*** FRANCESCO DE CECCO: State Aid and the European Economic Constitution. Hart Publishing Ltd (16C Worcester Place, Oxford, OX1, 2JW. Tel: (44-1865) 517530 - fax: 510710 - Email: mail@hartpub.co.uk - Internet: http://www.hartpub.co.uk ). “Hart Studies in Competition Law”, No. 2. 2013, 188 pp. £52. ISBN 978-1-84946-105-4.
European Union law on state aid is exerting significant constraints on the political authorities at every single level of power in the different member states. It is also the expression of fundamental political choices that have helped shaped the extensive single borderless market by way of its plethora of rules, principles and concepts. It has therefore helped determine the evolution of the European economic constitution. This book is the amended version of a PhD thesis. It focuses on the case law defining the limits of the legal notion of state aid (article 107 (1) of the Treaty On the Functioning of the European Union) and the constitutional impact resulting from it given that governments will be unable to decide how they want to model the economic outcome of their respective country and its component parts as they see fit.
The author is currently a senior lecturer at the University of Newcastle and begins his account by providing a description of the constitutional setup. He also explains that he does not use, “the term economic constitution is not used here as a form of homage to the ordo-liberal pedigree of the concept” but, “to emphasise the constitutional nature of the EU's primary economic law” and to, “identify the EU's long-term orientation as to the role of the State in the economy”. In this connection, Francesco de Cecco does not attempt to conceal the legitimacy of European law, which, in his view rests on its ability to deliver a single market, which does not undermine the capacity of member states to pursue redistributive policies and to preserve the delicate balance between EU legal supremacy and national concerns regarding their constitutional spaces. Is this indeed the case when economic integration is not accompanied by an equivalent level of integration in redistributive policies? This is a question that will of course provoke a number of measured responses that have long been argued in this publication. Another burning issue is that of the legitimacy of the action carried out by the “regulatory state”, which is the European Union itself and keeping within the ideas underpinning the liberal economic order that, “rectifies market failures that cannot be resolved by 'majoritarian institutions”. According to certain commentators, in this extremely economic domain, no problem of political legitimacy is expected to arise given that at worst, decisions would produce indifferent effects and there would be no losers. In light of the fierce debates that have taken place in areas such as the Bolkestein Services Directive and the Viking and Laval rulings, in addition to the very real repercussions from the Eurozone crisis, it is obviously, “wrong to assume that economic regulation can be completely insulated from the surrounding social and political context”. The fact that it is obliged to interpret provisions that do not even have the same integration of substance code leads to, “a gradual erosion of the EU's output legitimacy”.
Tackling the problems stemming from the way in which the treaties were created is obviously not within the remit of the European Court of Justice but it does, nevertheless, attempt to carry out relevant work in this arena, including the field of state aid where with the Azores and Altmark rulings, for example, it is seeking to maintain a presence in the middle of the Community set up with regard to intra-national fiscal competencies and public services.
After having illustrated to what extent the law on state aid constitutes a separate chapter in the Union's economic constitution, Francesco de Cecco, tackles the way in which this law is interpreted in the second part of this book. He then looks at the state as both a participant on the market and as a regulator. In the final part of this book he gets to grips with issues such as regional tax autonomy and funding public services.
Pierre Bouvier
*** TOBIAS BRENNER: Das Vergleichsverfahren der Europäischen Kommission in Kartellfällen. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, Postfach 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - fax: 3761727 - Email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). “Publications Universitaires Européennes / European University Studies” series, No. 5315. 2012, 244 pp. €71.80. ISBN 978-3-631-63314-4.
In this book, Tobias Brenner examines the European Commission's settlement procedures used in cases involving cartels. In the first part, the author looks at how the legal basis of these procedures is applied. It provides examples of when this new settlement procedure is introduced, as well as its objective and how it is actually applied in practice. In the second part of the book, he looks at how efficient this mechanism actually is. To this end, he looks at several different aspects such as transparency, legal security and the difficulties that can result from it. The third part of the book looks at the legal nature of settlement procedure and in this connection the author also looks at defence law, the procedures' compatibility with the principle of equal treatment and the breach of third parties' rights. Before concluding, Tobias Brenner explores the improvements introduced by settlement procedure and their relationship with the principles of the rule of law.
