bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
EU procedural law and effective legal protection
Authors: Barents René
Published: March 2022

The procedures in direct actions before the three courts of the European Union are governed by strict rules, laid down in the Statute of the CJEU and the Rules of Procedure of the CJ, the GC and the CST, on the subject-matter of the dispute, the forms of order sought and the pleas supporting the action. In this article the system of pleas and its consequences for the function of the Union judicature and the position of the parties in the proceedings before the Union Courts are examined. Due to this system, EU procedural law is featured by a rather strong orientation towards objective legality review. The central question is this contribution is whether the proceedings in direct actions are still fully appropriate in the light of the fundamental right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial as required by Article 47 Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Level the playing field: The new supervision of credit institutions by the European Central Bank
Authors: Voland Thomas , Wolfers Benedikt
Published: March 2022

In October 2013 the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) was established. This new mechanism, which is based on the SSM Regulation, provides for far-reaching tasks and powers for the ECB to supervise credit institutions established in participating Member States. This article outlines the general context and the main characteristics of the new framework. It then considers certain legal issues which arise, in particular the conformity of the SSM Regulation with EU primary law, the choice of an appropriate legal basis, as well as the conformity of the provisions with the boundaries concerning the delegation of administrative powers and the principles of ECB independence and accountability.
Legislative control of the European Court of Justice
Authors: Davies Gareth
Published: March 2022

If the ECJ delivers politically unwelcome judgments, can the legislature override these by adopting new laws? The question goes to the balance of power between legislators and courts, and to which organs are capable of steering the integration process. The answer in the EU context is distinctive, because the Union is so highly constitutionalized: most important legal questions are reducible to Treaty interpretation, which apparently excludes the legislature from their resolution. Drawing on American scholarship which advocates co-interpretation of the constitution by both legal and political branches, and using actual and hypothetical examples of situations where the legislature and the ECJ have wished to take different directions (e.g. citizenship, general principles, non-discrimination) this article examines three Court techniques to avoid legislative constraints: annulment, emasculatory interpretation, and avoidance. It also considers the ways in which legislation can be drafted to maximize its influence upon the Court.
European Banking Union: Assessing its risks and resilience
Authors: Moloney Niamh
Published: March 2022

On 4 November 2014 the EU's ambitious Banking Union (BU) project reached a major milestone when the Single Supervisory Mechanism became operational. After difficult negotiations, the legal regime supporting the Single Resolution Mechanism is now in place; BU is becoming a reality. This article charts how the EU, long a regulator of the EU banking market, has grappled with the operational elements of banking system governance in constructing BU. It suggests that BU's foundational regulatory technology is relatively robust, given the difficult political, institutional, and Treaty conditions which attended its construction; initial indications relating to the Single Supervisory Mechanism augur well. But the article also highlights the many uncertainties which attend BU, notably with respect to operational effectiveness, constitutional resilience, and the euro area/internal market asymmetry, and which may have far-reaching effects on EU banking market governance generally.
The single economic entity doctrine in EU competition law
Authors: Odudu Okeoghene , Bailey David
Published: March 2022

Articles 101 and 102 TFEU apply to the activities of undertakings. An undertaking may comprise several natural or legal persons, together referred to as a "single economic entity." The grouping of several natural or legal persons into a single economic entity raises the questions of whether persons that form part of a single economic entity are able to enter into agreements amongst themselves that are contrary to Article 101; and also which of the constituent legal entities may be held liable for an infringement of EU competition law committed by the economic entity. In light of case law concerning these questions we offer a reconceptualization of the single economic entity doctrine and its role within competition law.
The changes to the public contract directives and the story they tell about how EU law works
Authors: Caranta Roberto
Published: March 2022

The new rules for public procurements and concessions were published early in 2014.The reform process laid bare the different preferences of and the consequent tensions among the different actors of legislation. The result are provisions which are innovative in many respects, even where the rationale of the law is the same, but also very complex, and at times obscure, making this area even more technical that it already was. This paper gives an introduction to the most relevant novelties in the law, at the same time, it highlights and discusses a number of issues in the law making process and problematic areas in the substantive rules enacted. The article aims not to describe all the new provisions in detail, but to analyse rather closely specific aspects in order to help understand, and interpret, EU public contract law.
A renewed emphasis on the Charters distinction between rights and principles: Is a doctrine of judicial restraint more appropriate?
Authors: Guðmundsdóttir Dóra
Published: March 2022

The article examines whether recent ECJ case law indicates a renewed emphasis on the distinction between rights and principles in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, with such emphasis reflecting the well-established but problematic dichotomy between civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights. An alternative approach to deciding Charter cases is suggested. Inspired by a "principle of limited and shared jurisdiction" in an integrated legal system, comprising EU law, national law and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), it is suggested that the ECJ could also draw parallels with the "Margin of Appreciation" doctrine under the ECHR in formulating a doctrine of judicial restraint.
The Court of Justice and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive
Authors: Stuyck Jules
Published: March 2022

