*** ANTOINETTE PERRODET: Etude pour un ministère public européen. LGDJ Montchrestien (20 rue Soufflot, F-75005 Paris - Tel.: (33-1) 46338985 - fax: 56541649 - E-mail: e.j.a@wanadoo.fr). Collection "Bibliothèque des sciences criminelles", volume 35. 2001, 432 pp, 288.62 FF, 44 euros. ISBN 2-275-02041-1.
The creation of a European Public Prosecutor's Office is no longer just wishful thinking. Until very recently absolute disorder prevailed (the author reveals in the very first few lines of her work that "the Public Prosecutor's Office is still the legal institution that differs more than any other, from one European country to another…"). At best, it is a system of co-operation "without any supranational dimension" between European Union Member States, where necessity alone dictates, once again, how resistance at a national level is broken down. Opening up the economic borders fits uneasily with the different legal systems. By concentrating on developing the methods and means of fighting crime within Member States alone, without developing them in parallel at an international level, will result in an inability to meet the enormous challenges facing us, given that in an effort to escape measures made at a national level to curtail criminality, crime itself is becoming more international. There is nothing astonishing, therefore, if the initial call for implementing a project for fighting crime at a European legal level has come from European magistrates. In their experienced, authoritative 1996 Geneva Appeal, which cut against the grain of blinkered nationalism, they denounced the "inadequacy and slowness of legal co-operation and the need to create a common judicial space". They were immediately backed up by a group of experts who had come together under the auspices of the European Commission, and had proposed the creation of a European Public Prosecutor's Office steering committee charged with the task of providing efficient protection of the European Union's financial interests. This pressure for "more Europe" on a legal and judicial level has not let up since then and finally led to government leaders taking a decision at the European Council's Extraordinary meeting in Tampere, in October 1999, to create - in principle before the end of this year - Eurojust, a unit made up of prosecutors, judges and police officers having similar powers, in charge of strengthening the fight against all sorts of serious organised crime.
A European legal system is therefore taking shape. Bringing it to life will, however, require another pair of helping hands. According to Antoinette Perrodet, Europeans are faced with a double judicial challenge. Firstly, making this judicial co-operation, which is still in its infancy and handicapped by its differences, (…), indeed incompatible on the different national levels", really efficient. This will require organising a rapprochement between the different national legislation and a harmonisation of the systems. Secondly, the author suggests establishing a real European legal system by way of developing supranational standards "whenever the interests of the European Union are concerned and when offences are of a transnational character". Building a European legal system requires therefore in the initial stages, mutual knowledge of the different national systems. This study is pertinent in this sense as it compares the Public Prosecutor's Office in four different legal systems: two from inquisitorial procedure traditions (France and Italy) and two from common law (England and Scotland).
It is hardly surprising - the comparison illustrates an extremely diversified situation, much more diversified than we would have expected (it was developed within the framework of a doctorate thesis at the Université Panthéon-Sorbonne and received first prize at the Centre français de droit comparé). The disparities in the status of the Public Prosecutor's Office in the countries studied are as great as the varying degrees of power at their disposal. In this context, is the desire to create a European Public Prosecutor's Office utopian? Does Antoinette Perrodet's study, which aimed to, "bring elements of comparative law for assessing a rapprochement of the different national systems within the perspective of greater co-operation between Member States and indeed, institutions (…) and of a European instrument responsible for prosecuting crimes of a transnational nature", finish up in a dead-end? Is it a non-starter? No. For the author, "beyond the very marked contrasts present in the different national institutions", a certain rapprochement has already begun, "based on common principles" that are "laid down in the European Convention on the protection of civil rights and fundamental freedoms, sanctioned by the European Court of Justice of the European Communities on the fundamental principles of Community law". By these means, "supralegislative principles applicable in judicial matters are now(…) sufficiently binding in order to determine a real convergence between the systems"… This conclusion alone is enough to demonstrate the significance of this study, through which commonly accepted principles allow an insight into what could happen in the near future, the setting up of an authentic Public Prosecutor's Office.