(SH)
*** SIMONE SELVA: Supra-National Integration and Domestic Economic Growth. The United States and Italy in the Western Bloc Rearmament Programs 1945-1955. Peter Lang (see address attached). "Labour, Education & Society" series, No. 28. 2012, 214 pp. €42.95. ISBN 978-3-631-60579-0.
In this book originally published in Italian, the author revisits rearmament plans introduced by Italy through multilateral military assistance at the beginning of the 1950s, when NATO was first created. Simone Selva subsequently questions the idea of whether the US prioritised defence policy over economic assistance. The author's study effectively demonstrates that military assistance enabled the US to help stabilise the Italian balance of payments and domestic demand, which created the basis of a mass consumer market in Italy.
(PBo)
*** Futuribles. L'anticipation au service de l'action. Futuribles Sarl (47 rue de Babylone, F-75007 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 53633770 - fax: 42226554 - Email: revue@futuribles.com - Internet: http://www.futuribles.com ). May-June 2013, No. 394, 128 pp, €22. Annual subscription: €115 and. ISBN 978-2-84387-407-9.
The main thrust of this edition of the very well known journal on perspectives, focuses on the current condition of our economic development model. To this end, the editorial by Hugues de Jouvenel calls for some “époque changing” because he believes that the social market economy reference model is outmoded. Therefore, there is no point seeking to re-establish strong growth as our political leaders are always promising but rather, find, “a more resources and efficient development model that is less environmentally damaging and more productive and in sync with the aspirations of the younger generation” in France and Europe. In the same perspective, reference is made to the unfinished book by André Lebeau, “les Mauvais Chemins”. This scientist worked at the European Space Agency and recently passed away. He sought to make humanity respect its responsibilities to the Earth, given the cult of suicide involved in the endless pursuit of the sacred calf of growth. It should also be noted that the economist Charles du Granrut provides a review of the book, “Why Nations Fail”, which explores the role of institutions in the economic success or otherwise of different countries.
(MT)
*** FREDERIC LELIEVRE, FRANCOIS PILET: Krach machine. Comment les traders à haute fréquence menacent de faire sauter la Bourse. Calmann-Lévy (31 rue de Fleurus, F-75006 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 49543600 - Internet: http://www.calmann-levy.fr ). 2013, 232 pp. €17. ISBN 978-2-7021-4454-1.
This book was written by journalists and almost reads like a police thriller. It maintains a breathtaking speed from beginning to end. Journalists can usually write elegantly and efficiently but in this case they are also information professionals who reject the world of fiction in their pursuit of the facts, especially when the facts are hidden away from mere mortals such as ourselves. In this book, the two economics specialist journalists, Frédéric Lelièvre the leader writer in the economics and finance column in the Swiss newspaper Le Temps and François Pilet, who writes for the Swiss weekly, Le Matin Dimanche, do their profession proud. Their far-reaching investigation into the small world of high-frequency traders operating on the basis of sophisticated algorithms, provides a revealing picture of how these operators distort the stock and financial markets that are immune to human intervention and operate at the speed of light. In this little but highly profitable game, these men of the shadows, hiding behind their algorithms developed in the far-flung confines of physics and finance, manage to achieve the old dream of the financial world, namely, that of winning every time. Nevertheless, by playing this little game, they also create risks of blowing the whole banking system to smithereens, which is why certain quarters are seeking to move in on them in an effort to avoid disaster. One American interlocutor informs our authors that, “things are shifting in Brussels”. The authors demonstrate that the European Union and its member states are taking action to neutralise the high-frequency traders by updating mechanisms such as MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive), for example, and the importance of the work accomplished in this respect by the European Parliament under the guidance of its Bavarian rapporteur, Markus Ferber.