This article examines the first five years of the ECJ case law on the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. In its rather short history the UCPD has led to a flood of European case law. The Court repeatedly stressed the Directive's full harmonization character and the ensuing bar on more stringent national legislation (mostly in the field of sales promotions). The Court has also clarified some of the novel concepts introduced by the Directive, as well as its personal scope of application. Divergences between Member States remain, as the application in concreto of the Directive's general clauses (prohibition of conduct contrary to professional diligence, misleading and aggressive practices) is reserved to national courts.
Limits rising, duties ascending: The changing legal shape of Union citizenship
Authors: Shuibhne Niamh Nic
Published: March 2022

This article demonstrates that there has been a generational shift towards the rising significance of conditions and limits, and a less explicit but discernible ascension of duties, in the application and interpretation of citizenship rights. Articles 20 and 21 TFEU provide for the restriction of rights by both primary and secondary law, but the extent to which this now occurs calls into question the existence, and not just the exercise, of the foundational primary rights. The article argues that there has been a hegemonic attribution of supremacy to secondary law that fails to engage the constitutional protocols epitomizing the Union legal order more generally.
The future role of the Unified Patent Court in safeguarding coherence in the European Patent System
Authors: Van Zimmeren Esther , Baldan Federica
Published: March 2022

After decades of negotiations, European Member States finally agreed on the establishment of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), a centralized and highly specialized court, as part of the Unitary Patent Package. The European patent system is an intricate, multi-level governance system. Safeguarding judicial coherence within such a system requires a continuous “dialogue” not only between different courts in a single country, but also between national courts of different countries, between the European Patent Office (EPO) and national courts, between the quasi-judicial Boards of Appeal of the EPO and the national courts, between the EPO and the UPC, between the Boards of Appeal of the EPO and the UPC, between national courts and the ECJ and between the UPC and the ECJ. The main aim of the article is to examine to what extent the establishment of the UPC may contribute to a dialogue between these actors for the enhancement of judicial coherence of the European patent system. The paper explores different “tools” available for ensuring judicial coherence.
European banking, securities, and insurance law: Cutting through sectoral lines?
Authors: Colaert Veerle
Published: March 2022

Financial law and supervision are to a large extent divided into three separate branches – banking, securities and insurance – reflecting the three traditional sectors of the financial industry. The end of the 20th century has however been characterized by a blurring of distinctions between the traditional sectors and the services and products they offer. This contribution examines and evaluates recent changes in supervisory structure and in investor protection legislation intended to remedy the problems associated with this blurring of sectors. The shortcomings which are brought to light allow to draw conclusions with respect to two more fundamental and highly interdependent questions: (i) what is the adequate level and model of financial supervision in the EU, and (ii) what is the adequate level and model of financial legislation in the EU.
Does the European Court of Justice take democracy seriously? Some thoughts about the Macro-Financial Assistance case
Authors: Ritleng Dominique
Published: March 2022

Starting from an analysis of the ECJ’s ruling in the MFA case, the paper explores whether the EU judiciary pays sufficient attention to the principle of democracy and, if so, which understanding of democracy it seeks to promote. It comes to the conclusion that the case law reveals a tendency to favour the powers of non-majoritarian bodies. Insofar, it is not so much representative democracy that the Court of Justice strives to protect but rather a kind of democracy which tends to give precedence to the government for the people over the government by the people.
Civis capitalist sum: Class as the new guiding principle of EU free movement rights
Authors: O’brien Charlotte
Published: March 2022

As the last traces of EU citizenship disappear, the definitional boundary between work and inactivity becomes more critical. The ECJ’s increasing tolerance of nationality-discrimination creates a moral vacuum at the heart of free movement law, which is being exploited by Member States to impose their own definitions of work. Migrant workers on low incomes and in insecure jobs are at risk of exclusion from any equal treatment, which is especially concerning as labour market patterns change and zero hours contracts proliferate. The working poor are alienated, while the benefits of free movement are reserved for the better resourced. These domestic distortions of EU law feed back into, and distort in turn, EU law at its source – a prime example being the proposed “in-work benefit brake” in the UK-EU new settlement.
Europes new transformations: How the EU economic constitution changed during the Eurozone crisis
Authors: Ioannidis Michael
Published: March 2022

