bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Organic Food
Authors: Schebesta Hanna , Purnhagen Kai
Published: June 2024

This chapter focuses on the complex regulatory system of the Organics Regulation (EU) 2018/848 and general questions regarding the organic food trade in the EU market. It explains and analyses the rules of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 (section 15.2), specifically the scope of application (section 15.2.1), objectives, and general principles (section 15.2.2), as well as rules on production (section 15.2.3), labelling (section 15.2.6), and certification (section 15.2.7). The chapter further discusses additional rules on official controls of the Organics Regulation (section 15.3), trade with third countries (section 15.4), and procedural aspects (section 15.5). It concludes with a final discussion of the general advantages and disadvantages of the system (section 15.6).
EU Food Quality Schemes
Authors: Schebesta Hanna , Purnhagen Kai
Published: June 2024

This chapter discusses several labelling options for food quality in the EU. Its main focus is on EU Regulation 1151/2012 (section 16.2), noting the Regulation’s objective and scope (section 16.2.1). Relevant food quality labels, namely the protected designation of origin (PDO) and the protected geographical indication (PGI) (section 16.2.2), their right to use and their protection (section 16.2.3), as well as the traditional specialty guarantee (TSG) (section 16.2.4) and optional quality terms (OQTs) (section 16.2.5) are discussed. The application and registration procedure for PDO, PGIs, and TSGs and their placing on the market are elaborated (section 16.3). The chapter concludes with a general discussion on the topic (section 16.4).
The Humane Perspective
Authors: Cottingham John
Published: June 2024

This book brings together fourteen essays from the work of John Cottingham on moral philosophy and philosophy of religion spanning the past fifteen years. The chapters are closely related in so far as they all deal with the perennial challenges of human existence—the drive to understand the world we live in, the limits of scientific inquiry, the search for a good and meaningful life, and the human quest for transcendence. As well as being thematically linked, they share a common style and methodology, illustrating the distinctive goal that has informed the author’s work in recent years, that of promoting a more ‘humane’ conception of philosophizing. While in no way discarding the technical tools of the professional philosopher such as abstract argumentation and analysis, whose value is unquestionable, this approach is notable for drawing on the full range of resources available to the human mind, including those that depend on literary, poetic, imaginative, aesthetic, and emotional modes of awareness. In contrast to the model of the philosopher as a kind of detached scrutineer, the essays exemplify the belief that there is also a distinctive and valuable kind of philosophical understanding that requires a more involved and engaged stance. The topics dealt with fall broadly within the familiar domains of moral philosophy and philosophy of religion, but the reflections offered on these areas of human thought and practice always aim to be sensitive to how morality and religion actually operate in the lives of the human beings involved.
Confronting the Cosmos
Authors: Cottingham John
Published: June 2024

This chapter starts with the Pauline idea that knowledge of God is naturally available to any human being without special divine grace or revelation. Against this, those who do not see the universe as the work of a divine creator can scarcely be judged guilty of any error of logic or observation. It is argued that defending the idea of natural knowledge of God will need a different kind of religious epistemology—one that, rather than trying to make religious knowledge conform to a neutral, secular-style epistemic template, takes account of the special conditions under which God, assuming his existence, might be expected to manifest himself. The chapter concludes by pointing to our experiences of natural beauty and moral goodness as ‘intimations of the transcendent’. These do not qualify as scientific evidence, but are a part of our human heritage whose significance, if we are attentive, cannot easily be ignored.
Transcending Science
Authors: Cottingham John
Published: June 2024

In many contemporary debates, religion and science are cast as rivals, supposedly offering competing explanations of the origins and nature of the cosmos. Religion often appears at a disadvantage here: given the magnificent achievements of science, theistic speculations about the activities of an immaterial divine agent are apt to seem radically impoverished by comparison. This chapter argues that understanding the world religiously is less about subscribing to explanatory hypotheses than about a certain mode of engagement with reality, requiring a moral and spiritual transformation of the subject. This has crucial implications for the appropriate way to philosophize about religion. Instead of an ‘epistemology of control’, based on the detached evaluation of evidence, we may need to substitute an ‘epistemology of receptivity’. In religion, as in many areas of human life, authentic understanding may require a process of attunement in order for the relevant evidence to become manifest.
Improving multi-population genomic prediction accuracy using multi-trait GBLUP models which incorporate global or local genetic correlation information
Authors: Teng Jun , Zhai Tingting , Zhang Xinyi , Zhao Changheng , Wang Wenwen , Tang Hui , Wang Dan , Shang Yingli , Ning Chao , Zhang Qin
Published: June 2024

