*** FRANCOIS R. VAN DER MENSBRUGGHE (Ed.): L'utilisation de la méthode comparative en droit européen. Presses universitaires de Namur (13 rempart de la Vierge, B-5000 Namur. Tel: (32-81) 724884 - Fax: 724912 - E-mail: pun@fundp.ac.be - Internet: http: //http://www.pun.be ). "Travaux de la Faculté de droit de Namur" series, No. 25. 2003, 218 pp, 30 euros. ISBN 2-87037-397-X.
In France in the 1930s, a man kills his mistress and his mother and then goes to Belgium, where he kills one of his old teachers before getting himself arrested in order not to be hung. Did this murderer study comparative law? This is one of the doorways into this book, the proceedings of a conference in July 2001 at a "Faculté internationale de droit comparé" conference organised by the Facultés universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix in Namur (Belgium). Comparative law is the poor relation when it comes to the teaching of law in most European countries (Italy is the exception here). The book is very useful for determining the extent to which comparative law is served by the various stakeholders in the European integration process and vice versa. After a stylish introduction on the process of comparison by Professor Xavier Thunis, the book is divided into two sections.
The first section looks at the use of the comparative method in the elaboration of European law. Former Belgian justice minister Marc Verwilghen starts by pointing out that over and above the mutual recognition of judicial decisions, it is 'obvious' that in the future, the comparative method will have to underlie changes in European law. In an essay on the European Parliament's 'comparativist approach', Green politician Paul Lannoye argues that the meeting of different domestic laws within the EU has tipped the balance in favour of free trade and the market, with the establishment of the World Trade Organisation in 1994 simply strengthening the already existing pre-eminence of free trade, market-oriented ideas in EU legislation. Senior legal advisor at the Commission, Richard Wainwright, explains that EU legislation does not tend to be based on comparative law, even though comparative law did play a role in the 70s and 80s in the domain of protecting the economic interests of consumers (for example, in the preparation of the directives on misleading advertising claims and liability for defective products). The issue is then considered by academics and researchers in specific domains, like the liberalisation of telecoms (Prof. François van der Mensbrugghe) or the protection of privacy against the highly topical Euro -US backdrop (Jan Dhont and Maria Veronica Perez Asinari).
The second part of the book looks at the use of the comparative method in the interpretation and application of EU laws. It opens with an enlightening essay by Prof. Koen Lenaerts. As a European judge, he is ideally situated to discuss the importance of the method at the European Court of Justice. He explains that whether it aims to analyse national law or compare the EU legal system with other legal systems (whether national or international), the comparative approach is inspired by the same motivation, namely advancing the rule of law in the Community, as stipulated by Article 220 EC. It does not necessarily mean law for law's sake, filling gaps in the EU system through contributions from comparative law, but rather or clearing the way for the 'best solution in the middle of the line' (after carefully considering national legal systems) as a guarantee of the credibility, acceptability and, at the end of the day, the effectiveness of EU law. Judge Lenaerts goes on to explain that depending on the circumstances, this ideal solution, the outcome of a subtle balancing of the interests of EU development and the acceptability of EU development in national legal systems, can sometimes mean establishing a principle, a fundamental law, an interpretation or a construction of EU law on a legal awareness which is common to sufficient Member States; or it can mean playing the card of prudence if a fundis communis is lacking; or shaking off or taking advantage of national contradictions to follow a new path specific to EU law; or importing a national solution that has proved its value into the EU legal system; or requiring the national legal system in question to take account of the impact of EU law, as far as can be tolerated, in its own domestic decisions. Has everything been covered? Yes and no. Prof. Vlad Constantinesco (Robert Schuman University in Strasbourg and Dean of the Faculty of International Comparative Law) adds that the principle of the state's liability for violations of EU law would not have taken its current form if it had only depended on national legislators, and Prof. François van der Mensbrugghe comments in his conclusions that lawyers are called upon to take an active role in the global village currently being constructed , thereby becoming 'by the nature of things' a crosser of borders, even in countries which are a priori the most stubborn when it comes to recognising the interest of what goes on outside its borders.
Michel Theys
*** ROLAND BIEBER, FRANCESCO MAIANI (Eds): Précis de droit européen. Staempfli Editions (Berne. Internet: http://www.staempfliverlag.com ). "Précis de droit Staempfli" series. 2004, 378 pp. ISBN 3-7272-1019-2.
