Robert Spano’s career at the Strasbourg Court is exceptional, as only three and a half years after his arrival, he was elected Section President, then Vice-President of the Court before taking up the post of President on 18 May 2020.

In his role, he has put his untiring energy at the service of the protection of human rights in Europe. While his qualities as a judge were known and appreciated by all his colleagues, as was his inexhaustible knowledge of case-law, during his term as Preside...

For the identity and well-functioning of Europe, independent national judiciaries are key, and the selection processes of judges and Court Presidents essential. During the last decade, however, several European Governments have been undermining this by trying to establish political control over national judges, especially through political dominance over the selection and appointment processes for judges and Court Presidents.

In his inaugural speech, Sterk addresses the topic of selection pro...

Healthcare fraud, corruption and waste are a serious and growing threat to the sustainability and the quality of European healthcare systems. For many years, a lack of objective information and hard evidence has stood in the way of finding efficient and effective solutions to tackle the problem. Healthcare fraud, corruption and waste in Europe. National and academic perspectives provides a better understanding of the specific and complex nature of these phenomena and offers best practices fro...

From 2017 up to 2022, the Conference on European Restructuring and Insolvency Law (CERIL) has adopted 12 Reports and Statements which concern salient topics in the area of European restructuring and insolvency law. In those Reports and Statements, CERIL promotes long-term improvements in restructuring and insolvency frameworks across Europe. This book compiles these analyses and recommendations – resulting from extensive dialogues among CERIL Conferees – to the EU legislator, EU Member S...

Housing law has emerged as a distinct field in both academic legal studies and legal practice. This volume aims to unravel some common threads in the contemporary study of housing law and housing rights. Another objective is to provide a comparative perspective on housing law, the right to housing, and housing policies. The book draws on the work of scholars from various jurisdictions, such as Israel, Portugal, Australia, Switzerland, Indonesia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands...

In his inaugural lecture, Niels Philipsen discusses the (potential) role of private actors in the regulation of work-related risks, such as industrial accidents and occupational diseases. Taking the economic analysis of regulation as a starting point, Philipsen argues that a 'smart mix' of public and private regulation is needed for an optimal prevention and compensation of work-related risks. The advantages and disadvantages of various regulatory instruments are thusly highlighted. In the le...

Designers solve problems. Ideas and problems change, however, and new techniques and materials are invented, new production methods are developed. Designing is a process of trial and error. During the development process, designers will think up solutions or part solutions for the problems that they have been presented with. They do not know if this solution will work. Therefore, they will try out their solution, for instance using a test model or a scale model: trial. Sometimes, the solution...

Can bankruptcy law offer debt relief to third parties who are not involved in a formal procedure themselves? This question is explored both in relation to guarantees and in relation to mass tort liability and has been a main topic of controversy recently in the US, arising in cases such as Purdue Pharma and the opioid crisis. Taken together, the answer to these questions will be decisive in the future scope of bankruptcy law and its relation to other fields of law. In their reports written fo...

Crime can be seen as an act of defiance against the rule of law, particularly if is committed with intent. This intension is often to make unlawful gains, whether by theft, corruption or taking part in illegal markets, which in Europe are most often cross-border in nature. This entails that criminal defiance is not just a national issue: theft or fraud can be committed locally, while handling the illicit proceeds may require a cross-border movement. Obviously not every state faces the same de...

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...