*** EMMANUELLE BRIBOSIA, ANNE WEYEMBERGH (Eds.): Lutte contre le terrorisme et droits fondamentaux. Editions Nemesis and Etablissements Emile Bruylant (67 rue de la Régence, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5129845 - Fax: 5117202 - E-mail: info@bruylant.be - Internet: http://www.bruylant.be ). "Droit et justice" series, No. 34. 2002, 307 pp, 70 euros. ISBN 2-8027-1606-9.
Saying that the symbolically unprecedented attacks of 11 September opened a new chapter in the history of humanity is not saying a great deal. Will it be a long chapter or simply a parenthesis? The answer to this question will largely depend on how democracies manage to take on the challenge of terrorism on a global scale. This obvious answer, however, immediately raises another, equally fundamental, question: can democracies fight terrorism without taking into account the fundamental rights and freedoms that make up their common heritage, on the grounds that the perpetrators of acts of terrorism these days follow ideological or religious fanaticism? The authors of this book, eminent academics for the most part (philosophers and political scientists, criminologists and lawyers) attempt to answer this particularly acute question in a serene and realistic manner.
Following the preface by Gilles de Kerchove, Director at the Secretariat General of the Council, the book opens with a bitter-sweet study by philosopher Maurice Weyembergh (from the Université libre de Bruxelles, ULB) who answers the question of whether terrorists exist who have the desire to use arms with the frightening destructive potential that are now available on the market with the philosophic observation: "Democrats rely on the belief in reasonable discussion and the possibility of reaching a consensus or compromises though such discussion. But the domain of the reasonable, the other side of reason, next to rationality, can only operate if the debaters agree to stick to it. One cannot force someone to be reasonable". It would be impossible to make a better summary in so few words of the inexpressible regression threatening to occur. Olivier Corten and François Dubuisson, from the Centre de droit international et de sociologie appliquée au droit international at the ULB, then discuss the delicate conciliation between the fight against "terrorism" and the right for peace, concluding that international law can change in one of two directions, either a "genuine return to the legal system that prevailed before the adoption of the Charter of the United Nations" (when, in the name of legitimate defence, any state feeling it was under threat felt entitled to react militarily "invoking self-defence or an attack on its vital interests", which is a black mark against the United States…), or a reaffirmation of the need to "consider the fight against terrorism as a problem essentially concerned with cooperation in criminal matters".
After Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of the humanitarian NGO Human Rights Watch, expresses a point of view originating from civil society, Olivier de Schutter (Professor of Law at the Université Catholique de Louvain) looks at the more specifically European side of the issue, analysing the European Convention from human rights to the test of the fight against terrorism. He sees the opposition between human rights demands and the fight against terrorism as being no more than "lazily maintained" appearances used to classify views in different camps, and being the reflection of a lack of institutional imagination: "it requires a lack of imagination to assume in advance that the fight against terrorism necessarily means restricting the rights of the very individuals that the war on terrorism's ultimate aim is to preserve". Researcher at the ULB's Institut d'études européennes, Anne Weyembergh then studies the "impact of 11 September on the security/freedom balance in the European penal area", which she describes as being "highly suitable for the setting up of a European penal area", but which all the same should not prevent Member States from "allotting themselves the time and the resources to manage to balance out demands for effectiveness and the need to safeguard individual guarantees". The final essays are case studies (Belgium, France and Canada), with Jean-Paul Marthoz ending the book by looking at the "impact of 11 September on press freedom", in the light of the US press which has been "forced to self-censor".
How could one not leave the ending remarks to Gilles de Kerchove, who punctuates the preface with these words: "the vitality of our democracy, its capacity to accept diversity and promote fundamental rights, is certainly the most convincing of the responses to terrorism ".
Michel Theys
*** MONICA DEN BOER (Ed.): Organised crime: A catalyst in the Europeanisation of national police and prosecution agencies? European Institute for Public Administration (P. O. Box 1229, 6201 BE Maastricht, the Netherlands. Tel: (31-43) 3296274 - Fax: 3296296 - E-mail: m.simons@eipa-nl.com - Internet: http: //http://www.eipa.nl ). 2002, 556 pp, 38.60 euros. ISBN 90-6779-162-8.
In recent years, cooperation between Member States over justice and internal affairs has considerably increased. Cross-border cooperation over criminal justice has gradually increased as internal border controls have been lifted and criminals have gained opportunities to exploit gaps in policies and national law. The assassination of Italian judge Giovanni Falcone on 23 May 1992 raised awareness in the fifteen Member States and the public in general of the threat posed by organised crime to democratic European society. This has led to the adoption of a considerable number of measures since the beginning of the 1990s at national and Community level in order to combat organised crime.
The first chapter of this collection of essays is a general introduction explaining the reforms carried out in the domain of criminal justice in order to take on organised crime and giving an outline of the legal instruments adopted by the Community institutions. It also makes a comparative analysis of the Member States' national reports. Following the introduction, there are fifteen chapters looking at the criminal justice systems concerning organised crime in each of the European Union Member States.
(MF)
*** MARIANNE DONY, EMMANUELLE BRIBOSIA (Ed.): L'avenir du système juridictionnel de l'Union européenne . Editions de l'Université libre de Bruxelles (26, avenue Paul Héger. B-1000 Brussels). Tel: (00-32) (0)2 650 37 99 - Fax: 6503794 - Internet: http: //http://www.editions-universite-bruxelles.be/ - Email: EDITIONS@admin.ulb.ac.be) "Etudes européennes" series, 2002, 289 pp. ISBN 2-8004-1297-6. Price: 30 euros.
The constantly growing workload of the European Court of Justice an the Court of First Instance, and the problem of dispensing justice that respects the guarantees of the trial, speed and the efficiency that results from this, call for a review of the EU's court system.
The Court of Justice demanded more flexibility and hence "echoing the proposals presented by the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance on the occasion of the Intergovernmental Conference, measures in the Nice Treaty made it possible to profoundly change the EU's court system" and make the necessary changes. These changes will affect the structure of the three-level system.
In effect, the court chambers responsible for certain types of appeal may, in the future, assist the Court of First Instance, which will no longer assist the Court of Justice. It follows from this that the Court of First Instance will "no longer be exclusively of first instance" but will consider appeals against the decision of court chambers.
Moreover, a new division of competencies between Community jurisdictions will also be carried out. The Court of First Instance will judge common rights "in principle, for all direct appeals". These changes were only made possible by a ratification to the Nice Treaty.
The book aims to clarify the challenges of the reform that is underway and to highlight potential loopholes that still exist and suggestions for remedying them. Various fields are covered - reorganising the EU's jurisdictional architecture, the Court of Justice's new areas of intervention, effective legal protection and the protection of fundamental rights.
"For each of these subjects an academic specialist presents the issue and the challenges, following which legal practitioners (lawyers, members of the Court of Justice, of the Court of First Instance or the European Court of Human Rights), national and European officials and academics provide a critical appreciation based on their own experience".
The book is laden with information and ideas and, on the eve of enlargement, it has the great advantage of taking a close look at the European Union's court system while providing a guide to reform.
(AD)
*** GILLES DE KERCHOVE, ANNE WEYEMBERGH: L'espace pénal européen: enjeux et perspectives. Editions de l'Université libre de Bruxelles (26, avenue Paul Héger. B-1000 Brussels). Tel: 00-32-2 650 37 99 - Fax: 6503794 - Internet: http: //http://www.editions-universite-bruxelles.be/ - Email: EDITIONS@admin.ulb.ac.be). "Etudes européennes" series, 2002, 305 pp. ISBN 2-8004-1296-8. Price: 30 euros.
Through treaties like the 1992 Maastricht Treaty and the 1997 Amsterdam Treaty and the conclusions of the 1999 European Council in Tampere, traditional cooperation mechanisms have been freed up to a significant extent. According to the directions of the Amsterdam Treaty, we are one year away from the establishment of a common European area of freedom, security and justice. There is no doubt that the Laeken Council accelerated this process, stimulated by the emotions raised by the 11 September attacks. It "led to a political agreement over three important instruments, the framework decision on the European arrest warrant, the framework decision concerning the fight against terrorism and the decision setting up Eurojust". Each of these matches areas of work assigned to the Council by the European Council at the Tampere meeting. Which were, in detail, the mutual recognition of judicial decisions in criminal matters, harmonisation of legislation and the setting up of European players.
The first is putting the finishing touches to the scrapping of borders. The second has partly been dealt with under the Belgian Presidency. As for the third, the official adoption of the instrument occurred at the end of February 2002. The book proposes to "carry out an original analysis of these achievements", while setting out the challenges and future prospects for penal Europe without the Convention on the Future of Europe. The book is a series of essays by an international team of academics, researchers, law practitioners and national and European officials who took part in a conference at the beginning of 2002. The preface is by Commissioner Antonio Vitorino. The introduction is by the Belgian Justice Minister Marc Verwilghen and the postscript is by the Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio.
(AD)
*** Cahiers de droit européen. Etablissements Emile Bruylant (67 rue de la Régence, 1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5129845 - Fax: 5117202 - E-mail: abt@bruylant.be). 2002, 230 pp, 52 €. ISBN 90-6779-168-7.
In this new issue of the Cahiers (the Editor-in-Chief of which is Jean-Victor Louis, professor at the Université libre de Brussels) we find an editorial on the right to apply to the courts, followed by an article about language requirements which can form an obstacle to the freedom of movement of goods, but also of workers. European official Carlos Gimeno Verdejo then studies the Community response to the blocking of roads and ports.
In practice, in fact, the Commission (guardian of the Treaties) has great difficulty in lifting obstacles to free circulation of this nature. The article aims to draw up a balance-sheet of the application of the regulation that enabled the Commission to provide itself with the legal instrument required to intervene. Another essay looks at the issue of reference, in the case law of the European Court of Justice, to national markets or a Member State's domestic situation.
The author queries the extent to which such references are compatible with an area characterised by the suppression of borders. The reader will also find two articles on case law, one looking at the environment and the internal electricity market, and the other at competition law.
(MF)
*** Revue de droit monégasque. Palais de Justice de Monaco (B. P. 513, MC-98015 Monaco Cedex). 2001, 247 pp, 30 euros.
Alongside rulings forming case law, this issue of the Revue de Droit Monégasque includes articles on a conference in April 2000 on bioethics and children's rights, the reform of Monaco law on financial pledges, arbitration in Monaco over patents, the draft Indemer Convention on pleasure boating in the Mediterranean, the Principality's international criminal competence and the protection of sea mammals in the Mediterranean. There is also an essay on the development of Monaco's nationality law.
(LD)
*** Revue de droit monégasque. Palais de Justice de Monaco (see above). 2002, 254 pp, 30 euros.
This issue includes articles on cross-border cooperation between Monaco and France, the protection of the marine habitat, Monaco's laws on extradition in the European context, investigating and judging crimes, registering suspicion in Monaco's legal system, arbitration in the Principality, and the effect of mixed marriages on the nationality of spouses who are French or from Monaco…
(LD)
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg, http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following documents:
*** RTD Info. DG Research (Fax: (32-2) 2959971- Fax: 2958220 - E-mail: research@cec.eu.int and rtd-info@cec.eu.int - Internet: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/research). November 2002, special issue, 32pp. Free subscription.
The priorities of FP6 match the ambition of building a European knowledge-based society. Seven domains take priority in this framework programme: "life sciences", the "genome and biotechnology for health", "technologies for the information society", "nanotechnologies and nanosciences", "aeronautics and space", "the quality and safety of food", "sustainable development, planet change and ecosystems". The newsletter notes that the 6th Framework Programme has strengthened and resolutely innovative resources and focuses on implementing the European Research Area ".
*** Régions & Communes d'Europe. Comité des régions CdR (Tel: (32-2) 2822155 - Fax: 2822085 - http: //http://www.cor.eu.int ). November 2002, No.37, 8pp. Free publication.
"More power to the regions" demands MEP and Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume. He would like his "Europe of the future" to be the Europe of the Regions. The booklet also includes the views of the President of the EPP Group at the CoR, Reinhold Bocklet, who says that "all regional leaders want a stronger Committee of the Regions". The plenary session was made up of diverse opinions and constructive points of view. Various aspects were considered, such as the local element in the European Employment Strategy, prospects for the Greek Presidency, "Europe of the Regions after enlargement", the importance of regional and local authorities in tomorrow's Europe, the mid-term review of the CAP and the Common Fisheries Policy and two programmes concerning immigration that will have a regional and local impact.
*** Environment for Europeans. DG Environment (Tel: (32-2) 2969560 - E-mail: envinfo@cec.eu.int - Internet: http: //europa.eu.int/environmen/). November 2002, No. 12, 16 pp.
The following subjects are dealt with in this issue: sustainable development on the agenda of the Earth Summit, and its implementation, the Kyoto Protocol, Europeans' concerns for their environment, maritime pollution and the scrapping of refuse ships, sustainable consumption and curbing pesticides, and civil protection.
*** European Public Health Alliance UPDATE. (33, rue de Pascale - B-1040 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2303056 - Fax: 2333880 - E-mail: epha@epha.org - Internet: http: //http://www.epha.org ). October 2002, No. 65, 29 pp.
There are articles on the following subjects in this issue: the European Union making plans for protection citizens' health; landmarks in European public health policy; health activities at EU level approached through the question "Who are we and where are we going in terms of health?". Fernand Sauer, Director of Public Health at DG Sanco, is interviewed, as is Martin McKee from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The announcement by Commissioner Byrne on the changes to the Treaty is also published.
*** Economia Exterior. Estudios de Politica Exterior (6 Padilla, E-28006 Madrid - Tel: (91) 4312628 - 5777252 - E-mail: revista@politicaexterior.com - Internet: http: //http://www.politicaexterior.com ). Autumn 2002, No. 22, 198 pp. Price: 12.47 euros.
"Economic Orthodoxy and Growth - the lessons of the Argentinean breakdown" is the central theme in the current issue. The specialists writing for the review ask why Latin America (Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay) is still a "volatile and failing" economy. Among the reasons put forward by the specialists we find structural weaknesses and governance problems. "The time has come for a second generation of reforms", suggests Anne O. Krueger of the IMF. The extremely high level of external debt and the need for funding from abroad are another two causes so what is needed is "new legitimacy to be given to the reform process". But the following question crops up throughout the dossier: "If the reforms taken thus far have not been able to bear fruit, and one could even say that they have ruined these economies, who can guarantee that they will provide beneficial changes in the future?".