Style

Posted by: Jenny Gesley

This following is a guest post by Sayuri Umeda, a foreign law specialist who covers Japan and various other countries in East and Southeast Asia, and Jieun Chang, foreign law intern at the Global Legal Research Directorate. Sayuri has previously written posts for In Custodia Legis on various topics, including Two Koreas Separated by Demilitarized Zone, English Translations of Post-World …

60 Years of Lego Building Blocks and Danish Patent Law

Posted by: Jenny Gesley

The following is a guest post by Elin Hofverberg, who covers Scandinavian jurisdictions at the Law Library of Congress. Elin’s previous posts include Finland: 100 Years of Independence – Global Legal Collection Highlights, Alfred Nobel’s Will: A Legal Document that Might Have Changed the World and a Man’s Legacy, Swedish Detention Order Regarding Julian Assange, The Masquerade King and …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Standardization and the Law

Posted by: Jenny Gesley

On December 22, 1917—100 years ago today—the German Institute for Standardization (Deutsches Institut für Normung, DIN) was founded. DIN develops the content of standards and coordinates the work of other bodies involved in the process. It is organized as a private non-profit organization and has entered into an agreement with the German government to be recognized …