*** MIA RÖNNMAR (Editor): Labour Law, Fundamental Rights and Social Europe. Hart Publishing (16c Worcester Place, Oxford, OX1 2JW, UK. Tel: (44-1865) 517530 - fax: 510710 - Email: mail@hartpub.co.uk - Internet: http://www.hartpub.co.uk ). "Swedish Studies in European Law" series, No. 4. 2011, 280 p. £55. ISBN 978-1-84946-210-5.
Sweden and, more broadly speaking, the other Scandinavian countries are generally perceived as forming a specific and very characteristic area for labour and industrial relations and social security. The fourth book in the “Swedish Studies in European Law” series confirms that this particular brand still holds sway and also demonstrates, above all, that in countries like Sweden, the active legal community in these areas, whether they are magistrates, lawyers, unions or academic entities, are participating in a huge and multifaceted phenomena of Europeanization. Members of the Swedish Network for European Legal Studies, the authors within this organisation are all eminent specialists from the Swedish academic community and analyse this phenomenon in a way that is both detailed and brilliant. They also examine the contradictions and indeed the tensions arising from these issues. The book includes 10 chapters and is divided into three different parts. In the first part, four authors explore, with converging views, the complex relationship between labour law, the protection of fundamental rights and the tension between economic and social integration within the European Union. Three subsequent chapters tackle the issue of equal treatment and non-discrimination. Professor Ann Numhauser-Henning (civil law at the University of Lund) points out that in this connection, the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice, the Lisbon Treaty, recognition of the social market economy and the inclusion of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the primary law of the Union suggests that the, “former market hegemony” can now be contested, which paves the way to a “truly transformative” approach to the concept of equality. Finally, the third part of the book contains chapters that tackle the issue of Swedish law and social security in the context of freedom of movement and prevailing coordination within the Union and the single market.
It comes as no great surprise that the most intellectually controversial part of the book tackles the issue of labour law and the four different contributions in the book examine the contested Laval and Viking rulings made by the European Court of Justice. Petra Herzfeld Olsson (University of Uppsala) demonstrates to what extent the standards of the International Labor Organisation, such as the crucial freedom of association and right to strike can be disregarded by the judges in Luxembourg because they have not been integrated into the treaties, as borne out by the Laval and Viking rulings. Orjan Edström (University Umeå) indicates that recognition of the right to strike as a fundamental right has been enhanced through the Lisbon Treaty and recent rulings by the European Court of human rights but that its application will remain subject to differences within the Union due to divergences within the member states' social traditions and relations. The most incisive contribution on this issue comes from Jonas Malmberg (University of Uppsala) who, in light of the jurisprudence developed by the European Court of Justice around the Laval decision, calls on the “Laval Quartet” to acknowledge that collective action in the case of posted workers, “may be considered as a restriction of the freedom of services and the right to establishment”. This academic subsequently assumes the role of prosecutor and claims that, “the restrictions on the right to collective action put up by the Viking and Laval cases have substantially limited the possibility for trade unions to protect the interests of their members in cross-border situations. The combination of making the lawfulness of collective actions dependent on a vague proportionality test, combined with a threat of action of damages, does have a manifest preventive effect on the possibility of exercising this fundamental right”.
In the fourth chapter of the book, two writers look at whether public procurement and labour law can be friends or enemies. Still remaining in the very heated arena of the two contested European Court of Justice rulings, the final word goes to Mia Rönnmar (University of Lund) who also points out that the judges in Luxembourg have prioritised fundamental freedoms dear to the heart of the Union, instead of Fundamental Rights. She also looks at whether the pressure exerted by the European Court of Human Rights and the International Labor Organisation will sooner or later lead it, “to reconsider its position on the balance between the economic freedoms and national social regulation”. If we want to avoid a substantial part of European society being alienated from the Union it is important that political leaders attempt to ensure that European construction is no longer seen by many people as being synonymous with social regression…
Pierre Bouvier
*** European Journal of Social Security. Intersentia (31 Groenstraat, B-2640 Mortsel. Tel: (32-3) 6801550 - fax: 6587121 - Email: mail@intersentia.be - Internet: http://www.intersentia.com ). 2011, volume 13, No.3, 95 pp. Annual subscription: €145 (students: €50).
The most recent edition of this specialist journal in the area of social security includes an important contribution from a researcher at the Centre for Globalisation and Governance at Hamburg University. It looks at the way in which policies aimed at getting the unemployed back to work and which have become very popular, actually translate on the ground. By examining political developments recorded in these areas in Germany, Denmark and the United Kingdom, sociologist Patrizia Aurich uncovers a puzzle of reforms and lack of any kind of direction. Therefore, the United Kingdom and Denmark adopted a strategy that pursues the objectives of the activation paradigm, namely increased incentive creation plus more active support, which categorises them according to the author, among coercive welfare types. Germany embraced a selectively recommodifying approach to social assistance, leaving the insurance scheme almost unchanged. In these results, this researcher also identifies a new kind of diversity and progressive developments that appear to go in the direction of long-term comprehensive transversal convergence. Another article tackles the way in which the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice could, by highlighting the needs of patients in the context of free movement, have an impact on the British National Health Service.
(MT)
*** FIRAT BILGEL: The Law and Economics of Organ Procurement. Intersentia Publishers (see address attached). “European Studies in Law and Economics” No. 5. 2011, 177 pp. €65, £62, $91. ISBN 978-1-78068-022-4.