This article argues that the Eurozone crisis has brought about two transformations in the basic rules of the EU economic constitution: the acceptance of public financial assistance to Eurozone Member States and the replacement of market discipline of domestic economies by bureaucratic discipline. Treating the measures adopted during the crisis and especially the response of the ECJ in Pringle and Gauweiler as constitutional transformations makes it possible to develop a narrative of the crisis that avoids two popular and opposing approaches that lead to a dead end: the wholesale acceptance of the legality of the measures adopted during the crisis on one hand, or their dismissal as simply illegal deviations from the EU constitutional framework on the other. In order to develop this constitutional narrative, the article borrows the theme framed by Weiler in his seminal article “The Transformation of Europe” and develops a constitutional interpretation of the moral hazard concept.
Institutional balance and Community method in the implementation of EU legislation following the Lisbon Treaty
Authors: Chamon Merijn
Published: March 2022

On paper, the Lisbon Treaty radically changed the way in which EU law is implemented by defining a new institutional balance in Articles 290 and 291 TFEU, bringing decision-making in this area more in line with the traditional Community method. However, the real reform brought by the Lisbon Treaty depends on how the political institutions and the Courts interpret and apply the new Treaty rules. An analysis of seven years of post-Lisbon institutional practice and case law shows that in reality the institutions have largely undone Lisbon’s reform, meaning that the post-Lisbon institutional balance in this area largely resembles the pre-Lisbon one and that decision-making in this area fails to align with the Community method ideal type.
The internal market and national security: Transposition, impact and reform of the EU Directive on Intra-Community Transfers of Defence Products
Authors: Trybus Martin , Butler Luke R.A.
Published: March 2022

Whilst the Internal Market has been operational for decades, the free movement of defence products within the EU has been restricted by national licensing practices. Member States have treated “intra-EU” transfers as equivalent to third country exports. The Intra-Community Transfers Directive (ICT) introduced a harmonized transfer regime. This article provides a first legal analysis and a case study of the challenges facing harmonization where an evolving Internal Market competence meets a diversity of national security and other interests. The ICT constitutes a significant first step towards reducing barriers to trade, but an ambivalent approach to minimum harmonization has impacted its effectiveness; legal reform is required to further this objective.
The regulation of market communication and market behaviour: Corporate social responsibility and the Directives on Unfair Commercial Practices and Unfair Contract Terms
Authors: Beckers Anna
Published: March 2022

Despite the frequent insistence in EU policies on corporate social responsibility (CSR) being voluntary, this paper argues that under EU consumer law CSR can be interpreted as legally binding. CSR is a strategic form of market communication as well as an inherent aspect of the market behaviour of companies. Since EU consumer law regulates the market communication and the market behaviour of traders, this area of law can be used to interpret CSR as a legally binding obligation, resulting in remedies available to consumers. This paper uses the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) to show how the ECJ could, in a suitable case, consider the breach of a CSR policy either as a form of misleading market communication or as unfair trading behaviour. This interpretation would allow for the additional regulation of CSR by the UCTD, which overlaps with the UCPD in terms of scope, interpretation and remedies. Once CSR is subject to EU market regulation laws, it can result additionally in contract regulation through EU consumer sales law.
The non-ratification of mixed agreements: Legal consequences and solutions
Authors: Wessel Ramses A. , Van der Loo Guillaume
Published: March 2022

The 2016 referendum in the Netherlands on the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and the Walloon objection in Belgium to sign CETA triggered the question of the consequences of the non-ratification of mixed agreements that are (to be) concluded between the EU, its Member States and one or more third parties. This non-ratification would lead to so-called “incomplete” mixed agreements. The present article discusses the legal problems connected to incomplete agreements and points to the differences between bilateral and multilateral agreements. Now that mixity seems to be have become more common – due to the wider scope of Free Trade Agreements – and EU citizens and their parliaments become more outspoken with respect to the content of these agreements, it seems just a matter of time before we are faced with problems of non-ratification. The unclear division of external competences between the EU and its Member States makes it difficult to offer clear-cut solutions. Overall, however, it does not seem advisable to rely on ex post facto solutions for non-ratification problems; we may have to find ways to allow potential problems to be on the negotiation table at an earlier stage.
La vie après lavis: Exploring the principle of mutual (yet not blind) trust
Authors: Lenaerts Koen
Published: March 2022

The purpose of this article is to highlight the fact that, whilst the autonomy of the EU legal order requires that the principle of mutual trust should be afforded constitutional status, as was held in Opinion 2/13, that principle is by no means absolute. In cases such as N.S. and Aranyosi and Căldăraru, the ECJ has made clear that mutual trust must not be confused with blind trust. Trust must be “earned” by the Member State of origin through effective compliance with EU fundamental rights standards. However, where EU legislation is found to comply with the Charter, any limitations on the principle of mutual trust must remain exceptional and should operate in such a way as to restore that trust as soon as possible, thereby reinforcing both the protection of fundamental rights and mutual trust as the cornerstones of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice.
Financial assistance conditionality and human rights protection: What is the role of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights?
Authors: Poulou Anastasia
Published: March 2022

