The Dutch Ministry of Justice interferes in the enforcement
Coverage from the Dutch and German press
De Volkskrant (cover page of paper edition of 26 February 2015) (en,fr,de),De Telegraaf (en,fr,de),Joop andNRC Handelsblad covered the controversy that the executive interferes in the judiciary, and that immunity prevails over human rights.
The Süddeutsche Zeitung, "Recht haben und recht bekommen" (en,fr) (27 February 2015) reports that a spokesperson for the Dutch Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that the EPO exerted pressure on the Dutch authorities to defend its position that it enjoys immunity from execution of the judgement.
"The European states, including Germany, should never have ratified the Convention relating to the European Patent Office," says Siegfried Broß, a former judge of the German Constitutional Court, "because it places the fundamental and human rights of EPO employees at the disposition of the Office Administration."IPKat and HR Praktijk also report on these events.
The Dutch Socialist Party reacts
The Dutch Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij, SP) published an article (English version): "Government must no permit human rights abuses" (printable version).Questions posed by members of the Tweede Kamer of the Netherlands
Members of the Labour Party (PvdA) have now has posed questions on 27 February 2015 to Ivo Opstelten, Dutch Minister of Justice (printable version) (en,fr,de).The Labour Party (PvdA) currently forms a coalition government with the Liberal Party (VVD).
In July 2014 they had posed the earlier questions referred to in Question 2. The answers(printable version) (en,fr,de) of the Minister of Social Affairs and Labour confirmed the problem of the immunity of the EPO when trying to run an investigation on the working conditions and the respect of the rights of the employees.The Minister of Social Affairs and Labour did seem to agree, referring to Article 20 PPI that the EPO should comply with relevant Dutch legislation. However, the Labour Inspection could do nothing without permission of the EPO's president.