In the application of genomic prediction, a situation often faced is that there are multiple populations in which genomic prediction (GP) need to be conducted. A common way to handle the multi-population GP is simply to combine the multiple populations into a single population. However, since these populations may be subject to different environments, there may exist genotype-environment interactions which may affect the accuracy of genomic prediction. In this study, we demonstrated that multi-trait genomic best linear unbiased prediction (MTGBLUP) can be used for multi-population genomic prediction, whereby the performances of a trait in different populations are regarded as different traits, and thus multi-population prediction is regarded as multi-trait prediction by employing the between-population genetic correlation. Using real datasets, we proved that MTGBLUP outperformed the conventional multi-population model that simply combines different populations together. We further proposed that MTGBLUP can be improved by partitioning the global between-population genetic correlation into local genetic correlations (LGC). We suggested two LGC models, LGC-model-1 and LGC-model-2, which partition the genome into regions with and without significant LGC (LGC-model-1) or regions with and without strong LGC (LGC-model-2). In analysis of real datasets, we demonstrated that the LGC models could increase universally the prediction accuracy and the relative improvement over MTGBLUP reached up to 163.86% (25.64% on average).
Substrate-directed novel direct amidation of resin-bound amino acids
Authors: Ozasa Hiroki , Mikamiyama Hidenori , Yamamoto Hisashi
Published: June 2024

In peptide drug discovery, the C-terminal structure of peptide compounds is crucial for enhancing the affinity with target proteins and for optimizing the compound's dynamics and physical properties. In conventional solid-phase synthesis, two steps are necessary to modify the C-terminal structure: cleavage from the resin and subsequent amidation involving activation of the resulting carboxylic acid. This process can potentially lead to racemization of the C-terminal amino acid side chain. To address this issue, we developed a novel method that, in the presence of a Ta catalyst, directly allows amines to react with amino acid-loaded resins, thereby accomplishing both resin cleavage and amidation in a single step.
Discriminative Subspace Learning With Adaptive Graph Regularization
Authors: Huang Zhuojie , Zhao Shuping , Liang Zien , Wu Jigang
Published: June 2024

Many subspace learning methods based on low-rank representation employ the nearest neighborhood graph to preserve the local structure. However, in these methods, the nearest neighborhood graph is a binary matrix, which fails to precisely capture the similarity between distinct samples. Additionally, these methods need to manually select an appropriate number of neighbors, and they cannot adaptively update the similarity graph during projection learning. To tackle these issues, we introduce Discriminative Subspace Learning with Adaptive Graph Regularization (DSL_AGR), an innovative unsupervised subspace learning method that integrates low-rank representation, adaptive graph learning and nonnegative representation into a framework. DSL_AGR introduces a low-rank constraint to capture the global structure of the data and extract more discriminative information. Furthermore, a novel graph regularization term in DSL_AGR is guided by nonnegative representations to enhance the capability of capturing the local structure. Since closed-form solutions for the proposed method are not easily obtained, we devise an iterative optimization algorithm for its resolution. We also analyze the computational complexity and convergence of DSL_AGR. Extensive experiments on real-world datasets demonstrate that the proposed method achieves competitive performance compared with other state-of-the-art methods.
The Immunopeptidomics Ontology (ImPO)
Authors: Faria Daniel , Eugénio Patrícia , Contreiras Silva Marta , Balbi Laura , Bedran Georges , Kallor Ashwin Adrian , Nunes Susana , Palkowski Aleksander , Waleron Michal , Alfaro Javier A , Pesquita Catia
Published: June 2024

The adaptive immune response plays a vital role in eliminating infected and aberrant cells from the body. This process hinges on the presentation of short peptides by major histocompatibility complex Class I molecules on the cell surface. Immunopeptidomics, the study of peptides displayed on cells, delves into the wide variety of these peptides. Understanding the mechanisms behind antigen processing and presentation is crucial for effectively evaluating cancer immunotherapies. As an emerging domain, immunopeptidomics currently lacks standardization—there is neither an established terminology nor formally defined semantics—a critical concern considering the complexity, heterogeneity, and growing volume of data involved in immunopeptidomics studies. Additionally, there is a disconnection between how the proteomics community delivers the information about antigen presentation and its uptake by the clinical genomics community. Considering the significant relevance of immunopeptidomics in cancer, this shortcoming must be addressed to bridge the gap between research and clinical practice. In this work, we detail the development of the ImmunoPeptidomics Ontology, ImPO, the first effort at standardizing the terminology and semantics in the domain. ImPO aims to encapsulate and systematize data generated by immunopeptidomics experimental processes and bioinformatics analysis. ImPO establishes cross-references to 24 relevant ontologies, including the National Cancer Institute Thesaurus, Mondo Disease Ontology, Logical Observation Identifier Names and Codes and Experimental Factor Ontology. Although ImPO was developed using expert knowledge to characterize a large and representative data collection, it may be readily used to encode other datasets within the domain. Ultimately, ImPO facilitates data integration and analysis, enabling querying, inference and knowledge generation and importantly bridging the gap between the clinical proteomics and genomics communities. As the field of immunogenomics uses protein-level immunopeptidomics data, we expect ImPO to play a key role in supporting a rich and standardized description of the large-scale data that emerging high-throughput technologies are expected to bring in the near future.