This book has been put together by an economist specialising in the area of economics and health. In it, he provides an economic analysis of the law laid down in this field, involving legal medicine and criminal law. This book is, however, above all, written from the perspective of a surgeon's who has been disgusted by the shortcomings in organ donation and the results stemming from this, such as the lack of opportunities for receiving organ transplants. This is a profoundly scientific and humane book, in which the author (of Turkish descent and who obtained Turkish, Canadian and Dutch university degrees) critically examines, in the light of mortality due to patients not receiving transplants in time, the effectiveness of organ donation legislation in Europe, the US and other developed countries. Firat Bilgel also scrutinises the legal instruments and international standards in these countries to combat the trafficking of humans for the purposes of organ removal.
On the basis of this comparative study, he ultimately develops a specific legislation model that could help towards the implementation of an optimal deterrence policy. He also provides a number of ideas that could help towards making organ donation much more effective in the future.
(MT)
*** MARTHA M. ROGGENKAMP, ULF HAMMER (Editors): European Energy Law Report VIII. Intersentia Publishers (see address attached). "Energy & Law" series, No. 12. 2011, 223 pp. £45. ISBN 978-0-521-88811-0.
This book explores the most important developments that have occurred in the legal arena at both a European and national level in the context of energy and the law on climate change, as interpreted two years ago during the European Legal Seminar on Energy and which has been organised on an annual basis since 1989 in the Netherlands. In the first part of the book, the different experts examine new developments that have occurred since the liberalisation process and the third energy package, particularly in light of recent jurisprudence on competition in the sector. The acts established for securing energy supply and promoting renewable energy sources are also analysed. The question of investment and funding the fight against climate change is also explored.
(MT)
*** STEFAN GRUNDMANN: European Company Law. Organization, Finance and Capital Markets. Intersentia Publishers (31 Groenstraat, B-2640 Mortsel. Tel: (32-3) 6801550 - fax: 6587121 - Email: mail@intersentia.be - Internet: http://www.intersentia.com ). "Ius Communitatis" series, No. 1. 2012, 984 pp. €185 (students: €50). ISBN 978-1-78068-019-4.
Stefan Grundmann is a lecturer in private (German and European) and business law at the University of Humboldt in Berlin. He established the “Ius Communitatis” with this book, which is now in its second edition. The book, however, appears completely new, given that European corporate law has substantially developed and changed since the beginning of this century. All the different facets of this area of law are scientifically examined in this impressive publication, such as accounting law and law governing the setting up of a company, as well as corporate governance, shareholder rights, law on capital markets, corporation tax, the law on insolvency and many other fields. The book is accompanied by references that also provide a comparative insight into issues that remain within the competency of member states.
(PBo)
*** RODRIGO MOMBERG URIBE: The effect of a change of circumstances on the binding force of contracts. Comparative perspectives. Intersentia Publishers (see address attached). "Ius Commune Europaeum" series, No. 94. 2011, 325 pp. €75, £71, $105. ISBN 978-1-78068-005-7.
This PhD thesis was defended by a Chilean law student at the Molengraaff Institute of Private at the University of Utrecht. It focuses on unexpected situations and circumstances that make the execution of a contract much more difficult and costly. It also looks at the situations that go against the objective of the transaction in question. The writer considers that recognition of a change in circumstances contributes to the renewed importance of justice and equity as a counterweight to the general principle of contractual freedom. In the case in point, the contract must subsequently be renegotiated or indeed legally reviewed, in order for it to remain within the comprehensive remit underpinning a balanced union of interests, an instrument of fair cooperation and the result of mutual trust between the different parties. After having proceeded to an historic analysis of this issue, Rodrigo Momberg Uribe moves on to provide a comparative analysis of the legal systems prevailing in this field in France, Italy, England and Wales, Chile, Argentina and the US. He also explores international instruments governing contract law and subsequently points out that there are still many significant divergences arising from changing circumstances they can impact on the binding force underpinning these contracts, even though there appears to be a converging trend in this connection.
(PBo)
*** ULF MICHAEL THOMAS LUTHARDT: The Politics of Standard Setting. Reflections on the Legitimacy of Accounting Procedures in Europe. Editions Peter Lang (see address attached). “European University Studies / Publications universitaires européennes” series, No. 3401. 2012, 201 pp. €44.90. ISBN 978-3-631-62126-4
Since 2001, almost 120 countries have been using the International Financial Reporting Standards. A regulation dating back to July 2002 requires companies in the Union to prepare and disclose their consolidated financial statements in accordance with these international standards. In this book, which is an extension of a PhD thesis defended at the University of Bremen, Ulf Michael Thomas Luthardt examines the legitimacy of these accounting procedures within a philosophical, political and economic perspective. First of all he highlights the political dimensions of accounting standards, as well as the institutions responsible for developing these standards. Legislative responsibility shifted from a national level to the European Commission and subsequently to a private body, namely the International Accounting Standards Board. The author emphasises that the only process for elaborating standards has been delegated to this body and the decision to adopt standards that it draws up remain within the hands of the Commission but that this new form of shared governance is continuing to raise a number of questions in terms of legitimacy, which are examined in the chapters that follow.
(PBo)
*** Dokumente / Documents. Revue du dialogue franco-allemand. Verlag Dokumente (86 Dottendorfer Strasse, D-53129 Bonn. Tel: (49-228) 92129365 - fax: 690385 - Email: redaktion@dokumente-documents.info - Internet: http://www.dokumente-documents.info ). 2012, 114 pp, €7. Subscription: €28.90 (Germany), €32.90 (Europe).
This issue of the review founded by Jean du Rivau includes a main feature article focusing on the “Sarkozy years” written exclusively by German writers. Their objective is not to interfere in the ongoing presidential campaign but rather, comment on the different aspects of French policy developed over the past five years. Another article examines, “the whiff of anti-German feeling regarding Europe” in France.
(MT)