This article analyses the recent decision of the UK Supreme Court determining the UK's 'constitutional requirements' for triggering Article 50 TEU. It demonstrates that the underlying disagreement in ...the case concerned the proper conceptualisation of EU law as it operates in the UK legal order. The Government and its academic supporters denied that EU law rights could be equated to domestic law rights; this allowed them to argue that their loss through withdrawal from the EU would not breach the long-standing prohibition on Executive prerogative action removing domestic law rights or altering domestic law. The article argues that the Supreme Court was right to reject this argument. In doing so, the Court emphasised that EU law had not only deeply infused the domestic legal order but had significantly changed it. Hence use of Executive powers to withdraw from the EU would amount to the Executive changing the constitution. The article considers how this 'constitutional change' argument-already strongly criticized-should be understood, and seeks to shed light on it via the notion that constitutional amendment is usually recognised as an exercise of especial normative significance. While acknowledging that the UK's constitution lacks the formal process for such change required by other European states, it argues that the invocation of this principle in Miller may be related to recent developments in constitutional doctrine recognising the special status of fundamental constitutional rights and principles. In doing so, it argues for a significant change to our understanding of 'constitutional statutes'.
In recent months, researchers, government bodies, and the media have claimed that a ‘right to explanation’ of decisions made by automated and artificially intelligent algorithmic systems is legally ...mandated by the forthcoming European Union General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR). The right to explanation is viewed as a promising mechanism in the broader pursuit by government and industry for accountability and transparency in algorithms, artificial intelligence, robotics, and other automated systems. However, there are several reasons to doubt the existence, scope, and feasibility of a ‘right to explanation’ of automated decisions. In this article, we examine the legal status of the ‘right to explanation’ in the GDPR, and identify several barriers undermining its implementation. We argue that the GDPR does not, in its current form, implement a right to explanation, but rather what we term a limited ‘right to be informed’.
► A literature-based discussion of food supply chain. ► The new perspectives and challenges for the future food supply chain management. ► A new conceptual framework for food supply chain assessment. ...► A simulation-based analysis of food packaging. ► A case study of international shipment of food from Italy to Taiwan.
Food industry is the first in European Community for revenues, with more than 8 millions of employee. Logistics and supply chain management play a crucial role in food industry.
This paper presents a general and conceptual framework for the assessment of food supply chain (FSC) and logistics of food products in agreement with a multidisciplinary and integrated view. The target of the proposed integrated approach to supply chain design and management is the simultaneous control of quality (1), safety (2), sustainability (3) and logistics efficiency (4) of food products and processes along the whole FSC “from farm to fork”.
A case study focused on package design, distribution issues, and supported by the development of an original close-loop control system is a first exemplifying step towards a new integrated approach on FSC assessment in agreement with the proposed conceptual framework.
Finally, the paper presents a discussion on the most important challenges in FSC for public and private research in industry and in academic institutions.
Agri-food wastes (such as brewer’s spent grain, olive pomace, residual pulp from fruit juice production, etc.) are produced annually in very high quantities posing a serious problem, both ...environmentally and economically. These wastes can be used as secondary starting materials to produce value-added goods within the principles of the circular economy. In this context, this review focuses on the use of agri-food wastes either to produce building blocks for bioplastics manufacturing or biofillers to be mixed with other bioplastics. The pros and cons of the literature analysis have been highlighted, together with the main aspects related to the production of bioplastics, their use and recycling. The high number of European Union (EU)-funded projects for the valorisation of agri-food waste with the best European practices for this industrial sector confirm a growing interest in safeguarding our planet from environmental pollution. However, problems such as the correct labelling and separation of bioplastics from fossil ones remain open and to be optimised, with the possibility of reuse before final composting and selective recovery of biomass.
