*** CATHERINE FLAESCH-MOUGIN, LUCIA SERENA ROSSI (Editors): La dimension extérieure de l'Espace de liberté, de sécurité et de justice de l'Union européenne après le Traité de Lisbonne. Éditions Bruylant (Groupe De Boeck, 39 rue des Minimes, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-10) 482511 - fax: 482693 - Email: commande@deboeckservices.com - Internet: http://www.bruylant.be ). "Rencontres européennes" series. 2013, 670 pp. €75. ISBN 978-2-8027-3978-4.
This impressive book is the result of copious joint research carried out by representatives from the academic community, lecturers and researchers, as well as senior lecturers from the universities of Rennes, Bologna and the Université libre in Brussels. It includes the final acts of the two colloquies organised three years ago by the two former university institutions, in an effort to identify how the Lisbon Treaty has effectively influenced the European Union's external dimension in the Freedom, Security and Justice Area.
In the first part of the book, the twelve writers analyse the impact of the institutional modifications introduced in this area by the most recent treaty. It also looks at how this has influenced the relations that have been developed in this field by the Union with international organisations. It shows that, overall, progress in terms of scope remains limited, despite the removal of the post-Maastricht pillars. As a result, it is necessary to utilise the general system of external competencies or seek support from other agencies on operational aspects. The authors ask the question of whether, ultimately, the efficient action stemming from this development is going to suffer. In a similar perspective, there are also a number of other embarrassing questions that could be raised. What will be the impact of the Union's new external representation system in the area of justice and home affairs? To be more precise, how will this mechanism work alongside the representative functions carried out by the European Commission? This question is extremely pertinent with regard to the activity carried out in international organisations. The difficult situation of the Union in this connection is clearly illustrated in this book and according to which, the Council of Europe, The Hague Conference and Interpol are affected. According to Professor Catherine Flaesch-Mougin (Université de Rennes 1) and Lucia Serena Rossi (University of Bologna) this is without even going into the, “the problems of Union representation relating to its status and the key question of what role member state should play in these organisations”.
This is only half of the story! What would be the political ramifications of the new system? To be more specific, is there not the risk of an increasing encroachment of Common Foreign and Security Policy into the security aspects of the Freedom, Security and Justice Area? This is a loaded question because we know that the last treaty, “left a number of uncertainties regarding the respective fields of homeland and external security, as clearly illustrated by the question of what relevant legal basis should be adopted for restrictive measures on terrorists or terrorist groups”. All these questions are enough to mobilise a significant section of the European Parliament, which still has too little voice in the area of Common Foreign and Security Policy …
The second part of the book provides a report back on the work carried out in Bologna. Some of the authors focus on the question of coherency in Union action, which they believe should attempt to ensure, “coherency between the different fields of its external action and between these and other policies”. The notion of “multiple declinations” as highlighted by the editors of this book are common areas of application upon which the authors illustrate the difficulties and the subsequent limitations that can sometimes go as far as… incoherence.
Pierre Bouvier
*** JODIE BLACKSTOCK, ED CAPE, JACQUELINE HODGSON, ANNA OGORODOVA, TARU SPRONKEN: Inside Police Custody. An Empirical Account of Suspects' Rights in Four Jurisdictions. Intersentia (Trinity House, Cambridge Business Park, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WZ, UK. Tel: (44-1223) 393755 - Fax: 393513 - email: mail@intersentia.co.uk - Internet: http://www.intersentia.com ). 'Ius Commune' series, No. 113. 2013, 575 pp, €95, £90, $133. ISBN 978-1-78068-157-3.
This book publishes the results of research financed by the European Commission from 2011 to 2013 entitled Procedural rights of suspects in police detention in the EU: empirical investigation and promoting best practice. Emerging from cooperation among a number of British universities and other bodies, the research provides an empirical study of daily routine and practice in the administration and promotion of suspects' rights in four European jurisdictions: England and Wales, France, the Netherlands and Scotland. The rights studied are three rights covered by the 'EU Roadmap for strengthening the procedural rights of suspected and accused persons in criminal proceedings,' namely: the right to interpretation and translation, the right to information and a letter of rights, and the right of access to a lawyer before and during police interrogation, as well as the right to silence. In order to examine effective application of these procedural rights, the research team observed the work of lawyers and police officers in eight different cities and towns in four jurisdictions. The research covered case-records, observation of the 'booking-in' process, client-lawyer consultations and police interrogations of suspects. It is also based on the results of a raft of interviews with lawyers and police officers. Along with an analysis of the information obtained, the book includes a series of policy, legislative and procedural recommendations on how to ensure effective implementation of EU directives on the procedural rights in question. The work includes a European reference framework for the training of lawyers and police officers involved in the detention process.
(SD)
*** FRANCESCO ROSSI DAL POZZO: Citizenship Rights and Freedom of Movement in the European Union. Kluwer Law International (P.O. Box 316, 2400 AH, Alphen aan de Rijn, Nederland. Tel: (31-172) 641500 - Fax: 641555 - email: kluwerlaw@turpin-distribution.com - Internet: http://www.Kluwerlaw.com ). European Monographs, No. 83. 2013, .256 pp, €96, £77, $142. ISBN 90-4114660-1
Although European citizenship may not seem complicated because it is recognised for anyone from one of the member states, it sometimes involves a tricky question because rights automatically connected with nationality include the fundamental rights of being able to travel anywhere in the European Union and reside in another member state. The year 2013 was proclaimed 'Citizens' Year' and in this book, Francesco Rossi dal Pozzo provides a detailed analysis of the reasoning underlying the concept of European citizenship and the various directives and regulations that define the status of a 'citizen.' The author clarifies the significance and limits of said status, revealing the obstacles encountered by these rights in daily life. He looks in turn at the Charter of Fundamental Rights, changes to the notion of citizenship made by the Lisbon Treaty, the options available to member states when it comes to granting and… withdrawing citizenship, European citizens' participation in the decision-making processes governing the European Union, the options for appealing to the European Mediator, the right to access documents, restrictions on entry into a country on the grounds of public order, public security and public health, procedural safeguards for measures restricting the right of circulation, immigrant workers, and more besides. A very comprehensive book.
