This Week in Luxembourg

- Spector Photo Group and Van Raemdonck (Third Chamber) is the first cases dealing with, well, insider dealing underDirective 2003/6. (The most recent previous case on the subject, Georgakis, was still treated under Directive 89/592. As so often, the main question is what it means to “use” inside information. In this case, the court reads art. 2(1) of the Directive as a (rebuttable) presumption that the accused meant to abuse his information, meaning that an “innocent trader” should be allowed to rebut that presumption. The Court also spent a few paragraphs on the possible overlap between administrative and criminal sactions. (par. 74-77)

- In Commission v. Ireland, Ireland’s review procedures for decisions awarding public works contracts were found to be in violation of Community Law, specifically Directive 89/665 and Directive 92/13. Two other public works rulings were handed down today: Serrantoni and Consorzio stabile edili, dealing with groups of undertakings participating, andCoNISMa, regarding a group of universities and research institutes participating in a tender as a potential service provider.

- Yesterday, the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR ruled in Sejdic and Finci v. Bosnia, a complaint by individuals of Roma and Jewish descent, complaining about their ineligibility for the highest offices in the state of Bosnia Herzegovina. Bypassing the question of necessity, the Court found that the rule was in any event not proportionate. Cf. EJIL: Talk!