EU competition law enforcement: Is Brussels I suited to dealing with all the challenges?

There are arguments indicating that Brussels I could be applicable to cross-border competition law proceedings before a National Competition Authority located in one Member State and private EU competition law proceedings before another Member State court. However, an analysis of the current private international law framework appears to indicate that Brussels I is not well suited to deal with the difficulties that could arise in this context. Given the fact that, in the new proposal for a regulation on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments there is no indication that special jurisdictional bases for competition law actions in the successor to Brussels I are on anyone’s agenda, an option for a reform may be setting up a new and special regulation to be applicable with regard to EU competition law claims only

Empowering customer engagement by informative billing: a European approach

Programmes aimed at improving end-use energy efficiency are a keystone in the market strategies of leading distribution system operators (DSOs) and energy retail companies and are increasing in application, soon expected to become a mainstream practice. Informative services based on electricity meter data collected for billing are powerful tools for energy savings in scale and increase customer engagement with the energy suppliers enabling the deployment of demand response programmes helping to optimise distribution grid operation. These services are completely in line with Europe’s 2020 strategy for overall energy performance improvement (cf. directives 2006/32/EC, 2009/72/EC, 2012/27/EU). The Intelligent Energy Europe project EMPOWERING involves 4 European utilities and an international team of university researchers, social scientists and energy experts for developing and providing insight based services and tools for 344.000 residential customers in Austria, France, Italy and Spain. The project adopts a systematic iterative approach of service development based on envisaging the utilities’, customers’ and legal requirements, and incorporates the feedback from testing in the design process. The technological solution provided by the leading partner CIMNE is scalable open source Big Data Analytics System coupled with the DSO’s information systems and delivering a range of value adding services for the customer, such as: - comparison with similar households - indications of performance improvements over time - consumption-weather dependence - detailed consumption visualisation and breakdown - personalised energy saving tips - alerts (high consumption, high bill, extreme temperature, etc.) The paper presents the development approach, describes the ICT system architecture and analyses the legal and regulatory context for providing this kind of services in the European Community. The limitations for third party data access, customer consent and data privacy are discussed, and how these have been overcome with the implementation of the “privacy by design” principle is explained

Cross-Border Litigation in England and Wales: Pre-Brexit Data and Post-Brexit Implications

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this record.In the pre-Brexit era, England has established itself as one of the dominant jurisdictions for the resolution of cross-border disputes in the European Union (and the world). The legal regime in relation to private international law (PIL) in England and Wales has been significantly influenced by the EU PIL framework that was adopted at EU level. The United Kingdom decision to leave the EU might have significant implications for the parties’ access to justice in cross-border cases. This paper aims to devise a theoretical framework that is necessary to evaluate the potential impact of the UK’s decision to leave the EU on the private parties’ access to legal remedies. To this end, the author relies on empirical (qualitative) data that was gathered in 2015 and early 2016 in the context of the EU Private International Law: Legal Application in Reality (‘EUPILLAR’) project, indicating how the current EU PIL framework is functioning in England and Wales. An analysis of the way the parties’ strategies are devised under the current EU PIL regime helps in identifying the aspects which need to be considered, in order to set the research agenda and ascertain how the legal landscape in relation to PIL should be revised in the post-Brexit era

Global competition law framework: A private international law solution needed

There are a significant number of national competition law systems which prohibit anti-competitive behaviour. The cross-border nature of many antitrust/competition law infringements leaves no doubt that parallel and related competition law proceedings will arise. Competition laws enjoy public policy character, and as a result are regarded as mandatory provisions of the forum. The extra-territorial application of mandatory antitrust law provisions does suggest that different sets of competition laws may be applicable depending on where the competition law proceedings are taking place. Since there may often be a conflict of competition laws, there are complex issues which must be addressed in a global context. This article demonstrates that a private international law tool, which aims to preserve the diverse national competition law cultures, may be used as a new mode of governance in a global context. Such an instrument could/should take account of the competition laws of the countries that have legitimate interests to regulate the relevant business activities. Given the high costs for achieving harmonised competition laws in a global context, agreeing upon a private international law instrument with a view to coordinating cross-border competition law proceedings may be a more realistic objective to be pursued by the international community

Governance aspects of cross-border EU competition actions: theoretical and practical challenges

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.The authors have aimed to produce a theoretical model which considers the choice of governance design of cross-border EU competition law actions. To this end, they have analysed the current litigation pattern (and litigants’ strategies). On this basis, the specific issues which arise in cross-border EU competition law actions have been identified with a view to proposing an appropriate course for any reform in the area. A mix of research methods have been used - in addition to employing traditional library based legal research methods, opinions of legal practitioners from England and Germany and policy-makers from Brussels have been considered. The article demonstrates that, given the diverse nature of the European Union, a new mode of governance should be used by the EU legislator in order to close the EU competition law enforcement gap. The authors suggest that Regulation 1/2003 should incorporate a specifically designated private international law mechanism which promotes inter-jurisdictional regulatory competition in the area of EU competition law dispute resolution, and produces efficient enforcement results in a multi-level system of governance. It has been submitted that some of the specific problems that arise may be best addressed by appropriately drafted private international rules which address inter alia the low mobility of consumers and SMEs

