*** GISELE VERNIMMEN-VAN TIGGELEN, LAURA SURANO, ANNE WEYEMBERGH (Ed.): The future of mutual recognition in criminal matters in the European Union / L'avenir de la reconnaissance mutuelle en matière pénale dans l'Union européenne. Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles (26 av. Paul Héger, CP 163, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 6503799 - Fax: 6503794 - email: editions@admin.ulb.ac.be - Internet: http: //www-editions-universite-bruxelles.be). "Etudes européennes" series. 2009, 603 pp, €30. ISBN 978-2-8004-1452-2.
Judicial cooperation in criminal matters did not start in the European Union until the Maastricht Treaty came into force in the early 1990s. Since then, judicial cooperation in criminal cases has continued to grow in a haphazard fashion and even experts have to admit that it is not always easy to recognise one's offspring. The same applies since the Tampere European Summit of 1999 to its main cornerstone, mutual recognition, which is supposed to apply throughout the area of judicial cooperation in both criminal and civil law cases. The first merit of this book is the fact that it explains in the introduction exactly what is meant by mutual recognition in criminal cases, helping explain how it has been applied in the EU and the Member States in the noughties.
The book is not aiming to teach its readers, however. Quite the opposite, because it arose from scientific research commissioned by the European Commission through a call for tender from the European Studies Institute of the l'Université Libre de Bruxelles'. Based on the European Criminal Law Academic Network review, the Brussels' university institute has carried out an overview of the problems arising over time with mutual recognition in criminal cases at three levels - when negotiating rules and regulations at the Council of the EU; transposing these rules and regulations into Member States' law; and the practical application of them by the Member States' judicial and administrative authorities. Arising from eleven months of research carried out in 2007, the research comprises twenty-seven different reports (one for each Member State) based on interviews (and a questionnaire) with experts and practitioners such as civil servants working for the justice ministry, judges, prosecutors, magistrates, lawyers and academics. In the last part of the book, by Gisèle Vernimmen-Van Tiggelen and Laura Surano, there is an analysis of the overall situation in the EU, problems encountered with mutual recognition and the expectations of practitioners in the legal system. There are also suggestions about future developments. Crucial reading matter, but only for specialists.
Michel Theys
*** SEBASTIAN WEBER: Europäische Terrorismusbekämpfung. Das Strafrecht als Integrationsdimension der Europäischen Union . Duncker & Humblot (Postfach 41 03 29, D-12113 Berlin. Fax: (49-030) 79000631 - Internet: http://www.duncker-humblot.de ). "Hamburger Studien zum Europäischen und Internationalen Recht" series, No. 50. 2008, 197 pp, €78. ISBN 978-3-428-12888-4.
Tackling terrorism in Europe involves measures at both EU level and at Member State level. Terrorism damages domestic security and security overseas and the military and policy challenges connected with it encourage international and state stakeholders to introduce new legislation. This book analyses how terrorism has been defined as a new crime, explaining that because it allows for common counter-terror action, the European project also paves the way for cooperation on judicial affairs. The European arrest warrant is a good example of this. In this connection, the author examines the EU's use of different tools to combat terrorism and examines their legitimacy. He argues that integration is related in this domain with the idea of security.
(EPi)
*** DANIEL BROMBACHER, GÜNTER MAIHOLD: Kokainhandel nach Europa. Optionen der Angebotskontrolle. Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (Deutsches Institut für Internationale Politik und Sicherheit, 3-4 Ludwigkirchplatz, G-10719 Berlin. Tel: (49-30) 88007-0 - Fax: 88007-100 - email: swp@swp-berlin.org - Internet: http: //http://www.swp-berlin.org ). "SWP-Studie" series, No. S-14. 2009, 36 pp.
The problem of illegal trade in cocaine and related criminality has been a big issue on the agenda of the United Nations since it adopted a resolution in 1998 pledging to slash cocaine trafficking around the world by 2008. In March 2009, a meeting of the United Nations' drugs commission was held in Vienna, Austria, to assess progress over the decade. In this book, the authors examine the United Nations' experts' analysis presented at the conference. They set out various options on how to better focus the struggle to cut the illegal trade in cocaine and reduce cocaine consumption in Europe. Before setting out the options, the authors describe the cocaine trade around the world and how it has moved to West African countries which have been powerless to stem it. The final chapter sets out various options for Europe in this connection.
(JD)
*** ANDREAS FISCHER-LESCANO, LENA KRECK: Piraterie und Menschenrechte. Rechtsfragen der Bekämpfung der Piraterie im Rahmen der europaïsche Operation Atalanta. Zentrum für europaïsche rechtspolitik, Universität Bremen (Universitätsallee, GW 1, D- 28359 Bremen. Internet: http://www.zerp.eu ). "Zerp-Diskussionspapier” series, No. 3. 2009, 48 pp, €8.
After the European Union's 2008 anti-piracy action, the German parliament decided to send some 1,400 German troops to join the EU's "Atalanta" operation off the coast of Somalia. The legality of sending the troops to Somalia was debated for a very long time in terms of legality under maritime law, United Nations Security Council resolutions, EU law and German federal law. This publication examines the legal bases of Atalanta. The authors start by studying the extra-territoriality of human rights and fundamental rights. The other two chapters focus solely on specific legal issues, the first of them examining the legal basis of EU action as such and the laws granting powers to navies under Atalanta, the and second examining the sending of prisoners to be tried at courts in Kenya.
