European Union

The European Community has had a decidedly significant impact upon the legal systems of the Member States. It was established in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome, the main objectives being to develop stability throughout Europe by means of encouraging a closer union between member states. It has evolved a long way since having developed its own institutions and an autonomous legal system, with laws that bind each member state ultimately enabling it to regulate the rights and obligations of its members. It achieves this primarily through Treaties, a primary form of EC legislation that forms the basis of all other European Law. However the effect of EC treaties is unlike that of any other international agreement as the latter bind only states at an intergovernmental level and do not of themselves give rise to rights or interests which the citizens of the states can have enforced before their own national courts even if they are designed for the protection of individuals. Although the text of EC treaties does not indicate that their provisions will be any different, the ECJ has taken its own view as to the nature and effect of treaties known as the doctrine of ‘direct effect.’ This jurisprudential concept means that individuals are able to derive rights directly from community law, which can be enforced in their own national courts. It is a private species of enforcement, placing control in the hands of ordinary individuals as distinct from the public enforcement mechanism of community law as contained in Article 226 of the Treaty of Rome which enabled the Commission to bring proceedings against member states for breaches. This system was deficient in many ways as, not only was it unable to cope with the increasing work load and had insufficient remedies, it was political in nature. Direct effect, on the other hand, has allowed individuals to play a role and has potentially brought the community into the lives of every citizen. However despite its significance, it is important to put it into context of the many types of community law, not all of which entail direct effect or which can only be directly effective in certain circumstances, such as directives

European Union

The European Community has had a decidedly significant impact upon the legal systems of the Member States. It was established in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome, the main objectives being to develop stability throughout Europe by means of encouraging a closer union between member states. It has evolved a long way since having developed its own institutions and an autonomous legal system, with laws that bind each member state ultimately enabling it to regulate the rights and obligations of its members. It achieves this primarily through Treaties, a primary form of EC legislation that forms the basis of all other European Law. However the effect of EC treaties is unlike that of any other international agreement as the latter bind only states at an intergovernmental level and do not of themselves give rise to rights or interests which the citizens of the states can have enforced before their own national courts even if they are designed for the protection of individuals. Although the text of EC treaties does not indicate that their provisions will be any different, the ECJ has taken its own view as to the nature and effect of treaties known as the doctrine of ‘direct effect.’ This jurisprudential concept means that individuals are able to derive rights directly from community law, which can be enforced in their own national courts. It is a private species of enforcement, placing control in the hands of ordinary individuals as distinct from the public enforcement mechanism of community law as contained in Article 226 of the Treaty of Rome which enabled the Commission to bring proceedings against member states for breaches. This system was deficient in many ways as, not only was it unable to cope with the increasing work load and had insufficient remedies, it was political in nature. Direct effect, on the other hand, has allowed individuals to play a role and has potentially brought the community into the lives of every citizen. However despite its significance, it is important to put it into context of the many types of community law, not all of which entail direct effect or which can only be directly effective in certain circumstances, such as directives.European Community, European Law, EC treaties, Direct effect, directives.

The E-Commerce Directive: first evaluations

After describing the main elements of EU Directive 2000/31/CE on electronic commerce, the article elaborates a critical analysis of its impact on EU Member States legal orders in the aim of verifying how the objective of enhancing the functioning of the EU Internal Market has been achieved.

Looking for an Accounting Identity : The Case of Romania during the 20th Century

This article aims to provide a longitudinal presentation of developments in Romanian accounting during the 20th century and to propose a neo-institutional explanation of this evolution. The historical research methodology employed here is complex. We use a constructive research philosophy, an inductive research approach, a mixture of research types (narrative, oral and interpretative histories), content analysis as our research method and four types of data collection (archives, secondary data, observations and interviews). The interpretative analysis is based on the neo-institutional theoretical framework. The study identifies a “homeAgrown”, normative influence in Romanian accounting practices during the first 50 years of the twentieth century, a coercive one, imposed until 1989, by a centralized communist system, and from 1989 to the present, a mixed isomorphism oriented around French, European and International accounting systems. Lacking a period of introspection, the authors feel that there is little hope that Romanian accounting will reA discover its unique culture, or will manage to build upon or improve its indigenous base in the current international contextAccounting ; Historical approach ; Neo-institutionalism ; XXth century ; Romania

Interpretation Rules and Good Faith as Obstacles to the UK\u27s Ratification of the CISG and to the Harmonization of Contract Law in Europe

This essay examines Article 7 of the CISG, the provision on the Convention’s interpretation, through the lenses of both German and English law in order to shed light on interpretative issues in which there are divergent views in common law and civil law systems. The essay further provides possible reasons for the non-ratification of the CISG by the UK in contrast to its broad acceptance in Germany. The author more closely examines the issue of good faith as a principle of contract law, its vagueness being one of the possible reasons for the reluctance to ratify the CISG in England. The essay will conclude with an outlook on current and future efforts to harmonize contract law in Europe, notably with regards to the new (Draft) Common Frame of Reference. The question raised is whether the Common Frame of Reference has a chance of being accepted by the European civil law countries as well as by England and Wales as common law jurisdictions

Authority in the common law

Copyright @ 2011 The Author.No abstract available

Public procurement in the EU: jurisprudence and conceptual directions

The present article reviews the emerging conceptual themes from the case law of the European Court of Justice which have triggered the revision of the public procurement Directives, and the alignment of the public procurement acquis with the Europe 2020 Growth Strategy. The Court's jurisprudence has instrumentally influenced the interpretation of public procurement legal concepts such as contracting authorities, the remit of selection and qualification criteria, the parameters for contracting authorities to use environmental and social considerations as award criteria and the principles which underpin the remedies in the award of public contracts.However, the exhaustive harmonization which is inherent in the public procurement directives has caused significant porosity and limitations in the effectiveness of the public procurement acquis. Service concessions, contracts awarded by a contracting authority to another contracting authority on the basis of exclusive rights, public-public partnerships and in-house contractual relations, and contracts which fall below the stipulated value thresholds all reflect upon the forthcoming reforms of the public procurement regime