1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 149 (1994) Marylin J. Raisch. Librarian of International and Foreign Law, Columbia University School of Law Library. The aim of this Selective Research Guide is to provide research and bibliographic guidance to those engaged in European Community Law research. As such, it is merely a supplement to the several excellent, detailed guides to European Community Law research that already exist or that are in preparation. While it is necessary to take account of the Maastricht amendments and the resulting configuration of the Communities, much of the information on European Community Law research published prior to […]

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 143 (1994) Jan Vanhamme. Researcher, Institute for European Law, Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium. In 1989, the Community adopted a directive harmonizing national trademark laws: Directive to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks, 89/104/EEC, 1989 OJ (L 40). The next step in protection of trademarks in the Community has now been completed with the adoption of Regulation 40/94 of December 20, 1993 on the Community Trademark, 1994 OJ (L 11), which entered into force on March 15, 1994. Regulation 40/94 contains the substantive and procedural rules necessary for the registration and […]

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 139 (1994) Jan Vanhamme. Researcher, Institute for European Law, Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium. On September 23, 1991, the Commission of the European Community and the Government of the United States entered into an agreement to coordinate and cooperate in the application of their competition laws. While the agreement did not require any changes in the competition laws of either the United States or the European Community,2 it did call for improved coordination in enforcement, through consultation, exchange of information and notification of measures, particularly in those circumstances where important interests of the US would be […]

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 134 (1994) Jan Vanhamme. Researcher, Institute for European Law, Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium. On February 16, 1994, the Greek government adopted unilateral measures against the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (“FYROM”).’ The measures took the form of an embargo, especially directed at the port of Thessaloniki, preventing the movement of goods to and from the FYROM. The embargo was a reaction to the FYROM’s refusal to accede to Greece’s repeated requests that it not use the name “Macedonia,” that it remove a Greek symbol (the star of Vergina) from its national flag, and that it […]

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 128 (1994) Jan Vanhamme. Researcher, Institute for European Law, Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium. In 1980, the banks and credit institutions participating in the Eurocheque system1 concluded a so-called “Package Deal Agreement,” to run from 1981 to 1986. In 1982, the Commission of the European Communities was notified of this agreement by the chairman of the Eurocheque Assembly. Although the Commission also received numerous complaints from consumers who claimed that they had been exposed by the Eurocheque System to certain “wild-cat” commissions and double charges, it exempted the Package Deal Agreement from the application of Article […]

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 120 (1994) Jan Vanhamme. Researcher, Institute for European Law, Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium. Frenchmen Bernard Keck and Daniel Mithouard had broken French law by reselling products at prices lower than their purchase price. When prosecuted before the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Strasbourg, they invoked Community law in their defense. More specifically, they argued that the French prohibition on resale at a loss was contrary to the articles of the EC Treaty relating to free movement of goods, services and capital, free competition and non-discrimination, and should be considered unenforceable. In order to know whether […]

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 116 (1994) Jan Vanhamme. Researcher, Institute for European Law, Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium. A criminal action was brought before the Tribunal de Police of Metz against Jean-Claude Levy, owner of a meat factory, for employing women at night in violation of French law. In his defense, Levy argued that the prohibition was incompatible with a Community directive requiring equal treatment of men and women with regard to working conditions. The argument was plausible, since not only is the incompatibility of national criminal law with Community law in principle an accepted basis for escaping criminal liability, […]

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 110 (1994) Jan Vanhamme. Researcher, Institute for European Law, Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium. Ms. Marshall was employed by the Southampton and South West Hampshire Area Health Authority (“the Authority”) as a dietician. In 1980, she was dismissed for the sole reason that she had passed the qualifying age for the British State pension. That age being different for men (65) than for women (60), Marshall argued that British law – and consequently the dismissal – was contrary to the Community directive on equal treatment of men and women with regard to working conditions. In 1986, […]

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 107 (1994) Jan Vanhamme. Researcher, Institute for European Law, Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium. In 1988, the Italian company Oleificio Borelli applied for financial assistance from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)1 for building an oil mill in the region of Liguria. Council Regulation 355/77, which sets the rules for such applications, makes the award of financial assistance from the Fund conditional upon a favorable opinion by the competent national authority. The Regione Liguria initially supported the application, but the EC Commission, which has authority for making the final decisions with respect to the […]

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 63 (1994) Reinhard Zimmermann. Dr. iur. (Hamburg), LL.D. (Cape Town), Professor of Private Law, Roman Law and Comparative Legal History, Faculty of Law, University of Regensburg, Germany; Max Rheinstein visiting Professor, University of Chicago School of Law, 1993. Germans have, as is well-known, a predilection for complex compound words. “Fremdbesitzerexzeβ” is one of these verbal extravaganzas; and if one adds, as indeed one should, “Fremdbesitzerexzeβ” im Eigentümer-Besitzer- Verhältnis,” one is dealing with a phrase that is bound to cause consternation among novices at German law. What is its significance? Where one person is the owner, and […]

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 29 (1994) Joel R. Paul. Visiting Professor, University of Connecticut Law School, Visiting Lecturer, Yale Law School, 1994-1995; Professor of Law, The American University. The theory of international regulatory competition has emerged as the strongest contemporary critique of the argument for free trade. According to this critique, when capital, finished goods and services are relatively mobile across national borders, regulatory authorities will be induced to compete for scarce capital by lowering regulatory standards. This “race-to-the-bottom” theory is a frequent theme advanced against the integration of markets, for example, through the European Union (EU)’ and the […]

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 1 (1994) Koen Lenaerts. Judge of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities; Professor of European Law, Catholic University of Leuven. One of the outstanding features of the Treaty on European Union (hereinafter TEU) is that it formally recognizes a Community competence in the field of education. According to Article 3p, the activities of the Community include, “as provided in this Treaty,” “a contribution to education and training of quality.” The words “as provided in this Treaty” refer to the new Articles 126 (“education”) and 127 (“vocational training”), which together form a “Chapter” […]