(MT)
*** STEPHAN GRUBER, LUDWIG VON ZUMBUSCH, ANDREAS HABERL, AXEL OLDEKOP: Europäisches und Internationales Patentrecht. Einführung zum EPÜ und PCT. Verlag C. H. Beck (9 Wilhelmstrasse, D-80801 Munich. Tel: (49-89) 38189-0 - fax: 38189-398 - Email: info@beck.de - Internet: http://www.beck.de ). « Praxis des Gewerblichen Rechtsschutzes und Urheberrechts ». 2012, 416 pp. CHF 79. ISBN 978-3-406-63189-4.
This book is edited by four lawyers and scrutinises European and international patent law. The authors begin their analysis by looking at three international treaties: the Paris Convention; Patent Cooperation Treaty and the European Patent Convention. They then explore the principles of the procedures adopted by the European Patents Office and the languages used throughout this procedure. They then look at the bodies operating in this area and the kinds of patent requests that can be submitted. The authors provide a detailed description of the examination carried out when receiving demands for a patent and the way in which these demands, requests and verification procedures are carried out, as well as the use of intervention as a tool in these procedures and concrete requirements involving inventions that can be patented. The four lawyers also examine amendments for patent requests during verification procedure and challenges to the latter, as well as opportunities for opposing patent requests and lodging appeals.
(SH)
*** PHILIPP SPEITLER: Rechtsverletzende Benutzung. Die dynamische Auslegung des markenrechtlichen Benutzungsbegriffs durch den Gerichtshof der Europäischen Union. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft (3-5 Waldseestrasse, D-76530 Baden-Baden. Tel: (49-7221) 2104-37 - fax: 2104-43 - Email: shop@nomos.de - Internet: http://www.nomos-shop.de ). 2012, 163 pp. €59. ISBN 978-3-8329-7303-2.
This book includes the PhD thesis of Philipp Speitler, who is now currently a member of the Cabinet of the President of the European Free Trade Association. After providing the general framework to study, the author examines the legal nature of brands, the European system responsible for this subject and the fundamental conceptions that prevail in the law determining brand names. The book moves on to examine issues such as the development and interpretation of this law in the European Union and European Economic Area. It then examines an analysis of case law established by the European Court of Justice. To this end, the author draws on a number of other cases involving brands and which have been subject of decisions by the European Court of Justice. Philipp Speitler continues the thrust of his argument by looking at the influence exerted by the European Court of Justice's case law and its effect on the law of the German Federal Court. He concludes his book with the presentation of the different consequences stemming from the interpretation of the notion of using a brand, the protection of brands and their harmonisation.
(SH)
*** PHILIPP DANNACHER: Der allgemeine Gleichheitssatz im Markenprüfungsverfahren bei Gemeinschaftsmarken der EU sowie im deutschen und im schweizerischen Markenprüfungsverfahren. Helbing Lichtenhahn Verlag (8 Elisabethenstrasse, CH-4051 Basle. Tel: (41-61) 2289070 - fax: 2289071 - Email: info@helbing.ch - Internet: http://www.helbing.ch ). « Schriftenreihe für Internationales Recht » series, No. 119. 2012, 242 pp. CHF 64. ISBN 978-3-7190-3217-3.
After examining the issue of brands in this book, Philipp Dannacher, Clerk at the Swiss Federal Administrative Court, begins with a study of legal equality in public law. He examines in turn how this fundamental law is interpreted in the Swiss, German and European legal systems. The author then provides an insight into the principles of protection applied in the field of brands, as well as a detailed exploration of trademarks in the context of intangible rights, the harmonisation of the law on brands in Europe, examination procedures and examples of brand invalidity. He also examines the relationship between the law governing the latter and property guarantees. The author also examines the impact of legal equality on brand examination procedures and related law in force in the European Union, Germany and Switzerland.
(SH)