EU Law and the Discretion of Private National Decision-Makers, in Light of the Court’s Judgment in Case C-22/18, TopFit and Biffi

This contribution aims to introduce the reader to a judgement from the Court of Justice which seems to broaden the scope of application of EU free movement rules to private regulatory bodies in two ways. On the one hand, this judgment expands our understanding of what type of private regulation can fall within this scope. On the other hand, it shows that EU law requires a private prior authorisation scheme to be infused with the same objectivity safeguards as those that have been required for public ones

Unga grisars sociala beteende

Studies on wild boars have shown that piglets at 10 to 12 days of age can be introduced to pigs outside the litter without fighting. In today's production systems, the litters are kept in separate pens until weaning. At that point, the litter is divided and the piglets are placed together with piglets from other litters. This usually leads to aggressions among the piglets and may cause stress. This literature review aims to find out how piglets perceive other pigs in their surroundings. Which is the best way to guarantee a good start of the rearing period for the piglets? Piglets who have been introduced to pigs outside the litter during the period of suckling will likely be less aggressive when introduced to new individuals later on. From an animal welfare point of view, it may therefore be concluded that it is better to let piglets socialize with pigs outside their litter at an early age. Each time a pig enters or leaves the group, a new social hierarchy has to be established. This usually causes aggression within the group. It is therefore best, when the time comes for slaughter, that all pigs from the group are sent simultaneously to the abattoir

Omfattande skydd för personuppgifter trumfar missriktad öppenhetsprincip

De förenade målen C-92/09 och C-93/09, Volker und Markus Schecke, gäller uppgifter som jordbruksstöd till enskilda bönder som publicerats på internet. Målen avser en rad frågor från en tysk domstol som tagit en klart kritisk ställning till hur EU:s sekundärrätt har utformats i förhållande till skyddet för privatliv och skyddet för personuppgifter. EU-domstolen ansåg att kritiken (åtminstone delvis) var befogad och ogiltigförklarade således en rad bestämmelser som antagits för att säkerställa offentlighetsprincipen i relation till EU:s jordbruksfinansiering. Domen avser en känslig avvägning mellan offentlighetsprincipen och integritetsskyddet. Domstolen visar sig villig att ta avvägningen i egna händer och agera förkämpe för integritetsskyddet. Offentlighetsprincipens funktion och betydelse för det demokratiska EU-bygget tycks dock ha förringats och bortprioriterats

API-fallet - ett nederlag för Sverige och för öppenheten inom EU

API-fallet sammanförde tre överklaganden av förstainstansrättens avgörande i ett mål om tillgång till kommissionens inlagor. Fallet handlade ytterst om huruvida och under vilka omständigheter som kommissionen enligt öppenhetsförordningen är skyldig att på begäran lämna ut sina inlagor i rättsliga förfaranden vid EU-domstolen. Förutom dessa tekniska frågor aktualiserar API-fallet även mer övergripande frågor om öppenhet inom EU, särskilt avseende rättsliga processer vid EU-domstolen. EU-domstolens dom i fallet utgör en del av en mycket medveten (och mindre öppenhetsvänlig) nytolkning av öppenhetsförordningen

The Many (Mis)readings of the Laval Case

Revisiting the Laval case through a discourse analysis of how it has been portrayed in legal doctrine

Structural guarantees for the state aid field. The community's last best hope against national arbitrariness

In line with current tendencies of ‘new modes of governance’, this essay introduces judicial tools, which strike a balance between the respect for national autonomy in individual assessments and the effective implementation of Community law. The balance is struck through the demands of structural guarantees; administrative safeguards, which weed out arbitrary national decision-making. These administrative safeguards are particularly needed in areas where the Member States of the EU have been granted a wide margin of discretion. Examples of demands for structural guarantees are the provision of transparent and accessible legislation and administrative procedures based on objective criteria, as well as the access to effective judicial review. Together, they create a system of checks to prevent the discretion from turning into arbitrariness. All of these demands are ultimately emanating from the principle of rule of law, on which the European Community is said to be founded. The existence of the demands for structural guarantees, unfortunately constituting somewhat of an elusive ‘non-concept’ in legal doctrine, is firmly established in this essay – through a study of their nature, as well as their functioning. The use of structural guarantees, as a tool of judicial review, is legitimised through their umbilical cord to the rule of law. Different emanations of the rule of law; exemplified by the principle of equality, effectiveness, as well as other general principles of Community law (GPCL), are presented to give a comprehensive overview of the substantive content of the structural guarantees. As the function of the structural guaranteesrequirements in a judicial review is, inevitably, linked to that of GPCL in general, the latter is used as a starting-point for the examination of the function of structural guarantees. The case-law of the ECJ has been researched to provide a cross-section of relevant examples of how the structural guarantees work as a judicial tool, in practice. To conclude the probe into the specific function of structural guarantees, the particular importance of this judicial tool, in cases of high Member State discretion, is accentuated. To further exemplify the introduction of structural guarantees, by the ECJ, the developments concerning compensation of services of general economic interest (SGEIs) are presented. The focal point being the structural demands of the Altmark case, which are, subsequently, examined and analysed against the intended function of structural guarantees

EU-domstolens nya rättegångsregler

En kort presentation av de rättegångsregler för EU-domstolen som trädde i kraft den 1 november 2012. Artikeln behandlar företrädesvis uppdateringen av den interna organisationen, förutsättningarna för kortare handläggningstider och de tydligare kraven på nationella domstolar. I artikeln ifrågasätts även huruvida de nya reglerna skappar förutsättningar för mer eller mindre öppenhet

Structural guarantees - the Union's last best hope against national arbitrariness

In line with current tendencies of ‘new governance’, this article will introduce a novel judicial tool which strikes a balance between the respect for national assessments and the effective implementation of Union law. This balance can be struck through the demands of structural guarantees; administrative safeguards, which weed out arbitrary national decision-making. The provision of transparent and accessible legislation, administrative procedures based on objective criteria, as well as the access to effective judicial review are all specific examples of structural guarantees. Together they create a system of checks to prevent discretion from turning into arbitrariness. All of these demands are ultimately emanating from the principle of the rule of law. They are not concerned with assessments of individual cases, but rather ensure the soundness of the legal system’s inbuilt administrative structures. Structural guarantees-requirements have proved to be a much needed complement to already existing legal tools of judicial review, such as that of proportionality. Such administrative safeguards are, as will be illustrated through the course of this article, particularly needed in areas where the Member States of the EU have been granted a wide margin of discretion. Unfortunately, the structural guarantees have represented somewhat of an elusive ‘non-concept’. Through this article, I attempt to firmly establish the existence, nature and function of the demands for structural guarantees