Ontology URL: https://zenodo.org/record/10237571

Project GitHub: https://github.com/liseda-lab/ImPO/blob/main/ImPO.owl
Collection methods and distribution modeling for Strepsiptera in the United States
Authors: Millena Rebecca Jean A , Eichert Anna , Ware Jessica L
Published: June 2024

The twisted-wing parasite order (Strepsiptera Kirby, 1813) is difficult to study due to the complexity of strepsipteran life histories, small body sizes, and a lack of accessible distribution data for most species. Here, we present a review of the strepsipteran species known from New York State. We also demonstrate successful collection methods and a survey of species carried out in an old-growth deciduous forest dominated by native New York species (Black Rock Forest, Cornwall, NY) and a private site in the Catskill Mountains (Shandaken, NY). Additionally, we model suitable habitats for Strepsiptera in the United States with species distribution modeling. We base our models on host distribution and climatic variables to inform predictions of where these twisted-wing parasites are likely to be found. This work provides a useful reference for the future collection of Strepsiptera.
Recurrent ventricular tachycardia in a patient with A19D mutation-associated hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis: a case report
Authors: Bois Tanguy , Lee K Charlotte , L’Official Guillaume , Donal Erwan
Published: June 2024

Background

Previous literature suggests that patients with transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR) experience a high burden of ventricular arrhythmias. Despite this evidence, optimal strategies for arrhythmia prevention and treatment remain subject to debate.

Case summary

We report the case of a patient with hereditary ATTR cardiomyopathy who developed recurrent ventricular tachycardia prior to a decline in his left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Although he ultimately received an intracardiac device (ICD) for secondary prevention of ventricular tachycardia, his clinical course begets the question of whether more aggressive arrhythmia prevention upfront could have prevented his global functional decline.

Discussion

Given the advent of new disease-modifying therapies for ATTR, it is imperative to reconsider antiarrhythmic strategies in these patients. New decision tools are needed to decide what additional parameters (beyond LVEF ≤ 35%) may warrant ICD placement for primary prevention of ventricular arrhythmias in these patients.
The Relative Brauer Group of K(1)-Local Spectra
Authors: Mor Itamar
Published: June 2024

Using profinite Galois descent, we compute the Brauer group of the $K(1)$-local category relative to Morava E-theory. At odd primes this group is generated by a cyclic algebra formed using any primitive $(p-1)$st root of unity, but at the prime two is a group of order $32$ with nontrivial extensions; we give explicit descriptions of the generators, and consider their images in the Brauer group of $KO$. Along the way, we compute the relative Brauer group of completed $KO$, using the étale locally trivial Brauer group of Antieau, Meier and Stojanoska.
How personnel diversity and affective bonds affect performance-based financing: a moderator analysis of a difference-in-difference estimator
Authors: Tsuei Sian Hsiang-Te , Kerrissey Michaela June , Bauhoff Sebastian
Published: June 2024

To spur improvement in health-care service quality and quantity, performance-based financing (PBF) is an increasingly common policy tool, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This study examines how personnel diversity and affective bonds in primary care clinics affect their ability to improve care quality in PBF arrangements. Leveraging data from a large-scale matched PBF intervention in Tajikistan including 208 primary care clinics, we examined how measures of personnel diversity (position and tenure variety) and affective bonds (mutual support and group pride) were associated with changes in the level and variability of clinical knowledge (diagnostic accuracy of 878 clinical vignettes) and care processes (completion of checklist items in 2485 instances of direct observations). We interacted the explanatory variables with exposure to PBF in cluster-robust, linear regressions to assess how these explanatory variables moderated the PBF treatment’s association with clinical knowledge and care process improvements. Providers and facilities with higher group pride exhibited higher care process improvement (greater checklist item completion and lower variability of items completed). Personnel diversity and mutual support showed little significant associations with the outcomes. Organizational features of clinics exposed to PBF may help explain variation in outcomes and warrant further research and intervention in practice to identify and test opportunities to leverage them. Group pride may strengthen clinics’ ability to improve care quality in PBF arrangements. Improving health-care facilities’ pride may be an affordable and effective way to enhance health-care organization adaptation.
RefAI: a GPT-powered retrieval-augmented generative tool for biomedical literature recommendation and summarization
Authors: Li Yiming , Zhao Jeff , Li Manqi , Dang Yifang , Yu Evan , Li Jianfu , Sun Zenan , Hussein Usama , Wen Jianguo , Abdelhameed Ahmed M , Mai Junhua , Li Shenduo , Yu Yue , Hu Xinyue , Yang Daowei , Feng Jingna , Li Zehan , He Jianping , Tao Wei , Duan Tiehang , Lou Yanyan , Li Fang , Tao Cui
Published: June 2024

