Telecommunications terminal equipment: EEC commission opens the market

The 12 Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC) are legally obliged by the Treaty of Rome, as amended by the Single European Act, to abolish all of the remaining physical, technical and fiscal barriers between them by 31 December 1992. The Single European Act, which sets the 1992 deadline, defines the envisaged internal market as “an area without internal frontiers”.The creation of a common European market for telecommunications services and equipment is both an essential prerequisite and an important part of the “internal market”.In its Green Paper on the Development of the Common Market for Telecommunications Services and Equipment — “the Green Paper”¹⁾) — and a follow-up Communication²⁾, the Commission of the European Communities (“the Commission”) has set forth its main policy proposals in the telecommunications field. Implementation of these policy proposals by means of Community law directives is progressing rapidly, in particular with respect to terminal equipment. On 16 May 1988, the Commission issued a“Commission Directive on Competition in the Markets in Telecommunications Terminal Equipment” — “Terminal Equipment Directive” —³⁾ based on its regulatory powers under Art. 90(3) of the Treaty of Rome (“EEC Treaty”).This article explores the regulatory scope of the Terminal Equipment Directive which has recently been challenged by the French government before the European Court of Justice.     

The ambiguous Heritage of Mitteleuropa: the Resurfacing of Mitteleuropa as a Counter-image to the EU in Austrian Populism

The analysis in this article addresses the resurfacing of Mitteleuropain the populist discourse or, more precisely, the use of Mitteleuropa-ideas in the political strategies of the Austrian FPÖ (Austria's right-wing `Freedom Party'). The plans of the future European assessment spread by the European right-wing populism have an ambiguous character, which partly reproduces the ambiguity of the traditional definitions ofMitteleuropa in the debate at the beginning of the twentieth century. The article shows that the FPÖ's use of the concept ofMitteleuropa must be analysed with regard to the problem of the Austrian identity, because the ambiguous status of an ‘Austrian identity between Mitteleuropa and German re-union’ is the most important condition underpinning the emergence of the FPÖ. Secondly, the choice of a particular idea ofMitteleuropa - the Mitteleuropadefined by principles of exclusion, by a strong German culture and identity (Kulturnation), and strict reference to a Volksgemeinschaft with a territory and a culture that are juxtaposed to a cosmopolitan and liberal idea of Mitteleuropa- reveals the FPÖ's historical legacy and its opposition towards democracy and the representative institutions. Finally, the question is raised as to whether Haider should be considered not only an Austrian phenomenon, but an Austrian reaction to political and economic transformations, which evoke other protest movements in Europe. On the one hand, Haider is an Austrian phenomenon. On the other hand, he represents an Austrian reaction to political and economic transformations. In this sense, Haider's populism can be compared to France's Le Pen or Belgium's Vlaams Blokif we look at the form of popular legitimacy that they invoke, the request for a re-territorialisation of politics and for the defence of a national / European identity, and the opposition to constitutional patriotism and to all forms of ``thin'' European identities.     

How to control interception-does the UK strike the right balance?

This Article critically analyses the regime for intercepting the content of communications under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 in the light of the recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in Kennedy v the UK. It looks at the safeguards for privacy protection provided such as the requirement for a warrant and the roles of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal and the Interception of Communications Commissioner and whether these safeguards are compliant with Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights.     

Prohibition of Torture and Other Cruel,Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment: Some Remarks on the Operative Solutions at the European Level and their Effects on the Member States. The Case of Italy

This paper analyzes European measures against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in order to verify their effectiveness, especially in terms of the values that are actually being protected. First, it examines the distinction between the external and internal action of the European Union, highlighting ways in which the EU appears to be more attentive to combat practices of torture in third countries than to domestic incidents and the proposals to legalize torture made at a political level in some Member States. Then, it examines the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling in the Cestaro versus Italy case, focusing specifically on the fact that Italy was in breach of its obligations under Article 3 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, because the framework does not recognize torture as a crime and does not provide instruments of deterrence to effectively prevent the execution and the recurrence of such acts. Currently, the Italian Parliament is discussing a draft amendment to the Criminal Code and aims at introducing the concept of torture as a crime; however, in light of the comments made by the European Court of Human Rights, this project questions whether the proposed solution will be able to prevent a repeat of events similar to those that occurred in 2001 after the G8 Summit in Genoa.     

