Daily Archives: February 1, 1997


Between Homogeneity and Independence: The Legal Position of the EFTA Court in the European Economic Area

3 Colum. J. Eur. L. 169 (1997) Carl Baudenbacher. Judge of the EFTA Court; Prof., St. Galler University (Switzerland); Dr. jur. Berne University; Privatdozent, Zurich University, Visiting Professor, University of Texas at Austin School of Law. The European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement was signed in Oporto on May 2, 1992, after protracted negotiations and came into force on January 1, 1994. The Agreement is based on the idea of providing the participating states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) with free access to the single European market. By way of compensation, those countries adopt large portions of the European […]


The European Court of Justice and National Courts: The German Constitutional Perspective After the Maastricht Decision

3 Colum. J. Eur. L. 229 (1997) Dieter Grimm. Dr. iur. (Frankfurt); LL.M. (Harvard); Professor of Law, University of Bielefeld; Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. I. SUPRANATIONALITY AS A SOURCE OF PROBLEMS As a matter of political taxonomy, the European Community is still a novelty in want of a convincing label. Thus for the time being we can only describe it by distinguishing it from traditional forms. On the one hand, the Community is not a state because it has too little sovereign power. On the other hand, the Community is not an international organization because it […]


Organized Crime: Recent German Legislation and the Prospects for a Coordinated European Approach

3 Colum. J. Eur. L. 243 (1997) Jirgen Meyer. Prof. Dr., University of Freiburg i. Br.; Member of the German Bundestag. When we speak of “organized crime,” we are referring to something other than traditional, individual criminal activity; that is, short-term behavior confined to a single offender. Organized crime includes among other things international drug trafficking, money laundering, traffic in persons, the illegal arms trade, protection and extortion, the production and distribution of counterfeit money and forged credit cards, as well as serious criminal offenses against the environment and, more recently, illegal trade in radioactive and nuclear materials. The offenses […]


Disintegration of the Law of Integration in the External Economic Relations of the European Community

3 Colum. J. Eur. L. 257 (1997) Julio A. Baquero Cruz. Master of European Community Law (LL.M.), college of Europe (Bruges); Spanish lawyer, Researcher, European University Institute (Florence). I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member. – Groucho Marx Some things are difficult to explain logically. Even empirical sciences present problems that will forever stay unsolved. This is particularly so in the realm of law, for judges are not to solve logical conundrums, but to decide what is reasonable through interpretation of norms. This is the usual way to settle private law conflicts.’ […]


Case Law: Case T-105/95, WWF UK (World Wide Fund for Nature) v. Commission, 5 March 1997

3 Colum. J. Eur. L. 283 (1997) Geert van Calster. Institute of Environmental Law, Collegium Falconis, K.U.Leuven; SJ Berwin & Co, Brussels. Transparency – Access to Documents – Commission Decision and Code of Conduct – Legal Status – Duty to Motivate Facts and Procedure The applicants sought access to Commission Services documents, relying upon the 1994 Code of Conduct on public access to Commission documents. The documents concern EC intervention in the “Mullaghmore project.” In 1991, Irishauthorities announced a plan to build a visitors’ center at Mullaghmore, in western Ireland, proposing to use EC Structural Funds for the project. The […]


Case Law: Case C-383/95, P.W. Rutten v. Cross Medical Ltd., 9 January 1997

3 Colum. J. Eur. L. 292 (1997) Marta Pertegás Sender. Assistant, Center for International and Foreign Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Brussels Convention Article 5(1) – Contract of Employment – Jurisdiction – Place of Performance of the Contractual Obligation Facts and Procedure Transnational contracts of employment, strongly encouraged in light of the free movement of workers in the European Union, may bring about problems when parties must determine which court(s) have international jurisdiction to hear cases arising from disputes between employer and employee. Due to the international nature of the agreement, it was not a priori foreseeable which judge had jurisdiction […]


Case Law: Case C-841/94, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland v. Council of the European Union, 12 November 1996

3 Colum. J. Eur. L. 298 (1996) Piet Van Nuffel. Fellow of the Foundation for Scientific Research-Flanders,  Institute for European Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Council Directive 93/104/EC concerning certain aspects of the organization of working time – Action for annulment – Proportionality – Subsidiarity Facts and Procedure On 23 November 1993 the Council adopted Directive 93/104/EC concerning certain aspects of the organization of working time. This Working Time Directive was prepared by the Commission as one of the measures giving effect to the Social Charter signed in 1989 by all Member States except for the United Kingdom.’ Because of the […]


Case Law: Free Provision of Television Services

3 Colum. J. Eur. L. 309 (1997) Gert Straetmans. Assistant at the Institute for European Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Case C-11/95, Commission of the EC v. Belgium, 10 September 1996, not yet reported in the E.C.R. Directive 89/552/EEC – Transmission of programs by cable Case C-222/94, Commission of the EC and France v. United Kingdom, 10 September 1996, not yet reported in the E.C.R. Failure to fulfill obligations – Directive 89/552/EEC – Telecommunications – Television broadcasting – Jurisdiction over broadcasters Facts and Procedure In both cases the Commission brought an action under Article 169 of the EC Treaty for a […]


Leg. Dev.: Novel Foods and Food Ingredients

3 Colum. J. Eur. L. 317 (1997) Christopher Wyeth Kirkham. On January 27, 1997, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation No. 258197 of the European Parliament and the Council concerning novel foods and novel food ingredients. The Regulation, which augments a 1979 directive on labeling, was implemented to address the marketing and labeling of novel food products, such as genetically engineered foods or ingredients. The labeling requirements generally apply to food stuffs or ingredients that have not previously been placed on the Community market for human consumption, and which fall into at least one of the following categories: […]