Objectives

Precise literature recommendation and summarization are crucial for biomedical professionals. While the latest iteration of generative pretrained transformer (GPT) incorporates 2 distinct modes—real-time search and pretrained model utilization—it encounters challenges in dealing with these tasks. Specifically, the real-time search can pinpoint some relevant articles but occasionally provides fabricated papers, whereas the pretrained model excels in generating well-structured summaries but struggles to cite specific sources. In response, this study introduces RefAI, an innovative retrieval-augmented generative tool designed to synergize the strengths of large language models (LLMs) while overcoming their limitations.

Materials and Methods

RefAI utilized PubMed for systematic literature retrieval, employed a novel multivariable algorithm for article recommendation, and leveraged GPT-4 turbo for summarization. Ten queries under 2 prevalent topics (“cancer immunotherapy and target therapy” and “LLMs in medicine”) were chosen as use cases and 3 established counterparts (ChatGPT-4, ScholarAI, and Gemini) as our baselines. The evaluation was conducted by 10 domain experts through standard statistical analyses for performance comparison.

Results

The overall performance of RefAI surpassed that of the baselines across 5 evaluated dimensions—relevance and quality for literature recommendation, accuracy, comprehensiveness, and reference integration for summarization, with the majority exhibiting statistically significant improvements (P-values <.05).

Discussion

RefAI demonstrated substantial improvements in literature recommendation and summarization over existing tools, addressing issues like fabricated papers, metadata inaccuracies, restricted recommendations, and poor reference integration.

Conclusion

By augmenting LLM with external resources and a novel ranking algorithm, RefAI is uniquely capable of recommending high-quality literature and generating well-structured summaries, holding the potential to meet the critical needs of biomedical professionals in navigating and synthesizing vast amounts of scientific literature.
Redefinition and revision of Ser Rathbun, 1931 (Decapoda: Brachyura: Pilumnidae)
Authors: Ng Peter K L , Wong Kingsley J H
Published: June 2024

The taxonomy of the setose brachyuran crabs Ser fukiensisRathbun, 1931 and Litocheira amoyensisGordon, 1930, both described based on material from Fujian, China, have been poorly understood for decades.. The monotypic genus SerRathbun, 1931 had been placed under Carcinoplacinae H. Milne Edwards, 1852 and Rhizopinae Stimpson, 1858 by subsequent authors. Examining type lots of both species and recently acquired material, we find the holotype of L. amoyensis is an immature male but this name represents a senior synonym of Ser fukiensis. The genus Ser is re-diagnosed and hereby placed under Pilumninae Samouelle, 1819. It is here considered to contain three species: the type species, Ser fukiensis (= S. amoyensiscomb. nov.); S. sasekumari (Serène, 1971) comb. nov.; and S. mikawaensis (Sakai, 1969) comb. nov.. Comparisons are made between Ser and morphologically similar genera: RhizopoidesNg, 1987, CryptocoelomaMiers, 1884, PseudolitochiraWard, 1942, BossacarcinusŠtevčić, 2011, and HeteropilumnusDe Man, 1895. It is also apparent that Heteropilumnus is a morphologically heterogeneous group, and that its type species, H. stormiDe Man, 1895, is quite distinct from other species currently included in the genus. We discuss the implications of this finding, especially as it pertains to Ser.
Corruption and Collusion in Public Procurement: Opportunities, Incentives, and Harm Caused
Authors: Anderson Robert D , Jones Alison , Kovacic William E
Published: June 2024

This chapter examines the factors that render public procurement processes vulnerable to corruption and collusion. It also introduces cases, surveys, and other evidence indicating that not only are public procurement processes intrinsically vulnerable to this conduct, but they are in fact frequent targets of corrupt and anti-competitive schemes, at huge cost to society as a whole. By identifying the incentives and opportunities for corruption and collusion, it provides the foundations for understanding how measures to counter them should be designed. By highlighting the prevalence and generic nature of the problem, as well as its harmful consequences (economic and non-economic), the chapter also underscores the importance of combatting such conduct and the financial and other benefits that can be reaped from so doing.
Brazil: Lessons from Operation Car Wash
Authors: Anderson Robert D , Jones Alison , Kovacic William E
Published: June 2024