(JD)
*** KATHARINA LUDWIG: Citoyens Sans-Papiers. Irreguläre Migrantlnnen als politische Akteurlnnen in Frankreich. Peter Lang (1 Moostrasse, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3471727 - email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). "Politik und Demokratie" series, No. 12. 2008, 135 pp, €25-70. ISBN 978-3-631-56755-5.
This book examines the worrying question of illegal immigration and analyses the communication methods used by illegal aliens in France to encourage French leaders to take action. The author describes people living illegally in France as stakeholders with growing influence in the political arena. The illegal aliens try to use the French ideals of 'liberty, equality and fraternity' in the media and to foster various types of protest, forming their own collective security network. Analysing the notion of integration from the viewpoint of the nation state and the viewpoint of immigrant action, comparing it with the notion of citizenship as a judicial status (or social cost) for immigrants, the author looks into the underlying issues for democracy. The research also defines illegality by comparing and contrasting France's immigration policy with that of the European Union. A useful contribution to the debate into a controversial issue of our time.
(EPi)
*** LUCIAN GOGA: Normale Vielfalt. Der Übergang zu einer pluralitâtsgerechten Demokratie. Peter Lang, (see above). "Europäische Hochschulschriften - European University Studies - Publications Universitaires Européennes" series, No. 4841. 2009, 262 pp, €46-50. ISBN 978-3-631-58912-0.
Our post-modern freedoms give us greater individual mobility and therefore identity must be re-examined these days to reflect these changes. The same goes for the political system in Europe and therefore also for the European democratic model because minorities are now part of the values that characterise democracies. Lucian Goga analyses how our political system can integrate these changes in the light of minority rights. The first part of the book makes a historical analysis of the dichotomy between nationalism and cosmopolitanism. The rest of the book contains four sections examining the history of the protection of minorities in Europe, the origins of minority protection, times of crisis and EU and international measures in this connection.
(JD)
*** SIMON GARDINER, RICHARD PARISH, ROBERT C. R. SIEKMAN (Eds.): EU, Sport, Law and Policy. Regulation, Re-regulation and Representation. Editions T. M. C Asser Press (P.O Box 16163, 2500 BD The Hague, The Netherlands. Internet: http://www.asserpress.nl ). "Asser International Sports Law Series". 2009, 619 pp. ISBN 978-90-6704-292-5
A re-edition of the "Professional Sport in the EU" published by the same author in 2000, this tome examines the issues and new horizons opened up by the European Commission's 2007 "White Paper on Sport" looking at EU rules on sport and defining the Commission's views on the role of sport in European society, sport as a business and governance issues. The Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice Treaties did not mention sport as the EU used to leave management of sports bodies to the Member States, which tended in turn to encourage them to act independently as long as they respected national and EU rules and operated openly. The growing commercialisation of sport, particularly the big bucks of football, has encouraged stakeholders to demand a greater say in sports governing bodies' decision-making. This book analyses the 2007 White Paper clarifying the rules and introducing new regulations to tackle shortcomings in negotiations between employers (football clubs) and staff (football players). The authors suggest that legal intervention should be examined to regulate the trade of player agents. They also look at the free circulation of players in the light of players being sold from one club to another, players' broadcasting rights and the right to broadcast big sports events like the Champions' League, and free competition among the various stakeholders. The book also examines the relationship between the European Commission and UEFA/FIFA, doping, football hooligans and betting and gambling.
(NDu)
*** IAN BLACKSHAW, STEVE CORNELIUS, ROBER SIEKMAN (Eds.): TV Rights ans Sport. Legal Aspects. Editions T.M.C Asser Press (see above). 2009, 624 pp. ISBN 978-90-6704-281-9.
It cannot be denied that the leisure market around the world is dominated by sport and the media. Combined, sport and the media account for a whopping 2% of the EU27's combined GDP, generating spectacular profits and influencing large sections of the world's population. One example of the sheer weight of this industry and its importance to broadcasters and European legislators is the fact that the broadcasting rights for the English football Premier League - the richest football organisation in the world -are calculated in billions rather than millions. This book examines the legal aspects surround the creation and business management of the right to broadcast live sports events in Europe and the rest of the world. The authors are experts in sports law and the media, who examine the holding of sports broadcasting rights, the methods used to protect and exploit such rights and the rising power of new media like webcasting and streaming and the rights connected with them. They also look at the impact of EU competition rules on the broadcasting of sports events. The book starts by focussing on the European Union and its Member States, examining the various issues surrounding the right to broadcast major sports events, the Beijing Olympics, for example. The authors examine in detail how the rights are managed and how they impact on EU law. In the second section, the book provides case studies from 27 countries in the EU and beyond, examining the rising power of sport as an industry in the world market and the legal problems arising from this.
(NDu)
*** ANIKA DORTHE LUCH: Das Medienpersönlichkeitsrecht - Schranke der "vierten Gewalt". Das Allgemeine Persönlichkeitsrecht im Spannungsverhältnis zur Medienfreiheit unter dem Grundgesetz und der Europäischen Menschenrechtskonvention. Peter Lang (see above). "Verfassungs- und Verwaltungsrecht unter dem Grundgesetz" series, No. 35. 2008, 695 pp, €98-10. ISBN 978-3-631-58246-6.
Examining the legal status of the 'fourth power,' this research suggests that a number of obstacles prevent the full development of the media because they come up against the dilemma of protecting privacy. The author describes the state as an 'economic good' in the sense that the need for gossip seems to rise inexorably and asks how far this might go. The analysis is based on the relationship between the constraints in German constitutional law on the freedom of the press and changes in case law in this connection, bearing the European Convention of Human Rights in mind. The book suggests solutions to the problems in order to adjust the scope of private protection to the world of modern media.
(EPi)