Michel Theys
*** PIERRE RANCE, OLIVIER DE BAYNAST: L'Europe judiciaire. Enjeux et perspectives. Dalloz (31-35 rue Froidevaux, F-75685 Paris cedex 14. Tel.: (33-1) 40645353 - fax: 40645471 - Internet: http://www.dalloz.fr - Distribution: Patrimoine, 168 rue du Noyer, B-1030 Bruxelles. Tel./fax: (32-2) 7366847). 2001, 159 p., 92 FF. ISBN 2-247-04485-9.
In a way that is far less specialised and specific than the previous author's book, but with an obvious didactic goal, the journalist Pierre Rancé, No. 1 legal chronicler in Europe, and the magistrate Olivier de Baynast, leading French representative in the judicial co-operation Eurojust unit in Brussels, provide an analysis of the measures being taken to construct a Space of freedom, security and justice by 2004. As Jacques Delors emphasises in the preface, the reader will gain, "a better understanding of the construction that is fully underway, but also a healthy impatience at the tasks that still need to be achieved", from this pedagogic study. One of the major strengths of this book actually lies in its denunciation of the gap between the progress that has somehow been achieved and the way in which it is experienced by Europe's citizens in their daily lives in ensuring commercial debts or alimony are paid or resolving disputes under family law. An entire chapter is dedicated to the obvious need to, "facilitate the lives of Europe's citizens in civil law" (the family, the principle of joint recognition of decisions taken in civil law and agreement on European society are the subjects dealt with in this context. Other themes touched on include, in particular, the legal system in Europe, the fight against organised crime and judicial co-operation and the subsequent co-operation between different police forces. Brief interviews with those in authority and other experts - ranging from Commissioner Antonio Vitorino and former Home Secretary Jack Straw to President of the Court of Justice Carlos Iglesias and MEP Pervenche Beres… - reinforce the relevance and convincing quality of the study. The authors also wanted, with the reader in mind, to use the occasion to bring some clarity to the jungle of institutions and procedures. A good start but which falls short of its goal. Reading, "on the intergovernmental level, decisions on legal issues are taken by Member States on their sovereignty within the framework of the Council of Europe", demonstrates the importance of raising awareness amongst national experts… about European issues.
(MT)
*** CHRISTIAN DE VALKENEER: La tromperie dans l'administration de la preuve pénale. Analyse en droits belge et international complétée par des éléments de droits français et néerlandais. Editions Larcier (39 rue des Minimes, B-1000 Brussels. Diffusion: Accès+, 4 Fond Jean-Pâques, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve. Tel.: (32-10) 482500 - fax: 482519 - E-mail: acces+cde@deboeck.be. 2000, 711 p., 5,650 FB, 919 FF. ISBN 2-8044-0680-6.
Deceit has formed a part of criminal law throughout its history. Over the last thirty years it has sometimes even benefited from either legal or tacit recognition throughout Europe in what are described as "under-cover" activities. Examining available sources, the study covers the different kinds of deceit in Belgian criminal procedures under the criteria of the open or closed nature of their application. This national perspective is consolidated by an analysis of comparative law - French and Dutch - as well as international law. In this study, for which the author obtained his doctorate at the Université catholique de Louvain, De Valkeneer seeks to assess the implications the use of deceit has by its very nature, for the legitimacy of the legal system and the ethical considerations it provokes. He also demonstrates that the use of deceit, particularly within the remit of under-cover police activities, tends to bring into question certain paradigms on which criminal law has been based for more than two centuries when involving the freedom to dispute evidence, the right to remain silent or the legitimate time when investigations can be carried out. Accompanied by a copious bibliography, this book is useful in explaining the issues involved at a European Union level and the co-operation between the different police forces that is being developed.
(LD)
*** CHRISTIAN VON BAR (Ed) The Private Law Systems in the EU: Discrimination on Grounds of Nationality and the Need for a European Civil Code. Parlement européen (Directorate General for Research, Division for Social - Legal and Cultural Affairs. Luxembourg, L-2929. Tel.: (352) 4300-23709 - fax: 4300-27723). Collection "Legal Affairs Series - Juri 103 En". 1999, 204 p..
