International Documents on Environmental Liability
This book in the field of international environmental liability into an easily accessible, practical handbook; details the work of the International Law Commission on this topic; and provides the latest versions of international liability conventions and their statuses
International Actors and the Formation of Laws
This book addresses the discourse that creates, modifies, and reshapes the law, as well as discourse participants. The book focuses on the actors operating in legal regimes and their subtly, bluntly, or even outright aggressive impact on the formation of laws. As the book examines the intersection of domestic, European, international, and even transnational, legal regimes where new law emerges as a product of this discourse, it contributes to the understanding of the mobility of law and contemporary law’s interactive nature. This book provides enlightening examples of diverse legal fields influenced by international, non-domestic actors. It covers a wide range of relevant topics, from financial sanctions to the rights of indigenous peoples, and addresses actors ranging from the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights to disability organizations. By exploring actors, the book stresses their objectives and driving forces behind their efforts to influence law. The book reveals an array of diverging methods used by international actors to influence law. Additionally, the book resonates with Nordic legal tradition and highlights Nordic commitment to rule of law and equality.
Intercultural Dialogue in the European Education Policies : A Conceptual Approach
This book analyses intercultural dialogue as a concept, policy and ideal in European education policy documentation. The core European transnational organizatons – the Council of Europe and the European Union – have actively promoted policies to engender inclusive societies and respond to challenges that diversification may entail.
Integration, Growth, and Cohesion in an Enlarged European Union
This book’s thirteen contributions bring together the results of recent research on determinants of regional specialization, growth, and convergence in the context of European integration. They offer fresh theoretical and empirical evidence on patterns of regional production structures, specialization, regional disparities, convergence and divergence processes, and evaluation of cohesion policies on both current and future European Union (EU) member states in the context of increased integration. These subjects are addressed in both individual and cross-country analysis using innovative methodologies. They examine structural changes and economic performance differentials across regions and countries in an enlarged EU as well as on evaluating existing policies aimed at reducing economic imbalances.
Integration in Asia and Europe : Historical Dynamics, Political Issues, and Economic Perspectives
This book critically analyses the economic and institutional changes in both Europe and Asia. There is considerable potential for instability, but one also finds regional growth opportunities. Comparative policy analysis and evaluation of various cooperation strategies are presented. Emphasis is on banking, financial market dynamics, ICT, and macroeconomic policies as well as trade, energy, and environmental issues.
Institutional Reform for Innovation and Entrepreneurship : An Agenda for Europe
The authors of this book advise the economies of the European Union to become more entrepreneurial in promoting innovation and economic growth. The authors propose a reform strategy with respect to several aspects to achieve this goal. Starting with the rule of law and the protection of property rights; the tax system; the authors deal with regulations governing savings, capital and finance, and the organization of labor markets and social insurance systems. Framework strategies related to the regulations governing goods and service markets, bankruptcy and insolvency are also put forward. A core understanding and future path is also provided towards R&D, commercialization and knowledge spillovers; human capital investments; and informal institutions.
Inflation and Unemployment in a Monetary Union
This book studies the coexistence of inflation and unemployment in a monetary union. The focus is on how to reduce the associated loss. The primary target of the European central bank is low inflation in Europe. The primary target of the German government is low unemployment in Germany. And the primary target of the French government is low unemployment in France. The European central bank has a quadratic loss function. The same applies to the German government and the French government. The key questions are: To what extent can the sequential process of monetary and fiscal decisions reduce the loss caused by inflation and unemployment? Is monetary and fiscal cooperation superior to the sequential process of monetary and fiscal decisions?
Indicators of Childrens Well-Being : Understanding Their Role, Usage and Policy Influence
This book contains a series of articles that represent a broad range of viewpoints about how the use of social indicators affects child and family policy. The book discusses the use of indicators as an effective tool to change policy. A distinguished, international group of researchers and policymakers provide insights into the past, current and future use of good information to develop and change policy that improves the well-being of children and youth.
Improving Healthcare : A Dose of Competition
Improving Healthcare: A Dose of Competition systematically examines the American health care system from a competition-oriented perspective. The volume surveys the performance of each major sector of the health care system, and identifies impediments to more effective competition. Improving Healthcare examines such issues as competition v. regulation, public and private sector approaches to health care financing, cross-subsidies, licensure, provider market concentration, financial and clinical integration, payment for performance, quality, pharmacy benefit managers, direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals, certificates of need, mandates, unionization, the significance of organizational status (nonprofit v. for-profit), and the role of antitrust and consumer protection in health care. It offers concrete recommendations to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of the American health care marketplace.
Implementing Strategic Environmental Assessment
More countries are now using Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) than ever before. This timely and comprehensive Handbook describes the implementation of SEA in 18 countries around the world, as well as a critical analysis of different SEA methodologies. The Handbook starts by introducing key SEA principles and the legal requirements of the new European SEA Directive (which became law in 2004). It then describes the implementation of SEA in 11 European Union countries, as well as the USA, Canada and New Zealand. This is contrasted with SEA requirements of four developing countries. The Handbook explores public participation issues and the wide-range of SEA methodologies used in terms of resources (soils, water and biodiversity) and sectors of activity (transport, agriculture, waste management and industry). The Handbook concludes with a discussion on best practice, capacity building and the future of SEA.
