8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 379 (2002) Christian v. Bar. Dr. jur., Professor and Director of the Institute of Private International and Comparative Law at the University of Osnabrick (Germany); Bencher (Hons.) ofGray’s Inn; FBA; Member of the Commission on European Contract Law; Chairman of the Study Group on a European Civil Code. THE COMMISSION ON EUROPEAN CONTRACT LAW AND THE STUDY GROUP ON A EUROPEAN CIVIL CODE The following article is concerned with a debate which these days preoccupies the minds of many academics and at least some politicians throughout the European Union: the questions of whether, how, to […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 389 (2002) Catherine Barnard. Senior Lecturer in law, University of Cambridge, Fellow of Trinity College. Simon Deakin. (B.A. 1983, Ph.D. 1990, Cambridge), Robert Monks Professor of Corporate Governance and Fellow of Peterhouse, University of Cambridge. There has been a tension between the goal of the harmonization of social policy and the free-market aims of European integration since the very early days of the formation of the European Community in the 1950s. The Treaty of Rome left virtually all matters relating to labor legislation and welfare state expenditure levels within the competence of the individual Member […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 415 (2002) Christoph U. Schmid. Dr. iur., University of Munich, 1 995; Ph.D., European University Institute Florence, 2002; currently research fellow and designated scientific coordinator of the “European Private Law Forum” at the EUI Florence. The present survey is addressed mainly to lawyers without a background in European law and law students. It builds on and develops further earlier work, in particular The Emergence of a Transnational Legal Science in Europe, 19 OJLS 673 (1999); Evolutionary Perspectives and Projects on Harmonisation of Private Law in the EU, (S. Feiden, ed.), EUI Working Paper Law no. […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 487 (2002) Friedrich Blase. Revised from an address given at the annual Ph.D. Award Ceremony of the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster on November 2, 2001. “Sexy” is not the word one usually uses to describe a legal topic. But in the past two years the general public and relevant professional circles considered sexy anything that involved communication, e-commerce and the New Economy. This madness even entered the esteemed realm of I egal research. T raining programs at universities had to focus on telecommunication if they were to stand a chance with potential students. Whoever turned to […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 493 (2002) Johan Verlinden. Case C-256/00. S.A. Besix N. V. v. Wasserreinigungsbau Alfred Kretzschmar GMBH & Co. K.G. (WABAG) (E.C.J. Feb. 19, 2002) (not yet reported).” This judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is a response to preliminary questions posed by the “Hof van Beroep” (Court of Appeal) of Brussels, Belgium. At issue was the interpretation of Article 5(1) of the European Convention on-Jurisdiction and Enforcement of Judgements in Civil and Commercial matters’. The Convention determines which court will have jurisdiction over a case with links to several national legal systems within the […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 499 (2002) Elke Ballon. Center for European Economic Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Case C-453/99, Courage Lid v Bernard Crehan (E.C.J. Sept. 20, 2001) (not yet reported). Competition – Article 81 of the EC Treaty (formerly Article 85 EC) – Beer tie – Leasing of public houses – Restrictive agreement – Right to damages of a party to the contract Facts and procedure The Courage case has its origins in the infringement of Article 81 of the EC Treaty by the parties to a so-called “brewery agreement” (containing a beer tie) and a dispute about unpaid […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 509 (2002) Dries Van Eeckhoutte. Research Fellow, Foundation for Scientific Research- Flanders, Institute for International Law, K.U.Leuven, Belgium. Case C-377/98, Kingdom of the Netherlands v. European Parliament and Council of the European Union, 2001 E.C.R. 1-7079. In the Biotechnological Inventions case, the question of the relationship between European Community law and international law was raised. In an application for annulment, the Netherlands argued inter alia that the Biotechnological Inventions Directive is incompatible with several international treaties, some of which are WTO treaties. In answer to these claims, the European Court of Justice clarified some of […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 529 (2002) Pall A. Davidsson. LL.M. Columbia University School of Law, 2002. Recent economic globalization and trade liberalization have given multinational enterprises (MNEs) considerable economic power, matching and often surpassing that of states. As an example, consider that the collective sales of four of the largest MNEs in the world exceed the gross domestic product of the whole of Africa. MNEs dominate t he global economy, accounting for two thirds of global trade in goods and services. While states are subject to various international and internal mechanisms designed to prevent them from abusing their powers, […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 557 (2002) David A. Kanarek. The European Union’s Council of Finance Ministers passed Directive 2001/107/EC (the Directive) on December 4, 2001, with the intention of promoting a single market for capital and financial services and of harmonizing investor protection regulations, a goal the European Union (EU) aims to reach by 2005. The passage of the Directive along with its sister provision, Directive 2001/108/EC, will be instrumental in encouraging and facilitating cross-border marketing and operations of management companies. These two Directives amend Directive 85/611 (1985), which coordinates the laws and regulations of the European Community countries […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 571 (2002) reviewed by Yvette D. Valdez. In A Diet of Brussels, Leon Brittan offers a view of Europe reflective of his personal experiences as the Vice President Commissioner for the European Commission. Brittan reveals a unique perspective of the negotiations, deals and day to day activities that make the European Union (EU) and its future possible. Through an analysis of negotiations, policies and deals that arose from his influential and powerful leadership roles in the European Commission, Brittan both describes how the European Union overcame tremendous setbacks and impediments and offers a personal view […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 561 (2002) David Blundell. Intern, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (“UNHCR”), London Office. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the UNHCR. The Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2000 (“the Regulations”) came into force in the United Kingdom on October 2, 2000. The Regulations serve to re-enact, with amendments, the provisions of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Order 1994, as well as to create free-standing rights of appeal that are independent of those rights arising under statutory provisions applying to persons not claiming rights under […]