Volume 11, Issue 1


RESTITUTION AND TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE IN THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

13 Colum. J. Eur. L. 1 (2006) Tom Allen. Professor of Law, University of Durham, United Kingdom. This Article examines the response of the European Court of Human Rights to claims for the restitution of property that was unlawfully or unjustly taken during a period of authoritarian rule. It demonstrates that, with some exceptions, it has not supported restitution. In some circumstances, this reflects different visions of the rule of law and its function in maintaining stability of entitlements. Is the rule of law furthered by allowing individuals to challenge legality of old takings and confiscations, or by ensuring the […]


THE DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN REGULATORY AGENCIES: WHAT THE EU SHOULD LEARN FROM AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

11 Colum. J. Eur. L. 1 (2004) Damien Geradin. Professor of Law and Director, Institute for European Legal Studies, University of Liege. Professor at the College of Europe and Director of the Global Competition Law Centre (GCLC), Bruges. The creation of a growing number of agencies at the EU level is one of the most significant developments in the administrative structure of the EU. These agencies play a useful role as they allow the Commission to decentralize a number of scientific, technical, or observatory functions to specialized bodies. Yet, the effectiveness of these agencies is hampered by several problems. First, […]


WORKING TIME, JAEGER AND THE SEVEN-YEAR ITCH

11 Colum. J. Eur. L. 53 (2004) Jeff Kenner. Senior Lecturer in Law, School of Law, University of Nottingham. Visiting Scholar, Center for European Legal Studies, Columbia Law School, New York, Fall Semester, 2004/05. According to the official narrative, a mix of dialogue between management and labor and a policy consensus based on combining ‘market freedom and social balance’ are the hallmarks of the European Union’s approach to employment law.’ What is envisaged is a virtuous circle in which pragmatic and flexible Union employment measures facilitate a ‘gradual convergence’ of social standards that will simultaneously meet the expectations of workers […]


THE MARGIN OF APPRECIATION AND THE JURISPRUDENCE OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS: THREAT TO THE RULE OF LAW

11 Colum. J. Eur. L. 113 (2004) Jeffrey A. Brauch. Dean and Professor of Law, Regent University School of Law, B.A.; University of Wisconsin, 1985; J.D., with honors, University of Chicago, 1988. From each train stepped 1,500 prisoners. Most were Jews; others were gypsies, homosexuals, and political dissidents. 1,200-1,300 faced immediate execution as S.S. doctors examined them and sent them to gas chambers or firing squads. The trains arrived at the death camps from all over Europe from 1942 to 1945. By the end of World War II, six million Jews and nearly that many non-Jews had been executed. Over […]


UNMARRIED COHABITING COUPLES BEFORE THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS: PARITY WITH MARRIAGE?

11 Colum. J. Eur. L. 151 (2004) Dr. Susana Sanz Caballero. Jean Monnet Professor, University Cardenal Herrera-CEU, Spain. The court finds that, though in some fields the de facto relationship of cohabitants is recognized, there still exist differences in legal status and legal effects. Marriage continues to be characterized by a corpus of rights and obligations that differentiate it markedly from the situation of a man and woman who cohabit.


THE EUROPEAN DIRECTIVE ON CROSS-BORDER MERGERS: AN INTERNATIONAL MODEL?

11 Colum. J. Eur. L. 167 (2004) Mathias M Siems. Associate Professor, Riga Graduate School of Law, Latvia; Privatdozent, Heinrich-Heine-University Dusseldorf, Germany, 2004; LL.M., University of Edinburgh, UK, 2001; PhD, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany, 2000. Mergers are becoming topical again. In the first quarter of 2004 the value of mergers and acquisitions rose by 22% in Europe and by 79% world wide.Increasingly, these mergers are cross-border mergers. Yet, in many legal systems cross-border mergers are not explicitly regulated. For the European Union this will soon change. The European Commission proposed a draft Directive on cross-border mergers in November 2003, and since […]


CONSTITUTIONALIZING GOVERNMENT IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: EUROPE’S NEW INSTITUTIONAL QUARTET UNDER THE TREATY ESTABLISHING A CONSTITUTION FOR EUROPE

11 Colum. J. Eur. L. 77 (2004) Markus G. Puder. First Legal State Examination, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany; Second Legal State Examination, Munich Upper Court of Appeals; LL.M., Georgetown University Law Center; Ph.D. in Law, Ludwig-Maximilians University. In the summer of 2003 the Convention on the Future of Europe (European Convention), chaired by former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing, proposed to push the European Union (“EU” or “Union”) towards a re-foundation through the Draft Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe (“Convention Draft”). A few weeks later, this document was relayed to an Inter-Governmental Conference (“IGC”), made up of the representatives […]


CASE LAW: CASE C- 167/01. KAMER VAN KOOPHANDEL EN FABRIEKEN VOOR AMSTERDAM v. INSPIRE ART LTD. (E.C.J. SEPTEMBER 23, 2003)

11 Colum. J. Eur. L. 187 (2004) Patrick S. Ryan. Denver, Colorado. The European Union (EU) does not yet have the U.S. equivalent of Delaware; that is, the EU does not yet have a place where it is fairly common to incorporate, regardless of where business is done. Recently, there has been much debate among European states (and legal scholars) in the corporate law field regarding the possible emergence of a “Delaware of Europe.” Some European countries have overtly fought a trend towards this possibility by passing local laws that make it difficult to establish a branch or subsidiary company […]


CASE LAW: CASE C-555/03. MAGALI WARBECQ V. RYANAIR LTD. (E.C.J. ORDER OF JUNE 10, 2004)

11 Colum. J. Eur. L. 203 (2004) Thalia Kruger. Assistant, Institute for Private International Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. This note concerns not a judgment of the European Court of Justice, but an order that it did not have jurisdiction to give a preliminary ruling regarding the Brussels I Regulation. The order is short and does not provide us with any new information on substantive law. However, the order raises the issue of the capacity of courts to pose preliminary questions in matters of private international law. The capacity is not clear, nor has it remained constant throughout the development of […]


LEG. DEV.: COUNCIL DECISION REGARDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND THE UNITED STATES ON THE USE OF PASSENGER NAME RECORD DATA

11 Colum. J. Eur. L. 207 (2004) Caitlin Friedemann. Growing concerns about terrorism have made national security issues increasingly significant in world affairs. Governments attempting to deal with campaigns of violence and intimidation face the challenge of integrating new, stricter national security goals with existing individual protection laws. Following the September 11″ terrorist attacks, the United States adopted the Aviation and Transportation Security Act1, requiring that airlines flying into the territory of the United States transfer passenger data to U.S. customs and immigration services. However, this kind of international transfer of European passenger data may be inconsistent with EU data […]