Playground or Democratisation? New Participatory Procedures at the European Commission

In the previous decade, the European Commission has promoted direct citizen involvement in European Union (EU) affairs via institutions such as deliberative polls, citizen conferences, online consultations or citizens' initiatives. Do these instruments foster EU democratisation? In this article, the Commission's participatory turn is re‐constructed. Against the yardstick of a democracy theoretical framework, two participatory instruments (European Citizens' Consultations and the Commission's online consultations) are assessed. Both instruments are seriously flawed: the ECC cannot resolve the trade‐off between demanding and egalitarian participation, and remains almost unrecognised outside the forum (bridging problem). Online consultations suffer both from a lack of active participation and of the symbolic accountability of the Commission to the contributions of ordinary citizens.     

The consideration of ecological safety in judicial practice — also on the ecological safety legislation

Ecological safety has been one of the hot issues of environmental law in recent years. The maintenance of ecological safety has become one of the legislative principles, as exemplified by the revision of the Law of Sand Prevention and Sand Management and the Law against Solid Waste Environmental Pollution, and the relevant rules that will be established. However actual cases will still happen, whether the legislators have made the statutory law or not. While scholars and legislators are debating, the judges have to handle cases and render judgments. Through the analysis of a case, this article will discuss the feasibility for judges to make ecological safety considerations in the judicial process by applying the principle of good faith and will also discuss the legislative issues related to ecological safety.     

Zur wirksamen Zuordnung von Ausgleichsmaßnahmen auf gemeindeeigenem Grundstück für die Ausweisung von Bauland i.S. des § 135a Abs. 2 BauGB

Keine Zusammenfassung     

Der Abschuss verwilderter Haustauben im Stadtbereich ist nicht geeignet, den Taubenbestand wirksam zu reduzieren, so dass eine Schießerlaubnis nicht erteilt werden kann

Keine Zusammenfassung     

作品的解构

<正>Lorsqu'apparaít un nouveau nom en littérature,la prudence voudrait qu'on laisse agir le temps pour en appréhender,si ce n'est la pérennité,du moins le sens et les effets sur     

The property question revisited: The restitution myth

The handling of the property question in the German unification process and Treaty has met with harsh criticism by east Germans and west Germans alike, unifying, for once, both radical and liberal left, as well as some conservatives. Conservative groups in the west were up in arms about the Treaty's recognition of the land reform under Soviet occupation, while the majority of people in the east and also the western left brandished the principle ‘restitution before compensation’ as a major obstacle to investment in the east. This article argues that restitution did not have the significance that is often claimed. In reality the situation was much more complex, and many other factors than the possible restitution of property were responsible for the slower than expected economic recovery of the east.