Invasive alien species constitute the greatest threat to marine biodiversity after habitat destruction. The problem today is growing tremendously, as the introduction of these species is accelerated by activities related to globalisation, such as trade, transport, and tourism. The current book presents possibilities to stimulate the international regime to address the problematic alien invasive species issue. Apart from the relevant multilateral environmental treaties and soft law instruments...

This book provides an in-depth examination of the instrument of collaboration with justice, one of the more far-reaching investigative tools in criminal cases by which promises are made to otherwise unwilling 'offender witnesses' in order to persuade them to testify in the prosecution of others. In it a comparison is made between the law and practice of the Netherlands and that of several other jurisdictions - Germany, Italy and Canada - in which provision is made for the instrument. Drawing ...

This open access eBook documents an empirical inquiry into the number, value and duration of large commercial court cases in five countries from different parts of Europe: Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Norway. It is an exploratory study as for each country data had to be extracted from the case registration systems of the courts. The study shows that a substantial part of economic activity is ‘paralyzed’ by disputes that are fought out in the courts. This has broad negati...

Law finds its roots in human experience and its expression in language. It cannot be administered, studied or taught without the instrumentality of language. The focus on language enlarges and deepens comparative studies. This volume features a wide array of comparative perspectives encompassing Law and Language, inviting readers to deepen their understanding of their many interactions, casting new lights that benefit jurists and linguists alike. It invites to interdisciplinary collaboration,...

On 27 January 1186 the German king Henry VI, son and heir of the Roman Emperor Frederick I ‘Barbarossa’, married Constance of Hauteville, heir to the throne of Sicily, in the Basilica of St Ambrose in Milan. The royal wedding sealed the union of the Kingdom of Sicily and the Holy Roman Empire, creating an enormous empire stretching from the shores of the North Sea to the beaches of Africa. The union also incited a major geopolitical conflict dominating European politics in the thirteenth ...

The European Court of Human Rights has been criticized for unduly interfering in democratic decision processes. Some argue that the unelected Strasbourg activists in robes should not interfere with democratic policy decisions that were made nationally. This inaugural lecture analyses this practice of rights-based judicial review by the Strasbourg Court. The first part presents a general legal-philosophical background. It explains that republicans, who emphasize the importance of the democrati...

In 2016, the CISG Advisory Council celebrated its fifteenth anniversary. On this occasion, the current members of the CISG Advisory Council decided to publish a book containing all CISG Advisory Council related documents. For the first time, the original versions of all Opinions and Declarations, their annexes, and the text of the CISG are published in one book.

This book is designed to facilitate the work on and with the CISG. It enables the reader in gaining an overview of the CISG Advisory...

"There is no gap between Is and Ought, but there is a gap between fact and norm."

"There is a difference between legal powers and legal competences, but there are no power-conferring rules."

"There is no obligation to comply with contracts."

"There are no regulative rules, and all rules are constitutive."

All these claims are controversial in the eyes of many legal theorists. This book argues that they are all true, or justified, if understood in the proper context. The argument starts from t...

Is it time for jurisdictions to undertake recodification, decodification, or even

codification of their private laws? This volume addresses this recurring question in

legal science by presenting recent developments and new perspectives on the

codification of private law from a comparative law viewpoint. Contributions in this

volume explore how jurisdictions from America, Asia and Europe currently stand

regarding codification and help generate awareness on different paths, yet also

of common g...

This edited volume brings together scholars in the field of law and the cognitive sciences to analyze and illustrate what the current relationship between law and the cognitive sciences is and what it should be from a theoretical perspective, for example by asking in what way and to what extent insights from the cognitive sciences can and should impact legal concepts, rules and paradigms. The topic of criminal responsibility exemplifies this relationship and several authors analyze specific e...