Court of Justice of the European Union

Sport has always played a key role in international relations. Article 165 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) specifies that the European Union contributes to developing the European dimension in sport. However, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has recalled in the past that sport must not hinder the application of the competition rules set forth in Article 101 (cartels and other agreements that disrupt free competition) and Article 102 (abuse of dominant position) of the TFEU.

The three judgments issued by the CJEU on December 21, 2023 have generated as much discussion as the “Bosman” judgment in 1995 which prohibited the imposition of quotas on foreign players in European soccer.

This article discusses the most notable of the three judgments, i.e., the so-called “Super League” judgment.

On July 10, 2023, the European Commission adopted its adequacy decision for the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

This decision concludes that the USA ensures an adequate level of protection – comparable to that of the European Union – for personal data transferred from the European Union to US companies under the new Framework.

As such, personal data can henceforth flow safely from the European Union to US companies adhering to the new Framework, without having to put in place additional data protection safeguards.

In a judgment handed down on November 22, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union held that the provision according to which information on the beneficial owners of companies should be accessible in all cases to any member of the general public was invalid, as it considered that such open access constituted a serious interference with fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

In a press release dated January 19, 2023, Mr. Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, Finance, Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, decided “to maintain the general public’s access to the data recorded in the register of beneficial owners until proper conclusions regarding the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union are reached”.

In a judgment handed down on November 22, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union, sitting as the Grand Chamber, held that, in the light of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the provision of the so-called anti-money laundering Directive whereby Member States must ensure that the information on the beneficial owners of corporate and other legal entities incorporated within their territory is accessible in all cases to any member of the general public is invalid.

Does a player who is a little too experienced and victorious for an online poker site – this player having won 227,000 euros in less than a month and a half – retain the status of non-professional “consumer” within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of December 22, 2000 (known as the Brussels I Regulation)?

In a judgment issued on December 10, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union answered yes to this question.

The EU-US Privacy Shield, which allowed the transfer of personal data from the European Union to the United States in accordance with the GDPR, was invalidated by the Court of Justice of the European Union on July 16, 2020.

A look back at this decision and its impact on data transfers to the United States.