bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Psychological Contract: A New Dimension in Preventing Corrupt Behaviour in Customs
Authors: El Hail Si Mohamed , Zhalitov Arman
Published: March 2022

The fight against corruption in the Customs environment is a major challenge for many countries. It is important to highlight the commendable efforts that have been made by Customs through the implementation of anti-corruption programmes. However, it is difficult to identify cases where these efforts have yielded a positive return on investment. This is partly because they are not sufficient to foster a process of organizational, cultural and behavioural change conducive to Customs integrity. As corruption ultimately results from decisions made by individuals, an understanding of human behaviour is of paramount importance. Behavioural insights that help us understand corruption and make integrity-promoting measures more effective should be applied in consultation with Customs practitioners in the development of workable anti-corruption strategies.

Through this article, we aim to explore a new approach (Although previous research studies have examined the effect of the psychological contract on promoting behavioural change in employees at work (e.g., Conway & Briner, 2005; Coyle-Shapiro, 2002; Van de Ven, 2012; etc.), to the best of our knowledge, there has not been any research directly investigating the link between the psychological contract and corruption behaviour in the Customs working environment.) to corruption prevention from the perspective of the psychological contract as a cognitive concept, one that is measurable and that forms the foundations of the employment relationship. This can help to assess the ‘emotional distance’ between the employee and the employer in any given Customs administration, and can thus assist in analysing measures of the level of trust, reciprocity and integrity exhibited by Customs employees in relation to the organization.

This article aims to discuss the value of the concept of the psychological contract and, more specifically, the consequences of contract violation in understanding and combating the phenomenon of corruption in the Customs environment.

Behavioural insights, psychological contract, psychological contract violation, corruption in Customs, integrity in Customs
Dual-Use Regulation 2021/821: What’s Old & What’s New in EU Export Control
Authors: Vandenberghe Karolien
Published: March 2022

Regulation 2021/821 of 20 May 2021, which sets up a European Union (EU) regime for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit, and transfer of dual-use items, enters into force on 9 September 2021. While the main features of the EU’s dual-use regime remain the same, Regulation 2021/821 introduces some novelties. Export control is extended to technical assistance. Member States are granted more options to use local controls applicable to non-listed items, particularly in the case of cyber-surveillance items being used for repression or serious human rights violations, and generally in the case of a Member State creating national controls. In addition to the new authorization for large projects, two new EU authorizations are created: the intra-group software authorization (EU007) and the encryption authorization (EU008). The role of an internal compliance program (ICP), now clearly defined, is strengthened: an ICP is a legal necessity for holders of general global export authorizations and for applicants of the intra-group export of software and technology authorization. Finally, administrative provisions are added to improve cooperation between customs authorities and dual-use authorities at the national level, as well as to improve the exchange of information among the Member States, including with regard to the coordination of enforcement, at EU level.

Dual-Use, EU Export Control, Regulation 428/2009, Regulation 2021/821
Assisting Developing and Least Developed Countries in Legal Aspects of WTO Negotiations: A Case Study of the Fisheries Subsidies Negotiations
Authors: Vidal-León Christian
Published: March 2022

The Advisory Centre on WTO Law (ACWL) is an international organization charged with assisting developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs) in all legal aspects arising from the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Among its services, the ACWL provides, upon request, legal advice in WTO negotiations. The ACWL does not influence the political position of its Members or the LDCs. Rather, it confines itself to providing legal inputs that would enable its developing country Members and LDCs better to participate in WTO negotiations. In particular, the ACWL assists in drafting proposed legal provisions when a requesting government wishes to propose an idea. In addition, the ACWL conducts legal analyses of proposals tabled by other WTO Members in order to ascertain their potential legal effects were they to become part of the WTO covered agreements. In the context of the fisheries subsidies negotiations, the ACWL has made strides to become familiar with such areas as international law of the sea, fisheries law, and the legal aspects of sustainability and development in order to provide well informed legal advice to its developing country Members and the LDCs. Legal advice on the fisheries subsidies negotiations has, both qualitatively and quantitatively, become an important part of the ACWL’s work.