EU institutions are deeply involved in the making of European financial assistance conditionality. Nevertheless, mechanisms providing financial assistance to Eurozone States are still regarded as foreign to the EU legal order. This paper assesses financial assistance conditionality as applied by the European Financial Stability Facility and the European Stability Mechanism to Eurozone States from an EU human rights perspective. First, the hybrid nature of European financial assistance is illustrated through a series of institutional and substantive links between the international and the EU legal order. Second, the relative responsibility of European institutions under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is addressed. To what extent are the major European actors bound by the human rights of the Charter when preparing financial assistance conditions? Third, the question is tackled whether Member States implementing financial assistance conditions are bound by the Charter.
From cooperation to collision: The ECJs Ajos ruling and the Danish Supreme Courts refusal to comply
Authors: Schaldemose Gustav Krohn , Holdgaard Rass , Elkan Daniella
Published: March 2022

The article analyses the Ajos case and seeks to explain what led the Danish Supreme Court to refuse to comply with the judgment of the ECJ. The reasoning of the ECJ and the Danish Supreme Court are examined from the points of view of, respectively, the EU legal order and Danish law. It is argued that the judgments of the ECJ and of the Danish Supreme Court are both legally sound and understandable when read from each courts’ legal perspective. However, regrettably, both courts failed in carrying out a judicial dialogue in the spirit of good faith. Instead, the preliminary reference procedure was used in a way that gradually built up tensions and ended in a clear clash. The article finally examines the significance of the lacunae that the case has left between Danish law and EU law
Derivative illegality in European composite administrative procedures
Authors: Bastos Filipe Brito
Published: March 2022

This article considers the review of legality in composite procedures – i.e. European administrative procedures where national and EU authorities decide jointly. It explores how EU courts deal with the question of whether, and to what extent, irregularities occurring at national level are relevant for the legality of final decisions adopted at EU level. It presents two claims: first, that EU courts have developed a differentiated doctrine of “derivative illegality”, or “contamination effects” from national to European stages, depending on the level at which discretion is located. Such illegality is categorically excluded where national authorities predetermine the procedure’s outcome, and admitted under certain conditions where the EU level enjoys discretion to diverge from the national level. Second, it is argued that the case law’s rejection or limitation of derivative illegality in composite procedures allows the ECJ to observe four constitutional principles: the prohibition of EU courts to review national measures, the autonomy and uniformity of EU legal order, and the rule of law.
Lost on the digital platform: Europes legal travails with the Digital Single Market
Authors: Adamski Dariusz
Published: March 2022

The regulatory approach to tech companies in the internal market is in the process of being rebalanced from maximizing economic benefits to minimizing social and political costs. The article analyses this trend, and the reasons for the change. It recapitulates the main economic and political benefits, as well as the costs of establishing a European market for online activities, then discusses the outcome of the positive integration in this domain before and after the 2015 Digital Single Market Strategy. The ECJ’s stance in the recent cases on Uber is explained, followed by an elucidation of shortcomings in the legal arguments underpinning these decisions. The conclusions emphasize that the current approach to the Digital Single Market – both for positive and negative integration – might cripple the internal market profoundly. If so, the cleavage between countries able to take advantage of the digital revolution and those unable to do so will widen.
Protection of the rule of law in the European Union through investment treaty arbitration: Is judicial monopolism the right response to illiberal tendencies in Europe?
Authors: Sadowski Wojciech
Published: March 2022

Assaults on the independence of national courts in some Member States pose a threat to the rule of law and may impair the enforcement and uniform application of EU law. In order to counteract this threat, the EU should consider supporting alternative mechanisms of enforcement of the rule of law, including those available to individuals. It is submitted here that investment treaty arbitration, despite its flaws, could play an important role in this respect, due to its inherent features making it significantly more resilient to attacks from illiberal or autocratic governments than national courts. This article is also critical of the ECJ’s recent Achmea judgment. It argues that the concept of redundancy, as used in engineering to describe duplication of critical components or functions of a system with the intention of increasing reliability of the system in the event of failure, offers a better response to current threats to the rule of law than strengthening of the judicial monopoly of the ECJ and national courts under Article 19 TEU.
Judicial review of harmonized standards: Changing the paradigms of legality and legitimacy of private rulemaking under EU law
Authors: Tovo Carlo
Published: March 2022

