8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 1 (2002) Carl Baudenbacher. Prof. Dr. Jur., Judge of the Court of the European Free Trade Association, Professor at the University of St. Gallen, Visiting Professor at the University of Texas School of Law. Imelda Higgins. Part-time Lecturer at University College Dublin, Student at the Honourable Society of King’s Inn, Dublin. INTRODUCTION Pursuant to Article 81(1) (ex Art. 85) of the Treaty Establishing the European Community (TEC) and Article 81(2) (ex Art. 86) of the TEC, national courts may declare agreements void but have no power to grant an exemption pursuant to Article 81(3) of […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 19 (2002) Vincenzo Di Cataldo. Vincenzo Di Cataldo is a Professor of Business Law at the Law School of the University of Catania, Italy and was a BNL Visiting Professor of Law at the Columbia University School of Law, Autumn 2000. The European Patent Convention (EPC), also known as the Munich Convention, was signed in Munich, Germany, on October 5, 1973 and became effective on October 7, 1977. The EPC has played a very important role in the recent developments of European intellectual property law and has been an important step towards the harmonization and […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 37 (2002) Giorgio Sacerdoti. Professor of International and European Law at Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, Milan, Italy. ANTECEDENT EVENTS: 50 YEARS OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS Fifty years have gone by since the twelve Member States of the Council of Europe signed the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). The signatures were affixed in Rome on November 4, 1950. For the first time in history, having learned from the saddening experience of dictatorship and war, a group of states subscribed to a detailed catalogue […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 53 (2002) Markus G. Puder. First Legal State Examination, 1987, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Germany; Second Legal State Examination, 1990, Upper Court of Appeals of Munich; Master of Laws, 1991, Georgetown University Law Center; Ph.D. in Law, 1997, Ludwig-Maximilians University. Member New York Bar and United States Supreme Court Bar. Dr. Puder is an attorney and researcher in the Environmental Assessment Division of Argonne National Laboratory, Washington D.C. Office. He also serves as an adjunct professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center where he teaches European Union law. The Treaty of Nice was […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 92 (2002) Iris Canor. Adjunct Lecturer Haifa University and Tel-Aviv University, Israel. P. v. S. and Comawall, Case C-13/94, 1996 E.C.R. 1-2143. Joined Cases C-122/99 P & C-125/99 P, D. and Sweden v. Council, 31 May 2001 (not yet reported). Facts This case is a link in a chain of decisions concerning gender reassignment and sexual orientation. It is an appeal on the decision of the Court of First Instance, concerning a Community official of Swedish nationality. The appellant, Mr. D, claimed from his employer, the Council, a household allowance for married Community officials provided […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 85 (2002) Thalia Kruger. Assistant at the Institute for International Trade Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Ingmar GB Ltd v. Eaton Leonard Technologies Inc., Case C-381/98, 2000 E.C.R. I-9305 This judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Communities responds to preliminary questions posed by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales (Civil Division), United Kingdom. At issue was the EC Directive on the coordination of the laws of the Member States relating to self-employed commercial agents (Agency Directive) and its scope. The aim of the Agency Directive is to harmonize the different laws […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 101 (2002) Leyla Marrouk. J.D. candidate, class of 2002, Columbia University Law School. An Alternative Route to Success: Sensitivity Towards Nation-Specific Factors, Such as Domestic Legal Structures, Political and Legal Heritage, and National Economic Needs, in the Structuring of an International Antitrust Law Enforcement Mechanism INTRODUCTION It is well accepted in the world of antitrust scholars, politicians and businessmen that “globalization” has made a seamless web of international enforcement of antitrust law indispensable if we do, indeed, believe in the concept of antitrust law to begin with. Businesses are executing transactions that are crossing national […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 125 (2002) Charlotte Fishman. The Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European Union established by the European Council on May 29, 2000 (“the Convention”), was designed to facilitate and accelerate cooperation between the police and judicial authorities in Member States of the European Union. Its provisions have acquired particular meaning since the attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001, and its urgency has been emphasized by both the European Council (“the Council”) and the Justice and Home Affairs Council (“the JHA Council”) during extraordinary sessions held […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 141 (2002) reviewed by David A. Kanarek. Edited by Simon J. Evenett, Alexander Lehmann and Benn Steil. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution (2000). 198 pages. Throughout the summer of 200 1, the antitrust community and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean witnessed the European Union (EU) reject the merger between General Electric (GE) and Honeywell. The $43 billion purchase was already approved by US antitrust regulators. This was the first time that the EU stopped a merger of two American corporations that had already been approved in the US. In the aftermath, some argued […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. (131) Arvidas Remeza. The European Union’s (EU) principal tool for establishing a common market has been the Directive. Directives set the essential framework of policy at the European level, but leave the scope and method of implementation to each Member State. The implementation of Directives by Member States will thus result in a European system of regulation which is equivalent, but not necessarily uniform.’ GENESIS Historically, the EU has taken a piecemeal approach to devising a regulatory system for establishing the requirements for listing on stock exchanges. From 1979 to 1988, four principal Council Directives […]

8 Colum. J. Eur. L. 145 (2002) reviewed by Elizabeth Perez. The evolution of the role of European Union (EU) institutions in the past decade has outpaced the expectations of many observers, and the European Court of Justice has not lagged behind other EU institutions in the sometimes contentious struggle to develop an acceptable balance between Member State sovereignty and effective application of European Community (EC) laws. Angela Ward’s JudicialReview and the Rights of Private Parties in EC Law provides ample evidence that despite the European Court of Justice’s general progression towards a more thorough review of EC law with […]