AN INTERNAL MARKET FOR SERVICES – NATIONAL CONCERNS, EUROPEAN REGULATION, AND A PROPOSAL BY THE COMMISSION

The article analyses the difficulties in creating an internal market for services with special regard to the accession of the new Member States. Starting from the example of job losses in Germany that are blamed on the application of the freedom to provide services to the new Member States, the article goes on to describe the Commission’s proposal for a new directive on services in the internal market. The decision to withdraw the proposal in its original form is explained. Possible restrictions of the freedom are analysed with regard to the requirements which the ECJ has derived from the Treaty. On the basis of this case-law, fears of a ‘race to the bottom’ are analysed and regulatory options are assessed. It is con-cluded that the principle of mutual recognition has to be the basis of any solid attempt to cre-ate a functioning internal market also for services. Nevertheless, the fears existing in the old Member States – although at least partly unfounded – need to be taken seriously. Some form of harmonisation might be the price to be paid for making borders within the EU permeable to services

AN INTERNAL MARKET FOR SERVICES – NATIONAL CONCERNS, EUROPEAN REGULATION, AND A PROPOSAL BY THE COMMISSION

The article analyses the difficulties in creating an internal market for services with special regard to the accession of the new Member States. Starting from the example of job losses in Germany that are blamed on the application of the freedom to provide services to the new Member States, the article goes on to describe the Commission’s proposal for a new directive on services in the internal market. The decision to withdraw the proposal in its original form is explained. Possible restrictions of the freedom are analysed with regard to the requirements which the ECJ has derived from the Treaty. On the basis of this case-law, fears of a ‘race to the bottom’ are analysed and regulatory options are assessed. It is con-cluded that the principle of mutual recognition has to be the basis of any solid attempt to cre-ate a functioning internal market also for services. Nevertheless, the fears existing in the old Member States – although at least partly unfounded – need to be taken seriously. Some form of harmonisation might be the price to be paid for making borders within the EU permeable to services

Föderalismusbilder im Wandel - Rechtliche Perspektiven zwischen Empirie und Ideologie

Der deutsche Föderalismus ist seit den 1960er Jahren mit höchst unterschiedlichen Bildern charakterisiert worden: vom unitarischen Bundesstaat über den kooperativen Föderalismus zum Wettbewerbsföderalismus und bis hin zu den stark durch die Forderung nach Entflechtung beeinflussten Föderalismusreformen der Jahre 2006 und 2009. Der Beitrag untersucht die Abfolge aus juristischer Sicht. Die verschiedenen, die Föderalismusdiskussion prägenden Bilder werden im Lichte der Entwicklung des Grundgesetzes und der verfassungsgerichtlichen Rechtsprechung beschrieben.Since the 1960ies, the German federalism has been characterized by various images: from unitary and co-operative federalism to competitive federalism and further to the 2006 and 2009 reforms of federalism strongly influenced by demands for disentanglement. The article examines these developments from a legal perspective. The various metaphors dominating the discourse on federalism are described in the light of the constitutional development and of judgements by the constitutional court

Verwaltungskontrolle als Daueraufgabe der Verwaltungsgerichtsbarkeit

From a social science perspective, there is hardly any doubt that administrative courts exercise a controlling function over the decision-making of public administrations. In German public administration, a number of legal as well as factual mechanisms expand the influence of judicial scrutiny. The legalistic tradition brings about a recruiting system that generally favours applicants with a background in legal studies. These officials tend to apply the legal reasoning of the courts irrespective of any formally binding character. In contrast, according to the German constitution and to the relevant rules of procedure the task of the administrative courts is not general control, but the protection of individuals whose rights have been infringed by the administration. There is no basis for a concept of judicial control that focuses on a functional, rather than an individual perspective. Consequently, it is hardly possible to conceptualise control as a permanent judicial task. Nevertheless, most of the rules that restrict the role of the courts are subject to exceptions (that were, incidentally, developed by the same courts). Moreover, a number of modern developments tend to demand, or enable, the judicial control of executive action. So while each individual mechanism that expands the role of the courts towards a concept of general control does not seem significant in itself, taken together those mechanisms paint a telling picture: situations in which the administration knows that its actions will not be subject to judicial control are extremely rare

Zum Zustand der repräsentativen Demokratie

Hat die repräsentative Demokratie überhaupt noch eine Zukunft? Und wie ist ihr Zustand? Diese Fragen sind Gegenstand des vorliegenden Bandes, der sich mit dem Verhältnis von repräsentativer und direkter Demokratie befasst. Oftmals wird der repräsentativen Demokratie bescheinigt, sie sei nicht mehr zeitgemäß. Aber handelt es sich bei direkter Demokratie wirklich um eine Form 'demokratischerer' Demokratie? Diese Annahme lässt sich aus guten Gründen bezweifeln, wie die versammelten Beiträge mithilfe juristischer und sozialempirischer Erkenntnisse zeigen. In jedem Fall lassen sich beide Demokratieformen nicht gegeneinander ausspielen. Wie man sie möglicherweise kombinieren kann, zeigen einige Beispiele aus Hamburg.Der vorliegende Band versammelt die Grußworte und Vorträge des Festkolloquiums, das von den Herausgebern zu Ehren von Hans Peter Bull am 28. Oktober 2016 in Hamburg veranstaltet wurde

Die Neuregelung zur Verwalterabberufung im Lichte des Verfassungsrechts

Jacoby F, Mehde V. Die Neuregelung zur Verwalterabberufung im Lichte des Verfassungsrechts. ZMR - Zeitschrift für Miet- und Raumrecht. 2021;74(8):625-636

Zum Zustand der repräsentativen Demokratie

Wie ist es um die repräsentative Demokratie in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland bestellt? Handelt es sich bei direkter Demokratie wirklich um eine Form 'demokratischerer' Demokratie? Ist Transparenz wirklich ein Allheilmittel? Und wie könnten gelungene Beispiele einer Kombination derartiger Verfahren und Instrumente aussehen? Diesen Fragen widmet sich der vorliegende Band