dr Marta Achler
dr Marta Achler
post-doc
dr Marta Achler
Dr. Marta Achler joined the team of the University of Florence, Law Department, working on the Infolead project together with Oxford University and Helsinki University, on the media literacy of the judiciary and policymakers in May 2024. She continues to work at the University of Florence as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the “CybeRights” project of the Public Law Department of the University of Florence. Her research and expert work focuses on, international public law, democratization and specifically; constitutional law, human and fundamental rights and freedoms, rule of law, the judiciary, associations and assemblies, new technogies and cyber rights. She previously served as Deputy Head of the Democratization Department of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) for 10 years. She later defended her PhD at the EUI in the field of human rights of assembly and association and new technologies. She completed her double degree in Law and International Relations in Melbourne, Australia. She also collaborated as an expert with the Centre for Judicial Cooperation TRIIAL 2 project at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, EUI Florence, Italy, following her successful thesis defence. Marta has been practicing as a lawyer in the field of international law and international human rights law for over 25 years.At OSCE/ ODIHR, she held the post of Chief of the Legislative Support Unit in the Democratization Department, representing the organization at United Nations and Council of Europe bodies (permanent representative to the Venice Commission), and subsequently became Deputy Head of Democratization. She has worked on legal reform in Azerbaijan, Armenia, BiH, Bulgaria, Hungary, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Georgia, Serbia, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine, among others. For many years, Marta has been working on legal opinions concerning the violations of the Rule of Law in the European Union, in particular Hungary, Poland and Romania. She has worked with International IDEA, UNESCO, and non-governmental organisations. She led processes of negotiations of new conventions and contributed to a number of handbooks and soft law tools – but also General Comments of the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations as well as conventions of the Council of Europe. Marta has also provided training for judges on international human rights standards and rule of law, most recently, at the SSM (“Scuola Superiore della Magistratura”) in Rome and Naples, and within the remit of the EUI TRIIAL 2 project. As well as training within the Infloead project on media literacy for judges, legislators, regulators and civil society at the University of Oxford. She is the author or co-author of academic publications, but moreover, over 220 legal opinions on compliance of laws of OSCE participating States with International Law, as well as a number of publications in international human rights law journals. Marta is also a permanent author at Just Security: https://www.justsecurity.org/author/martaachler/
Contact: marta.achler@unifi.it
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-marta-achler-b8565326/
Selected Publications:
2024: The Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe – A Revival of Rule of Law? Presentation at the World Congress of the Academy of Comparative Law in 2022 in Asunción [peer-reviewed book publication as part of a compilation of expert contributions]. Intersentia (ed. M. Safjan).
2023: How the European Union Undermines the Work of its Human Rights Defenders in the OSCE Journal of Human Rights Practice (with: B. Knoll-Tudor, M. Pardavi). 2021: UNESCO Handbook on EMB’s (Election Management Bodies) and New Technologies. UNESCO Digital Library. (with: R. Krimmer, R. Kuzel, A. Rabitsch, N. Licht).
2021: The potentials and risks of using digital technologies in fundraising: A comparative research (with: Eszter Hartay, Boris Strecansky) ECNL publication.
2021: Polish Governments’ attacks on Rule of Law violate not only EU but international law Just Security Online Journal.
2020: International standards regarding the handling of demonstrations (with: M. Scheinin) Just Security Online Journal.
2020: Doctoral dissertation (defended 30 April 2020): New technologies and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/67031
2015: Master’s thesis (LL.M.), EUI Florence, Italy, 30 June 2015: The Rights of Children to Freedom of Assembly, EUI Library.
Selected Legal Opinions:
2024: OSCE/ODIHR report on the legislative process in Montenegro. (with: P. Vehar)
2023: Urgent interim opinion on the draft act amending the Act on the Supreme Court in Poland – (with: Y. Doutriaux, T. Otiashvili, A. Sajó.)
2023: OSCE/ODIHR expert report – supplementary assessment of the legislative process in Uzbekistan (with: H.E. H. Suchocka, A. Page.)
2021: Urgent OSCE/ODIHR opinion on the draft rules regulating lobbying activities in Italy, (with: D. Kos) 2021: Joint OSCE–Venice Commission opinion on amendments to the Constitution of Kyrgyzstan. (with: P. Carozza, A. Nussberger, Q. Qerim, H.E.H. Suchocka, S. Banić, G. Halmai, M. Scheinin)
2020: UN Human Rights Committee General Comment No. 37 on the right of peaceful assembly (expert contribution) 2019: Urgent interim OSCE/ODIHR opinion on the draft act amending the Act on the Organisation of Ordinary Courts and the Supreme Court in Poland (with: A. Sajó, J.Z. Smidt, reviewers: D. Curtin, G. Halmai, J. Ingrja Matos, L. Pech)
2018: Joint OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission expert opinion on Article 253 of the Act on Special Immigration Tax, Hungary (with: R. Barrett, V. Bílková, M. Kuijer, D. Meridor, and members of the OSCE/ODIHR Freedom of Assembly and Association Panel) 2018: Joint OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission expert opinion on the so-called “Stop Soros” legislative package – Hungary (with: R. Barrett, V. Bílková, M. Kuijer, D. Meridor, S. Ostaf)
2018: Venice Commission Guidelines of the Council of Europe on the Ombudsman Institution (with: the Venice Commission Working Group).
2018: Presentation in consultations with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association on “Right to Peaceful Assembly and Association and the Digital Space”, Geneva Academy.
2018: New technologies and media in: (1) OSCE/ODIHR–Venice Commission Guidelines on Political Party Regulation and (2) OSCE/ODIHR–Venice Commission Guidelines on Freedom of Assembly (with: the OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission expert group).
2017: OSCE/ODIHR opinion on selected provisions of the draft Act on the Supreme Court in Poland (with: M. Rivet, K. Bard, M. Hunt, A. Thomas)