The European Court of Justice in Bolagsupplysningen: The Brussels I Recast Regulation's jurisdictional rules for online infringement of personality rights further clarified

In the European Union the Brussels Ibis Regulation governs the jurisdiction of Member State courts in civil and commercial matters. The reference for a preliminary ruling coming from the Estonian Supreme Court in the Bolagsupplysningen case offered the European Court of Justice another opportunity to develop its interpretation of the special ground for non-contractual obligations (article 7.2). The European Court of Justice's Grand Chamber ruled that legal persons, like natural persons, have the option of bringing a claim based on the infringement of personality rights by an online publication before the courts of the Member State where their centre of interests is located. It laid down that the centre of interests of a legal person pursuing an economic activity is determined by reference to the place where the company carries out the main part of its economic activities. The victim of a tortious internet publication can only seek an order for rectification and removal of the incorrect information in the courts that have jurisdiction over the entirety of the harm sustained and not before the courts that only enjoy jurisdiction with regard to the damage suffered in their territory.     

Pammer and Hotel Alpenhof - ECJ decision creates further uncertainty about when e-businesses “direct activities” to a consumer’s state under the Brussels I Regulation

The European Court of Justice’s recent judgement in the joined cases C-585/08 and C-144/09 will have substantial long-term implications for European e-businesses and e-consumers trading across borders.The key question considered was whether the fact that a website can be consulted on the Internet in the Member State of the consumer’s domicile is sufficient to justify a finding that commercial or professional activities are being directed to that Member State within the meaning of Article 15(1)(c) of the Brussels I Regulation.     

Protecting mental health clients' dignity — The importance of legal control

Protecting human beings' dignity is a fundamental value underlying the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as several recommendations and conventions derived from this, among them the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), a declaration that also takes precedence over Norwegian legislation. Still, clients' stories inform us that their dignity is not always protected in the mental health service systems.The aim of the study has been to investigate violations of dignity considered from the clients' points of view, and to suggest actions that may ensure that practice is brought in line with human rights values.The method used has been a qualitative content analysis of 335 client narratives.The conclusion is that mental health clients experience infringements that cannot be explained without reference to their status as clients in a system which, based on judgments from medical experts, has a legitimate right to ignore clients' voices as well as their fundamental human rights. The main focus of this discussion is the role of the ECHR and the European Court of Human Rights as instruments for protecting mental health clients' human rights. To bring about changes, recommendations and practices should be harmonized with the new UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006). Under this convention, the European Court of Human Rights has support for the application of the ECHR without exemptions for special groups of people.     

Every complaint matters: Human Rights Commissioner's opinion concerning independent and effective determination of complaints against the police

Police complaints are a developing area of European human rights law and criminal justice policy. In response to the risk of cultures of police impunity emerging in some European states the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights launched a police complaints initiative in 2008. Written by the consultant to the Commissioner this paper examines his recently published Opinion concerning independent and effective determination of complaints against the police. Firstly, an overview is presented of the different types of complaints mechanism currently operating across Europe. This is followed by an outline of the five police complaints principles developed in the jurisprudence of European Court of Human Rights and explanation of the two-tiered citizen oversight approach advocated in the Commissioner's Opinion. The paper concludes with a discussion of the importance of the principles as a means for ensuring that every police complaint is handled appropriately and proportionately.     

Balancing Between Human Rights Assumptions and Actual Fundamental Human Rights Safeguards in Building an Area of Freedom,Security and Justice: a Cosmopolitan Perspective

Rhetoric often claims that the European Union (EU), in issues related to Justice and Home Affairs, has to be united in its diversity. As such, the asylum and judicial systems of the Member States are initially perceived as equally good. By applying the cosmopolitan theory on two fields of interstate cooperation, asylum and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, the article explores how cosmopolitan the EU is in these fields, with a specific focus on material detention conditions. For cosmopolitanism to work, it has to be grounded in commonly shared norms, which enable the EU to regulate its dealings with the otherness of the Member States. The crucial role of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union in placing boundaries on the equal goodness of the Member States’ asylum and judicial systems is analysed. This judicial reality in which cosmopolitan norms are established and protected is discussed, together with the political realities dominating policy debates in order to build an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice.     