This chapter examines the question of how a nation can combat pervasive (‘systemic’) corruption and collusion and prevent these practices from plaguing and undermining public procurement processes. It focuses on Brazil where Operation Car Wash (Operação Lava Jato) exposed widespread corruption and collusion affecting public procurement, but also reflects on the academic and policy debate relating to the question of how a nation can escape from a ‘high-corruption’ equilibrium, especially one strengthened by its interaction with supplier collusion. The chapter notes that the Brazilian experience provides support for the hypothesis that where corruption is endemic, better laws, and law enforcement, may be insufficient on their own to break a cycle and to remove the incentives and opportunities for corruption and collusion that exist. It also recognizes that, for many jurisdictions, wholesale political, economic, and social reform is unlikely to be feasible. It thus proposes a multipronged, and self-reinforcing, set of reforms to trigger change, concentrated on weaknesses diagnosed in the system. In particular, it suggests that, where corruption affects public procurement, beyond specific adjustments to procurement, competition and anti-corruption laws, procurers, anti-corruption and competition enforcement agencies need to work closely together to coordinate policies and achieve synergies, and to combat incentives and opportunities for corruption and collusion within procurement processes. Such reforms must be combined with measures to tackle broader factors contributing to systemic corruption. Although inspired by the Brazilian case study, the diagnosis and proposed reform strategy provides a workable model for use in other jurisdictions.
Public Interest Assessment and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Authors: Kokkoris Ioannis
Published: June 2024

This chapter focuses on the merger control assessment in the energy sector. The chapter starts with a discussion of the composition of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the relevant regulatory framework before discussing some of the seminal case law that shows the approach the FERC takes in applying its assessment test and how this approach compares with the one that the antitrust authority takes pursuant to its competition standard. The chapter also discusses some implications that arise from assessing the role and practice of the regulator and the competition authority. The chapter explores the various reasons why, although the assessment of the antitrust agency and that of the regulator look at the anti-competitive effects of the transaction, their outcomes are often contradictory. The chapter explains that while the analysis of the regulator is largely based on market concentration, the antitrust agencies include other factors such as efficiencies and market entry. In addition, the regulator relies extensively on the analysis provided by the merging parties, whereas the US Department of Justice (DOJ) performs its own analysis of the market structure and of the impact of the transaction on the competition dynamics in the market. Furthermore, the merger-specific efficiencies claimed by the mergers are often ‘overvalued’ by the regulator but strictly tested by the DOJ. This discrepancy in the assessment approach of the two agencies has led to a divergence in the approach they have taken on some of the transactions in the sector.
Public Interest Assessment and the Department of Transportation (DOT)
Authors: Kokkoris Ioannis
Published: June 2024

This chapter explores the merger review process under the public interest standard in the airline industry. The chapter starts with a discussion of the composition of the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the relevant regulatory framework before discussing some of the seminal case law that shows the approach the DOT takes in applying its assessment test and how this approach compares with the one the DOJ takes pursuant to its competition standard. The chapter discusses some implications that arise from assessing the role and practice of the regulator and how that compares and contrasts with the competition authority. The chapter argues that the regulator has been overly tolerant of consolidation activity. The chapter explains that a major factor that contributes to this tendency is the assessment approach applied by the DOT, according to which merging parties need to demonstrate that a merger would not be anti-competitive, rather than the DOT assessing the transaction and the evidence before it in assessing the competition harm arising from the consolidation. As this burden of proof is difficult to satisfy, almost all transactions proceed unchallenged. The chapter also portrays how the competition concerns expressed by the antitrust authority are often ignored, having to defer to the regulator for the final decision.
Public Interest Assessment and the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Authors: Kokkoris Ioannis
Published: June 2024

This chapter discusses merger assessment in the financial sector, where a number of regulatory agencies in addition to the antitrust ones have jurisdiction to assess the transactions in the sector. The purpose of this chapter is to offer an overview of the merger review process in the banking sector. The chapter starts with a discussion of the composition of the banking regulators, the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as well as the relevant regulatory framework before discussing some of the seminal case law that shows the approach they take in applying their assessment tests and how these approaches compare with the one antitrust authorities take pursuant to their competition standard. The chapter also discusses some implications that arise from assessing the role and practice of the banking regulators and the competition authority. The chapter argues that even if the antitrust authorities and the banking regulators examine the competitive effects of the mergers, usually they reach different conclusions. The chapter explains that this occurs because these authorities use a divergent approach to define the product and geographic markets. This leads to contradictory outcomes, in which the concerns expressed by the antitrust enforcers are frequently disregarded by the sectoral regulators. The chapter also argues that the regulators infrequently apply a thorough analysis, which leads to the approval of most mergers under the presumption that they protect the public interest even if there is little evidence to that effect.
National Security and FDI Screening in Russia, Japan, India, and South Africa
Authors: Kokkoris Ioannis
Published: June 2024

