The key functional operability in the pre-Lisbon PJCCM pillar 1 of the EU is the exchange of inte... more The key functional operability in the pre-Lisbon PJCCM pillar 1 of the EU is the exchange of intelligence and information amongst the law enforcement bodies of the EU. The twin issues of data protection and data security within what was the EU's third pillar legal framework therefore come to the fore. With the Lisbon Treaty reform of the EU, and the increased role of the Commission in PJCCM policy areas, and the integration of the PJCCM provisions with what have traditionally been the pillar I activities of Frontex, the opportunity for streamlining the data protection and data security provisions of the law enforcement bodies of the post-Lisbon EU arises. This is recognised by the Commission in their drafting of an amending regulation for Frontex 2 , when they say that they would prefer "to return to the question of personal data in the context of the overall strategy for information exchange to be presented later this year and also taking into account the reflection to be ...
With increasing globalization, transnational crime in general, and human trafficking in particula... more With increasing globalization, transnational crime in general, and human trafficking in particular, a design of new legal framework is required in order to effectively operationalize interstate law enforcement operations and prosecutions. The development of a transnational criminal legal framework—or frameworks—can build on pre-existing transnational economic frameworks. There is also the need to extend the application of domestic law beyond national borders to influence transnational corporate behavior. Regulations based on reflexive law are one possible approach. Teubner's idea of reflexive law has been informing developments in this area. This approach uses traditional national law to inform corporate governance strategies in order to achieve effects on the market. A few jurisdictions have already adopted measures modeled on this approach to tackle human trafficking and slavery-like conditions in global supply chains. Weaknesses in the approaches adopted by the UK and the Sta...
The agricultural policies of the Member States of the EC have for many years now been controlled ... more The agricultural policies of the Member States of the EC have for many years now been controlled from Brussels under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). In recent years the CAP has, together with other policies of the EC, been refocused from crop production support to a European rural policy, with the term ‘sustainability’ being written into many policy documents. This term has achieved international recognition and the definition used by the Brundtland Commission has been widely accepted, as evidenced by its use in OECD documentation. While the term ‘sustainability’ has been written into World Trade Organisation (WTO) texts, the robustness of the term is questionable. The question then arises as to the legal interaction of WTO texts and multilateral environmental agreements, which do have ‘sustainability’ as their core philosophy. A new term has entered the regional and global debate in the policy area of agriculture, that of ‘multifunctionality’. The EC is increasingly defining ...
At first sight the Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Comme... more At first sight the Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters, Brussels 1968, (more commonly known as, and hereinafter referred to as the Brussels Convention) has all the appearances of being just another piece of EC law, dreamt up in Brussels by the vast European Union machinery pursuant to the Treaty of Rome as amended. Upon further examination, however, it becomes apparent that this document does not fall into any of the tidy boxes, of Regulation, Directive or Decision that usually account for the emanations from Brussels. This piece is not the product of the Council or the Commission. It is, in fact, an international treaty between the then Member States of the European Economic Community in 1968, as independent and sovereign states, to be subsequently amended and endorsed by each of the new Member States upon accession to, what is now known as, the European Union.
The European Union (EU)'s current provisions on the trafficking in human beings (THB) are pro... more The European Union (EU)'s current provisions on the trafficking in human beings (THB) are provided for, inter alia, in Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA. The Council of Europe have more recent provisions in this area, which are not yet widely in force. The EU has some major proposals for reform of its legal framework in the Stockholm Programme, to include the appointment of an EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator. In addition, the focus of EU Justice and Home Affairs is shifting to the external relations of the EU under the Stockholm Programme. A critical examination of the EU legal framework in the area of THB from a law enforcement perspective is therefore timely. THB is a highly contentious and complicated area for regulation, with issues such as the support of the victims of trafficking, the particular needs of under-aged trafficked individuals, and the issues of due process when a witness may not be considered to be reliable during court proceedings, complicating operation...
The key functional operability in the pre-Lisbon PJCCM pillar 1 of the EU is the exchange of inte... more The key functional operability in the pre-Lisbon PJCCM pillar 1 of the EU is the exchange of intelligence and information amongst the law enforcement bodies of the EU. The twin issues of data protection and data security within what was the EU's third pillar legal framework therefore come to the fore. With the Lisbon Treaty reform of the EU, and the increased role of the Commission in PJCCM policy areas, and the integration of the PJCCM provisions with what have traditionally been the pillar I activities of Frontex, the opportunity for streamlining the data protection and data security provisions of the law enforcement bodies of the post-Lisbon EU arises. This is recognised by the Commission in their drafting of an amending regulation for Frontex 2 , when they say that they would prefer "to return to the question of personal data in the context of the overall strategy for information exchange to be presented later this year and also taking into account the reflection to be ...
