*** GILLES DE KERCHOVE, ANNE WEYEMBERGH: Quelles réformes pour l'espace pénal européen? Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles (26 av. Paul Héger, CP 163, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 6503792 - Fax: 6503794 - E-mail: editions@admin.ulb.ac.be - Internet: http://www.editions-universite-bruxelles.be ). "Etudes européennes" series. 2003, 172 pp. ISBN 2-8004-1304-2.
Asserting that the accession of citizens to European construction will now be via the ability of political leaders to meet the demands of security and justice, is not, judging by the evidence, a huge risk. As the Belgian Minister of Justice, Marc Verwilgen, stresses at the beginning in "questions on the work of the Convention in the criminal law sector", ensuring both the security of individuals as well as the protection of their rights and freedoms in western Europe, will more than ever require the implementation of an area of prison justice through free movement and legal decisions. This diagnostic is now undeniable and uncontested. The problem is that we are touching the very heart of national sovereignty of the different nations where more legitimacy still resides in this area: as Marc Verwilghen states, "specificity of criminal law and its relationship to the most essential values of society, "remain attached to national identities". From this starting point, the challenge is of a methodological nature, how easy is it to build a "common base" of values while respecting the particular values of the Member States and if this is not forthcoming, "the system that is set up will sooner or later feel as a violent imposition that the national authorities find unacceptable"?
This book deals exclusively with this crucial issue, from which two other questions also arise, which are more of a practical and tangible nature: Hat competencies should the Union have in criminal law and what kinds of decision making should exist in this sector? This book is the direct offshoot of a seminar organised in November by the legal section at the Institute of European Studies at the Free University of Brussels in collaboration with the Belgian Minister of Justice. The book brings together contributions from representatives from the academic world, legal practitioners and national and European civil servants. The consultative paper was signed by Commissioner Antonio Vitorino on the basis of his address to the "Freedom, security and justice" work group at the Convention.
It is obviously impossible to claim to summarise such reflections without running the risk of leaving many indispensable issues by the wayside. Ho can we not, hover, fail to distinguish between Gilles de Kerchove, who is a little less than twenty pages, provides a breakdown of the institutional difficulties involved since the "conceptual separation" arising with the Treaty of Amsterdam, which was the first to designate the Union with the goal of becoming a genuine area of criminal law and which led to "a rethink of the exercise by Member States and their sovereignty in criminal law", which in the past, as in the present, is founded on the principle of territoriality of criminal law and repressive action. Gilles de Kerchove, Director at the Secretariat General at the Council provides us with a document that sheds light on the weaknesses that exist and how obstacles can be overcome. Essential reading for understanding this subject.
Michel Theys
*** DIDIER QUENTIN: La coopération judiciaire entre l'Union européenne et les Etats-Unis. Délégation pour l'Union européenne de l'Assemblée nationale (Kiosque de l'Assemblée nationale, 4 rue Aristide Briand, F-75007 Paris. Internet: http: //http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr ). "Les documents d'information de l'Assemblée nationale", No. 716. 2003, 30 pp, 3.50 euros. ISBN 2-11-116982-X.
After 11 September, judicial cooperation between Europe and the United States has increased, feeding into the debate over Europe's judicial capacity. Articles 24 and 38 of the Treaty of the European Union lay down procedures for negotiating and signing international agreements in the fields of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and justice and home affairs. In both these areas Member States retain their right to submit treaties for approval to their parliaments but the actual coming into force of the treaties is no longer dependent on their ratification. All the same, as long as the issue of the EU's international legal status remains a subject of discussion, some doubt will remain about the legality of this manœuvre. This report therefore looks at the various interpretations of the procedure and its consequences and then considers the contents of the various draft agreements that will supplement or substitute for some of the measures of existing bilateral treaties between individual Member States and the United States. Overall, the rapporteur argues, the content of the agreements makes considerable progress, for example in terms of the sensitive issue of the death penalty. There remain, however, according to the report, areas which can be improved, such as exceptional military courts and prison sentences that cannot be reduced. (AD)
*** Judicial Organisation in Europe. Éditions du Conseil de l'Europe (F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex. Tel: (33-3) 88412581 - Fax: 88413910 - E-mail: publishing@coe.int - Internet: http: //book.coe.fr) 2000, 348 pp, 27.44 euros. ISBN 92-871-4245-9.
Also published in French (under the title "L'Europe judiciaire"), this reference work provides a concise and useful description of the structure and operations of the legal systems in most of the member countries of the Council of Europe. Thirty-three countries are covered in total - from Norway to Malta, Iceland and Turkey - in chapters of between two and fifteen pages each. Note that a few countries are not covered, such as Spain, Portugal, Latvia, Bulgaria and Russia. The different legal institutions (courts, appeal courts, supreme and/or constitutional courts, each one also given in the national language of the country in question) are clearly reviewed in a way that is easy to follow even for readers with no specific legal knowledge. In some cases, statistics and graphics supplement the text. The publication is designed for readers seeking clear overviews and basic information about legal powers in the member states of the Council of Europe.
(PB)
*** Revue des Affaires Européennes. Alaiun Mys Editeur (12 Graslei, B-9000 Ghent. Tel: (32-9) 2236471 - Fax: 2231364). 2001-2002, No. 4, 81 pp, 85 euros. Annual subscription: 295 euros.
This issue of the Revue des affaires européennes provides a series of texts on the subject of the Community's private international law. It starts with a presentation by Prof. Catherine Kessedjian (Université Panthéon-Assas in France), of the past and the future of private European international law in the framework of the European project. The field of study is then extended to look at texts concerning areas ranging from contractual and extra contractual obligations, the relationship between the private international law of the European Union and third countries, to consumer protection through family law and the EU's bankruptcy legislation. The review also includes a report on the state of play in terms of developments in EU law as at the beginning of 2002. The authors provide a commentary on new EU legal developments, explaining the origins of the laws, their scope and functions and a description of their shortcomings, particularly in terms of conflicts of jurisdiction and laws. Taken as a whole, it illustrates the importance and difficulties involved in setting up coherent, homogenous private European international law. (FRo)
*** HELMUT KOZIOL, BARBARA C. STEININGER (Ed.): European Tort Law 2001. Springer-Verlag (4-6 Sachsenplatz, P. O. Box 89, A-1201 Vienna. Fax: (43-1) 3302426 - E-mail: books@springer.at - Internet: http://www.springer.at ). "Tort and Insurance Law Yearbook". 2002, 571 pp. ISBN 3-211-83824-4.
This annual publication, developed by the European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law in collaboration with Austria's Science Academy, provides a highly detailed overview of the latest developments in tort law, covering most of the European Union Member States along with other European countries (Switzerland, Poland and the Czech Republic). It also looks at relevant EU legislation in this connection. There is a special dossier on South Africa. Written by academics, the book points out the broad trends and key areas of European tort law and critically reviews a large number of judgements giving rise to case law and legal amendments. An overview of recent literature covering tort, two essays and some more targeted articles and also provided in this reference book, clearly designed for specialists. (LD)
*** SARA DILLON: International Trade and Economic Law and the European Union. Hart Publishing (Salter's boatyard, Folly Bridge, Abingdon Road, Oxford OX1 4LB. Tel: (44-1865) 245533 - Fax: 794882 - E-mail: mail@hartpub.co.uk - Internet: http: //http://www.hartpub.co.uk ). 2002, 391 pp, £25. ISBN 1-84113-113-X.
Written by a lecturer in law at Suffolk University Law School in Boston, the United States, this very dense book explores the development of international trade law, naturally paying particular attention to law arising from the World Trade Organisation and, more particularly, to the impact of WTO law in the European Union. Sara Dillon looks at the fundamental questions that have been asked ever since the Seattle Summit, namely what legitimacy does global economic law have?, what are the implications for democracy and national environmental and social policy? and for communities' well-being? All these questions are heavily laden with meaning. They are analysed scientifically but in a manner most readers will have no problem understanding. The first part of the book exposes the common historic roots of GATT and the European Community, two integration systems that the author describes as the idealist heritage of the post-war period. The transformation of GATT into the WTO, and the controversial Uruguay Round agreements are then studied, along with the ever greater area taken up by the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation. (LD)
*** RAFAA BEN ACHOUR, SLIM LAGHMANI: Le droit international face aux nouvelles technologies. Editions A. Pedone (13 rue Soufflot, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 0143540597 - Fax: 46340760). "Rencontres internationales de la faculté des sciences juridiques, politiques et sociales de Tunis" series, No. 5. 2002, 286 pp, 3.50 euros. ISBN: 2-233-00409-4
In a few years, technology has changed from a mere tool for specialist industrial production to acquire the status of a vector of mass production of common consumer goods. Against a backdrop of the globalisation of the economy new technology has become a major challenge. The business world has a political dimension too. This is the viewpoint from which modern technology is considered here, since the human progress it is associated with speaks for itself. Potential pitfalls still exist, however. There certainly is a danger of by-products connected with its use. Is it necessary to cite Rabelais, for whom science without a conscience is nothing but the ruin of one's soul? Thus international law appears as a control tool capable of dealing with this global situation which makes fun of borders. This tool for social regulation faces a double challenge. It first has to translate into texts what is a complex reality. Then it must direct these realities, these "possibilities of action", towards "legitimate aims from the double viewpoint of values articulated by the international legal order and morality". This goes to show how vital its role is, deserving consideration of the development of the tandem it forms with new technology, for example. This is done each year by international law experts from both the South and the North at international conferences in Tunis legal, political and social science faculty. This work publishes proceedings from the 2002 conferences on biotechnology, communication technology and nuclear science. (AD)
*** PAUL MARTENS (Ed.): Théories du droit et pensée juridique contemporaine. Larcier (39 rue des Minimes, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5480711 - Fax: 5139009). Collection de la Faculté de droit de l'Université de Liège. 2002, 337 pp, 62 euros. ISBN: 2-8044-1027-7.
By exploring decisions in the justice system, Paul Martens, judge at the Court of Arbitration, sheds light on all the changes undergone by the state and citizens throughout the twentieth century. He takes on theories of law from the viewpoint of the legal relations between citizen and state being turned on their head. In seven chapters, or "lessons", he explains how the state rid itself of religious allegiance and explains the differences between the administrative model of continental Europe and the case law model used in common law countries. After exposing the foundations of totalitarian states and the protective side effects they can engender, the author describes the "theatrical state", or the necessary ritual surrounding this type of justice. There is also a chapter on what feminist theory has provided to the theory of justice". Neuropathic, comic, disenchanted, rhetorician, subversive, totalitarian… The state is exposed by Paul Martens, who dissects it and "rediscovers the poetry of life beneath prosaic utterances". Rather than searching for "the pure diamond of legal affairs", he expresses his right to "admit allegiance to beliefs, powers and interests". He exposes "its hidden structure and decoagulates the stiffness of its positive utterances'. Paul Martens wonderfully displays his teaching bent. The reader can have full confidence in the quote from Woody Allen at the beginning of the book: "the reality I'm talking about here is the same as the one Hobbes described, but a little smaller" since it makes a wonderful summary of this brilliant book. (AD)
*** The EUROPEA COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985, Luxembourg. Internet: http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following document:
*** Au service des citoyens européens. Fonctionnement de la Commission européenne. DG Press and Communication (Publications, B-1049 Brussels). 2002, 22 pp.
Published in all the official languages of the European Community, this brochure explains the Commission, its work of general interest and its various facets through interviews with specific officials. Introductory but lively description!
*** Publications Bulletin 2001. Joint Research Centre (Knowledge Management Unit, Publications Service, EC-Joint Research Centre, I-21020 Ispra. Tel: (39-332) 789843 - Fax: 789623 - E-mail: JRC-publications-office@cec.eu.int - Internet: http://www.jrc.cec.eu.int ). 2002, 94 pp.
This publication rounds off the Commission's Joint Research Centre's Annual Report for 2001, giving an overview of all the research carried out in its various research institutes. It gives detailed, practical information for people needing to know how European research is progressing in areas like the environment, food, health, the information society, agriculture and nuclear safety.
*** Responsabilité et environnement. Editions Eska (12 rue du Quatre-Septembre, F-75002 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 42865573 - Fax: 42604535 - Internet: http: //http://www.eska.fr ). October 2002, No. 28, 88 pp, 20.58 euros. Annual subscription: 15 euros (Belgium) or 16 euros (Europe).
The most recent issue of this quarterly mining journal provides a rich range of essays explaining the little known relationship between business, the environment and society in terms of subject matter ranging from an analysis of the water market in California to the new challenge of animal welfare via energy efficiency in China and ways of attributing value to goods for which there is no market. A case study illustrates the distortion of language in debates about nature, while two parliamentary reports suggest ways of preventing and managing floods.
*** Liaisons sociales Europe. Groupe Liaisons (1 av. Edouard Belin, F-92500 Rueil-Malmaison. Tel: (33-825) 825371 - Fax: (33-1) 41299668 -Internet: http: //http://www.ls-europe.com ). 3 - 16 April 2003, No. 77, 8 pp, 31 euros. Annual subscription: 757.58 euros.
"The EU seems to have decided to speed through reforms of the job market" notes this publication, reporting on the European Council's decision to establish a group of experts to identify reforms to be put into place to realise its pledge to make the European economy the most competitive in the world by 2010. Other issues looked at in this issue: sickness insurance for cross-border workers, the European Social Agenda which "is threatening to only deliver its most free market facet", and the adoption of the asbestos directive.
*** The CEPII Newsletter. Centre d'études prospectives et d'informations internationales (9 rue Georges Pitard, F-75740 Paris Cedex 15. Tel: (33-1) 53685500 - Fax: 53685504 - Internet: http: //http://www.cepii.fr ). Winter 2002/2003, No. 18, 8 pp.
This newsletter reports on a book designed by the Centre d'études prospectives et d'informations internationales looking at how to deal with financial crises in a globalised "panic economy". There is also another article on potential future prospects of the US deficit.
*** Südosteuropa Mitteilungen. Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft (49 Widenmayerstr., D-80538 Munich. Tel: (49-89) 212154-0 - Fax: 2289469 - E-mail: suedosteuropa-gesellschaft@t-online.de). 2002, Nos. 5/6, 148 pp, 10 euros. Annual subscription: 50 euros.
This entire issue looks at the Balkans, and more specifically Albania. The domestic political set-up in Albania is studied, along with its relations with neighbouring states, while another essay looks at relations between Tirana and the international community. There are two articles on Albanian identity, looking at how it is seen in Bulgaria and from the viewpoint of the European project. Other articles look at the political situation in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, in Hungary, and changes in relations between Athens and Skopje. Finally, Prof. Holm Sundhaussen considers the concepts of South-East Europe and the Balkans in history, highlighting the profound specific nature of the region. Specific particularities that the European Union, in his view, cannot fail to take into account.