Legal advice, WTO negotiations, fisheries subsidies, fisheries management, treaty interpretation, ACWL, developing countries, least developed countries
EC-Chicken Cuts: How Developing Countries Obtained Increased Market Access Through Successful Recourse to WTO Dispute Settlement
Authors: Piérola Fernando , Valles Cherise
Published: March 2022

Some developing countries have learned from experience that WTO dispute settlement is by no means an abstract exercise. Instead, the WTO dispute settlement process has produced tangible benefits in the form of enhanced market access for key developing country exports, thus contributing to a rise in standards of living in those countries. This article examines how in EC – Chicken Cuts, two developing country Members, Thailand and Brazil, were able to use the WTO dispute settlement mechanism to challenge successfully EU customs classification measures that adversely affected their market access for exports of chicken products. Following their victory at the WTO, Thailand and Brazil were able to gain increased market access for chicken exports to Europe. The dispute illustrates how developing countries can successfully use the rules-based system in the WTO to level the playing field with large, developed country Members.

Developing countries, WTO disputes, market access, ACWL, Thailand, chicken industry, rule of law, EC-Chicken Cuts
Interview With the Honourable Dr Dixon Chongo, Former President of the Chamber of Customs Brokers of Mozambique
Authors: Rijo José
Published: March 2022

Mozambique, customs, trade, enforcement
The Pending EU CBAM: Quo Vadis Switzerland?
Authors: Holzer Kateryna
Published: March 2022

The intention of the EU to introduce a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) raises concerns among its trading partners fearing the loss of competitiveness in the EU market, should the measure apply to their exports. Switzerland, a major EU trading partner, has an advantage compared to many others: It has its own emissions trading scheme (ETS) in place, which due to the linking arrangements with the EU ETS results in the same carbon price for Swiss producers as for their EU counterparts. There seems therefore no need to adjust emissions costs at the border between the EU and Switzerland, and good chances for an exemption of Swiss exports from the pending EU CBAM. However, the exemption is unlikely to come without a condition: Switzerland would have to introduce its own CBAM to avoid the transshipment of other countries’ carbon-intensive products through the Swiss territory to the EU. The article discusses the main conditions and constraints for the design of an effective Swiss CBAM that would need to balance between achieving environmental and economic objectives, while also remaining acceptable from a practical, legal, and political perspective. In designing its CBAM, Switzerland could follow the EU model and adjust it accordingly depending on the reaction the EU measure will provoke among stakeholders. Statements and recommendations on a CBAM design made in the article hold true, for the most part, also for other third countries.

Carbon Border Adjustment, Emissions Trading, WTO Law, EU, Switzerland
Exclusive or Shared Competence in the Common Commercial Policy : From Amsterdam to Nice
Authors: Leal-Arcas Rafael
Published: March 2022

This paper is an analysis of the EC's Common Commercial Policy (CCP) since the Amsterdam Treaty until the Nice Treaty. It explains the CCP’s evolution since the 1996 Amsterdam Intergovernmental Conference, taking into account the most recent constitutional developments of division of competencies between the EC and its Member States. I conclude that the increasing demands at Nice for greater transparency and simplicity have not been met by the new version of Article 133 EC and that most EU Member States did not bring the scope of the EC’s commercial policy in line with the scope of international economic law as it evolved from the conclusion of the WTO Agreement. The European Parliament was the big loser in the new Article 133 EC since it was not given any new rights at the Nice summit. The Treaty of Nice, thus, only represents a small step forward in strengthening the EC’s capacity to act on the international sphere.
After the Party, is there a Cure for the Hangover? The Challenges of the Global Economy to Westphalian Sovereignty
Authors: Coleman Andrew , Maogoto Jackson
Published: March 2022

Nation-States, and their authority referred to here as national sovereignty, is under threat from forces within the global economy. Although globalisation is considered to be a recent phenomenon that has now attracted the attention of writers, its origins lie with those of the Nation-State, as the Nation-State clawed its way to dominate the international community. Nation-States achieved their pre-eminence and dominance of the international community on the backs of free enterprise and capitalism; and now this dependence threatens their very existence. Now belatedly, Nation- States are attempting to regulate the global economy through the IMF and the World Bank and other means. This paper examines the effect that the global economy has upon the traditional understanding of sovereignty.
Networks on Track: From European Regulatory Networks to European Regulatory ‘Network Agencies’
Authors: Lavrijssen Saskia A.C.M. , Lavrijssen Saskia A.C.M.
Published: March 2022

