Disintegration Through Law?

This is certainly not the most propitious time to publish a Journal on "Law and Integration". It is disintegration, not integration, that seems to be the dominant motive behind the contemporary events in Europe; it is the panacea offered to soothe the fears raised by the multiple crises which hold the present state of Europe in a tight grip; it is the invisible thread keeping together the anxieties which underlie the scholarly discussions about its future. It is not our task to determine the multifarious factors, of a social, political or cultural nature, which led to the current state of things. But the analysis of law as a possible disintegration factor would clearly be part of our brief. In all its aspects, the EU-Turkey Statement of 18 March 2016 on the large influx of migrants and asylum seekers in Greece seems to be exploiting the potentialities offered by international law as an alternative decision- making procedure within the EU legal system. This is not a completely unexplored road. The Brexit agreement, adopted by the Member States, acting within the European Council on 18 and 19 February 2016 equally seems to subvert the very mission of the founding treaties: to create an ever closer Union. Even with respect to this precedent, however, the EU-Turkey Statement seems to go one step further as it represents a visible example of the creeping modifications of the EU legal and political system, which almost inadvertently happens with the abdicant consent of the other political EU Institutions. This use of international instruments has the effect of disregarding the European institutional balance upon which the acquis européen has developed and which, with all its limits, constitutes the legacy of the first phase of the European integration. It may shift the centre of gravity to the Member States, the unmoved movers of the European legal universe. It may subdue the institutional pluralism, which has represented the hallmark of the political experience of the European integration, and create, instead, an institutional desert, where the political power is concentrated in the hand of the States acting through the European Council. It may mark the return to a Europe of sovereign States and the definite disappearance of the notion of a European public interest, of which we are in desperate need

Proportionality and Margin of Appreciation in the Whaling Case. Reconciling Antithetical Doctrines?

In its decision on the Whaling in the Antarctic case, the International Court of Justice used a sophisticated methodology for assessing the legality of a whaling program allegedly designed to pursue purposes of scientific research. Based on the combination of two instruments – margin of appreciation and proportionality review – this methodology ultimately enabled the Court to reconcile apparently divergent needs: to grant a measure of discretion to states in determining their domestic policy requirements and to exert an international control over discretionary powers. From a theoretical viewpoint, this approach can have farreaching implications and contribute to untie some still unresolved knots of the proportionality doctrine

Denialism as the Supreme Expression of Realism. A Quick Comment on NF v. European Council

By Order of 28 February 2017 in case T-192/16, NF v. European Council, the General Court dismissed as inadmissible an action for annulment brought against the s.c. EU-Turkey deal concluded on 18 March 2016. In the view of the General Court, independently of its binding nature, the deal is to be attributed to the Member States and not to the EU. This Insight examines the technical shortcomings of this conclusion, and its controversial political wisdom

The Thousand Cataluñas of Europe

Irrespective of the perspective from which one looks at the Catalonian events, which are still unfolding under our incredulous eyes, the impression can only be univocal: Spain is right and Catalonia is wrong. The claim of the Spanish Government to preserve the unity of the nation is well founded; conversely, the independence proclaimed by the Catalonian Government amounts to an extra ordinem revolutionary act. This is the conclusion that must be naturally drawn from an inquiry conducted on the basis of Spanish Constitutional law. This would inevitably also be the conclusion to be drawn from an international law perspective. The question thus arises as to whether in European law this monolithic representation of statehood can be attenuated in favour of institutional solutions that reflect more faithfully the pluralistic nature of the modern forms of State. The adoption of a pluralistic representation of States within the EU, and in particular, a transformation of the composition of the Council into a permanent body, including not only representatives of the Governments of the Member States, but also of their National Parliaments and, where present, also of their sub-national communities, may considerably defuse the tendency to independentism that is still present around Europe

Neither Representation nor Taxation? Or, “Europe’s Moment” – Part I

This editorial applies the principle "No Taxation without Representation" to the European Union and uses the paradigm underlying it to analyze the "Europe's Moment" entails by the the Next Generation EU project