Illiberal Trends and Anti-EU Politics in East Central Europe
This book provides an in-depth look into the background of rule of law problems and the open defiance of EU law in East Central European countries. Current illiberal trends and anti-EU politics have the potential to undermine mutual trust between member states and fundamentally change the EU. It is therefore crucial to understand their domestic causes, context conditions, specific processes and consequences.
Housing Estates in the Baltic Countries : The Legacy of Central Planning in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
This book focuses on the formation and later socio-spatial trajectories of large housing estates in the Baltic countries—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It also explores claims that a distinctly “westward-looking orientation” in their design produced housing estates that were superior in design to those produced elsewhere in the Soviet Union. The first two parts of the book provide contextual material to help readers understand the vision behind housing estates in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. These sections present the background of housing estates in the Baltic Republics as well as challenges and debates concerning their formation, evolution, and present condition and importance.
Guidelines for the supplementary load testing of bridges
As of January 1999, under European Union ruling, 40 tonne vehicles have been allowed on UK roads, leading to a challenging programme of bridge assessment. In order to determine the true load carrying capacity of bridges and to avert a vast programme of unnecessary bridge strengthening and replacement schemes, bridge owners are turning increasingly to load testing.
Governing Europe under a Constitution : The Hard Road from the European Treaties to a European Constitutional Treaty
At the summit in Laeken in December 2001 the European Council opened the debate on the reform of the supranational structures through its "Declaration on the Future of the European Union" and proposed a wide-ranging agenda. The European Convention, with the mandate of the European Council, has been forming proposals for a more democratic, transparent and efficient European Union and presented a draft of a Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe on 20th of June 2003. On these fundaments the Intergovernmental Conference finally came to a compromise in summer 2004 after wrestling especially with the problem of qualified majority voting within the Council. On 29th of October 2004 the Heads of State and Governments of the 25 Member States signed the Treaty.
Governance of automated decision-making and EU law
Presents a multifaceted exploration of the intersection between technological innovation and democratic governance in Europe. It rigorously examines the profound impact of information technologies on rule-making and decision-making processes, emphasizing the preservation of constitutional values within the European Union (EU). Simultaneously, the book seeks to devise future-proof regulatory strategies to navigate the challenges of rapid technological advancements.
Globalization and Regional Economic Modeling
Globalization is affecting regional economies in a broad spectrum of aspects, from labor market conditions and development policies to climate change. To understand better how this works, we need both conceptual and methodological contributions. We need new schemes to organize our thinking, direct our attention, and frame thought experiments on the basis of which guidance may be offered. And we need methodological innovations that enable us to carry out studies and thought experiments at levels of spatial and temporal resolution and formal complexity adequate to capture and account for the phenomena that characterize globalization. The chapters of this volume, written by an international cast of eminent regional scientists, represent contributions of both types, in many cases introducing and demonstrating the use of new tools for analyzing and understanding enormous changes underway in regional economies around the world.
Global Price Fixing
The book describes and analyzes the formation, operation, and impacts of modern global cartels. It provides a broad picture of the economics, competition law and history of international price fixing. A deeper understanding of the phenomenon is afforded by intensive case studies of collusion in the markets for lysine, citric acid, and vitamins. Particular attention is given to the economic injuries sustained by the cartels' customers. The author assesses whether antitrust enforcement by the European Union, the United States, and other countries is capable of deterring cartels in the foreseeable future.
Genes on the Menu : Facts for Knowledge-Based Decisions
Only little more than a decade ago the term "genetic engineering" was hardly known outside research laboratories. Today it regularly makes headlines in the news. Supporters and opponents as well tell us that it could change our lives more than any other technological advance. This book delivers the state-of-the-art facts in order to empower the public to make knowledge-based decisions about plant biotechnology and GM crops and GM food, in particular. It discusses the hot topics of the present debate in a neutral manner and will function as a personal reference book for the interested public, for decision maker, and managers of consumer organisations.
General principles of law : the role of the judiciary
Examines the role played by domestic and international judges in the “flexibilization” of legal systems through general principles. It features revised papers that were presented at the Annual Conference of the European-American Consortium for Legal Education, held at the University of Parma.The second section contains studies on the role of general principles in selected legal systems, including International Law, European Union Law as well as Common Law systems.
Genders in the Life Course : Demographic Issues
Treats the topic of gender and demographic behaviour during the life course in a comprehensive fashion. It covers a lot of ground, from the age at first intercourse over union formation and dissolution, fertility, migration, ageing, to excess male mortality, comparing genders behaviour and its determinants. It reports new findings of empirical research, mostly based on data from a number of European countries, making a good use of the Family and Fertility surveys and other international data base.



