Recent legal and political science literature has become increasingly critical on the accountability of what are generically referred to as European administrative networks, in which national administrative authorities cooperate with the EU institutions in a myriad of formal and informal ways in the development as well as the implementation of secondary EU legislation. This article deals with two specific regulatory networks – the European Energy Regulators Group (ERGEG) and the European Regulators Group for Communications Networks and Services (ERG). In 2007, the Commission tabled legislative proposals aimed at formalising and strengthening the existing networks in the energy and electronic communications sectors by conferring on them independent agency status. The main aim of this article is to identify the legal and political accountability gaps in the present model of European regulatory networks (ERNs) and the proposed European network agencies. The authors conclude that the creation of the European network agencies will hardly lead to the strengthening of the political and legal accountability of the European regulatory coordination between the national regulatory authorities (NRAs) and the Commission. The authors recommend that the European legislator looks beyond traditional mechanisms to secure political and legal accountability; more attention is urgently required to the creation and detailing of mixed or complementary accountability mechanisms, in which representatives of the European and/or national accountability forums have a secure role to play. In this respect, this article puts forward a number of concrete recommendations to respond to accountability issues arising out of the mixed exercise of European and national powers, such as the creation of a mixed parliamentary commission consisting of members of the European parliament and the national parliaments to monitor the activities of the Commission and the European network agencies.
The Proposed Patients’ Rights Directive and the Reform of (Cross-Border) Healthcare in the European Union
Authors: Sauter Wolf
Published: March 2022

The European Commission’s (hereinafter ‘Commission’s’) proposal for a directive on patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare is not primarily a codification of the case law; while leaving out guarantees developed by the Court (notably based on ‘undue delay’), it also adds new elements of liberalization and harmonization. The proposal’s liberalization dimension involves eliminating prior authorization requirements for reimbursement of cross-border treatment in most cases. By way of harmonization, the proposal introduces new rights to accountability and transparency, which apply not just to mobile patients but also to all patients in each Member State. Jointly, this will generate pressure for further change, not just in relation to the cross-border provision of services but also more broadly across the healthcare sector.
The Merger Control Patchwork
Authors: Schroeder Dirk
Published: March 2022

This article discusses the lack of harmonization among European merger control regimes. There are significant differences relating inter alia to the concept of a concentration, the substantive test, remedies, and judicial review. As far as the substantive test is concerned, the chasm is particularly deep between the European Commission’s practice and that of the German Federal Cartel Office. Areas of divergence include the more economic approach, the level at which market shares are considered problematic, the assessment of collective dominance, and the treatment of conglomerate effects. While some feel that ‘the quest for harmonization is quixotic’, the author argues in favour of a level playing field
The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement: A Critical Analysis
Authors: Gao Henry
Published: March 2022

When the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP Agreement or P4 Agreement) was signed in 2005, it was hailed as a ‘high-standard’ agreement that could serve as a model for Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) within the Asia-Pacific region. This claim seems to have received support from recent events, such as the launch of the accession negotiation by the US and the expression of interests from a host of other countries.

This article provides a critical analysis on whether the TPP Agreement is a ‘high-standard’ agreement as its members have claimed. After comparing it with other FTAs, this article notes that the P4 Agreement does not distinguish itself among FTAs and has failed to provide higher market access concessions or stricter disciplines on protectionist policies. This is followed by a discussion on the possible factors that might explain the mismatch between the rhetoric and reality of the P4 Agreement. This article concludes by considering how the P4 Agreement could be re-engineered to fulfil its original expectations.
The ‘Cultural’ Criterion in the European Commission’s Assessment of State Aids to the Audio-Visual Sector
Authors: Psychogiopoulou Evangelia
Published: March 2022

According to the 2001 Cinema Communication, in order to benefit from the cultural state aid derogation of Article 107(3)(d) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), state aid schemes for audio-visual creation must target content that qualifies as ‘cultural’ on the basis of ‘verifiable’ national criteria. The purpose of this article is to examine the Commission’s practice with respect to the enforcement of the cultural criterion of the Cinema Communication and to explore its effects for Member States’ cultural policies. This article argues that despite rhetoric assertions that definitional matters are for the Member States to deal with, a more restrictive control of the cultural criteria Member States are required to devise in order to authenticate audiovisual works as cultural products takes place from the mid-2000s onwards, curtailing national cultural autonomy. This is mainly due to a constrained interpretation of the concept of culture under the European Union (EU) state aid rules, which leads to inconsistent EU intervention in the audio-visual field.
How Feasible Is the Proposal for Establishing a New European System of Financial Supervisors?
Authors: Lefterov Asen
Published: March 2022