The SNPforID 34-plex—Its ability to infer level of admixture in individuals

Forensic scientists use genetic individualization markers to include or exclude persons of interest in investigations. However, when there are no suspects due to absence of database matches or eye-witness information, prediction of biogeographical ancestry can be a valuable investigative tool. The SNPforID 34-plex uses 34 autosomal markers to predict ancestry from three geographic regions, Africa, Europe and East Asia. However, its ability to identify levels of admixture within individuals is unclear. We tested the 34-plex assay in 56 individuals from 15 families with varying levels of self-declared Asian/European admixed ancestry. STRUCTURE 2.3.4 was used for population structure analysis and cluster information provided inferences on levels of admixture. Chi-square tests were performed to evaluate the ability of the SNPforID 34-plex to predict level of admixture. The average/SD Asian and European contribution for individuals self-declared as first generation since admixture was 0.46/0.13 and 0.54/0.13, respectively. As expected, the average European contribution increased for individuals of 1/4, 1/8 and 1/16 Asian/European ancestries – 0.78/0.13, 0.89/0.05 and 0.91/0.03, respectively. There were no significant differences between observed and expected average contribution from each ancestry. However, individual outliers were observed, which could have been misclassified if analyzed separately. These results suggest the 34-plex can be a reliable tool to predict levels of admixture; however caution is required when an individual sample is investigated. A larger number of markers, combined with increased sample sizes comprising varying levels of admixture of different biogeographical ancestries, are required to enhance the ability to predict an individual's level of biogeographical ancestry.     

Chaos: Our Own ‘Gun on The(ir) Table’

In October 2011, George Papandreou, the then Greek Prime Minister, announced he was planning to hold a referendum in order for the Greek people to decide whether to agree to the bailout plan prepared by the International Monetary Fund, the Central European Bank and the European Commission. This intention was aborted due to intense pressure by Papandreou??s European partners, especially Germany and France. This interference clearly shows the problematic relationship between the so-called ??markets?? and national-popular sovereignty. This article raises the question of why this interference happened in the first place, why the global markets felt such a big threat before the possibility of a vote taking place in a small country of 10 million inhabitants. And also, importantly, what this means in terms of potential for political agency by those who are usually considered to be lacking such agency, as having ??no other alternative?? than to follow the one-way course of neoliberalism.     

Josine Junger-Tas: The Life and Works of a Compassionate Criminologist

This article is the editorial introduction to the special issue of the European Journal of Criminal Policy and Research Compassionate Criminology: The Legacy of Josine Junger-Tas (1929–2011). The article consists of four parts and an Appendix (i.e., the bibliography of her publications). In the first section, we provide a brief overview of the highlights of her professional career of 40-plus years, including her contributions to the institutionalization of European criminology. The second section discusses how her focus on comparative criminology and policy relevance run as a red thread through her work as a criminologist. The third part centers around Junger-Tas’s consistent concern with the responsibility of scholars and researchers to “do the right thing” and to speak out for the most vulnerable parts of the population (youth in particular). We believe that as a public criminologist avant la lettre Junger-Tas’s main heritage lies in drawing the contours of what may be called evidence-based compassionate criminology. The fourth section provides a brief introduction to the seven articles in this special issue.     

The legal classification of identity-based signatures

Identity-based cryptography has attracted attention in the cryptographic research community in recent years. Despite the importance of cryptographic schemes for applications in business and law, the legal implications of identity-based cryptography have not yet been discussed. We investigate how identity-based signatures fit into the legal framework. We focus on the European Signature Directive, but also take the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures into account. In contrast to previous assumptions, identity-based signature schemes can, in principle, be used even for qualified electronic signatures, which can replace handwritten signatures in the member states of the European Union. We derive requirements to be taken into account in the development of future identity-based signature schemes.     

Power and inheritance: Male domination,property, and family in eastern Europe, 1500–1900

A widespread inheritance pattern in eastern and southeastern Europe was based on equally partible male inheritance and excluded women from inheritance and dowry. The western transition zone to the other predominant European inheritance systems coincided with the Hajnal line, which divides the distribution of European marriage patterns in historical times. New evidence is added to the historical depth of the cultural–historical transition zone already postulated by Mitterauer. Since the early Middle Ages, this zone also marked the border region of two basic European agrarian systems: the western Grundherrschafts system, which led to the intervention of landlords into inheritance patterns and family structures of the serfs and the non-interventionist tributary systems, which left inheritance practices based on customary laws untouched until the second half of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. The above-mentioned inheritance pattern, which was also widespread in Asia, allocated a huge amount of power to the agnatic core of the family and was part of a patriarchal system shaped by patrilineality, patrilocality, low age at marriage, complex family forms, and fragmentation of the soil when demographic transition set in.     