Harmonized Standards (“HSs”) have been essential to the functioning of the internal market and they increasingly substitute legislation in achieving EU policy objectives, such as establishing the Digital Single Market. This has prompted a “juridification” of the standardization process, which has strengthened its legitimacy and brought HSs within the scope of EU law. The nature and legal effect of HSs remain nonetheless unclear. In light of the recent ECJ case law, this article argues that HSs must now be regarded as atypical implementing acts, imputable to the Commission and subject to a limited judicial review. The incorporation of HSs under EU law triggers a paradigm shift in their legality and legitimacy, no longer exclusively based on their voluntary, non-binding character. Holding the Commission legally accountable for HSs is essential to ensure their compatibility with EU law, and to connect another atypical implementation process to the Union legal order.
Environmental Protection Through The Prism Of Enlargement:Time For Reflection
Authors: Bogojevic Sanja , Drenovak-Ivanovic Mirjana
Published: March 2022

In the wake of crises and “enlargement fatigue”, EU politics deprioritized enlargement. Recently, however, the Commission motioned a reinvigorated enlargement prospect for the Western Balkans, identifying Serbia and Montenegro as the front runners. This paper advises that in going forward, the EU should also look back at its five decades of enlargement. The article focuses on environmental protection – a key EU public policy – and the way in which it features in the ever-evolving accession conditions and accession acts. It emerges that environmental protection has been marginalized throughout EU’s enlargement history. Taking Serbia as a case study, it is shown that this is highly problematic, since environmental protection is linked to safeguarding the rule of law – an essential criterion for EU membership. The role of environmental protection in the EU’s enlargement policies should thus be reprioritized.
The trilemma of EU social benefits law: Seeing the wood and the trees
Authors: Rennuy Nicolas
Published: March 2022

It is often suggested that migrants’ access to social protection should depend on their integration. The article explores the fraught relationship between that idea and two other values, namely guaranteeing continuous social protection to migrants and avoiding the disharmonies that result from the involvement of several, maladjusted legal orders. Each of these three values tells us something about what EU social benefits law does, why certain choices were made, and how judicious they are. All regulatory tools for coordinating the cross-border access to social benefits can serve two values, but not three. Rule-makers thus face a trilemma, in that they must sacrifice one value to achieve the others.
Activism on and off the bench: Pierre Pescatore and the law of integration
Authors: Fritz Vera
Published: March 2022

This article examines the life and career of Pierre Pescatore, one of the most prominent, but also controversial, promoters of European Community law. Drawing on extensive archive material, as well as interviews with relatives, it aims at understanding how and why he left such a strong footprint on the development of Community, later EU, law, both as a judge at the European Court of Justice and as a law scholar. Going beyond a one-man story, the article situates him in the broader context of the 1970s bench of judges in order to understand the so-called “activism” which the ECJ revealed during this decade. Thus, looking through the lens of one of the leading figures of the Court, it provides new explanations as to why the ECJ’s case law was so provocatively pro-integrationist during the 1970s.
So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye: The UK’S withdrawal package
Authors: Dougan Michael
Published: March 2022

The United Kingdom left the European Union at midnight CET on 31 January 2020. This article provides a critical analysis of the Withdrawal Package concluded by the Union and the UK. As regards theWithdrawal Agreement designed to facilitate an orderly departure, we analyse the provisions on: governance arrangements; the transition period; citizens’ rights; and the Ireland / Northern Ireland border. We then discuss the prospects for future EU-UK relations as expressed in their joint Political Declaration and developed in their respective post-withdrawal negotiating positions.
Provisional application of international agreements by the EU
Authors: Driessen Bart
Published: March 2022

This article discusses the law and practice of provisional application of international agreements by the EU. After a discussion of Article 25 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969, Article 218(5) TFEU is analysed. This is followed by a discussion of different methods of provisional application, of provisional application in the context of mixed agreements, and of the European Parliament’s role in relation to provisional application. The article ends with a discussion of the ways in which provisional application can be terminated. It concludes that the EU tends to apply agreements provisionally in different manners, but with the same basic principles in mind. Provisional application is a process in which the role of the European Parliament is limited. Finally, shifts in competence over the past decade imply changes in the EU’s practice in applying Article 218(5) TFEU.
Gaps and opportunities: The rudimentary protection for “data-paying consumers” under new EU consumer protection law
Authors: Efroni Zohar
Published: March 2022

Recent adjustments to consumer protection law have played a significant role in the strategic steps taken by the EU in attempts to adapt EU law to the digital economy and to the rising importance of data and data markets. The Directive on certain contractual aspects concerning the provision of digital goods and digital services stands out in its unequivocal recognition of business models that rely on data as contractual counter-performance and of the need to protect (also) consumers who “pay” with data instead of money. This article analyses the novel provisions of the Directive and assesses its impact specifically on data-paying consumers within the broader context of recent EU legislation in the area of consumer protection and data protection. The article identifies some gaps in the legislative scheme and possible opportunities for domestic laws and courts to fill these gaps for granting effective protection to such consumers.
The effectiveness of EU law and private arbitration
Authors: Penades Fons Manuel
Published: March 2022