The impact of the global financial crisis underlined the serious deficiencies in the architecture of financial supervision in the European Union (EU). The necessary reform in the financial sector is in progress and foresees the establishment of a brand new EU-wide administrative network – the European System of Financial Supervisors (ESFS). This article critically examines the legislative proposals for the reform, more specifically the legal basis for the establishment of the network, the envisaged powers of the participants in the network, and the network’s mechanisms of operation. Based on this analysis, it is asserted that serious constitutional challenges preclude the establishment of the new network while inconsistent drafting would adversely affect its functioning.
Securities Fraud Compensation: A Legislative Scheme Drawing on China, the US, and the UK
Authors: Humphery-Jenner Mark
Published: March 2022

This article proposes reforms to securities fraud compensation. It draws on the law in China, the US and the UK. A key problem with the current position in the US and the UK is that that it does not fully define fundamental compensatory principles: the date when loss arises, and the rules of causation, remoteness, and mitigation. China has addressed securities fraud compensation and has implicitly defined the operation of compensatory principles. Thus, I use experiences in China, the US and the UK to: (1 ) show that developed markets can learn from the law in emerging markets, and (2) propose reforms to securities fraud compensation that address the key compensatory principles. These principles provide a basis for a globally harmonized approach to market manipulation by false statements.
A Critical Look at the Prospects for Robust Rules for Services in Preferential Trading Agreements
Authors: VanDuzer J. Anthony
Published: March 2022

The negotiation of market access commitments and rules for services trade faces a number of daunting challenges that are an inherent consequence of the fact that many barriers to services trade are embedded in domestic regulation. The result, so far, has been that international services commitments are relatively weak. The challenges to negotiating stronger commitments include convincing private sector interests that services commitments will benefit them and the difficulty of constructively engaging domestic regulators in negotiations, especially where they are associated with subordinate levels of government.

To the extent that negotiating countries have close proximity in terms of geography, trade and investment relationships, common culture, language, and legal traditions, as well as similar regulatory goals and approaches, these challenges may be lessened. These factors are present to varying degrees among developed countries. In the current Canada-Europe negotiations, for example, the presence of significant export interests, long experience with trade negotiations, well-developed regulatory schemes, and a history of regulatory cooperation all support a relatively robust outcome in services commitments and rules. The role played by subordinate levels of government and regulators, however, as well as differences in approaches to the architecture of trade agreements will be challenges for the negotiators.
Circumventing Primacy of EU Law and the CJEUs Judicial Monopoly by Resorting to Dispute Resolution Mechanisms Provided for in Inter-se Treaties? The Case of Intra-EU Investment Arbitration
Authors: Hindelang Steffen
Published: March 2022

Currently, we can observe an increasing number of so-called investor-state arbitrations on the basis of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) concluded between Member States. The arbitral awards rendered, binding on the Member State involved, challenge the uniform application of EU law by largely disregarding it. This paper suggests that intra-EU investment tribunals are clearly mistaken in doing so. In principle, they have to apply EU law along with the provisions of the applicable intra-EU BIT. Moreover, in case of conflict, EU law takes precedence over the inter-se treaty of the Member States. It is moreover argued that intra-EU investment tribunals should be allowed (and obliged) to refer questions for a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) pursuant to Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) as, like domestic courts, they decide implicitly or explicitly in a binding fashion, inter alia, whether the exercise of governmental powers towards the investor was permissible or even obligatory by EU law standards. If, however, the CJEU should find to the contrary or if the Court perceived investor-state arbitration as a disguised state-to-state infringement procedure within the meaning of Article 259 TFEU, the arbitration clause in an intra-EU BIT cannot be reconciled with the European Treaties and must, hence, be disregarded by the investment tribunal to the extent that the tribunal is confronted with questions relating to the interpretation and application of EU law.
Investor-State Arbitration in EU International Investment Agreements with Third States
Authors: Burgstaller Markus
Published: March 2022

Both the European Commission and the European Parliament are committed to include investor-state arbitration clauses in EU international investment agreements (IIAs) with third states. However, the EU is not and is unlikely to become a Contracting Party to the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (ICSID Convention). While this deficiency may be remedied to some extent by replicating the relevant provisions of the ICSID Convention, EU investors still cannot benefit from the institutional clout of ICSID, which could possibly facilitate enforcement of awards. The main obstacle to investor-state arbitration in EU IIAs with third states, however, is unlikely to stem from the non-availability of the ICSID Convention, but rather from the jurisprudence of the CJEU. The EU could only include investor-state arbitration clauses in EU IIAs with third states following a change in EU primary law such that investment tribunals could be deemed 'courts or tribunals of a Member State' within the meaning of Article 267 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
Return to the Local Remedies Rule in European BITs? Power (Inequalities), Dispute Settlement, and Change in Investment Treaty Law
Authors: Sattorova Mavluda
Published: March 2022