This chapter examines FDI rules in Russia, India, Japan, and South Africa, discussing how national security concerns and economic goals shape FDI policies. In Russia, FDI rules safeguard strategic industries and counter economic sanctions. The chapter highlights how Japan’s efforts to attract foreign capital are in tension with its historical and cultural resistance to foreign takeovers. Similar considerations might apply to India: while the country has increasingly opened up to foreign investment, various restrictions and concerns over transparency and simplicity remain. In South Africa, despite attempts to attract foreign investors, high crime rates and social instability have historically deterred FDI. South Africa’s unsuccessful endeavour to reconcile two policies at odds: protecting foreign investors’ rights while prioritizing local social development are evaluated. The chapter emphasizes the need for a nuanced approach that addresses investor protection and broader societal goals, especially in countries grappling with economic uncertainty.
The Constituent Elements of an Undertaking to Which an Infringement Can Be Imputed
Authors: Whelan Peter
Published: June 2024

This chapter focuses on the actual entities to which an undertaking’s antitrust violation can currently be imputed under EU competition law. It employs an illustrative figure to outline the lawful choices of imputation that face the European Commission when a competition violation is committed by an undertaking. It then explains the existence of certain ‘carves outs’ from liability, emphasising that, with one exception (namely where the undertaking comprises solely an individual), EU-level antitrust sanctions do not target natural persons (directors, managers, or employees) within an infringing undertaking. It then examines the legal basis for the relatively novel concepts of ‘sister liability’ and ‘subsidiary liability’ in EU competition law. Finally, it explores the conceptual underpinning of the most traditional theory of imputation (direct liability). In doing so, it articulates both how such direct liability is constructed in practice and how such liability forms the basis for the imposition of parental liability, itself a form of derivative liability.
The EU-Level Approach to Parental Liability and Its Impact on the Imposition and Construction of Antitrust Fines
Authors: Whelan Peter
Published: June 2024

This chapter examines the most important consequence for the parent company once it has been deemed to be responsible for the antitrust violation of its subsidiary: it examines the sanction—the antitrust fine—that is imposed upon that parent company by the European Commission (the Commission). It first analyses the availability and operation of joint and several liability as an enforcement feature of EU competition law when antitrust fines are imposed upon parent companies under the doctrine of parental antitrust liability. It then examines the specific impact of the EU-level doctrine of parental antitrust liability on the magnitude of the fines imposed by the Commission upon parent companies. It focuses particularly on the operation of the 10% fining cap, the application of the deterrence multiplier, and the implementation of the Commission’s policy on recidivism. In doing so, the chapter provides a comprehensive account of the specific EU-level sanction that faces a parent company that is held responsible for its subsidiary’s antitrust violation.
EU Law and Its Consideration of Retribution Under the Doctrine of Parental Antitrust Liability
Authors: Whelan Peter
Published: June 2024

This chapter examines whether the ‘personal responsibility’ of the sanctioned parent is correctly reflected in the application of the relevant principle (the so-called ‘principle of personal responsibility’ in EU law) that has been articulated by the EU Courts when it comes to parental liability for antitrust violations. It demonstrates that there is in fact a clear ‘mismatch’ between the Courts’ conception of responsibility in this context and that mandated, for fairness purposes, under the theory of retribution. The chapter thus establishes that the parent company does not inevitably display fault when it is caught by the EU-level doctrine of parental antitrust liability and that, as a result, fines imposed under that doctrine can be disproportionate in nature.
The Use of Economic Evidence in Competition Cases
Authors: Niels Gunnar , Jenkins Helen , Kavanagh James
Published: June 2024

This chapter explores best practice in presenting economic evidence and how courts can assess what weight and credibility to attach to the evidence of economic experts, especially in situations where two experts reach different conclusions. Useful principles for dealing with these situations have been developed in the United States (the Daubert test), the United Kingdom (the ‘duty to help the court’), and Australia (the ‘hot tub’). The chapter concludes with some, mostly optimistic, observations about the future of the use of economics in competition law.
Private Enforcement at a Glance
Authors: Caro de Sousa Pedro
Published: June 2024

This chapter provides an overview of the key concepts surrounding private enforcement. Private enforcement primarily aims to provide compensation for victims of competition infringements. Thus, the role of private parties is particularly important in jurisdictions that rely heavily on private claims to ensure antitrust enforcement and to close the enforcement gap. The chapter then discusses the existing systems of private systems in the US and across Europe. It also considers the different ways in which a jurisdiction can adapt its private enforcement regimes to local circumstances by referencing the approaches in different nations, such as Japan, the UK, Spain, Brazil, and Germany.
Judicial Redress Mechanisms
Authors: Caro de Sousa Pedro
Published: June 2024

