As citações e notificações de atos judiciais e extrajudiciais nos termos do Regulamento (CE) n.º 1393/2007: em especial, a via postal

Dissertação de mestrado em Direito da União Europeia

Euroopan unionin sisämarkkinoiden toiminnan varmistamiseksi asetettujen vero-oikeudellisten toimien vaikutukset Suomen arvonlisäverojärjestelmään

Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää EU:n jäsenyyden ja EU-oikeuden vaikutuksia Suomen arvonlisäverojärjestelmään; mikä on voimassa olevan oikeuden sisältö yhteisötasolla sekä kansallisessa arvonlisäverojärjestelmässä ja millainen on vallitseva arvonlisäverotusta koskeva oikeusjärjestelmä EU kontekstissa. Päätavoitteena on tutkia EU-oikeuden vaikutusta KHO:n laintulkintoihin ja Euroopan unionin tuomioistuimen arvonlisäverotukseen liittyviä tulkintoja sekä sitä, kuinka nämä tulkinnat ovat vaikuttaneet Suomen arvonlisäverojärjestelmän normeihin ja niiden soveltamiseen. Tutkimuksessa aiheen tarkastelu on rajattu sekundäärioikeuden puolelta vaikutusten tutkimiseen arvonlisäveron vähennysoikeuden osalta. Tutkimuksen pääteemoina ovat vähennysoikeuden syntyminen ja laajuus, vähennysoikeuden suhdeluku ja vähennysoikeuden rajoitukset. Tavoitteena on oikeusdogmaattisesti tulkita ja systematisoida arvonlisäverojärjestelmän soveltamisalaan liittyvää oikeusjärjestystä vähennysoikeuden osalta ja tavoitella ristiriidattomuutta unionin järjestelmän ja Suomen arvonlisäverojärjestelmän välillä. Tutkimuksessa selvisi, että EU:lla on ollut vaikutusta sekä varsinaiseen verotukseen että veropoli-tiikan muotoutumiseen. Arvonlisäverotuksen eurooppalaistuminen on näyttäytynyt jatkuvana oikeuslähdepohjan muutoksena ja sen vaikuttamisena etenkin oikeuden soveltamiseen. Yhteisessä arvonlisäverojärjestelmässä vallankäyttö on siirtynyt osittain pois kansallisista poliittisista ja oikeudellisista rakenteista EU-tason rakenteisiin. Tutkimuksen perusteella voidaan todeta, että yhteinen arvonlisäverojärjestelmä ja EUT:n oikeuskäytäntö on vähinten vaikuttanut Suomessa vähennysoikeuden rajoituskysymyksiin. Sitä vastoin suhdelukua koskevaan käytäntöön EUT:lla on ollut vaikutusta. Näkyvimmin EU:n tuomioistuimen oikeuskäytännön mukanaan tuoma vaikutus liittyy arvonlisäveron vähennysoikeuden syntymiseen ja laajuuteen.

The Court of Justice of the European Union as a fundamental rights tribunal: challenges for the effective delivery of fundamental rights in the area of freedom, security and justice. CEPS Paper in Liberty and Security in Europe No. 49, 29 August 2012

This paper reflects on the challenges facing the effective implementation of the new EU fundamental rights architecture that emerged from the Lisbon Treaty. Particular attention is paid to the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and its ability to function as a ‘fundamental rights tribunal’. The paper first analyses the praxis of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and its long-standing experience in overseeing the practical implementation of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Against this analysis, it then examines the readiness of the CJEU to live up to its consolidated and strengthened mandate on fundamental rights as one of the prime guarantors of the effective implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. We specifically review the role of ‘third-party interventions’ by non-governmental organisations, international and regional human rights actors as well as ‘interim relief measures’ when ensuring effective judicial protection of vulnerable individuals in cases of alleged violations of fundamental human rights. To flesh out our arguments, we rely on examples within the scope of the relatively new and complex domain of EU legislation, the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ), and its immigration, external border and asylum policies. In view of the fundamental rights-sensitive nature of these domains, which often encounter shifts of accountability and responsibility in their practical application, and the Lisbon Treaty’s expansion of the jurisdiction of the CJEU to interpret and review EU AFSJ legislation, this area can be seen as an excellent test case for the analyses at hand. The final section puts forth a set of policy suggestions that can assist the CJEU in the process of adjusting itself to the new fundamental rights context in a post-Lisbon Treaty setting.