This article will examine the evolving attitudes to the exhaustion of local remedies requirement and its waiver in investment treaty instruments through the prism of inequalities of power between different states and the role of international law in entrenching such inequalities. Focusing on the recent proposal by the European Parliament to re-introduce the exhaustion of remedies requirement in European BITs, this article seeks to demonstrate that, just like in general international law and despite the traditional claims of neutrality and depoliticization, inequalities of power continue to influence the making of investment treaty norms and hold sway over the settlement of investment disputes. Lest its long-term sustainability and credibility is undermined by the existing distortions in investment treaty policy and arbitral practice, the institute investor-state arbitration should be reinvigorated through a greater push for reciprocity in the relationship between international tribunals and national courts in developed and developing states alike.
Financial Liability of the EU for Violations of WTO Law: A Legislative Proposal Benefiting Innocent Bystanders
Authors: Bronckers Marco , Goelen Sophie
Published: March 2022

In this paper we discuss whether the EU may be held liable by individuals for damages they suffer due to a violation of world trade organization (WTO) law by the EU. We focus on European companies whose exports to a third country are suddenly blocked as a result of WTO-authorized retaliation by that country against the EU, for as long as the EU fails to adjust those measures which have been found to infringe WTO law. Typically, the affected European companies are in no way involved in the trade dispute between the EU and a third country, as the dispute normally relates to a completely different sector. The problem that arises here has also been referred to as 'collateral damage', or damage to 'innocent bystanders'. In view of disappointing developments in the European Courts' case law, we propose a legislative solution to compensate innocent bystanders.
Human Rights and Sustainable Development Obligations in EU Free Trade Agreements
Authors: Bartels Lorand
Published: March 2022

Since the early 1990s, the EU's trade agreements have included a 'human rights clause' requiring the parties to respect human rights and democratic principles. More recently, beginning with the 2008 EU-Cariforum Economic Partnership Agreement, they have also included 'sustainable development' chapters, which contain obligations to respect labour and environmental standards. This article considers the extent to which, legally, these two sets of provisions give the EU the means of implementing its obligations to ensure that its external activities respect human rights and pursue the objective of promoting sustainable development. It also considers the desirability of these differences in the EU's approach to the human rights and democratic principles, on the one hand, and labour and environmental standards, on the other.
Strengthening the Enforcement of CSR Guidelines: Finding a New Balance between Hard Law and Soft Law
Authors: Olsen Birgitte Egelund
Published: March 2022

Since 2000, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the Guidelines) have required OECD Members to establish national contact points (NCPs) to promote the effective implementation of the Guidelines. The aim of this article is to examine the role of the NCPs in implementing the Guidelines, including how the influence of the NCPs may change the nature of the Guidelines from being purely voluntary to become more in the nature of binding requirements. The examination focuses on the NCPs in Denmark, Norway, and the United Kingdom. It concludes that the way in which the NCPs operate, including the extensive right to refer complaints to them, the broad scope of the recommendations in the Guidelines and especially the use of naming and shaming in cases of breaches of the Guidelines, has changed the original character of the Guidelines as a purely soft law instrument. Furthermore, it is shown that the use of very broad and vague terminology in the Guidelines makes it very difficult for enterprises to comply with them. This is further complicated by the fact that many of the terms, which specify when the NCPs have jurisdiction, are not clearly defined or explained. The three NCPs examined have implemented the Guidelines very differently. In particular the Danish NCP stands out. It has a jurisdiction which in many respects goes far beyond that envisioned in the Guidelines. This may put in question the legitimacy and effectiveness of the Danish NCP, but at the same time it can also be viewed as an interesting innovation which may provide useful lessons for other NCPs and their approaches to implementing the Guidelines.
Technical Regulations and Standards under the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
Authors: Davies Arwel
Published: March 2022