DETERMINATION OF CO AND MN IN MARINE WATERS USING FLOW INJECTION WITH CHEMILUMINESCENCE DETECTION

This thesis describes the design, optimisation and shipboard deployment of a flow injection - chemiluminescence (FI-CL) technique for the determination of cobalt (Co) and manganese (Mn) in seawater. Chapter One presents an overview of the marine environment and the biogeochemistry of Co and Mn. Current analytical methods for the determination of Co and Mn in natural waters are also reviewed. Chapter Two reports reagent clean-up techniques and the synthesis of an 8- hydroxyquinoline resin used for in-line matrix elimination and preconcentration. The resin is also characterised in terms of its chelating ability for the transition metals and the earth alkaline metals. A new column design is also presented. Chapter Three details the optimisation of a FI-CL system for the determination of Co in seawater. The method described is based on a new chemistry whereby CL emission is produced by oxidation of pyrogallol with hydrogen peroxide in alkaline medium in the presence of CTAB and MeOH. Chapter Four details the optimisation of a FI-CL system for the determination of Mn in seawater. The method chosen involved the luminous oxidation of 7,7,8,8- tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) by dissolved O2. The weak chemiluminescence of TCNQ is effectively sensitised by Eosin Y in DDAB. In Chapter Five the application of the FI-CL method to the shipboard determination of Co in the western North Sea is presented together with results from the determination of Mn in the western North Sea samples after the cruise. Co and Mn profiles are shown for all the geographical area investigated. The data from an entire tidal cycle of the Humber are also shown. Chapter Six presents the results of an intercomparison exercise. Co and Mn have been measured with different analytical techniques: FI-CL, AdCSV, and ICP-MS. The method developed for Co has been adapted in order to measure the concentration of Co in samples from the Scheldt estuary with an integrated luminometer at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles

The present and future of jus cogens

This book gathers the contributions presented to the first edition of the Gaetano Morelli Lectures, held in the Spring of 2014. In presenting this initiative, also on behalf of my colleagues, Paolo Palchetti and Beatrice Bonafè, I wrote: “The aim of the Lectures is to offer conceptual tools for appraising controversial knots of international law in its continuing development. There is a lot of sense, in our view, for doing this. International law is one of the branches of legal science where the pressing need for change goes hand in hand with the persistencen of its basic legal paradigms. It is this unique blend of theory and practice, of tradition and innovation, which makes international law so challenging and ultimately explains its ongoing intellectual fascination”. This sentence condenses our shared view of the Lectures and, more generally, our vision of legal research, as an incessant collective reflection capable to shake continuously our most consolidated ideas and preconceptions. This is the reason which led us to choose jus cogens as the topic for the first edition of the Lectures. Jus cogens is not only a “classical accomplished” of international law. It is, first and foremost, a litmus test for its future development, situated at the crossroad from where diverse perspectives depart: one which leads back to the traditional bilateralist conception; another, at the other end of the spectrum, which leads to new and still unexplored territories, where the common values of mankind unfold all their potentialities. Jus cogens appears thus to be a fascinating yet treacherous topic, perpetually in search of a legal paradigm able to capture all its infinite implications

Determinants of arterial and central venous blood pressure variation in ventilated critically ill children

Purpose: Ventilation-induced arterial pressure variation predicts volume responsiveness in adults. Several factors are known to influence the interpretability of these variations. We analysed ventilation-induced variations in critically ill children with reference to ventilatory and circulatory parameters. Methods: We prospectively included 20 paediatric patients. Variation of systolic pressure (SPV), pulse pressure (PPV) and central venous pressure (CVP) were assessed during pressure-controlled ventilation with inspiratory pressures (P insp) of 20 and 28cmH2O. Blood gases were analysed and echocardiography was performed. Results: SPV, PPV and CVP variation significantly increased with elevated P insp (p<0.001, p=0.008 and p=0.003). Baseline CVP and shortening fraction were significant negative predictors of PPV and SPV. Conclusion: This preliminary study identified P insp as a determinant of SPV, PPV and CVP variation in children. Further independent determinants of SPV and PPV were baseline CVP and ventricular performance, both of which must be considered when interpreting pressure variation

Antithrombin activity in children with chylothorax

Objective: To determine whether increased antithrombin loss is present in children with chylothorax after cardiac surgery. Methods: Plasma and pleural effusion samples of children with chylous and non-chylous pleural effusion were assayed for antithrombin activity. Results: Ten children with chylothorax and five children with non-chylous pleural effusion were investigated. There was statistically significant increase in mean antithrombin activity in chylous samples (32.2 ± 11.4%) compared to non-chylous samples (14.4 ± 13.9%), and significant decrease in plasma of children with chylothorax (44.6 ± 15.4%) compared to children with non-chylous pleural effusion (69.9 ± 22.4%). Seven of 10 children with chylous and none of the children without chylous developed thrombosis (p < 0.007). Conclusions: Increased loss of antithrombin is present in children with chylothorax, potentially predisposing these children to an increased risk of thrombosis. Repeated antithrombin substitution should be considered in critically ill children with chylothora