Intensive studies carried out by a group of experts has produced, at the request of the Directorate General for Research at the European Parliament, this clearly important legal and political report. It examines, on the basis of a comparative approach, the aims and the need for a European Civil Code. By attempting, correctly, to distinguish between what could come under the jurisdiction of the European Union in the matter, it draws our attention to the different kinds of discrimination linked to nationality. The comparison does not cover all aspects of the subject, given the nature of the study, but it is very informative. The authors clearly illustrate the differences, as well as the similarities between the national systems. Listing the possible difficulties, they emphasise that these will not be resolved by establishing a framework covering the issues involved in civil law alone, but by establishing a comprehensive European code. The authors note that even in these conditions it will still be necessary to ensure that this framework integrates the principles and national traditions common to the different national systems in civil law, by adapting them accordingly if necessary. The report concludes that the implementation of the single market has not necessarily been conducive to the harmonisation of the different legal systems, but that we can expect in the near future a speeding up of the process due to the introduction of the single currency and developments in technology. In other words due to business, which cannot be held back for too long by fragmented legal systems.
(GC)
*** VIRGINIE GUIRAUDON: Les politiques d'immigration en Europe. Germany, France, the Netherlands. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel.: (33-1) 40467920 - fax: 43258203 - E-mail: harmat@worldnet.fr). Collection "Logiques Politiques". 2000, 281 p.. ISBN 2-7384-9856-6.
Research carried out in English as part of a political science doctorate at Harvard University, has led to this definitive study that provides an unsettling observation: while European governments have adopted strict official immigration policies in a context of rising xenophobia, since the halt to the recruitment of foreign labour in the 1970s, foreign nationals enjoy certain social and political rights and improved guaranties of residence. The study is based on a comparative study of reforms concerning the rights of foreign nationals in France, Germany and the Netherlands since 1974. The author is French and was a Jean Monnet scholar at the European University Institute in Florence before becoming head of research at CNRS (Centre nationale de la recherche scientifique) where she works on immigration control policy and European integration. Virginie Guiraudon provides a forceful analysis of why and how this paradoxical evolution affecting foreign nationals has arisen. She explains how the polemic on immigration in the public arena wrecked any chance of reforms concerning the rights of foreign nationals succeeding. These reforms have only come off when they have been the object of debates confined to governments or the field of the judiciary, while in some countries political leaders have deliberately attempted to downplay the significance of these reforms. Useful in shedding light on the subject!
(MT)
*** CLOTILDE MARINHO (Ed): The Dublin Convention on Asylum. Its essence, Implementation and Prospects. European Institute of Public Administration (22 O. L. Vrouweplein, Box 1229, 6201 BE Maastricht, the Netherlands. Tel.: (31-43) 3296274 - fax: 3296296 - E-mail: eipa@eipa-nl.com - Internet: http: //http://www.eipa.nl ). 2000, 413 p., 11,34 euros, 25 NLG. ISBN 90-6779-143-1.
This study includes some excellent contributions - in English and to a lesser extent, in French. Following an investigation carried out by the IEAP, partly financed by the European Commission via its Odysseus programme, these contributions clearly show that the Dublin Convention was initially devised to determine which Member State is responsible for examining a request for asylum (and also as a means of preventing an asylum seeker making the same request for asylum in different Member States at the same time…). It is significant that this instrument for co-operation deals with a particularly sensitive subject, which explains why at times it is both misinterpreted and clumsily implemented. A comprehensive, reliable and honest investigation.
(MT)
*** ROGER FALIGOT: La mafia chinoise en Europe. Calmann-Lévy (3 rue Auber, Paris 9ème). 2001, 364 p., 129 FF. ISBN 2-7021-3142-5.
