BIM Annual Report 2008 - Ludwig Boltzmann Institut für ...

BIM Annual Report 2008
Fundamental Rights / Human Rights general
FRALEX – EU Fundamental Rights Agency: Independent Legal Experts
Summary
On 1 March 2007, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) was established on the
basis of Council Regulation 168/2007. The Agency’s objective is to provide the relevant institutions,
bodies, offices and agencies of the Community and the Member States with assistance and expertise
relating to fundamental rights in order to support them when they take measures or formulate courses
of action within their respective spheres of competence to fully respect fundamental rights.
Since November 2007 the Agency is supported by national teams of independent legal experts in each
of the Member States. The role of the legal experts is to collect relevant data, particularly official statistical
data and information on case law, as well as examples of good practice.
In January 2008, the FRA decided on a Multiannual Framework Programme and determined its thematic
areas of work as follows: racism and xenophobia; discrimination; compensation of victims; the
rights of the child; asylum and immigration; visa and border control; participation of EU citizens in the
Union's democratic functioning; data protection; and access to justice.
Upon the Agency’s request the Austrian legal experts of BIM in 2008 provided national studies on homophobia
and discrimination based on sexual orientation, trafficking of children as well as on national
human rights institutions; an international study on national human rights institutions; as well as three
quarterly bulletins and a report on the situation of the Agency’s thematic focus areas in Austria.
Countries
Persons
involved
Austria, EU Member States
Senior legal expert
Legal experts (dignity, freedoms,
equality, solidarity,
citizens’ rights, justice)
Additional researchers
Manfred Nowak
Margit Ammer
Kerstin Buchinger
Marta Hodasz
Julia Kozma
Alexander Lubich
Katrin Wladasch
Helmut Sax
Volker Frey (homophobia report)
Stephanie Dörnhöfer (data protection report)
Contact person
Julia Kozma, julia.kozma@univie.ac.at
Lead
organisation
Human European Consultancy,
NL
Partner
organisations
One expert team per EU
Member State
Starting/
end date
Funded by
November 2007 to November 2008 (prolongable)
EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA)
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