Whole bucket-loads of European law digests are being published these days, bearing witness to the indispensable nature of EU affairs in the management of Member States and the life of their citizens. More than that: the integration process of the twenty-five EU Member States is having a growing impact on the economy, legal system, social life and security of European countries, like Switzerland, which are not (not yet…) part of the EU. Hence this book, which deals in a traditional manner with the most important areas of the EU's institutional and material law, such as it has applied since the coming into force of the Nice Treaty and the last round of enlargement, while also pointing out is influence in the light of the agreements between the EU and Switzerland on the free circulation of individuals and transport. The authors note that some of the EU's neighbours are in the process of adapting to changes in EU law in a so-called 'autonomous' fashion. Legislative changes are examined almost systematically, for example, in Switzerland, in terms of how they abide by EU law, and Swiss courts are making more and more references to European Court of Justice case law when Swiss legislators express their desire for a law to be rendered 'eurocompatible'. Moreover, the authors comment that in isolated cases, the Swiss Federal Tribunal has referred to European law to decide on issue of purely national import, which demonstrates the European Union's power of attraction in another way. (MT)
*** CLAUDE J. BERR, HENRI TREMEAU: Le droit douanier. Communautaire et national. Editions Economica (49 rue Hericart, F-75015 Paris. Tel.: (33-1) 45781292 - Fax: 40581570). "Droit des Affaires et de l'Entreprise" series. 2004, 613 p6, 53 euros. ISBN 2-7178-4769-3.
Most of this sixth edition of this book (the first dated back to 1975) is devoted to legal aspects of customs problems, in other words, the instruments for the realising of the current customs policy. After explaining the general development of customs questions from the French perspective and outlined the current situation for French and EU customs law, the authors (one of whom is former Director General of the French Customs Service, Henri Trémeau, who died last year - this volume is dedicated to him) provide an up-dated synthesis of customs mechanisms. They go on to explain that while the taxation of the movement of goods is still the 'hard core' of customs questions, the variety and flexibility of economic systems provide traders and industry with a series of advantages. They also objectively explain the rules governing disputes with the customs service. As Claude Berr comments in the preface, customs law is inevitably forced to reconcile the imperatives of international free trade with the imperatives of safeguarding the public order, and certain precursory signs lead one to think that its severity, at national and Community level, is not likely to be relaxed in the near future. Moving beyond merely analysing often detailed texts which are unfortunately less and less impregnated with Latin legal terms (according to the authors), the book aims to explain the origin and objective of rules whose technical nature and opacity often make them difficult to follow. (MT)
*** La pratique et le droit international. Editions A. Pedone (13 rue Soufflot, F-75005 Paris. Tel.: (33-1) 43540597 - Fax: 46340760). 2004, 309 pp, 40 euros. ISBN 2-233-00445-0.
This book publishes the proceedings of the 37th Conference of the Société française pour le droit international, held in Geneva in May 2003 to look at highly complex relationship of international law and how it is applied. Following a historical and also a modern-day perspective and consideration of the relations between practice and rule of law in the international legal order, stakeholders express their opinions. (MT)
*** Droit international privé. Travaux du Comité français de droit international privé. Editions A. Pedone (see above). 2004, 222 pp, 35 euros. ISBN 2-233-00435-3.
The acceleration of developments in international relations, particularly in the framework of globalisation, has implications for international private law, which has had to adapt to a constantly shifting environment. The French International Private Law Committee regularly publishes books looking at areas of law under the spotlight in recent years. The current volume looks back at the Committee's work in 2000 to 2002 under the following headings: the authority of courts' final decisions; bioethics; extradition law; international adoptions; banking secrecy; and registered partnerships and changes in dispute settlement law in Scandinavia. Each subject is considered in two different ways. First there is an essay by an expert in the field, giving a summary of current law and underlying trends, followed by a transcription of debates between leading figures in the world of law. (FRo)
*** Les nouvelles menaces contre la paix et la sécurité internationales - New Threats to International Peace and Security. Editions A. Pedone (see above). 2004, 297 pp, 40 euros. ISBN 2-233-00446-9.
New York, Madrid, Iraq, Chechnya, Israel… The list of regions and places at risk of international security threats is unfortunately a long one and makes this book particularly of the moment. Terrorism is nothing new in and of itself, explains Jean-Marc Thouvenin in the preface, but the destructive and destabilising power of the new type of terrorism and its both technological and psychological capacity for planning and carrying out to the bitter end operations of 'mass destruction', have taken on new dimensions. This is an unprecedented challenge to the international community, which explains the huge interest of this publication publishing the proceedings of study days organised in Paris at the end of 2002 by the Société française pour le droit international and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Völkerrecht, where eminent figureheads (most from academia) looked at positive international law's ability to respond to the new threats to international peace and security and the new options which the international community may consider using or which have already been used in practice. Can international law find answers to threat of terrorism, particularly through developing the principle of universal competence or establishing new courts? Over and above the desirable judicial punishment of terrorist acts, terrorism of mass destruction - along with the sustained failure of some countries - surely raises the urgent question of the viability of the collective security system adopted after the Second World War. A wide variety of answers, all characterised by hugely intelligent analysis, are given to these questions. The essays are written in either English or French, with a summary in English and German of all the French language essays. (MT)
*** Sociétés civiles: la coopération décentralisée entre l'Europe et l'Amérique latine. Centre d'étude et de promotion des relations entre les pays de la C. E et de l'Amérique Latine (Secrétariat Cercal, Bâtiment NB - 4.160, CP 181, av. Paul Héger, B-1000 Brussels. Tel.: (32-2) 6503103 - Fax: 6503103 - e-mail: cercal@ulb.ac.be). "Cahiers Cercal" series, No. 33. 2003, 95 pp.