From Paris to Kiev and covering Europe as a whole, this journalistic investigation highlights the rise in power of the Chinese mafia in Europe and the inability of the authorities to counteract it. This is worrying, assuming that the author has a better understanding of the descendants of the Triads than the European institutions …
(MT)
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985, Luxembourg) has published the following document:
*** A New Framework Programme for European Research. Towards a European Research Space. DG Research, «Communications» Unit (200 rue de la Loi, B-1049 Brussels. Fax: (+32-2) 2958220 - E-mail: research@cec.eu.int - Internet: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/research). 2001, 54 p.. ISBN 92-894-1036-1.
This booklet contains the Draft European Parliament and Council Decision on the European Union Framework Programme 2002-2006 "for research actions, technological developments and demonstrations aimed at supporting the construction of a European Research Space", as well as the Draft European Commission Proposal on Euratom, which forms part of the same field. A crucial document for those working in this area.
*** Actualité des Services Publics en Europe. Lettres des Entreprises Européennes de Réseaux. ASPE Europe (30 rue de Laborde, F-75008 Paris. Fax: (+33-1) 43876891 - E-mail: aspe@club-internet.fr). July-August 2001. Annual subscription: 490 euros.
A debate on the European Council in Göteborg, but above all a transport dossier concentrating on the opening up of the public transport market to competition. It poses the crucial question of what room for manoeuvre exists for local communities. Other themes include: "Brussels", which intends to play a full role in terms of the local network; Europe which must encourage alternatives to oil; a joint venture involving Galileo; subsidies to the European aeronautical industry that have been criticised by the US; towards a single European railway network; Europe would be able to "technically and financially meet the Kyoto objectives"…
*** Revue du Marché commun et de l'Union européenne. Technical and economic publications (3 rue Soufflot, F-75005 Paris. Tel.: (+33-1) 55426130 - fax: 55426139 - E-mail: editecom@starnet.fr - Internet: http: //http://www.editecom.com ). June 2001, n° 449. Annual subscription: 161.60 euros (France) et 192.09 euros (abroad).
To summarise, these reflections on the future of Pac, the "E-Commerce" Directive, the budgetary procedure for 2001 ("A long tranquil river?"), the revision of directives on public tendering, developments in European audio-visual policies, the agri-environment in rural development plans for 2000-2006 and the balance sheet of relations over a ten year period between the EU and the Principality of Andorra.
*** OECD Observer. OECD (2 rue André-Pascal, F-75775 Paris cedex 16. Tel.: (+33-1) 45248200 - fax 45248210 - E-mail: sales@oecd.org). Summer 2001, n° 226/227, 80 p.. Annual subscription: 43 euros.
Sustainable Planet… What could possibly be better? But as it turns out, the objective is anything but easy, how do we go about achieving it? The summer 2001 edition of this OECD journal is dedicated to answering this question, with contributions from the Secretary General of the organisation Donald J. Johnston and the Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen. There are also letters from those actively opposed to the 'pensée unique' such as Ioana Marinescu from the French Post-Autistic Movement who rejects the imposition of "imaginary worlds" on economics students, thereby condemning them to be separated off from the real issues of the change in the economic paradigm that is currently underway… Most articles deal with the issues of sustainable development (resource management, "trade and development" with contributions from Mike Moore and Michel Camdessus, the economic consequences of an ageing population…) are also covered. Another article of some interest is entitled "2000: the annus miserabilis of the euro?"
Journals in brief
*** Comunidad Europea Aranzadi. Editorial Aranzadi (Carretera de Aioz, Pamplona). June 2001, n° 6. This Navarrian monthly information and study journal covers European institutions, legislation and jurisprudence, and rises to the task. *** Politica Exterior. May/June 2001, Madrid. As well as the main article on the America of George Bush, this edition of the well known Spanish journal also covers the following subjects: "The Islamists and the reign of Mohamed VI", The two Koreas on the Path of Reconciliation, The Israeli Palestinian Peace Process, Europe and Asia under threat from Economic Conflict with the US, the Macedonian Crisis, Political Cohabitation in France within a Perspective of the 2002 Elections, The Economic Policy of the EU…