Measuring the effectiveness of the EU civil justice framework: Theoretical and methodological challenges

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.A number of harmonised private international law instruments appear to be the foundation of the whole EU civil justice framework, which primarily aims to provide effective remedies for litigants in cross-border cases. Given the level of diversity across the EU, a major feature of the EU legal landscape is the triangular relationship between the allocation of jurisdiction and identification of applicable law, on the one hand, and the available remedy, on the other hand. It appears that, when it comes to the administration of justice in a cross-border context within the EU, this triangular relationship encompasses the ability of the Member States’ courts to deal with cross-border disputes which may be important for the forum selection process. An EU model of administration of justice, which allows litigants to choose where to litigate, may result in some jurisdictions being promoted as dominant. This can only happen, of course, because the EU has already created free movement of judgments in large areas of commercial and family law. Once a judgment has been secured in any one EU Member State it should be enforceable in all others with little or no hindrance. However, litigants may have to consider where a judgment is to be actually enforced given that the rules on actual enforcement are not harmonised in the EU (this may be particularly significant in relation to family law disputes). The dominant jurisdictions could be attracting more cross-border cases, and thus some jurisdictions may become a venue of choice for the high value cross-border disputes. It is important to assess, on the basis of relevant empirical data, how the current EU Civil Justice framework is shaping the litigants’ strategies and whether the objectives of the EU PIL legislative instruments are effectively pursued in a cross-border context. An empirical study is underway in several Member States, with different legal traditions/heritages

Analytical modeling of micelle growth. 2. Molecular thermodynamics of mixed aggregates and scission energy in wormlike micelles

Hypotheses: Quantitative molecular-thermodynamic theory of the growth of giant wormlike micelles in mixed nonionic surfactant solutions can be developed on the basis of a generalized model, which includes the classical phase separation and mass action models as special cases. The generalized model describes spherocylindrical micelles, which are simultaneously multicomponent and polydisperse in size. Theory: The model is based on explicit analytical expressions for the four components of the free energy of mixed nonionic micelles: interfacial-tension, headgroup-steric, chain-conformation components and free energy of mixing. The radii of the cylindrical part and the spherical endcaps, as well as the chemical composition of the endcaps, are determined by minimization of the free energy. Findings: In the case of multicomponent micelles, an additional term appears in the expression for the micelle growth parameter (scission free energy), which takes into account the fact that the micelle endcaps and cylindrical part have different compositions. The model accurately predicts the mean mass aggregation number of wormlike micelles in mixed nonionic surfactant solutions without using any adjustable parameters. The endcaps are enriched in the surfactant with smaller packing parameter that is better accommodated in regions of higher mean surface curvature. The model can be further extended to mixed solutions of nonionic, ionic and zwitterionic surfactants used in personal-care and house-hold detergency

Challenges to integrated care for mental disorders in Bulgaria

The rapid rate of population aging and the rising number of people with chronic diseases and mental disorders worldwide and in Bulgaria is a prerequisite for the transformation of episodic fragmented services into integrated care. One of the challenges that psychiatric care in our country is facing is related to the need to improve coordination and communication between the professionals and institutions from the health and social sector. The implementation of integrated mental health care programs will help with the integration of patients with mental disorders, improve their quality of life and overcome their social isolation. The publication uses a documentary and historical method for analysis of publications in the period 1999-2019 on the topic of integrated and psychiatric care

Cross-border litigation: Evaluating the Brexit impact – a socio-legal model for data analysis

This is the final version. Available on open access from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this recordData availability: The relevant data is deposited with the UK Data Archive - M. Danov, ‘Data Collection - Cross-border litigation in England and Wales: Initial Brexit implications 2016-2018’ Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service 10.5255/UKDA-SN-853743.The data associated with this article is available via the UK Data Service at http://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-853743The UK decision to leave the European Union could directly impact on the application of the EU private international law (‘PIL’) instruments in the UK. Any fresh legal uncertainty driven by such a change in the legal landscape in relation to PIL could have significant impact on private parties’ access to remedies. This article proposes a socio-legal model for measuring the Brexit impact on litigants’ access to legal remedies. In order to systematically identify the important issues (which need to be considered by policy-makers as priority in this context), the proposed theoretical model is developed around the litigants’ strategies. The advanced model has two major features. First, it is set to analyse the triangular relationship between: 1) jurisdiction (procedural rules); 2) choice of law (applicable substantive laws); 3) outcome of a cross-border case. Secondly, the relevant claimants’ and defendants’ strategies in cross-border cases are thoroughly considered by taking a game theoretic perspective.Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC