Regulation of assisted conception services in Europe: Implications of the new reproductive technologies for 'the family'

In this paper we attempt to draw attention to the widespread variation in legislation and regulation of assisted conception services throughout Europe and the implications that this may have for what is understood as 'a family'. At present, access to assisted conception services appears to rely on a 'traditional' notion of the family with the consequence that large numbers of potential service users are excluded. We believe that the existing state of assisted conception legislation already demonstrates a turn to the postmodern. This paper aims to make this turn to the postmodern more explicit and take it further towards what we argue is its inevitable conclusion. It is argued that a postmodern approach should benefit both assisted conception service providers and, perhaps more importantly, service users through an emphasis on localized knowledge, acceptance of difference and 'otherness', and a recognition of the complexity and ambiguity of human behaviour.     

Carbon Flows between the EU and Eastern Europe: Baselines, Scenarios and Policy Options

We develop baseline data and an analytical framework for understanding the role that flows of carbon between the Former Soviet Union/Commonwealth of Independent States (FSU/CIS) and the European Union (EU) may have in enabling the EU to meet major reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the medium-term future. The paper sets out an analysis of contemporary flows of carbon between the EU, EU Candidate Countries and the FSU/CIS, and outlines two scenarios for investigating how flows may develop in the future under different assumptions about climate and energy policy. The 'trading' scenario assumes unconstrained trade in tangible (mainly gas) and intangible (tradable emissions permits) flows of carbon from the FSU/CIS to the EU. The 'autonomy' scenario assumes limits to carbon flows and a subsequent requirement for high levels of domestic de-carbonisation in the EU (e.g. energy efficiency and indigenous energy sources). We conclude that neither scenario is feasible or desirable, but that even a combined approach, which sees trade complemented by tough domestic action, still requires far greater efforts than are currently planned.     

Price and income convergence and the dynamic Penn effect in Central and Eastern Europe

Economic Change and Restructuring - The dynamic Penn effect denotes a close relationship between relative income and price levels over time. This paper examines whether the effect is present in the...     

The right to data portability in the GDPR: Towards user-centric interoperability of digital services

The right to data portability is one of the most important novelties within the EU General Data Protection Regulation, both in terms of warranting control rights to data subjects and in terms of being found at the intersection between data protection and other fields of law (competition law, intellectual property, consumer protection, etc.). It constitutes, thus, a valuable case of development and diffusion of effective user-centric privacy enhancing technologies and a first tool to allow individuals to enjoy the immaterial wealth of their personal data in the data economy. Indeed, a free portability of personal data from one controller to another can be a strong tool for data subjects in order to foster competition of digital services and interoperability of platforms and in order to enhance controllership of individuals on their own data. However, the adopted formulation of the right to data portability in the GDPR could benefit from further clarification: several interpretations are possible, particularly with regard to the object of the right and its interrelation with other rights, potentially leading to additional challenges within its technical implementation. The aim of this article is to propose a first systematic interpretation of this new right, by suggesting a pragmatic and extensive approach, particularly taking advantage as much as possible of the interrelationship that this new legal provision can have with regard to the Digital Single Market and the fundamental rights of digital users. In sum, the right to data portability can be approximated under two different perspectives: the minimalist approach (the adieu scenario) and the empowering approach (the fusing scenario), which the authors consider highly preferable.     

Mental health services in New Zealand

The development and reorganization of mental health services in New Zealand is underpinned by a national strategy, with increased funding from the government, and is occurring on a background of radical change in health service policy and delivery. The major challenge will be to sustain the developments to date, and increase the quality and quantity of services in a climate of ongoing change. A more integrated form of service delivery and funding would potentially enhance the development of population-based mental health services, which will allow the alignment of targeting specialty service to the 3% of the population with the highest need, with a more comprehensive approach to overall mental health service through the primary sector.     

Sexuality and Law in the New Europe

Kees Waaldijk and Andrew Clapham (eds), Homosexuality: A European Community Issue—Essays on Lesbian and Gay Rights in European Law and Policy     

New Options for Lawyer Retirement Plans Under the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981

Recent changes in the tax laws governing retirement plans may offer significant tax advantages to lawyers and other self-employed persons. The author discusses the provisions of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 as they affect self-employed lawyers and compares them with the advantages that may be obtained by incorporation—both firm incorporation and individual incorporations within a firm. He explores a variety of tax issues, including important related Tax Court decisions, and makes recommendations with respect to adopting a strategy by a particular lawyer or firm.     

Elements for a Robust Climate Regime Post-2012: Options for Mitigation

This article addresses the current state of negotiations within the international climate change regime (including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol) and options to be included in a post-2012 carbon market framework, such as sectoral agreements, soft targets for developing countries and a larger consideration of sinks. The article reviews the different options focusing on their potential to spur mitigation of greenhouse gases in key areas such as energy production. The size and depth of the carbon market, as well as the stringency of the cap and the stabilization path chosen, are variables affecting the effectiveness of different options. The article thus makes a clear case for all large emitters to agree on a long-term stabilization goal to guide further negotiations on medium-term carbon market frameworks, and notes that options related to the consideration of sinks, for example, should maintain proportionality with the size of the carbon market to ensure that a sufficient 'pull' for technological developments in energy-related activities is maintained.     

Measuring Meritocracy in the Public Sector in Europe: a New National and Sub-National Indicator

Since the late nineteenth century, the presence of an independent and meritocratic bureaucracy has been posited as an advantage for effective bureaucratic behaviour and a means of limiting patrimonial networks and corruption, among other benefits. There is little consensus on how the features of an independent and meritocratic bureaucracy should be measured across countries, however, and broad empirical studies are therefore rare. What is more, the few such studies that exist have advanced measures which are constructed exclusively on expert surveys. Although these have indeed contributed to the knowledge in the field, the data on which they are built come with problems. This paper proposes a set of novel measures that complement existing measures and thus fill important gaps in this burgeoning literature. The measures we present are not based on expert assessments but on perceptions of public sector employees’ and citizens’. We create two measures—that can be combined into one—from a recent survey (2013) of over 85,000 citizens in 24 European countries. One is purely based on the assessments from public sector employees’ and the other is based on perceptions of citizens working outside the public sector. The paper also discusses the survey and explores the external validity of the measures provided here, showing correlations with alternative measures based on expert opinions, as well as variables from the literature that we would expect to correlate highly with a meritocratic bureaucracy.     

Patent Protection in Europe: Integrating Europe into the Community or the Community into Europe?

Patent protection in Europe basically rests on two pillars: national grants or grants from the European Patent Organisation (EPO). The EPO grants patents by a centralised procedure with uniform conditions, but once granted the patents become national and subject to the divergent national laws of EPO–Member States. The system has been very successful, so successful, indeed, that it overshadowed the Community's many unsuccessful attempts to set up a Community patent system of its own by way of a convention between Member States. As the Commission has recently stepped in by proposing the establishment of a Community Patent system by way of regulation, a kind of 'cooperative rivalry' has arisen between the Community and the EPO about how to unify patent protection in Europe. This rivalry not only mirrors divergent views on the politico–economic functions of the patent system, but also is illustrative of different concepts of regional integration in a context of global competition for innovation.