Terrorism and the ECJ: Empowerment and Democracy in the EC Legal Order

In its judgment in Kadi & Al Barakaat International Foundation v Council (C-402/05 P & C-415/05 P) Not yet reported September 3, 2008, the ECJ held that the Community has competence to adopt economic sanctions not only against states but also against individuals on the basis of Arts 301, 60 and 308 EC. It also held that UN Security Council resolutions are binding only in international law and cannot take precedence over the Community’s internal standards for the protection of fundamental rights. The judgment raises some profound constitutional questions pertaining to the competence of the Community, its relationship with international law and the scope of fundamental rights protection. In parallel, in a number of cases culminating in its judgment of October 23, 2008 in People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran v Council (OMPI II) (T-256/07), the CFI has annulled anti-terrorist sanctions imposed by the European Community indicating a strong adherence to process rights. The purpose of this contribution is to discuss the above case law and its implications

Community Agencies, Competition Law and ECB Initiatives on Securities Settlement

ISBN: 9780199571253 ; waiting for copyright clarification from publisher (Tim?)ISBN: 9780199571253ISBN: 978019957125

Winners and losers in Luxembourg: A statistical analysis of judicial review before the European Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance (2001-2005)

Reproduced with permission of the publisher

Economic Sanctions, Procedural Rights and Judicial Scrutiny: Post-Kadi Developments

AbstractThe judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Kadi is of defining constitutional importance. The Court understood the EU Treaties (at the time, the EC Treaty) as establishing their own constitutional space, asserted the autonomy of EU law vis-à-vis international law and held that responses to emergencies should be handled through, rather than outside, the bounds of the EU Treaties. The judgment is predicated on liberal democratic ideals and views respect for legality as a sine qua non in times of emergency. This chapter seeks to discuss selected case law developments after Kadi. It focuses on the effect of invalidity of sanctions on third parties, issues pertaining to the validity and interpretation of Council Regulation 881/2002/EC, economic sanctions against nuclear proliferation and corresponding developments in the case law of the UK Supreme Court. It does not deal exhaustively with post-Kadi case law. Section I provides a brief introduction to the judgment in Kadi. Section II explores the effect of the ruling on third parties. Section III discusses a selection of recent case law of the Court of Justice and the General Court, and section IV explores in some detail the judgment of the UK Supreme Court in Jabar Ahmed.</jats:p

Populism and Central Bank Independence

The consensus that surrounded the granting of central bank independence in the pursuit of a price stability oriented monetary policy has been challenged in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, in the light of the rise of populism on the one hand and the expanded mandates of central banks on the other hand. After considering the economic case for independence and the three Ds (distributional, directional and duration effects), the paper examines three different dimensions in the debate of how the rise in populism - or simply general discontent with the status quo - affects central bank independence. Finally, the paper examines how to interpret the legality of central bank mandates, and whether or not central banks have exceeded their powers. This analysis leads us in turn to consider accountability and, in particular, the judicial review of central bank actions and decisions. It is important to have in place adequate mechanisms to "guard the guardians" of monetary and financial stability