La clausola della nazione più favorita dalle convenzioni internazionali all'ordinamento europeo

Il principale obiettivo della tesi è dimostrare come la connessione tra i differenti livelli giuridici che riguardano le relazioni tra Stati membri dell'UE richieda un'interpretazione sistematica delle convenzioni contro le doppie imposizioni intracomunitarie, ed in particolare richieda l'applicazione della clausola della nazione più favorita.

Il principio di non discriminazione e l'identita' costituzionale dell'Unione Europea

La definizione dell’ordinamento dell’Unione come ordinamento costituzionale è centrale, ma resta frammentata. Per restituirle sistematicità è importante individuare un principio sul quale poggiarne il consolidamento. Per questo si è scelto di esaminare il principio di non discriminazione attraverso l’analisi della giurisprudenza, con l’obiettivo di verificare se questo principio è parte fondamentale dell’identità costituzionale dell’Unione Europea. Nella prima parte della tesi si analizza la struttura del giudizio sulla discriminazione davanti alla CGUE e davanti alla CEDU, mettendo in evidenza come la struttura ricordi sempre di più quella del giudizio di costituzionalità. Nella seconda parte ci si concentra sul contributo dato dal principio di non discriminazione all’identità costituzionale dell’Unione Europea attraverso la lotta contro specifiche tipologie di discriminazione. Poiché i motivi di discriminazione sono molto numerosi, si è stabilito di esaminare quei motivi che sono regolati dal diritto derivato. Per questo la seconda parte dell’analisi si è concentrata sulle discriminazioni a motivo della nazionalità (dir. 2004/38/CE), della razza (dir. 2000/43/CE), del genere (dir. 2006/54/CE, dir. 2004/113/CE) dell’età, disabilità, religione ed orientamento sessuale (dir. 2000/78/CE). Dall’analisi della giurisprudenza e del diritto derivato che ne dà attuazione è possibile comprendere che questo principio, oltre ad essere sostenuto da un vero e proprio giudizio di legittimità costituzionale (il rinvio pregiudiziale), ha gli strumenti necessari a permetterne lo sviluppo tenendo conto delle identità costituzionali degli stati membri e può aiutare ad offrire delle risposte rispetto a uno dei problemi fondamentali inerenti all’efficacia del diritto dell’Unione Europea: la tensione fra il principio di attribuzione e la dottrina degli effetti diretti. Le conclusioni di questo lavoro portano a sostenere che è possibile individuare una giurisprudenza della Corte che, attraverso alcuni passaggi fondamentali (le sentenze Mangold, Kucukdeveci, Hay, Deckmyn e Zambrano), definisce il principio di non discriminazione come principio fondamentale, e costituzionale, del diritto dell’Unione Europea.

Portare la tecnologia in cabina: le nuove tecnologie a servizio dell'interprete e il caso della simultanea con testo

The digital revolution has affected all aspects of human life, and interpreting is no exception. This study will provide an overview of the technology tools available to the interpreter, but it will focus more on simultaneous interpretation, particularly on the “simultaneous interpretation with text” method. The decision to analyse this particular method arose after a two-day experience at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), during research for my previous Master’s dissertation. During those days, I noticed that interpreters were using "simultaneous interpretation with text" on a daily basis. Owing to the efforts and processes this method entails, this dissertation will aim at discovering whether technology can help interpreters, and if so, how. The first part of the study will describe the “simultaneous with text” approach, and how it is used at the CJEU; the data provided by a survey for professional interpreters will describe its use in other interpreting situations. The study will then describe Computer-Assisted Language Learning technologies (CALL) and technologies for interpreters. The second part of the study will focus on the interpreting booth, which represents the first application of the technology in the interpreting field, as well as on the technologies that can be used inside the booth: programs, tablets and apps. The dissertation will then analyse the programs which might best help the interpreter in "simultaneous with text" mode, before providing some proposals for further software upgrades. In order to give a practical description of the possible upgrades, the domain of “judicial cooperation in criminal matters” will be taken as an example. Finally, after a brief overview of other applications of technology in the interpreting field (i.e. videoconferencing, remote interpreting), the conclusions will summarize the results provided by the study and offer some final reflections on the teaching of interpreting.