With increasing globalization, transnational crime in general, and human trafficking in particula... more With increasing globalization, transnational crime in general, and human trafficking in particular, a design of new legal framework is required in order to effectively operationalize interstate law enforcement operations and prosecutions. The development of a transnational criminal legal framework—or frameworks—can build on pre-existing transnational economic frameworks. There is also the need to extend the application of domestic law beyond national borders to influence transnational corporate behavior. Regulations based on reflexive law are one possible approach. Teubner's idea of reflexive law has been informing developments in this area. This approach uses traditional national law to inform corporate governance strategies in order to achieve effects on the market. A few jurisdictions have already adopted measures modeled on this approach to tackle human trafficking and slavery-like conditions in global supply chains. Weaknesses in the approaches adopted by the UK and the Sta...
The agricultural policies of the Member States of the EC have for many years now been controlled ... more The agricultural policies of the Member States of the EC have for many years now been controlled from Brussels under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). In recent years the CAP has, together with other policies of the EC, been refocused from crop production support to a European rural policy, with the term ‘sustainability’ being written into many policy documents. This term has achieved international recognition and the definition used by the Brundtland Commission has been widely accepted, as evidenced by its use in OECD documentation. While the term ‘sustainability’ has been written into World Trade Organisation (WTO) texts, the robustness of the term is questionable. The question then arises as to the legal interaction of WTO texts and multilateral environmental agreements, which do have ‘sustainability’ as their core philosophy. A new term has entered the regional and global debate in the policy area of agriculture, that of ‘multifunctionality’. The EC is increasingly defining ...
At first sight the Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Comme... more At first sight the Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters, Brussels 1968, (more commonly known as, and hereinafter referred to as the Brussels Convention) has all the appearances of being just another piece of EC law, dreamt up in Brussels by the vast European Union machinery pursuant to the Treaty of Rome as amended. Upon further examination, however, it becomes apparent that this document does not fall into any of the tidy boxes, of Regulation, Directive or Decision that usually account for the emanations from Brussels. This piece is not the product of the Council or the Commission. It is, in fact, an international treaty between the then Member States of the European Economic Community in 1968, as independent and sovereign states, to be subsequently amended and endorsed by each of the new Member States upon accession to, what is now known as, the European Union.
The European Union (EU)'s current provisions on the trafficking in human beings (THB) are pro... more The European Union (EU)'s current provisions on the trafficking in human beings (THB) are provided for, inter alia, in Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA. The Council of Europe have more recent provisions in this area, which are not yet widely in force. The EU has some major proposals for reform of its legal framework in the Stockholm Programme, to include the appointment of an EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator. In addition, the focus of EU Justice and Home Affairs is shifting to the external relations of the EU under the Stockholm Programme. A critical examination of the EU legal framework in the area of THB from a law enforcement perspective is therefore timely. THB is a highly contentious and complicated area for regulation, with issues such as the support of the victims of trafficking, the particular needs of under-aged trafficked individuals, and the issues of due process when a witness may not be considered to be reliable during court proceedings, complicating operation...
EU External Relations Law and Policy in the Post-Lisbon Era , 2011
The growth of the European Union (EU) from a small regional coordinating organisation devoted to ... more The growth of the European Union (EU) from a small regional coordinating organisation devoted to the management of coal and steel resources into a global political actor with a full range of power resources and unique responsibilities represents one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of international organisation. No other regional organisation on the planet has managed to take on so many of the traditional governing functions of its Member States while simultaneously developing its own power projection capabilities, involving trade policy, development and humanitarian aid, economic and financial sanctions, diplomacy and good offices, policing forces, and military forces. This achievement is even more remarkable when one considers the uneven and even disorganised institutional history of European integration, which involves numerous actors with a wide range of power resources, policy interests, and institutional preferences for various forms of European integration. These actors involve not just institutions in Brussels and Luxembourg, such as the Commission and the European Court of Justice, but also national governments and policymakers, private firms, academics and think-tanks, concerned citizens, and other interested players, all organised in dense webs of formal and informal networks across the EU and beyond. Despite this diffusion of actors, or perhaps because of it, European integration is critically dependent on the emergence of rules to govern the activities of these players, in the form of customs, norms, international treaties, regulations, and other laws at the EU and national levels. This system of law has been associated primarily with, and instigated by, the steady development of the single European market since the 1950s. However, as the EU's global ambitions have increased, so has its concern with the overall purpose and effectiveness of its various international activities. The EU is paying more attention than ever before to the external impact of European integration, and in areas well beyond the more traditional-for the EU-trade and economic development policy domains. This concern to improve the overall coherence of the EU's foreign policies was a major impetus behind the failed effort to
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