Volume 1, Issue 2


The Protection of Fundamental Rights in the Case Law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 169 (1995) G. C. Rodriguez Iglesias. President, Court of Justice of the European Communities, Professor of International Law, University of Granada. The Court of Justice of the European Communities has, for two reasons, a special responsibility to protect fundamental rights. First, in the Community legal order there exists no catalogue of fundamental rights having constitutional or legislative status; secondly, respect for fundamental rights is essential as a basic element of the common patrimony upon which the very foundations of the Community rest; and fundamental rights are an indispensable prerequisite for the accession of a State […]


Reception of Community Law in France

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 183 (1995) Edward A. Tomlinson. Professor of Law, University of Maryland School of Law. Forty years ago the founders of what is now the European Union utilized international law to launch their venture in European integration. Thus, international agreements (treaties) were the device used in the 1950s by the Benelux countries, France, Germany, and Italy to establish the three European “Communities.” No doubt many of the founders had profoundly federalist ambitions for a united Europe, but the framework they chose to implement their design was that of international law. Member States thus joined the new […]


The European Community’s Prodigal Son – the Common Agricultural Policy – Undergoes Reform: Will Multilateral Trading Schemes Fostered by the Gatt Blossom or Wither and Die?

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 233 (1995) Robert P. Cooper, III. 1994 Graduate of the Syracuse University College of Law, Syracuse, New York. Commerce, which ought naturally be, among nations, as among individuals, a bond of union and friendship, has become a most fertile source of discord and animosity. — Adam Smith. AN INQUIRY INTO THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF THE WEALTH OF NATIONS 460 (Modern Library ed., Random House 1937). With the startling advances being made in global communications and transportation systems in the late Twentieth Century, the world is rapidly shrinking. One of the results is the “globalization” […]


The Maastricht Treaty on European Union: Is Western Europe Truly Getting Closer to Unity?

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 285 (1995) Frederic J. Jouhet. Assistant Visiting Professor of Law, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. D.E.A. Business Law, Universite d’Auvergne, Faculte de Droit et de Science Politique (France). In memory of Anthony R. Vozza (1936-1993). This article is dedicated to Anthony R. Vozza (1936-1993), my late father-in-law, an intelligent and honest man who came from Italy at the age of seventeen and worked hard all his life for his family. He made me realize what a good human being is supposed to be and set himself as an example for me forever. We […]


Case Law: Case C-200/91, Coloroll Pension Trustees Limited v. Russell e.a. and Coloroll Group Plc., September 28, 1994, 1994 E.C.R. 1-4389. Article 119 EC Treaty; Equal Treatment of Men and Women; Complementary Pensions

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 305 (1995) Ann Eylenbosch and Kathleen Verreth. Assistants, Institute for Social Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Facts and Procedure Coloroll Pension Trustees is the pension fund trustee for the Coloroll Group of companies (the trustee). Following the financial collapse of the Coloroll group in 1990, the trustee was required to make a final determination of the pension and other claims within Coloroll’s various divisions. In doing so, the trustee encountered certain distinctions based on gender. First, the Coloroll pension schemes provided for different retirement ages for men and women: 65 for men and 60 for women. […]


Case Law: Case C-280/93, Germany v. Council, October 5, 1994, Not yet Reported in ECR

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 312 (1995) Petra Foubert. Assistant, Institute for European Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. External relations; Banana trade; Application of GATT by the European Court of Justice Facts and Procedure Until February 19, 1993, there was no common market for bananas in the European Community. The Member States could never agree on a common market organization and, consequently, the supply of bananas remained subject to market regulations differing widely from Member State to Member State. In a number of countries, the banana market was wholly or partially reserved for home production (“Community bananas”) or for imports from […]


Case Law: Case C-23/93, TV10 SA v. Commissariaat Voor De Media, October 5, 1994, 1994 E.C.R. 1-4824.

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 319 (1995) G. Straetmans & C. Goemans. Assistants, Study Centre for Comsumer Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Freedom to provide services; National legislation designed to maintain a pluralistic, non-commercial broadcasting network; Evasion of national law While questions on the lawfulness of restrictions aimed at maintaining a pluralistic and non-commercial television broadcasting system have been brought before the Court in several cases, the TVIO case is particularly interesting, since the Court here elaborates on the application of the “evasion-doctrine.” Although this doctrine is well-established, many questions in respect of its application are uncertain. Therefore, special attention must […]


Case Law: Case C-404/92 P, X v. Commission, October 5, 1994, [1994] ECR 1-4737

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 332 (1995) Eddy De Smijter. Assistant, Institute for European Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Right to respect for private life; Repercussions of a refusal to undergo an HIV test; Breach of the right of secrecy as regards state of health With a view to the possibility of being employed for a period of 6 months as a member of the Commission’s temporary staff, Mr. X was asked to undergo a clinical examination in accordance with the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities. During the clinical examination, conducted on March 15, 1989, Mr. […]


Case Law: Opinion 1/94 of the Court of Justice, November 15, 1994, 1994 E.C.R. I-5267

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 338 (1995) Piet Van Nuffel. Fellow of the Belgian National Foundation for Scientific Research, Institute for European Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. WTO-agreement; Community competence to conclude international agreements; Article 228(6) of the EC Treaty; Services and the protection of intellectual property. Agreements Resulting From the Uruguay Round On April 15, 1994, representatives of the governments of the industrialized world found themselves gathered in Marrakesh (Morocco) to sign the Final Act embodying the results of the Uruguay Round multilateral trade negotiations. Launched by the Punta del Este declaration of September 20, 1986, these “most complex negotiations […]


Case Law: Case T-549/93, D. v. Commission of the European Communities, January 26, 1995, Not yet Reported in ECR

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 354 (1995) Petra Foubert. Assistant, Institute for European Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. D. v. Commission represents the Court’s first foray into the legal issues surrounding claims of sexual harassment within the Community service. The case arose out of charges that D., the head of the Commission delegation in country X., had harassed three female members of the delegation staff. Those charges had led to the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against D. in May 1993. Following the inquiry, the Disciplinary Board recommended in July 1993 that the Commission’s appointing authority impose on D. the disciplinary measure of […]


Leg. Dev.: Telecommunications

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 361 (1995) Christopher W. Kirkham. J.D./M.I.A. candidate, Columbia University School of Law. (a) Part II of The Green Paper on the Liberalization of Telecommunications Infrastructure and Cable TV Networks The European Community has been preparing a flurry of legislation in the telecommunications sector over the past six months. On January 25, 1995 the Commission adopted Part II of The Green Paper on the Liberalization of Telecommunications Infrastructure and Cable TV Networks (COM (94) 682 FINAL). Part I of the Green Paper, adopted October 25, 1994, set out general principles and a proposed timetable for liberalization. […]


Soccer, Football and Trial Systems

1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 369 (1995) William T. Pizzi. Professor of Law, University of Colorado School of Law. As citizens become increasingly frustrated with the American criminal justice system and concerned about a trial system that seems to be more about winning and losing than it is about truth and that seems to place more emphasis on the skill of the lawyers than it does on the evidence, it is only natural to wonder how trial systems work in other western countries. Does a trial system have to be this complicated? Are trials in other countries punctuated with frequent […]