This chapter explores judicial redress mechanisms. It explains that the first step when implementing a private enforcement system is to consider what types of procedural mechanisms are available to private parties in their attempts to obtain damages or other remedies from infringers of competition law, such as injunctive relief, rendering a pre-existing contractual arrangement void and unenforceable or changing it by severing the infringing clauses. The chapter elaborates on the notion of and issues surrounding individual damages claims and collective damages claims.
Rules of Evidence
Authors: Caro de Sousa Pedro
Published: June 2024

This chapter provides an overview of the rules of evidence. The main pillars of evidentiary rules are the idea of the burden of proof and the standard of proof, which ultimately refer to the amount and quality of evidence that the law requires for a party to prove an allegation. The chapter then discusses disclosure, a procedural mechanism through which a party to a legal dispute or a third party is forced to reveal relevant information to the other party in a case. While broader forms of disclosure are well-known in common law jurisdictions, they are of increasing relevance also in civil law jurisdictions particularly as concerns competition law disputes in order to address information imbalances between claimants and defendants. The chapter also looks into the importance of expert evidence in competition law cases and discusses the possibility of claimants gaining access to the public competition enforcement file.
Causation
Authors: Caro de Sousa Pedro
Published: June 2024

This chapter introduces the notion of causation in the competition law. Causation is one of the most relevant issues in competition litigation, which correlates to determining an infringement or loss caused by a competition infringement. Causation is primarily concerned with explaining how some event or state of affairs came about. The chapter discusses the notion of causation in competition cases as it differs for the purposes of public and private enforcement. The chapter then presents several examples of rules on causation found in the US and Europe and looks at how parties typically prove causation in court.
Termination of Appointment of Directors
Authors: Brown KC Edward
Published: June 2024

This chapter covers the provisions concerning the termination of the appointment of directors. It highlights the essential feature of any company management that directors' appointments are capable of termination, which could be voluntarily or upon a specified event like a company resolution. Termination provisions may be relied on matters such as terminations of directors under reasons of accountability and incapacitation, or resignation. The chapter explores the provisions of the Companies Act and company articles that govern termination, together with the rights and liabilities that arise in the event of termination. It considers the additional rules for public companies, such as dismissal by unanimous decision and retirement by rotation.
Directors’ Terms of Service
Authors: Brown KC Edward
Published: June 2024

This chapter focuses on the terms of service of directors, which is often a matter for negotiation between the parties and incorporated within a written service agreement. Additionally, the Companies Act 2006 establishes certain restrictions and controls upon directors' service agreements. Courts have tests that determine where a director is employed under a service agreement with the sources of contractual rights. The chapter elaborates on the considers the rights and duties of directors which result from their contractual obligations, as opposed to the general duties that are now codified in the Companies Act. It notes how the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 raised an amendment on the means of scrutinizing directors’ remuneration.
Duty to Avoid Conflicts of Interest
Authors: Arnold Mark , Haywood Marcus
Published: June 2024

This chapter discusses the directors' duty to avoid conflicts of interest as indicated by the Companies Act 2006. It explains that the duty is one of the paradigm manifestations of a director’s fiduciary duty of loyalty to the company. The courts recognized that the duty of a fiduciary concerning conflicts of interest had two strands: the ‘no conflict rule’ and the ‘no profit rule’. The ‘no conflict rule’ prevents the director from being swayed by considerations of personal interest in the exercise of those powers which were his to exercise in a fiduciary capacity. Meanwhile, the 'no profit rule' prevents the director from actually misusing his position for personal advantage.
Accounting Records and Disclosure Requirements
Authors: Robins KC Stephen , Burgess Peter
Published: June 2024

This chapter covers the functions, responsibilities, and liabilities of company directors in relation to accounting records, the requirements for disclosure of annual accounts and reports, and audits. It explores the criminal and civil liabilities of directors where there is a contravention of the provisions. The court and the Secretary of State have the power to determine whether a person’s conduct as a director of one or more companies or overseas companies makes him unfit to be concerned in the management of a company. Moreover, non-compliance with the requirements is a very common basis for a finding of unfitness warranting disqualification. The chapter also looks into the provision of information to the registrar.
Recognition and Enforcement
Authors: Peters Georgina
Published: June 2024

This chapter addresses the recognition and enforcement of insolvency proceedings both under and outside Insolvency Proceedings Regulation (EU) 2015/848 (RR). First, it deals with three sources of recognition and judicial assistance which are available outside the Insolvency Proceedings Regulation: English common law, section 426 of the Insolvency Act, and the UNCITRAL Model Law. The Model Law is likely to bear increased importance in future years, in light of the departure of the United Kingdom from the EU (Brexit).
The Ongoing Potential Application of the RR in the UK
Authors: Isaacs Stuart , McCormack Gerard
Published: June 2024

