The Legal Research Society

The Programme and Abstracts for the 5th CASS Postgraduate Conference are now available at the Conference website . The Conference will be held at the University of Aberdeen on June 11-12. Jernej Letnar Cernic, the Law Section Coordinator, explains that this year's Law Section is the largest yet. The Law Section features participants from four continents, and will address a wide range of topics including Human Rights, International Law, International Criminal Law, European Law, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law and Arbitration Law. Many thanks and congratulations to the Organising Committee , particularly the Law Section organisers: Jernej Letnar Cernic, Gerd Koehler and Alessia Vacca.

Advocate General Maduro (ECJ) today delivered his opinion in Case C‑210/06 Cartesio Oktató és Szolgáltató bt , a reference for a preliminary ruling from a Hungarian Court of Appeal. The case concerns the compatibility of the real seat theory with Articles 43 and 48 EC. The relevant question referred is the following: ‘(4(a)) If a company, constituted in Hungary under Hungarian company law and entered in the Hungarian commercial register, wishes to transfer its seat to another Member State of the European Union, is the regulation of this field within the scope of Community law or, in the absence of the harmonisation of laws, is national law exclusively applicable? (b) May a Hungarian company request transfer of its seat to another Member State of the European Union relying directly on community law (Articles 43 [EC] and 48 [EC])? If the answer is affirmative, may the transfer of the seat be made subject to any kind of condition or authorisation by the Member State of o

Thursday 22 May, 5pm, Taylor A19 Jernej Letnar Cernic, 'Fundamental Human Rights Obligations of Corporations' Abstract: This paper argues that fundamental human right obligations of corporations derive primarily from national legal orders and only secondarily from international level, whereas both draw their foundations from international value system. The tenets of every normative system are principles and rules that create rights and obligations of the subjects/participants of that system. Validity of any positive norm derives its legal authority from the membership in a legal order, which gives it a binding force. Legal authority means a source of law where a positive law norm is derived from. Legal scholarship has so far predominantly focused on international legal obligations of corporations. In contrast, the present paper argues that fundamental human rights obligations of corporations derive its legal authority from national normative orders and only secondary from inter

An article by our very own and founding member of LRS Justin Borg Barthet has been accepted for publication by I nternational and Comparative Law Quarterly and is now available through their website and the library. The article, titled Online Gambling and the Further Displacement of State Regulation: A Note on PMU v Zeturf , deals with the quagmire that legal regulation of online gambling has turned into in light of the recent judgement G IE Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) v Zeturf Ltd by the Cour de Cassation in Paris. Abstract: Online gambling constitutes a service for the purposes of the freedom to provide services in the EC Treaty. However, Member States may limit that freedom in order to protect societal norms. This regulatory latitude causes significant uncertainty. This paper analyses recent litigation in which the highest courts of two Member States considered the limits to the freedom to provide services, jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement of judgments, and the in

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the launch of the report Ensuring Access to Environmental Justice in England and Wales at a seminar at King’s College hosted by the UK Environmental Law Association ( UKELA ). The Report is the result of deliberations of a Working Group chaired by the Hon Mr Justice Sullivan examining whether the current regime of judicial review in England and Wales fulfils the UK Government’s obligations under the 1998 Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters. The Report deals with the ‘third pillar’ of the Aarhus Convention on access to justice, more specifically Article 9(4), which states that the procedures which the contracting parties rely on “ shall provide adequate and effective remedies, including injunctive relief as appropriate, and be fair equitable, timely and not prohibitively expensive.”. The Report concludes that the current law on costs, including the p

In light of the tragic events taking place in Burma, or Myanmar as the ruling military junta renamed it in 1989, a few interesting questions of international law spring to mind. Notwithstanding the fact that urgent need for relief and assistance to the Burmese people takes precedence over legal debates, the very refusal to accept foreign aid workers on its soil by the Burmese junta raises legal questions ( the Times has a story on the situation ). For instance, is it possible that this denial of foreign assistance could constitute crimes against humanity as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC)? Article 7 of the Rome Statute defines crimes against humanity as acts “committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack”. For the purpose of this discussion the “acts” referred to in subsection 1 of Article 7 would be “[ O]ther inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causi

‘World peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it. The contribution which an organized and living Europe can bring to civilization is indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. In taking upon herself for more than 20 years the role of champion of a united Europe, France has always had as her essential aim the service of peace. A united Europe was not achieved and we had war. Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity. The coming together of the nations of Europe requires the elimination of the age-old opposition of France and Germany. Any action taken must in the first place concern these two countries...’ (Full text of the Schuman Declaration available here )

In the south of Europe the warmer weather brings with it a heated debate about illegal immigration as the calmer seas allow boat loads of migrants to cross the Mediterranean in search of a better life. Despite the good weather, their journey is often unsafe and many perish at sea. Those who survive the crossing find that their ordeal is not over. Most European States have detention policies whereby illegal immigrants rescued at sea or intercepted on the shore are held in camps pending conferment of refugee status or repatriation. The detention periods vary from one Member State to another, with France capping the period at 30 days, and the United Kingdom having no upper limit. A draft European directive would have capped the period of detention at six months, with a possible extension of a further twelve months under special circumstances (See the EU Observer’s report here ). In other words, the directive would have allowed Member States to detain immigrants for eighteen month

Earlier today the Hon FDJ Brand presented his paper regarding 'South African Contract Law and the Constitution' at the University of Aberdeen's Old Senate Room. The discussion that followed was chaired by Prof David Carey Miller. Thanks to Prof Carey Miller , Ms Carol Lawie and the School of Law for their invaluable help in organising Judge Brand's visit.