On the 23rd of October 2009 the Montesquieu Institute Maastricht hosted a conference on parliamentary involvement with military missions. Even where it does not concern the actual waging of war, sending troops on military missions abroad is never undertaken lightly. No matter how many safeguards are put in place, it remains a decision that potentially risks the lives of men and women in the armed forces.

When lives are so directly influenced by political decision making, the question arises ...

"Constitutionalising Europe. Dutch Reactions to an Incoming Tide (1948-2005)" aims to solve the question of how the relation between the Netherlands and Europe came under pressure. Widely renowned as one of the Founding Fathers of the European Coal and Steel Community and as one of the most loyal participants of European integration in general, the Netherlands surprised friend and foe when on 1 June 2005, its people rejected by a substantial majority the European Constitution. Until now, no s...

Trafficking in human beings has become one of the most serious problems of the international community nowadays. Combating this phenomenon in an effective manner requires a comprehensive international approach of all countries.

Being aware of this, several international organisations

have launched a number of documents to fight against this phenomenon. The most representatives ones are the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, suppleme...

This book addresses one of the more controversial dilemmas in transnational contract law, especially in times of economic volatility and change - how should the law and its agents assist in ensuring that contracting parties are held to their promises whilst seeking to prevent economic waste and disorder, both for the parties and society. We live in extremely challenging economic times - the huge financial maelstrom that broke in 2008 and the after-shock effects will remain with us for years t...

In the European Union, a debate is on-going about the Europeanization of contract law. However, its impact on the different welfare states’ types, as they are developed in political science, has not been discussed elaborately.

Nearly all Member States of the European Union can be characterized as a welfare state or may be post-welfare state. There are many definitions and descriptions of the welfare state. It is generally accepted that social citizenship is a common characteristic of the w...

Sustainable development has become a central objective in national and international policy of development and the environment. Increasingly it also marks international and national law. In this book scholars in environmental law treat legal theories on sustainable development and how it may be operationalized, and topics related to its development in international law, European law, international trade and investment law, and within the climate regime.

The book marks the 20th anniversary of ...

Direct effect, consistent interpretation and state liability are instruments developed by the CJEU for national courts to remedy conflicts between national and EU law (and may also be used in some jurisdictions to resolve national law and international law). This book will look at the `remedial capacity of these doctrines/tools from the perspective of the national court applying them. In short: what are their strengths, weaknesses, unexplored opportunities at grassroot level, and what can we ...

The book offers a comparative and interdisciplinary approach to the issue of property rights protection in Europe. This approach explores the tensions between the European and the national level. This is done by highlighting the different understanding of the constitutional role of property within different legal cultures and legal orders. The interaction and dialogue between national law and supranational human rights law in the area of property law is therefore at the centre of the work. Th...

This book addresses the conflict between climate change, other environmental concerns such as biodiversity, and international trade, focussing on the relationship between climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection in the bioenergy sector, taking into account the specific situation for imports from developing countries. The focal point is the sustainability criteria enacted by Directive 2009/28/EC (the so-called Renewable Energy Directive - RED). The document is divided into 6 parts...