This chapter assesses the ongoing potential application of the Recast Insolvency Proceedings Regulation (RR) in the United Kingdom. With Brexit, the UK ended its membership of the EU, a process leading to a formal UK/EU withdrawal agreement and the enactment in the UK of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020. Under the Insolvency (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, the RR (renamed the Retained RR) continues to be applicable to insolvency proceedings opened prior to the end of the Transition Period. After the end of the Transition Period, UK law has retained as a basis for its jurisdiction the elements of the RR which provide for a debtor to be put into insolvency proceedings if it has its centre of main interests (COMI) in the UK or its COMI is in an EU Member State and there is an establishment in the UK. The chapter then considers the new jurisdictional tests from the RR preserved in UK law as the basis for opening insolvency proceedings in the UK. It also considers the recognition of EU proceedings in the UK under the UNCITRAL Model Law and common law rules.
Belgium
Authors: Cauffman Caroline
Published: June 2024

This chapter examines the control of unfair terms, which plays an important role in Belgian case law and legal scholarship. Belgian law’s approach revolves around a generally phrased prohibition of unfair terms combined with a black list and a transparency clause. The 1991 Belgian Law on Commercial Practices introduced a set of rules on unfair terms in business-to-consumer (B2C) contracts based on the proposal for the Unfair Terms Directive (UTD). The chapter then clarifies that Belgium’s general rules on unfair terms in business-to-business (B2B) relationships do not apply to financial services. The general provision on unfair terms in the recently introduced Art 5.52 Civil Code however does apply to contracts concluded between banks and businesses. Meanwhile, the Federal Government Service Economics and the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) hold joint responsibility on the public enforcement of the rules on unfair terms in B2C contracts for financial services.
United Kingdom
Authors: McMeel Gerard
Published: June 2024

This chapter tackles the implementation of the Unfair Terms Directive (UTD) in the United Kingdom (UK). The UTD remains as the basis for consumer contract legislation even after the UK’s departure from the European Union (EU). Moreover, the main policy behind the UK legislation on unfair contract terms is to provide safeguards against the abuse of the principle of freedom of contract. The chapter notes how the UTD re-shaped UK legislative measures, such as the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977’s domestic focus and the Directive’s language for the unfairness test. It notes the hope of improved prospects on the use of unfair contract terms by financial institutions and customers obtaining redress despite the situation with Brexit.
Introduction
Authors: Della Negra Federico
Published: June 2024

This chapter outlines the objectives, scope and structure of the book. After the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), national courts referred numerous questions for a preliminary ruling on EU financial services legislation. The rulings handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) have contributed to strengthen the protection of consumers of financial services but they also increased the complexity and unpredictability of private law rules. This chapter identifies the scope the book’s analysis, the objectives and structure of the book.
The private enforcement of financial services contracts and regulation in EU law
Authors: Della Negra Federico
Published: June 2024

This chapter examines the EU rules which facilitate the private enforcement of financial services contracts and regulatory duties in the European Union (EU). While the EU laid down minimum standards for out-of-court dispute resolution and collective enforcement, Member States continue to retain a broad margin of discretion concerning the design of both procedural and substantive private enforcement rules. For this reason, the chapter argues that the preliminary reference procedure is the key EU institutional mechanism to influence the private enforcement of contracts and regulation before national courts. After examining the key features of the Directive (EU) 2013/11/EU (‘ADR Directive’), Regulation (EU) No 524/2913 (‘ODR Regulation’) and the Directive (EU) 2020/1828 (‘Directive on representative actions’), this chapter then examines into detail the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) case law on the admissibility of questions referred for a preliminary ruling in the field of retail financial services legislation.
Unfair contract terms in financial services contracts
Authors: Della Negra Federico
Published: June 2024

This chapter examines the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU’s) case law on the Council Directive 1993/13/EEC on unfair contract terms (UCTD). Since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), national courts referred numerous questions for a preliminary ruling on the UCTD regarding loan agreements. The CJEU case law has produced important changes in the interpretation of the UCTD, and has affected numerous national contract law rules. This chapter shows the ‘regulatory impact’ of this case law on the meaning and scope of the transparency and fairness requirements, on the effects of unfair terms and on the national courts’ powers and duties in civil proceedings.
The interpretation of EU and national private law rules for financial services contracts
Authors: Della Negra Federico
Published: June 2024

This chapter covers the impact of European Union (EU) general principles, fundamental rights, and freedoms on financial services contracts. The application of general principles of EU law in disputes on financial services contracts led to strengthen the legal protection of consumers vis-à-vis financial service providers (FSPs) but it also increased uncertainty in the interpretation of private law rules. This chapter explains the role of EU general principles in the interpretation of both EU and national private law rules. It also discussed the vexed issue of the civil law consequences of breaches of regulatory duties, and analyses the conditions to imply a private law remedy from EU law.