A collection of articles for international relations specialists on the development of partnerships between Latin America and the European Union, this publication is aimed principally at academic circles and official bodies wanting to gain greater understanding of the said agreements. It considers the issue of the list of cooperation between universities, regions, cities, communities, and the private and public sector as a series strengthening the EU's privileged links with the countries of South America. A reference book published by one of the many international relations research centres of the Université libre de Bruxelles. (NDy)
*** JEAN-LOUIS VAN DE WOUWER, NATACHA VIVARIO: Le Bénin… ouverture. Home International Brussels (119/5 rue Froissart, B-1040 Brussels. Tel.: (32-2) 2302187 - Fax: 2304207). "Peuples et Continents" series. 2004, 182 pp. ISBN 2-74237-015-3.
Without being a standard travel guide, this is a very detailed book on the resources of Benin. Following a geographical, historical and political tour of this little-known sub-Saharan country of West Africa, the authors describe the situation before and after the arrival of Europeans at the end of the 16th century. Most of the country was devastated by the slave trade between Africa and the Caribbean and the Americas. A former trading post in the French empire, Benin won its independence at the beginning of the 1970s. Today, it is largely dependent on agricultural exports (some 70% of the working population work on the land). A fine and informative introduction to the country. (NDy)
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg. Internet: http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following document:
*** La recherche pour l'Europe. 36 exemples de projets financés par l'UE. DG Research - "Information and Communications" Unit (B-1049 Brussels. Fax: (32-2) 2958220 - E-mail: research@cec.eu.int). "Recherche communautaire" series, 2004, 77 pp. ISBN 92-894-7380-0.
Many people think of research as being virtually 100% theoretical, divorced from practical reality, which is why the Directorate General for Research has published this collection of typical projects to help correct this biased view. The research projects funded by the EU which recently came to an end under the Fifth Framework Programme all look at at least one of the 23 'key actions' of FP5. In other words, they meet the EU's strategic priorities, whether in terms of healthcare, energy, transport, waste management or cutting pollution levels. All the programmes make use of synergy between university institutes, industry and end-users, in order to establish broad and sustainable research networks and optimise practical outcomes.
*** ARE dossier. Assembly of the Regions of Europe (20 place des Halles, F-67000 Strasbourg. Tel: (33-3) 88220707 - Fax: 88756719 - E-mail: infopresse@a-e-r.org - Internet: http://www.a-e-r.org ). 2004, No. 6, 4 pp.
Since 15 May, the Assembly of the Regions has been campaigning to keep genetically modified organisms out of its fields. It explains the importance of the precautionary principle with regard to our piecemeal knowledge about the impact of GMOs on health and their spread in nature and among traditional crops. It slams the European Commission for giving priority to commercial considerations by lifting the ban on GMOs without genuine consultation. The ARE calls for the principle of subsidiarity to apply to forcing regions to accept GMOs, and wants amendments to legislation to enable regions to be GMO-free zones without breaking any laws.
***Hémisphères. "6 novembre" Consortium (25 rue Gratès. B-1170 Brussels. E-mail: info@hemispheres.be - Internet: http://www.colophon.be ). June-July-August 2004, No. 25, 12 pp Annual subscription: 9 euros.
This issue gives pride of place to Hugo Chavez and populism in Latin America in general. The Venezuelan President is described as a populist leader of an imperfect democracy rather than a dictator, with the characteristics of Bolivar-style populism stoked up by the gulf separating the business elite jealously protecting its privileges and dominating the state machine from the popular masses, prepared to apply the system of a badly managed democracy to concentrate powers in a single man to get the country out of poverty. Other articles look at the total blackout on the commemorations of the 6 June landings, the role and sacrifices of Africa during the Second World War, shareholder action, political changes in Indonesia and the interaction between common law and development.
*** Liaisons sociales Europe. Groupe Liaisons (1 Avenue Edouard-Belin, F-92500 Rueil-Malmaison. Tel: (33-8) 25800929 - Fax: (33-1) 44722027 - Internet: http//http://www.liaisons-sociales.com ). July 2004, No. 108, 12 pp, 32 euros. Annual subscription: 867.85 euros.
The first page looks at the lengthening of the working week without pay increases, from 35 to 40 hours, in a series of companies and public administrations in Germany. At Siemens, for example, this amounts to a pay cut of almost 20%, which could have a bad impact on already weak domestic demand, while the strong trade surplus shows there are not really competition problems. Moreover, this trend is leading to a smashing of the German model and an implosion of industry-based negotiations, moving in the direction of company-based negotiations. Liaisons Sociales also considers the social aspects of the European Constitution, underlining that there are no major improvements. Various social measures are described in this issue.
Reviews in brief
*** European Pulp & Paper Industry - Annual Statistics 2003 Incorporating Key Statistics. CEPI. June 2004, Brussels. Statistics for the European pulp and paper industry in 2003. *** Japan Echo. Japan Echo Inc.
June 2004, Tokyo. This issue of the newsletter reports on an upturn in the Japanese economy.