Diverse Readings of the Court of Justice Judgments on Copyright Work

EU law’s impact on the meaning of the copyright work for a long time seemed limited to software and databases. But recent judgments of the CJEU (Infopaq, BSA, FootballAssociation [Murphy], Painer) suggest we have entered an era of harmonization of copyright subject-matter, after decades of focus on the scope of exclusive rights and their duration. Unlike before however, it is the Court and not the legislator that takes centre stage in shaping pivotal concepts. This article reviews the different readings and criticisms the recent case law on copyright works evokes in legal doctrine across the EU. It puts them in the wider perspective of the on-goingdevelopment towards uniform law and the role of the preliminary reference procedure in that process.

UsedSoft and the Big Bang Theory: Is the e-Exhaustion Meteor about to Strike?

Since the UsedSoft ruling of the CJEU in 2012, there has been the distinct feeling that – like the big bang - UsedSoft signals the start of a new beginning. As we enter this brave new world, the Copyright Directive will be read anew: misalignments in the treatment of physical and digital content will be resolved; accessibility and affordability for consumers will be heightened; and lock-in will be reduced as e-exhaustion takes hold. With UsedSoft as a precedent, the Court can do nothing but keep expanding its own ruling. For big bang theorists, it is only a matter of time until the digital first sale meteor strikes non-software downloads also. This paper looks at whether the UsedSoft ruling could indeed be the beginning of a wider doctrine of e-exhaustion, or if it is simply a one-shot comet restrained by provisions of the Computer Program Directive on which it was based. Fighting the latter corner, we have the strict word of the law; in the UsedSoft ruling, the Court appears to willingly bypass the international legal framework of the WCT. As far as expansion goes, the Copyright Directive was conceived specifically to implement the WCT, thus the legislative intent is clear. The Court would not, surely, invoke its modicum of creativity there also... With perhaps undue haste in a digital market of many unknowns, it seems this might well be the case. Provoking the big bang theory of e-exhaustion, the UsedSoft ruling can be read as distinctly purposive, but rather than having copyright norms in mind, the standard for the Court is the same free movement rules that underpin the exhaustion doctrine in the physical world. With an endowed sense of principled equivalence, the Court clearly wishes the tangible and intangible rules to be aligned. Against the backdrop of the European internal market, perhaps few legislative instruments would staunchly stand in its way. With firm objectives in mind, the UsedSoft ruling could be a rather disruptive meteor indeed.

The EU’s Trouble with Mashups: From Disabling to Enabling a Digital Art Form

New tools for editing of digital images, music and films have opened up new possibilities to enable wider circles of society to engage in ’artistic’ activities of different qualities. User-generated content has produced a plethora of new forms of artistic expression. One type of user-generated content is the mashup. Mashups are compositions that combine existing works (often) protected by copyright and transform them into new original creations. The European legislative framework has not yet reacted to the copyright problems provoked by mashups. Neither under the US fair use doctrine, nor under the strict corset of limitations and exceptions in Art 5 (2)-(3) of the Copyright Directive (2001/29/EC) have mashups found room to develop in a safe legal environment. The contribution analyzes the current European legal framework and identifies its insufficiencies with regard to enabling a legal mashup culture. By comparison with the US fair use approach, in particular the parody defense, a recent CJEU judgment serves as a comparative example. Finally, an attempt is made to suggest solutions for the European legislator, based on the policy proposals of the EU Commission’s “Digital Agenda” and more recent policy documents (e.g. “On Content in the Digital Market”, “Licenses for Europe”). In this context, a distinction is made between non-commercial mashup artists and the emerging commercial mashup scene.