The outcome of the referendum of 23 June 2016 on the United Kingdom’s continued membership of the European Union administered a profound shock to the political establishment throughout Europe and ...beyond. In voting to leave the EU, the British electorate overturned what had been a major plank of British foreign policy for over 50 years, rejecting the advice of the then Prime Minister and most expert opinion. The reverberations of that pivotal moment in Europe’s post-war history will be felt for many years. The search for its causes will inevitably be wide-ranging. At the national level, the records of British institutions which have been most closely involved with the EU since UK accession on 1 January 1973 are likely to come under scrutiny. Those institutions include the national courts, which have played a central role in the application of EU law in the UK. In undertaking that task, they have on occasion engaged directly with one of the EU’s most influential institutions, the Court of Justice of the European Union (hereafter, CJEU). The tone of their engagement has been set by the UK’s ultimate court of appeal, initially the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords (hereafter, House of Lords) and, since 1 October 2009, the Supreme Court of the UK created under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. The engagement of the national courts of Member States with the CJEU takes place mainly through the preliminary rulings procedure established by Article 267 TFEU. While most national courts enjoy a discretion in deciding whether to refer a case to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling, national apex courts (courts ‘against whose decisions there is no judicial remedy under national law’) are in principle bound to do so by the third paragraph of Article 267. The purpose of this article is to examine the way in which the UK Supreme Court has negotiated that obligation in dealing with questions of EU law. Like what is now the EU itself, the reference practice of the UK’s apex court has changed beyond recognition since the House of Lords first sought the guidance of the CJEU in Henn and Darby in 1979. Although European integration has been politically contentious in the UK since the 1950s, in the early years of British membership the law applicable was technical and limited in scope. It had not been systematically studied by most judges and practitioners. The attitude of the House of Lords was generally accommodating, perhaps most dramatically so in Factortame, where the European Communities Act 1972 giving effect to the requirements of membership was held to be immune to implied repeal. Although there were the occasional flash points,6 the House of Lords did not align itself with the apex courts of other Member States by developing a constitutional theory that might allow it to curtail the intrusion of EU law in general and the CJEU in particular into national law. This article has five main sections. Section II offers a brief introduction to the preliminary rulings procedure, with a focus on the obligation to refer. Section III considers the approach of the Supreme Court to the interpretation of EU law. Section IV looks at cases where the Supreme Court made references to the CJEU, while Section V consider cases where it declined to do so. Section VI examines the quality of the guidance supplied to the Supreme Court by the CJEU. There is then a short conclusion. The article will show that the Supreme Court makes enough references to avoid being accused of insufficient engagement with the reference procedure. However, it employs a range of devices to avoid making references where it considers that it would be inconvenient or unhelpful to involve the CJEU. The result is that the Supreme Court has effectively liberated itself from the obligation to refer imposed on it by Article 267 and now behaves as if it has the same margin of discretion in deciding whether or not to do so as lower courts. Following the example of other apex courts, it has also become increasingly assertive in setting limits to the extent to which it will give effect to EU law in domestic proceedings. The limited deference now accorded to the CJEU by the Supreme Court is at least partly the result of preliminary rulings which have not seemed to the Court to be based on a sufficiently thorough analysis of the issues at stake.
Did Independence changed from colonial to neocolonial times ? In Francophone Africa the labour code appeared in 1952, universal voting in 1956. EU (1957) accepted to receive African French and ...Belgium colonies. With new rules, CEE/ACP agreements (Africa – Caribbean islands– Pacific), the purpose remained similarly complementary and contradictory. CCCE became CCCE (Central Centre of Economic Cooperation), and CFA franc became the same (African Financial Community Franc). Infrastructure equipment remained more and more insufficient, and public debt more and more important. A dramatic cycle of debt and loans progressed. Thence Françafrique emerged, directly controlled by President Charles De Gaulle with his “Mister Africa”, Jacques Foccart. This is the topic of this paper.
Did Independence changed from colonial to neocolonial times ? In Francophone Africa the labour code appeared in 1952, universal voting in 1956. EU (1957) accepted to receive African French and ...Belgium colonies. With new rules, CEE/ACP agreements (Africa – Caribbean islands– Pacific), the purpose remained similarly complementary and contradictory. CCCE became CCCE (Central Centre of Economic Cooperation), and CFA franc became the same (African Financial Community Franc). Infrastructure equipment remained more and more insufficient, and public debt more and more important. A dramatic cycle of debt and loans progressed. Thence Françafrique emerged, directly controlled by President Charles De Gaulle with his “Mister Africa”, Jacques Foccart. This is the topic of this paper.
Background
Allergic sensitization to storage mites has mostly been related to occupational exposures like farming, grain/cattle handling, whereas for non‐occupational settings, storage mite ...sensitization has been attributed to cross‐reactivity with house dust mite (HDM) allergens.
Objective
We aimed to describe the prevalence of allergic sensitization to storage mites, co‐sensitization to HDM allergens and respiratory symptoms in Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
Methods
The population comprised of 1180 participants born 1945‐1972 of the third follow‐up of the population‐based cohort European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) in Aarhus, Bergen, Reykjavik and Uppsala. A clinical examination included skin prick tests (SPT) to Lepidoglyphus destructor, Tyrophagus putrescentiae, Acarus siro and common inhalant allergens, as well as standardized interviews.
Results
8% were sensitized to HDM and 10% to storage mite, with some variation by study centre: Reykjavik 13%, Bergen 8% and Aarhus 7%. In Uppsala, only L destructor (3%) was measured. Storage mite sensitization was higher among men (11%) than women (8%). Among storage mite sensitized, 44% were also sensitized to HDM. Storage mite sensitization was associated with asthma and nasal allergies, but not with age, education, pet keeping or place of upbringing.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance
In this Northern European population‐based study, allergic sensitization to storage mite was as common as HDM sensitization. Storage mite sensitization was, independently of HDM sensitization, associated with respiratory symptoms and asthma. Our findings suggest that storage mite sensitization should be evaluated with regard to inclusion into the common inhalant allergen panel in Northern Europe.