(AKa)
*** MARINE IMBERECHTS (Ed.): L'Europe et le phénomène migratoire contemporain. Centre de culture européenne (128 av. des Cerisiers, B-1200 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 7340699 - Fax: 7361932 - email: info@culture-europe.eu - Internet: http://www.culture-europe.eu ). 2011, 144 pp. ISBN 978-2-9601295-0-2.
This publication provides the proceedings of the fourth series of conference-debates and seminars organised by the Centre de Culture Européenne on the theme of Europe and the phenomenon of migration. Initially, academic specialists look at the scale and complexity of migration from the Roman Empire to the present day, before other researchers address the question of integration processes and then look at matters relating to asylum. There are two case studies, looking at the specific situation of two particularly vulnerable groups - migrant women and unaccompanied migrant children. Marine Imberechts concludes that the world's new configuration calls for a 'new vision of education.'
(MT)
*** VASSILIKI MISSIRA: La protection des droits de l'homme en Europe. La Convention européenne des droits de l'homme (CEDH) and Union européenne à la recherche de l'équilibre. Éditions I Sideris (116 Solonos Str, GR-10681 Athens. Tel: (30-210) 3833434 - Fax: 3832294 - email: contact@isideris.gr - Internet: http://www.isideris.gr ). 2013, 186 pp, €12.78. ISBN 978-960-08-0626-7.
Now a researcher at the European Centre for Research and Training on Human Rights and Humanitarian Action at Pantheon University, Vassiliki Missira presents in this book the human rights system that applies in countries in the Council of Europe and in the countries that are also members of the European Union. This doctoral thesis focuses on the developing relations between the two systems from the time when they were first set up until recent institutional changes such as the Lisbon Treaty, which gave the relationship a clear legal basis, the Charter of Fundamental Rights having been incorporated into primary EU law as the EU joins the European Convention of Human Rights. The author answers the question of the how the Lisbon Treaty measures might impact on the effectiveness of the fundamental rights protection system in Europe.
(AKa)
*** KARIN DE VRIES: Integration at the Border. The Dutch Act on Integration Abroad and International Immigration Law. Hart Publishing (16 Worcester Place, Oxford, OX1 2JW, UK. Tel: (44-1865) 517530 - Fax: 510710 - email: mail@hartpub.co.uk - Internet: http://www.hartpub.co.uk ). 2013, 402 pp, £60. ISBN 978-1-849464109
A recent development in the immigration policies of a number of member states has been to make the acceptance of foreigners dependent on them meeting integration criteria. As this practice spreads, Karin de Vries of Amsterdam University clarifies in this book the legal implications, which have in the past been misunderstood and little studied. She starts by analysing the situation prevailing in the Netherlands, which was the first EU member state to formulate integration criteria. She explores the historical and political origins of the new rules and their rise in the context of the Netherlands, going on to examine how integration conditions can be assessed from the viewpoint of European and international law, be it in terms of European Union directives, obligations to respect human rights and non-discrimination, migration policies, Association Agreements and the like. She concludes with comments on the legality of the Dutch approach.
(AKa)
*** ANDREA BONOMI, PATRICK WAUTELET (Eds.): Le droit européen des successions. Commentaire du Règlement n° 650/2012 du 4 juillet 2012. Edition Bruylant (see above). 2013, 938 pp, €75. ISBN 978-2-8027-4089-6.
Things get complicated when a deceased parent leaves goods or property in his or her will that exist in one or more member states abroad. Notaries, magistrates and other practitioners have their work cut out for them to unravel the knot of varying legislation in the countries in question. This book opens by pointing out that the question of legacies has long provided a testing ground for private international law. The book looks at the European Regulation that will govern this aspect of civil law from 2015 onwards, an aspect of law that is on the cusp of often very differing rules in neighbouring countries. The main difficulty is that the law governing inheritance is at the confluence of property law, the law of obligations, family law and the right of individuals and the law of legal acts. The authors explain that it is basically where all chapters of civil law meet up. This will be no simple matter because legislation in this domain has become, in each member state, a mechanism of detail and precision, an intricate clock mechanism adjusted in line with the chosen ideological line, which differs from one member state to the next. In over 900 pages, professors Andrea Bonomi (Lausanne) and Patrick Wautelet (Liège) examine with the aid of Ilaria Pretelli and Aradi Öztürk the sheer diversity of subject matter and then comment on the European regulation article by article, persuaded that its interpretation will be far from simple, especially in the first few years of application. They point out that the new European private law of inherence includes rules to decide which court applies and the rules that apply to the liquidation of inherited goods. The authors say that the new EU rules will apply for all deaths occurring after 17 August 2015, the date when the regulation comes into force, but warn that early granting of inheritance must already take account of the uniform international private law rules that the regulation will introduce.
(FBC)