From Directness to Foreseeability
On 18.12.2025, the CJEU issued its judgment on the appeal against the General Court’s Order in W.S. and Others v Frontex. The judgment is uniquely important as the CJEU deviated from the academics’ view that the causal inquiry shall be conducted in two steps and used instead the causal test of directness. Given that adjudicating fora is increasingly relying on the test of foreseeability, the CJEU should implement this method where Frontex and the EU Member States are involved in refoulement-related damage.
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In memoriam Catarina de Albuquerque
With the sudden passing of Catarina de Albuquerque on 7 October 2025, the human rights community has lost a champion whose contribution to the promotion of socio-economic rights in the last twenty years can hardly be overstated. Many of us have also lost a dear colleague and mentor. The wave of public condolences and expressions of empathy following her sudden death has been remarkable. Catarina has been described to me as the “mother” of the human rights to water and sanitation – and this is how she will be remembered.
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