This article examines the impact of the principle of effectiveness of EU law on private arbitration. It uses the frame of post-award litigation to demonstrate that the relationship between these two normative orders is transversal and potentially very disruptive. This is evidenced by the alteration of the burden of proof in post-award actions, the irrelevance of the loss of the right to object, the widening of judicial review over awards that violate EU public policy, and the possibility to scrutinize errors of EU mandatory law concerning the merits of the case. The result is the weakening of the finality of awards and the replacement of the principle of procedural autonomy of Member States by European procedural primacy.
Digital euro and ECB powers
Authors: Grünewald Seraina , Zellweger-Gutknecht Corinne , Geva Benjamin
Published: March 2022

The use of cash in the euro area is declining. Accordingly, the European Central Bank is exploring options for the design of a digital euro as a form of central bank money available to the public. This article addresses the key question of whether the Eurosystem is empowered to issue a digital euro and, if so, in what form. Based on a historical, teleological, and systematic interpretation, it argues that Article 128(1) TFEU serves as both a source of competence for the Eurosystem to issue a digital euro and a limitation to that competence. The Eurosystem’s powers are necessarily exclusive and must prevail over the remaining competence of Member States to issue tangible coins on the basis of Article 128(2) TFEU. The article also addresses whether a digital euro would and should possess legal tender status, referring to recent case law in the field.
Rule of law with leverage: Policing structural obligations in EU law with the infringement procedure, fines, and set-off
Authors: Pohjankoski Pekka
Published: March 2022

Does the EU have enough leverage to police the rule of law in Member States? This article first outlines how the infringement procedure is functionally adequate to address breaches of the rule of law. It argues that EU law entails “structural obligations” for Member States to uphold the rule of law within their legal systems. To the extent respecting such structural obligations is indispensable for observing specific EU law rules, their breach can be the target of infringement proceedings. The article then analyses the EU’s leverage to guarantee the authority of EU law in case of Member States’ non-compliance with fines imposed in that procedure. The article concludes that the recovery of fines by set-off against EU money enables effective policing if respect for the rule of law is deficient, and constitutes, therefore, an essential constitutional guarantee of the EU legal order.
Overview of Anonymous Authentication in Mobile Communication
Authors: Shangguan Chengzhi
Published: March 2022

With the development of mobile communication, while users enjoy higher-value services, they are always concerned about whether their privacy is leaked. Therefore, it is very important to ensure anonymity in the service process. This paper briefly introduces the importance of anonymous authentication, summarizes the commonly used techniques of anonymous authentication such as group signature and ring signature, summarizes the typical anonymous authentication schemes and some existing problems, and points out that anonymous authentication will become the focus of research.
Exploration of "Architecture Structure" Application Undergraduate Teaching Reform
Authors: He Ye , Xi Rong , Yang Jin
Published: March 2022

The purpose of application-type undergraduate education is to cultivate application innovative talents and enhance the ability to solve practical problems. This article uses the educational concept and teaching reform of the application type undergraduate college as the starting point. taking the architectural structure course, one of the main courses studied by students majoring in engineering cost in the field of construction in Colleges and universities, as an example, this paper analyzes the problems existing in the teaching of this course. Using the project teaching method, this paper provides new ideas and methods for the application-oriented undergraduate teaching reform of the course of architectural structure from the four aspects of curriculum positioning, teaching goal analysis, curriculum design and curriculum assessment scheme.
Status Quo of Rural Mobile Kitchens in the New Era and the Management Approach
Authors: Li Fangxia
Published: March 2022

Mobile kitchens are becoming a new industry in rural areas where a certain number of villages cooks initiatively get together, bringing their own cookers, tables, chairs and benches, and other utensils to serve local customers in need of a catering. In recent years, mobile kitchens have become popular in rural areas and are expanding in scale as social and economic conditions continue to improve. However, the development of rural mobile kitchens is still not fully in line with the requirements of rural development in the new era, and there are a lot of problems in many aspects, some of which are even not conform to the development plan of agriculture and rural areas in the new era. Against the background that the central government has established the general policy of giving priority to the development of agriculture and rural areas and made a major decision to implement the strategy of revitalizing the rural areas, it is important to study the status quo and problems in the development and operation of mobile kitchens for the benefit of people's happiness and rural revitalization, which is an important move to achieve sustainable development and historical changes. Taking Poyang County as an example, this paper explored the current situation and management methods of mobile kitchens with the aim of promoting the standardized and institutionalized development of mobile kitchens and responding to the call for modernization of agriculture as well as rural revitalization in the 14th Five-Year Plan.
Reflection of Modern Society through Cyberpunk
Authors: Li Han
Published: March 2022

“We live in a dystopian world. Filled with crime, corruption. And, poverty by mighty, power-hungry corporations and heartless, brutal governments.” The art book of the recent game Cyberpunk 2077 stated this as its basic world setting. Although the game gets  a bad reputation due to its unpolished quality, it is fair to say Cyberpunk 2077 adds a few crucial pieces to the overall puzzle that is the cyberpunk world. In this paper I’ll analyze the aesthetic qualities and story settings of cyberpunk across media, contributing to the dialogue around the genre’s common theme of serving as a warning to the present society.
Presunción de lactancia natural cuando concurre al solicitar la prestación por riesgo
Authors: Sánchez Trigueros Carmen
Published: March 2022

Presupuesto de la suspensión contractual por causa de "riesgo durante la lactancia" y del subsidio que la acompaña es que la trabajadora amamante a su bebé. Ante el silencio normativo, y saliendo al paso de la interpretación asumida por el INSS, la STS 323/2019 considera suficiente con acreditar esa circunstancia al solicitar la prestación, presumiéndose su persistencia.
A requirement for the contractual suspension because of "risk during breastfeeding" and the accompanying subsidy is for the worker to breastfeed her baby. In the face of regulatory silence, and following the interpretation assumed by the INSS, the STS 323/2019 considers it sufficient to prove that circumstance when requesting the benefit, presuming its persistence
Pensión de viudedad y el tipo de documento público válido para constituir la pareja de hecho
Authors: Vicente Palacio María Arántzazu (
Published: March 2022

Se desestima el recurso de casación para unificación de doctrina por falta de contradicción entre la sentencia recurrida y la alegada como contradictoria. La cuestión material debatida es la validez de un acta notarial de manifestaciones como documento público para la válida constitución de la pareja de hecho con efectos jurídicos para el acceso a la pensión de viudedad.

Cassation appeal for unification of doctrine is rejected arguing lack of contradiction between the judgment appealed and the one alleged as contradictory. The material issue debated is the validity of a notarial deed of manifestations as a public document, for the valid constitution of the de facto couple with legal effects for access to the widow's pension.
Deficit Financing Components, Inflation and Capital Formation in Nigeria: Evidence from a Direct and Indirect Analysis
Authors: Aladejare Samson Adeniyi
Published: March 2022

Deficit financing occasioned by low domestic savings and low capital formation, have characterised the Nigerian economy since the 1970s with attendant increase in inflation. Empirical studies on Nigeria have shown that deficit financing directly affects inflation and capital formation when examined independently. However, little attention has been paid to a simultaneous investigation of the direct and indirect effects of deficit financing components on inflation and capital formation for Nigeria. Consequently, this study was designed to fill this gap through time series data and the instrumental variable approach. The study found that deficit financing components indirectly impacted on inflation and capital formation in Nigeria from 1970 to 2017; as against the direct effects reported in empirical studies. Also, inflation was found to have had adverse effect on capital formation. Hence, better synergy of fiscal and monetary policies to effectively tame inflation and ensure growth of capital formation was recommended.
Effect of Packaging Design on Repurchase Intention to the Politeknik IT&B Medan Using E-Commerce Applications
Authors: Pandiangan Saut Maruli Tua
Published: March 2022

This study aims to determine and analyze effect of packaging design on repurchase intention to the Politeknik IT&B Medan using e-commerce applications. This type of research is descriptive quantitative and survey research methods. This research is conducted on the Politeknik IT&B Medan students using e-commerce applications in the Politeknik IT&B Medan. The sample of this study is a population of 47 respondents or the Politeknik IT&B Medan students, Department of Business Administration, semester 2 and 4. The data analysis method use simple linear regression with partial test (t) and coefficient of determination (R2). The results show that packaging design has a positive and significant effect to the Politeknik IT&B Medan using e-commerce applications. Packaging design can explain the repurchase intention variable by 64.1% and the remaining 35.9% is explain by other variables not examined in this study.
Biodiesel production from waste cooking oil using a new heterogeneous catalyst SrO doped CaO nanoparticles
Authors: Prokaewa Apisit , Meejoo Smith Siwaporn , Luengnaruemitchai Apanee , Kandiah Mathi , Boonyuen Supakorn
Published: March 2022

Biodiesel production from waste palm cooking oil (WPCO) was studied. Calcium oxide with a strontium ion additive (Sr-CaO) was employed as a catalyst in transesterification reaction of used palm oil with methanol. The Sr-CaO was synthesized by co-precipitation method between SrCl2 and Ca(NO3)2, then calcined at 900°C for 5 h. The catalyst was characterized by using thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR). The morphology and elements content of Sr and Ca in the catalyst were confirmed by SEM-EDX. The approximate catalyst diameter is 12.6±5.9 µm. The highest conversion was 99.33% (the reaction time 3 h, 5%w/w catalyst, methanol to oil molar ratio 9:1 and reaction temperature 80°C). The catalyst can be used up to the sixth cycles with a good yield. The synthesized biodiesel meet the requirement of standard biodiesel (EN 14103 and ASTM D445). These findings suggest that calcium oxide with a strontium ion additive (Sr-CaO) is an effective renewable biodiesel catalyst.
Utilization of silicon dioxide powder from industrial wastes as novel filler in rubber isolator application
Authors: AJINSAMAJAN Amorn , RUNGVICHANIWAT Adisai , SAETUNG Anuwat
Published: March 2022

The silicon dioxide powder (SP) was an industrial waste and obtained from the silicon metal industry in Thailand. The effect of SP loading on cure characteristics, mechanical, dynamic and endurance properties in natural rubber were investigated and compared to calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and unfilled natural rubber, respectively. Results revealed that the addition of SP significantly affected the cure characteristics and mechanical properties. An increasing content of SP increased the hardness, modulus, tensile strength and tear strength due to a higher SP-rubber interaction but decreased the elongation at break since higher SP in rubber matrix resulting in lesser mobility of rubber chains. For the curing behavior, the faster cure time was observed since more heat transfer to the compound occurred. The rubber product performance in terms of dynamic and endurance properties of rubber isolator were also determined. It had been found that SP not only improving the damping characteristics but also enhancing the number of cycles until fracture. Moreover, adding the bis-(3-triethoxysilylpropyl)-tetrasulphide (TESPT) showed higher reinforcement efficiency of SP. This can directly react to silanol groups on the SP surface and also reduce hydrogen bonding of SP particles. So, TESPT can reduce accelerator adsorption and SP-SP interaction, leading to better processability. Besides that, TESPT is a sulphur-based rubber silane. It can contribute sulphur atoms from molecule and then form covalent bonds with natural rubber chains which leads to enhance the crosslink density. Influence of filler type on rubber isolator, the SP imparts greater reinforcement than CaCO3. All obtained results suggested that SP can be fully replaced the commercial CaCO3.
Bio-composite of nipa palm husk derived activated carbon/poly(butylene succinate): an effective agricultural waste based adsorbent for ammonia removal
Authors: PIYAMAWADEE Chaichana , SRICHAROENCHAIKUL Viboon , AHT-ONG Duangdao
Published: March 2022

In this work, activated materials were successfully prepared by pyrolyzing various ratios of Nipa palm husk powder to potassium hydroxide  (1:1, 1:2, and 1:3) at predetermined temperatures (500℃, 600℃, and 700℃). The surface area was obtained from nitrogen isotherms using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) equation. The surface area of the prepared activated carbon was increased with decreasing potassium hydroxide impregnation ratio and increasing pyrolyzing temperature. The highest surface area was 1,211 m2×g-1. In contrast, acidic surface functional groups investigated by Boehm’s titration were increased with decreasing pyrolyzing temperature and impregnation ratio. Ammonia removal capacity was increased with an increase in the acidic surface functional groups on prepared activated carbon. Therefore, the activated sample with the highest acidic surface functional groups contents provided the greatest ammonia adsorption of around 95% (from 100 ppm to 5 ppm), implying that ammonia removal capacity was closely related to the acidic surface functional groups on the activated carbon. Adsorptive poly(butylene succinate) was carried out by incorporating activated carbon into the poly(butylene succinate) matrix for ammonia adsorption. This adsorption increased with increasing activated carbon content so that it was found that 12 wt% activated carbon provided the highest ammonia adsorption by reducing ammonia from 108 ppm to 26 ppm.
IMPACT OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ON BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT: A STUDY ON BATIK BUSINESS
Authors: Santoso Singgih
Published: March 2022

Entrepreneurial orientation is one of the antecedent variables that can improve small and medium enterprises' performance. This article provides a discussion on the scope of company performance, especially in small and medium enterprises. This article examines and analyzes the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on performance with management knowledge as a moderating variable in Indonesia's small and medium enterprises. The research sample, 45 small and medium batik enterprises in the city of Surakarta, Indonesia. Hypothesis analysis, using SPSS 22.00. The results showed that entrepreneurial orientation dimensions (innovation, proactive, risk-taking) significantly affected enterprise performance with β = .560 and sig ≤ 0.05. However, knowledge management does not influence moderation, where the effect is on performance with β = -.220 and sig > .112.