When applying the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), an initial issue is whether the challenged instrument should be classified as a technical regulation or as a standard. Under the relevant Treaty language, both instruments can set product characteristics such as marking or labelling requirements with the distinction turning on the phrase 'with which compliance is mandatory'. The meaning of this phrase was contested in US-Tuna II, with the matter eventually being resolved in Mexico's favour. A rare panel dissent classified the dolphin-safe labelling scheme as a voluntary standard based on a clear test leading to definite outcomes. However, the panel majority and Appellate Body preferred a more flexible and less predictable approach under which the measure was classified as a mandatory technical regulation. This article questions whether this is an area in which flexibility plays a useful role, or one in which clarity and predictability are preferred. The article is informed by an obvious consideration which is nevertheless almost absent from the case law and academic debate. The classification of the measure at issue is important to the extent that the TBT adopts a differentiated approach towards technical regulations and standards in terms of the applicable substantive obligations and the manner of their enforcement.
Applying the MFN Principle to WTO Anti-dumping Law: An Opportunity for Curbing the Use of Anti-dumping Measures
Authors: Mahncke Hans
Published: March 2022

Since the 1970s anti-dumping has gained prominence in international trade law. Not only have anti-dumping measures proliferated but many new anti-dumping users have emerged, including developing countries. However, the limited negotiating mandate of the WTO's Doha Round indicates that anti-dumping law will remain unchanged for years to come. In seeking ways to reverse these trends, this study explores the possibility of constraining the use of the anti-dumping instrument through existing laws. It approaches this objective by examining the relationship between the WTO's specialized anti-dumping laws and the GATT's core non-discrimination rule, the MFN principle. It concludes that the application of the MFN discipline within the anti-dumping context is mandated by WTO law and that such application offers a viable path to advance the anti-dumping law discourse beyond its traditional understanding.
Collective Redress in the Field of EU Competition Law: The Need for an EU Remedy and the Impact of the Recent Commission Recommendation
Authors: Tzakas Dimitrios-Panagiotis L
Published: March 2022

With regard to the introduction of uniform rules governing civil antitrust liability, the Commission recognizes that it would be very unlikely that consumers and purchasers with small claims will bring individual actions for the damages they have suffered. Therefore, attention is shifted to the ways in which these interests can be better protected especially by means of collective actions. These instruments can serve to consolidate a large number of smaller claims into one action, thereby saving time and money. The need for enabling national redress mechanisms in different areas where EU law grants rights to citizens and companies is underlined by the 2013 Recommendation. The main policy rationale focuses on ensuring a coherent horizontal approach without harmonizing - although indirectly interfering with - the Member States' systems.

The article discusses the specificities of collective redress mechanisms for antitrust violations and focuses on the implications of the 2013 Recommendation.
Collective Redress in the Field of European Consumer Law
Authors: Benöhr Iris
Published: March 2022

Collective redress procedures play an increasingly important role in the resolution of consumer to business disputes in Europe. With the enlargement of the European market and growing cross-border purchases, multiple consumers are more often harmed by the same illegal practice of a business. As a result, compensatory collective redress mechanisms have been established in certain Member States to facilitate consumer redress. At a more general level, the European Commission adopted a 2013 Recommendation on common principles for collective redress mechanisms in the Member States.

This article analyses existing collective redress measures and examines the potential impact that the new Recommendation may have on consumer protection. It will be argued that while this new measure provides Member States with some guidance on how to establish collective redress procedures, its practical influence in improving effective dispute resolution for consumers may remain limited.
Corporate Social Responsibility in EU Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements: Towards Sustainable Trade and Investment
Authors: Waleson Joshua
Published: March 2022

This article explores how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) could effectively be integrated into the trade and investment chapters of post-Lisbon comprehensive EU Free Trade Agreement (FTAs) and to which extent the various options could impose obligations on Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). It argues that promoting CSR in the trade aspects of a comprehensive FTA can, at most, indirectly impose obligations on MNEs due to the lack of vertical effect. Therefore, the likely evolution would be to include investor obligations that reflect CSR objectives in the investment chapters of comprehensive EU FTAs where there is vertical effect. By analysing the draft text of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) within the context of international developments as regards incorporating non-trade objectives in regional and bilateral FTAs and IIAs, this article aims to illustrate the Commission's approach towards introducing CSR in future comprehensive EU FTAs.
The WTO Government Procurement Agreement: The Most-Favoured Nation Principle, the GATS and Regionalism
Authors: Dawar Kamala
Published: March 2022

This article is concerned with the nature and application of the most-favoured-nation (MFN) principle under the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) plurilateral Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA). After establishing the context of the WTO GPA, the paper first assesses how the MFN principle operates among the parties of the WTO GPA, pursuant to Article IV. It then considers the relationship between the WTO GPA and the WTO GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) Article II MFN principle. The paper lastly examines the WTO GPA parties’ market-access commitments for the procurement of goods, services and construction services in regional trade agreements (RTAs), with reference to the scope of the MFN principle operating under Article IV of theWTO GPA. The overall analysis identifies a correspondence between the WTO GPA and the GATS schedules and MFN requirements. The article concludes that this systemic correspondence has the potential to operate against the wider objectives of multilateralism under both the WTO and the WTO GPA itself.
Healthcare Services, the EU Single Market and Beyond: Meeting Local Needs in an Open Economy  How Much Market or How Little Market?
Authors: Andreangeli Arianna
Published: March 2022