Digital First Sale Doctrine Ante Portas – Exhaustion in the Online Environment

The purpose of the article is to provide first a doctrinal summary of the concept, rules and policy of exhaustion, first, on the international and EU level, and, later, under the law of the United States. Based upon this introduction, the paper turns to the analysis of the doctrine by the pioneer court decisions handed over in the UsedSoft, ReDigi, the German e-book/audio book cases, and the pending Tom Kabinet case from the Netherlands. Questions related to the licence versus sale dichotomy; the so-called umbrella solution; the “new copy theory”, migration of digital copies via the internet; the forward-and-delete technology; the issue of lex specialis and the theory of functional equivalence are covered later on. The author of the present article stresses that the answers given by the respective judges of the referred cases are not the final stop in the discussion. The UsedSoft preliminary ruling and the subsequent German domestic decisions highlight a special treatment for computer programs. On the other hand, the refusal of digital exhaustion in the ReDigi and the audio book/e-book cases might be in accordance with the present wording of copyright law; however, they do not necessarily reflect the proper trends of our ages. The paper takes the position that the need for digital exhaustion is constantly growing in society and amongst businesses. Indeed, there are reasonable arguments in favour of equalizing the resale of works sold in tangible and intangible format. Consequently, the paper urges the reconsideration of the norms on exhaustion on the international and EU level.

On the Search for an Adequate Scope of the Right to Be Forgotten

During the last decades, the virtual world increasingly gained importance and in this context the enforcement of privacy rights became more and more difficult. An important emanation of this trend is the right to be forgotten enshrining the protection of the data subject’s rights over his/her “own” data. Even though the right to be forgotten has been made part of the proposal for a completely revised Data Protection Regulation and has recently been acknowledged by the Court of Justice of the European Union (“Google/Spain” decision), to date, the discussions about the right and especially its implementation with regard to the fundamental right to freedom of expression have remained rather vague and need to be examined in more depth.

Under One Umbrella: Problems of Internet Retransmissions of Broadcasts and Implications for New Audiovisual Content Services

The development of broadband Internet connections has fostered new audiovisual media services and opened new possibilities for accessing broadcasts. The Internet retransmission case of TVCatchup before the CJEU was the first case concerning new technologies in the light of Art. 3.1. of the Information Society Directive. On the other side of the Atlantic the Aereo case reached the U.S. Supreme Court and challenged the interpretation of public performance rights. In both cases the recipients of the services could receive broadcast programs in a way alternative to traditional broadcasting channels including terrestrial broadcasting or cable transmission. The Aereo case raised the debate on the possible impact of the interpretation of copyright law in the context of the development of new technologies, particularly cloud based services. It is interesting to see whether any similar problems occur in the EU. The „umbrella” in the title refers to Art. 8 WCT, which covers digital and Internet transmission and constitutes the backrgound for the EU and the U.S. legal solutions. The article argues that no international standard for qualification of the discussed services exists.

Enforcing Copyright Infringements Online: In Search of Balanced Private International Law Rules

Enforcement of copyright online and fighting online “piracy” is a high priority on the EU agenda. Private international law questions have recently become some of the most challenging issues in this area. Internet service providers are still uncertain how the Brussels I Regulation (Recast) provisions would apply in EU-wide copyright infringement cases and in which country they can be sued for copyright violations. Meanwhile, because of the territorial approach that still underlies EU copyright law, right holders are unable to acquire EU-wide relief for copyright infringements online. This article first discusses the recent CJEU rulings in the Pinckney and Hejduk cases and argues that the “access approach” that the Court adopted for solving jurisdiction questions could be quite reasonable if it is applied with additional legal measures at the level of substantive law, such as the targeting doctrine. Secondly, the article explores the alternatives to the currently established lex loci protectionis rule that would enable right holders to get EU-wide remedies under a single applicable law. In particular, the analysis focuses on the special applicable law rule for ubiquitous copyright infringements, as suggested by the CLIP Group, and other international proposals.