The regulation of risks and the devising of appropriate institutional structures to democratise expertise rank high on the agenda of international governance. The potential of the European Union to cope with these challenges seems superior to that of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The WTO...

The essay starts from the assumption that the efforts to cure Europe?s democracy deficits will also have to address the social problématique of the Europeanization process. This is a challenge with new dimensions. Europe had started its integrationist path as a mere economic community. In its...

This paper seeks to synthesise two concerns which are usually discussed separately One concerns the much discussed democracy deficit of the European polity. In this respect, it is considered that the democratic quality of the EU needs to be discussed in conjunction with Europe’s potential to...

The 'comitology mode' of decision-making can be interpreted as a response to the non-unitary and non-hierarchical ('heterarchical') nature of the EU. It is of exemplary importance since it represents an institutionalized "sui generis" response to the regulatory needs of the 'multilevel system of...

It is perhaps a truism to note that ‘the consumer’ is but a role that is played by human subjects. This insight leaves us, as lawyers, with one vital question: how can or does the legal system meaningfully rationalise its encounters with the consumer? Can it, and if so to what way, shape the...

The historical evolution of free trade has been accompanied by a plethora of debates,concerning both its positive effects and social costs. During the last decade, the subject ofthese disputes has markedly changed. The main objective of the General Agreement onTariffs and Trade (GATT) concluded...

Legal and political science cannot merge, but they should, at the very least, listen to each other. This working paper is a further step in an ongoing interdisciplinary cooperation which seeks to make sense out of Louis Henkin’s famous admonition. This co-operation had begun with a research...

This paper argues that the relationship between law and politics must be reconfigured within the European Union. Dissecting recent crises in Europe with reference to the three ‘fictitious’ commodities of Karl Polanyi, we find that law in Europe has contributed to de-legalisation,...

Le point de départ du présent essai est l’hypothèse selon laquelle les efforts entreprispour combler le déficit démocratique de l’Europe devront aussi affronter les problèmessociaux crées par le processus d’intégration. Cela constitue un sérieux défi, lequelcomporte de nouvelles...