This article considers the impact of the choices made by the Member States in designing the institutional and regulatory concerning taxpayer-funded health services on the applicability of the EU single market and competition rules and on the public procurement legal regime. It will focus on the different approaches adopted in the United Kingdom in England and Wales as opposed to Scotland. The article will conclude by looking at some of the issues that could arise from the implementation of common commercial policy initiatives undertaken by the Union: taking into consideration the ongoing negotiation of the EU/US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), it will consider whether liberalizing trade in services may imperil the solidarity-based nature of healthcare that is typical of the EU Member States.
On the Benefits of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) Negotiations for the EU Legal Order: A Legal Perspective
Authors: Fahey Elaine
Published: March 2022

This article argues that Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations have a positive legal story worth recounting as to the effects of the negotiations upon the European Union (EU) legal order. The article explores the negotiation of EU international agreements as a specific field of law and considers how the TTIP negotiations overall contribute to the politicization of the EU through shifts in legal practice on the part of all major institutional actors to EU international relations in changes to approach, procedure and actions. It uses the metric of responsiveness to measure or chart the former, considering the responses as actually practiced by institutional actors in law to normative concerns arising. It considers these practices across a range of actors, specifically the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Ombudsman, the Committee of the Regions and the TTIP Advisory Group.
Situating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (negotiations) in European Union Common Commercial Policy
Authors: Takács Tamara
Published: March 2022

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations can be distinguished from previous trade negotiations in terms of substance and process. The adoption of the mandate and the ongoing negotiations have taken place in the significantly reformed structure of the European Union (EU)’s Common Commercial Policy after the Lisbon Treaty’s entry into force. Efforts at closer economic integration between the world’s two biggest trading blocs has developed as the EU’s focus shifts from the multilateral trade system toward bilateralism and regionalism, and a new generation of trade agreements emerges. The envisaged TTIP expands the coverage of the agreement to an unprecedented array of commercial relations. Including new issues, such as regulatory cooperation and investment, have impacted the process of negotiations and enhanced its transparency with the involvement of various stakeholders. TTIP as an arrangement may shape the content of the Common Commercial Policy: much of what is achieved could potentially be introduced in other trade negotiations.
Restructuring Greek Debt: Alternative Routes
Authors: Megliani Mauro
Published: March 2022

In July 2015 Greece was on the verge of a default. The negotiations for a third assistance programme floundered after the Greeks rejected the conditions attached to it. Faced with the risk of bankruptcy, the Greek government was obliged to sit down again at the negotiating table and to accept the conditions put forward by the Euro countries. The backbone of this assistance consists of the provision by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) of EUR 86 billion over three years. In this context the sustainability of the Greek debt is ensured by a series of far reaching economic reforms. However, in the view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this reform package is not able to ensure the sustainability of the debt and a debt restructuring is thereby needed. Unfortunately, the no-bail out clause contained in the TFEU does not permit such a route. To overcome this problem a viable approach would be to resort to the mechanism of debt swaps.
Reflections on the Greek Capital Controls: How the Rescue of the National Economy Justifies Restricting Private Business
Authors: Ziaka Lamprini , Ungerer Johannes
Published: March 2022

The Greek capital controls of June 2015 were not limited to cash withdrawals, they also introduced restrictions on international transactions, which caused serious trouble to Greek businesses trading cross-border. Investigating the justification of these restrictions in the Greek context, but also in comparison with developments in other South European Member States, especially in Cyprus, this article first examines the special legislative process by which the capital controls were enacted. The main focus is on the EU substantive requirements for the protection of free movement of capital and payments among Member States and beyond: non-discrimination and proportionality. The conclusion reached is that the Greek measures can be justified because they served the superior public interest in the protection of the financial and economic system.
The Constitutional Fit of European Standardization Put to the Test
Authors: Senden Linda
Published: March 2022

