The global trade and investment law regime is disintegrating. It is becoming increasingly impossible to speak of a singular regime spanning the globe; instead there are now several regional-based regimes with quite distinct characteristics. A rethinking of trade and investment law (TIL) needs to...

This discussion paper is part of a series of contributions to the conference "Towards a Grammar of Justice in EU Law', which took place on 6-7 November 2014 at VU University Amsterdam, sponsored by ACCESS EUROPE Amsterdam, VU Centre for European Legal Studies and the Dutch Research Council VENI...

States remain a central form of ordering but only one among several. In the transnational space, a wide range of autonomous public- and private-norm producing organizations and regimes operates, which is not, or only partly controlled, by states. The consequence is that the contemporary world is...

Developing a sociological informed social theory perspective, this article asks the question why social praxis' of justification has moved to the centre-stage within the debate on transnational ordering. In contrast to perspectives which see the relationship between national and transnational...

Throughout its history the European integration process has not undermined but rather strengthened the autonomy of Member States vis-à-vis wider societal interests in relation to political economy, labor markets and social provisions. Both the ‘golden age nation state' of the 1960s as well as...

The law of political economy is a contentious ideological field characterised by antagonistic relations between scholarly positions which tend to be either affirmative or critical of capitalism. Going beyond this schism, two particular features appear as central to the law of political economy:...

This article examines the relationship between the evolution of statehood and competition in the European context. To begin with, a particular take on the evolution of modern political power in the state form in Europe is developed. Against this background, the article reconstructs how the...

Competition has become a catchword which divides the world. Some present it as panacea that will solve the current economic crisis. Much in line with Adam Smith, competition is seen as the most effective means to prevent producers from overpricing their products and from delivering poor quality....