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 […]

13 Colum. J. Eur. L. 47 (2006) Patricia Carmona Botana. European and Competition Law Department in Cuatrecasas, Brussels. Secret collusive practices often prejudice markets. This is due, in particular, to a small quantity supplied, and a high price imposed, on products through colluding undertakings, with the ultimate harm to consumers. To eliminate such anticompetitive behavior, antitrust officials create various enforcement policies. This Article describes the features that an enforcement program should include by analyzing enforcement mechanisms, sanctions, social and administrative constraints (specifically budget constraints), the antitrust authority’s standard of review, and the timing element of anticompetitive practice disclosure. More precisely, […]

13 Colum. J. Eur. L. 83 (2006) John D. Jackson. Professor of Public Law, Queen’s University Belfast School of Law, Director of Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Northern Ireland. B.A., University of Durham, 1976; LL.M., University of Wales, 1980. Nikolay P. Kovalev. PhD candidate, Queen’s University Belfast School of Law, Northern Ireland. LL.B., West- Kazakhstan State University (Kazakhstan), 2001; LL.M., Indiana University at Bloomington, 2003. This Article, which draws upon a research study conducted by the authors on lay adjudication in 46 Member States of the Council of Europe, focuses on the extent to which the practices and procedures […]

13 Colum. J. Eur. L. 125 (2006) Leone Niglia. University of Aberdeen School of Law, Scotland, United Kingdom; Jean Monnet Fellow, University of Michigan School of Law, United States. Community legislation on standard form consumer contracts has introduced previously unknown criteria for dealing with unfairness. Unfairness is no longer centered on rules that prohibit terms burdensome for the consumer, as has been typically the case of national legislation in the past. A burdensome term may now be judged not to be unfair, if compensated by an advantage for the consumer (for example, if a cheaper price is offered). This Article […]

13 Colum. J. Eur. L. 147 (2006) Kathleen Gutman. PhD candidate, Institute for European Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven; LL.M., J.D., Duke University School of Law; M.A., Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.   Within the span of five months, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice (ECJ or Court) delivered three groundbreaking judgments concerning the scope of Article 95 of the European Community Treaty (EC Treaty). These judgments address, for the very first time, the limits of “measures for the approximation” of the laws of the Member States pursuant to Article 95(1). This trio of judgments fundamentally contributes to the Court’s […]

13 Colum. J. Eur. L. 189 (2006) Thalia Kruger. PhD, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Thanks to Tim Corthaut for the helpful discussions on the issues treated in this Case Note and his comments on a previous version.   This Case Note addresses the intersection between private international law and European Union institutional law, specifically the external relations of the European Union (EU). The case discussed here is an Opinion by the European Court of Justice (ECJ or Court). An ECJ Opinion is to be distinguished from an Opinion by an Advocate General. Pursuant to Article 300(6) of the European Community Treaty […]

13 Colum. J. Eur. L. 201 (2006) Dr. Achilles Skordas. Reader in Law, University of Bristol, United Kingdom; Member of the Odysseus Academic Network for Legal Studies on Immigration and Asylum Law in Europe. “All things being equal, more foreigners and indeed more people of any stripe do not mean either lower wages or higher unemployment. If they did, every time a baby was born, every time a newly minted graduate entered the work force, it would be bad news for the labor market. But it isn’t. Those babies eat baby food; those graduates drive automobiles.” – Roger Lowenstein, The […]