The adoption of harmonized standards (HSs) within the framework of the ‘New Approach’ is a long-standing phenomenon of the European decision-making process. Yet, an important question remains how their use actually fits in with the Union’s legal system, in particular in the light of the changes Regulation 1025/2012 has brought as well as the hierarchy of norms introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon and the recent case law of the European Court of Justice. In analysing this question, this article concludes that given that HSs are gaining an increasingly EU public law nature and are akin to the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers, it can be doubted whether the constitutional safeguards the Regulation provides are sufficient. The ‘constitutional fit’ of European standardization is in need of improvement as the limited constitutional safeguards for this type of delegation of powers are in sharp contrast with those that have been put into place in the Treaties for the Commission’s own exercise of delegated power.
Judicial Control of the EU Harmonized Standards: Entering a Black Hole?
Authors: Eliantonio Mariolina
Published: March 2022

Ex ante control mechanisms in the EU standardization process exhibit several shortcomings. For this reason, it seems necessary to establish whether the ex post judicial review of the process may compensate for these shortcomings. This article aims at identifying the possible gaps of judicial protection in the review of EU harmonized standards. To this end, the mechanisms of judicial supervision available in the EU legal system are reviewed in order to establish whether the current level of judicial control of the EU standardization process complies with the principle of effective judicial protection. The article first considers the possibility of a direct challenge against a European harmonized standard and subsequently the situation of an indirect challenge against a European harmonized standard through the preliminary ruling procedure. It concludes that the current system of judicial protection of the EU standardization process does not respect the principle of effective judicial protection.
Regionalization Within the SPS Agreement After Russia  Pigs (EU)
Authors: Furculi?a Cornelia
Published: March 2022

Until recently, the issue of regionalization was only superficially addressed in both practice and scholarship compared to other provisions of the WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement. The notion of regionalization, established in Article 6 of the SPS Agreement, secures that SPS measures are not based on political borders of the Members but adapted to the specific conditions of regions. Thus, Article 6 establishes an important right of the Members to ensure access to other Members’ markets for products originating in disease-free areas. Recently, several disputes with respect to regionalization were brought before the WTO dispute settlement system. This article considers how, in Russia – Pigs (EU), the Panel and the Appellate Body clarified the SPS Agreement’s provisions on regionalization, furthering previous conclusions and identifying what Members can expect from future applications of the regionalization provisions of the SPS Agreement.
Legal Issues of Economic Disintegration: Government Procurement and BREXIT
Authors: Dawar Kamala
Published: March 2022

This article examines some of the European Union (EU) and World Trade Organization (WTO) legal issues that emerge for the United Kingdom’s (UK) public procurement law and policies following Brexit. It analyses the consequences and sequencing of international negotiations that must now take place since the UK triggered Article 50(2) of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU). Once the UK revokes the European Communities Act 1972, it will no longer be obligated to follow either the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) or the EU Procurement Directives. Nor will the UK be subject to the commitments the EU has signed up to on behalf of the UK in the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and in its Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs).

 After examining the legal issues concerned with sequencing, the article moves on to assess the domestic, centrifugal forces that will also impact the UK’s public procurement law post-Brexit. Under the Devolution Settlement of 1998, the competence for public procurement was devolved down to the regions of Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales. The article postulates that the legal issues of disintegration that have surfaced under Brexit could potentially fragment a coherent UK wide procurement policy, competition and value for money internally; as well as externally towards the WTO GPA, the EU and other regional procurement agreements.

The article puts forward a competition approach to address some of the potentially negative consequences of Brexit undermining value for money, transparency and integration in the UK’s lucrative markets for government procurement. It concludes with the limited hope that the legal and economic issues and challenges resulting from the UK’s referendum on membership of the EU will be a salutatory lesson for all other nations.
Mutual Recognitions Failure in the Light of Free Movement of Food Supplements: Judgment of the CJEU, 27 April 2017, Noria Distribution SARL (Case C-672/15)
Authors: Jan Benjamin
Published: March 2022

The ECJ had to define the Member States’ room of manoeuvre on the delicate matter of non-harmonised technical rules, in the case at hand the maximum amounts of vitamins and minerals present in food supplements. Even though the EU legislator has developed a mutual recognition framework to avoid technical barriers to trade, businesses like Noria still faced them. In order to tackle the negative consequences of the different perceptions of appropriate standards and safety level between the Member States, the ECJ retained its well-established case law on administrative due process and human health derogation under Article 36 TFEU. Oddly, the Court did not exploit a useful legal tool – the Mutual Recognition Regulation – for disciplining Member States in their recourse of the ‘genuine risk to public health’ derogation. Is the omission of the Regulation unintentional or is it the proof of mutual recognition framework’s failure?