Challenge

Alber & Geiger assisted West Pharmaceutical, a US corporation and world market leader in medical devices, paving the way for PFAS ban exemptions for their products. The intention was to prevent disruptions in the supply of certain medical devices, where the medicinal products are inseparably connected with the devices, like it is the case with the diabetes pen or with vaccines prefilled in containers and syringes.

Strategy

Our team engaged in a multifaceted approach to safeguard the interests of the medicinal and medical devices. We provided strategic input during the consultation period with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), highlighting the unique needs and safety considerations of specific medical devices. This was followed by an extensive outreach to stakeholders within the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the EU member states. Our efforts focused on educating decision-makers about the indispensable role of PFAS in medicinal products and medical devices and the potential supply chain risks posed by a PFAS ban.

Results

Our advocacy efforts led to a pivotal development in the regulatory landscape on medical devices. Our targeted approach opened the door to potential derogations of several years for specific medical applications where there is substantial evidence that viable alternatives to PFAS do not exist. This ensures that essential medical devices remain available and effective, safeguarding patient care and industry stability.

Challenge

The Port of Belgrade’s property and investor rights were being violated by arbitrary Serbian legislation. There were limited domestic channels for these rights to be rectified and the Port of Belgrade was about to lose significant holdings. It turned to Alber & Geiger for help.

Strategy

The strategy made use of the new supra-national extraterritoriality, which post-communist states have been using to reconstitute certain rights and obligations. It addressed the EU institutions and Member States while Serbia was in the process of fulfilling its obligation to attain EU candidate status. It put forward comprehensive legal analysis that employed the entirety of the acquis communautaire, helping the legal narrative of the Serbian government and that of the Commission come together in a coherent mutually beneficial form.

Results

Alber & Geiger’s lobbing activity raised the awareness of European Parliament and the Commission towards the rights violations. We persuaded the European Commission to pressure the Serbian government into changing the content of these laws and to bring them in line with the EU acquis communautaire.

Challenge

Alber & Geiger was able to bring out the extraterritorial reach of EU human rights. This was against the backdrop of its clients having lost all available domestic remedies. The Former Minister of Economic Development of Azerbaijan and his brother were arrested on the eve of the Azerbaijani election. Initially accused of attempting a putsch, they were ultimately found liable for embezzlement. The European Court of Human Rights had held that the several of their rights had been infringed, especially the right to a fair trial. Nevertheless the Aliyevs remained imprisoned under their disproportionate and potentially wrongful sentences.

Strategy

Alber & Geiger’s strategy utilized the EU-Azerbaijan trade talks to leverage the EU institutional playmakers at opportune moments. Our litigious narrative extracted the EU’s human rights obligations underlying the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), and demonstrated the innocence of the Aliyev’s.

Simultaneously we drew on the Aliyev’s pro-western views, showing through adversarial fact finding that this underlay their imprisonment. Substantively, we put forward that it was incumbent on the Azerbaijani authorities under these circumstances to show their commitment to the rule of law. In order to benefit from the ENP they had to play by its rules.

Results

Ultimately we secured a complete pardon for both of the Aliyevs. However, the broader reach of this mandate was the raising of awareness regarding human rights issues in Azerbaijan. This put the EU-Azerbaijani relationship on a trajectory of greater trust. The sensitive political dynamics were tackled head on and resolved with expedience.