Il principio di prevedibilità in materia penale. Riflessi sulle garanzie fondamentali di una analisi comparata sulla "cultura del precedente"

Nell’epoca di profonda transizione dell’era «pos-moderna», il modello tradizionale di legalità che conferisce al Parlamento il monopolio in materia penale entra in crisi in ragione della frammentazione delle fonti del diritto - a livello nazionale e sovranazionale - nonché delle spinte di globalizzazione capaci di incidere, ormai, ben oltre il mero piano economico. A fronte della incapacità del legislatore di rispondere in termini effettivi alla urgenza di razionalizzare e riformare il sistema penale, quindi, il potere giudiziario ha assunto una funzione di sostanziale supplenza, generando inevitabili attriti con il nullum crimen e i suoi corollari. Ne deriva che il Giudice di legittimità sempre più si preoccupa di assicurare la prevedibilità dei mutamenti interpretativi, specie se in malam partem, tenendo a mente gli ultimi approdi della giurisprudenza di Strasburgo in riferimento all’art. 7 CEDU. In particolare, tanto nelle motivazioni delle decisioni quanto nei contributi dottrinali, si diffonde graduale il riferimento a istituti propri del modello di common law: la recente riforma dell’art. 618, co 1 bis, c.p.p., del resto, è stata descritta a più voci come l’avvio della diffusione nell’ordinamento interno della c.d. “cultura del precedente”. In tale frangente, diviene utile approfondire l’opportunità dell’accostamento tra il modello di common law e di civil law, conducendo uno studio comparato tra i due ordinamenti quanto all’esercizio del potere punitivo che intende esaminare l’opportunità di acquisire rimedi propri della esperienza secolare del diritto judge-made in un ordinamento governato dalla soggezione del giudice alla legge.

Prescription in the proposal for a common european sales law

The rules on prescription in Part VIII, Chapter 18, of the Proposal for a Common European Sales Law (CESL) follow the provisions of the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) and the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR), which, in general, have deserved favourable comments. Yet, a number of rules contained in those texts have been omitted. It is necessary to ascertain whether the CESL rules only apply to provisions on rights and claims resulting from sales or related services contracts, or whether they are also applicable to any other contractual right or claim and also to rights or claims of non-contractual origin. One of the most problematic issues concerns general prescription periods: firstly, because there are two general periods, a short one and a long one, without any specification about the claims or rights covered by each one of them; secondly, because neither period is suitable in case of non-conformity. There are also some interpretation problems due to missing, ambiguous or defective definitions. The systematic approach demands clarification too.

Global governance, currency and trade: implications of one on the other, common problems and how to address cooperation through law at the international level

How to deal with the impacts of the exchange rate on the trade balance of Brazil? There is not a single answer to such question. In order to find out some legal approaches for this matter, this paper aims to describe and analyze the role of the IMF, WTO and the governments of Brazil and the United States on the currency misalignments, especially the extraterritorial effects of such misalignment on the Brazil’s bilateral trade with the United States. The article concludes that the Currency Swap Agreements and other bilateral solutions may minimize the distortions that the Brazilian balance of payment against the USA is carrying, due to the lack of legal solutions for the problem of the exchange rate misalignments that Brazil is facing.

(Supplementary Table 1) Mercury isotope values for common and thick-billed murre (Uria aalge, Uria lomvia) eggs from Alaska

Atmospheric deposition of mercury to remote areas has increased threefold since pre-industrial times. Mercury deposition is particularly pronounced in the Arctic. Following deposition to surface oceans and sea ice, mercury can be converted into methylmercury, a biologically accessible form of the toxin, which biomagnifies along the marine food chain. Mass-independent fractionation of mercury isotopes accompanies the photochemical breakdown of methylmercury to less bioavailable forms in surface waters. Here we examine the isotopic composition of mercury in seabird eggs collected from colonies in the North Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea and the western Arctic Ocean, to determine geographical variations in methylmercury breakdown at northern latitudes. We find evidence for mass-independent fractionation of mercury isotopes. The degree of mass-independent fractionation declines with latitude. Foraging behaviour and geographic variations in mercury sources and solar radiation fluxes were unable to explain the latitudinal gradient. However, mass-independent fractionation was negatively correlated with sea-ice cover. We conclude that sea-ice cover impedes the photochemical breakdown of methylmercury in surface waters, and suggest that further loss of Arctic sea ice this century will accelerate sunlight-induced breakdown of methylmercury in northern surface waters.

Common places, new places. The labour law rhetoric of the crisis. WP C.S.D.L.E. "Massimo D'Antona" .INT - 92/2012

'Common places', as argued in this paper, may at times fulfil a persuasive function. This is the case of messages enshrined in Europe 2020. In the aftermath of an unprecedented economic and financial crisis they may sound like common places. European institutions have given precedence to measures on financial and budgetary stability, thus marginalising social and employment policies. The only promising developments, the 'new places' in labour law, must be searched in the new synergies among employment and cohesion policies. National and subnational levels of decison-making should be favoured in order to attain the delivery of new partnership agreements, supported by European structural funds.

From Structure to Substance: Has the Constitutional Treaty improved the Chances for a Common Foreign and Security Policy? Research Papers in Law, 6/2005

From the Introduction. A common foreign and security policy for the European Union is an issue of the day. While most academic and many political observers believe that it would be in the interest of the Union to have a common policy, there is quite some disagreement as to how this is to be achieved and whether it should be accomplished in an assured and regular manner or whether it should come about on an ad hoc basis only when it is in the clear interest of all member states at any particular time. In other words, is a common foreign policy to be a fundamental characteristic of the Union or is it to be an occasional occurrence when advantageous and convenient, the ‘C’ in CFSP – as one observer has sarcastically commented – standing not for ‘Common’ but for ‘Convenient’?2