Beware of Courts Bearing Gifts: Transparency and the Court of Justice of the European Union

This article reconsiders the principle of transparency in the European Union (EU) legal order and takes as its focal point the contribution of the EU Courts as regards the presumptions of non-disclosure of EU documents. The aim is to investigate the role played by the judiciary in relation to a twofold question: How open can the Union’s decision-making be, and is it possible for citizens to participate in the decision-making process of EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies? The article argues that accountability deficits in the field of access to documents have been filled, to an extent, by the EU Courts’ imposition of boundaries on the broad derogations to the right of access to documents. But nevertheless, the article concludes that the establishment through the case law of general presumptions against openness has fundamentally weakened the standards of accountability. Rather regrettably, although the EU legislature set the default position to the widest access to documents, this has been reversed to non-disclosure by the EU judiciary as regards non-legislative documents

Reassessing the accountability of EU decentralized agencies: Mind the Independence Gap

This article examines two recent developments to ensure accountability and independence of the EU’s decentralized agencies: the ‘Common Approach’ adopted by the EU’s political institutions, and the ESMA judgment on the validity of the rules delegating extensive power to an EU agency. The article argues that first of all, the Common Approach strengthens the accountability and independence of EU agencies, yet it is not being sufficiently implemented and as such it fails to mitigate the accountability and independence deficits inherent in EU agencies. Secondly, it argues that ESMA strengthens the independence of the EU’s financial authorities at the expense of failing to address the existing accountability problem. On the whole, these developments are disappointing and fall far short of ensuring a coherent and effective system for safeguarding the agencies’ accountability and independence

'Beware of Courts Bearing Gifts'

In dit artikel wordt het beginsel van transparantie in de rechtsorde van de Europese Unie (EU) opnieuw onder de loep genomen, met als vertrekpunt de rol van het Hof van Justitie van de EU met betrekking tot de “presumptions of non-disclosure” van EU-documenten. Doel van deze bijdrage is te onderzoeken welke rol de rechterlijke macht speelt in relatie tot de volgende, tweeledige vraag: Hoe open kan het besluitvormingsproces binnen de Unie zijn, en is het mogelijk voor burgers om deel te nemen aan het besluitvormingsproces van instellingen, organen en andere instanties? Dit artikel beargumenteert dat gebreken in accountability terzake het recht op toegang tot documenten tot op bepaalde hoogte zijn opgevuld doordat het EU-Hof beperkingen stelt aan ruim geformuleerde afwijkingen van dit recht. Niettemin luidt de conclusie van dit artikel dat de accountability standaarden verslechterd zijn als gevolg van vaste jurisprudentie over algemene aannames ("presumptions") tegen openheid. Hoewel de EU-wetgever de standaardpositie heeft gesteld op een zo ruim mogelijke toegang tot documenten, in de rechtspraak is dit helaas teruggedraaid naar geheimhouding, in het bijzonder met betrekking tot niet-wetgevende documenten

Electronic and Paper-Based Teaching Portfolios: Student Perceptions and Recommendations

This paper documents a yearlong pilot study, conducted by teacher education faculty, to evaluate methods for creating, sustaining, and assessing teaching portfolios. Selected issues with paper-based and software-based programs are compared. Key design, instructional, and procedural problems that arose during this study are discussed as well. The findings of this study support the need for a flexible electronic portfolio system in which students play a key role in the design, development, and content of their portfolios as well as the need for a clearly articulated academic purpose and requirements for the teaching portfolio with implications for students in all disciplines

What did we learn from the eco-mobility festival?

Historically the South African transport system has been skewed towards car use, particularly in affluent urban areas. ?The car? has become a symbol of prosperity for the masses, where people opt for private cars over public transport at the first available opportunity. Changing preferences and behaviour in favour of sustainable transport modes requires a mind shift. A more sustainable, eco-mobile transport model is required to support Johannesburg?s growth. Eco-mobility is an environmentally friendly, socially inclusive way of moving, that aims to decongest major cities by reducing the number of private cars on the roads to allow freer movement of people. The Eco-mobility Festival, held in Sandton in October 2015, presented an opportunity to demonstrate that alternative modes of transport are just as relevant as private vehicles. The month long festival comprised of road closures for private cars in favour of more sustainable modes of transport such as walking, cycling, public transport and other low carbon mobility systems. Traffic and transport data was collected before and during the festival to evaluate the success, or not, of the Eco-mobility Festival. In this paper a review of the impact of the Eco-mobility Festival on Sandton travel patterns and behaviours is presented.Paper presented at the 35th Annual Southern African Transport Conference 4-7 July 2016 "Transport ? a catalyst for socio-economic growth and development opportunities to improve quality of life", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.The Minister of Transport, South AfricaTransportation Research Board of the US

Progress and Trends in Artificial Silk Spinning: A Systematic Review

More than 400 million years of natural selection acting throughout the arthropoda has resulted in highly specialized and energetically efficient processes to produce protein-based fibers with properties that are a source of inspiration for all. As a result, for over 80 years researchers have been inspired by natural silk production in their attempts to spin artificial silks. While significant progress has been made, with fibers now regularly outperforming silkworm silks, surpassing the properties of superior silks, such as spider dragline, is still an area of considerable effort. This review provides an overview of the different approaches for artificial silk fiber spinning and compares all published fiber properties to date which has identified future trends and challenges on the road towards replicating high performance silks