Analysing the application of Brussels I in regulating e-commerce jurisdiction in the European Union – Success,deficiencies and proposed changes

This article analyses the regulatory framework of e-commerce jurisdiction in the European Union (EU). Firstly, it discusses and analyses the current regime under the Brussels Regulation, highlighting its success in consumer protection and the deficiencies for e-commerce jurisdiction, which need to be addressed. Secondly, the article compares the EU regime with that of the United States (US). It is argued that the US courts follow uncertain and distinct approaches compared to the clear rules of the Brussels Regulation. Their present approach of minimum contacts analysis as followed in the Yahoo! case poses problems for a transnational EU litigant in similar cases. Thirdly, the article examines the recent proposals adopted by the European Commission to remedy the deficiencies in the Regulation. The most important change proposed is the inclusion of third-state defendants within its ambit. It is argued that the changes to be adopted by the European Parliament are insufficient, and the author therefore provides recommendations. Lastly, the article highlights the inability of the proposed changes to address the deficiencies identified by the discussion.     

BP's approach to Technology

Editor's Note: John Browne is the Managing Director of the British Petroleum Company and Chief Executive Officer of BP Exploration. The following is a keynote speech he delivered to the Society of Petroleum Engineers at the 1994 European Petroleum Conference, London, October 25, 1994. The speech was provided to the Journal by Ed Witterholt of BP's Technology Provision unit in Houston, TX.     

The data protection framework decision of 27 November 2008 regarding police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters – A modest achievement however not the improvement some have hoped for

After more than three years in the making, that have witnessed much controversy, several working texts and at least two altogether different versions, the Data Protection Framework Decision “on the protection of personal data processed in the framework of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters” (hereafter, the DPFD) was finally adopted on 27 November 2008. The DPFD was supposed to be celebrated as the Data Protection Directive equivalent in European law enforcement (Third Pillar) processing. However, since its formal adoption, and even before that, data protection proponents (the European Data Protection Supervisor, the Article 29 Working Party, national Data Protection Commissioners, NGOs) lamented its adoption as the result of changes that ultimately compromised data protection. Is the DPFD a disappointment to the great expectations that accompanied its first draft, back in 2006? An attempt to address this question shall be undertaken in this paper.     

Gaughran vs the UK and public acceptability of forensic biometrics retention

This commentary provides a response to the European Court of Human Rights ruling in the case of Gaughran vs the United Kingdom on 13 February 2020. The Court ruled that the indefinite retention of DNA, fingerprints and facial images from all convicted adults was disproportionate. Using data from a survey on public attitudes, we examine the public acceptability of the police retention of forensic biometrics from the population.     

Privacy and security by design: Comparing the EU and Israeli approaches to embedding privacy and security

Policymakers in the European Union and Israel are searching for regulatory strategies on how to best protect their citizens informational privacy. More recently, the focus has shifted towards Privacy and Security by Design as a mean to address current privacy concerns. While Privacy and Security by Design in itself is not a new idea, its implementation has taken new forms within the General Data Protection Regulation, as well as in various Israeli laws, inter alia, the Privacy Protection Regulations on Data Security. In this article we first analyse these implementations of Privacy and Security by Design and then compare the European and Israeli approaches with one another. We address the question of which approach provides more guidance to developers with respect on how to embed Privacy and Security by Design measures into new services and products. We conclude by pointing to empirical research needed to further analyse the impact of the two different regulatory strategies.     

ECJ rules on acts of “Extraction” that infringe database right

Four years from the European Court of Justice's seminal rulings on database right in the British Horseracing Board and Fixtures Marketing cases, the Court has once again looked at the extent of protection this right affords. The earlier decisions had suggested the right was weak, with many databases not qualifying for protection and the extent of infringement required being difficult to meet. However, the ECJ's recent ruling in the Directmedia case (C-304/07) handed down in late-2008 is more positive for database owners. Adopting the reasoning of the Advocate General, the ECJ has clarified the types of acts which can constitute infringement of database right and confirmed they are broad in scope. The outcome and implications of the ruling are discussed below.