Tax authorities face the challenge of influencing tax compliance by behaving in such a way that taxpayers perceive to be treated fairly and thus comply voluntarily with tax rules. In order to meet this challenge it is crucial that institutions such as tax authorities frequently interact with taxpayers and selectively apply instruments so that a sustainable basis of trust in taxation is created. At the same time, tax authorities need to have the capacity to adjust to a rapidly changing technol...

For some years now, certain EU Member States have been promoting their national courts as the best places to litigate cross-border commercial disputes. This has led to a competition between jurisdictions, which recently has been re-energised by the upcoming withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU. This civil justice competition affects, among other things, governments' policies, court organisation, and cross-border litigation strategies.

Building on an interdisciplinary methodology, this...

The governing contract law dictates and regulates the life of a contract. Despite its importance, little is known about the choice of law decision-making process. Is there (ir)rationality involved? How can we ascertain this? How can we improve these judgements?

Rethinking Choice of Law in Cross-Border Sales is an innovative, multi-disciplinary, and practice-oriented initiative to examine what factors determine the way contracting parties choose the law to govern their agreements. It presents ...

National system striving for protecting prisoners' labor and social security rights has been conducted in legislative area in many countries all over the world. And nowadays, national law concerning the protection of prisoners' rights is trying to become more substantial and in tune with international standards. Then while launching penal reforms on prisoners' labor and social security rights in the present and the future, the national legislator might want to be provided with insights and re...

This is the published version of the first Maastricht Private Law Lecture which was delivered by Reinhard Zimmermann on 27 January 2017. According to a widely held view, the law of succession is shaped by the cultural values of the society within which it prevails. Related to this is the perception that the law of succession is marked by great stability. It is thus resistant both to change and to legal harmonization. Comparative research, too, has traditionally been regarded as impractical an...

Across Europe, restorative justice has gained acceptance as a way of resolving disputes and mitigating the harm of crime in the community. Practitioners have also begun to coordinate restorative meetings in prisons in an e¬ffort to reduce the harms of victimisation and to encourage desistance from crime. This book provides a comprehensive evaluation of Building Bridges, a programme of restorative meetings between victims and prisoners in seven European countries. The authors first describe h...

The absence of the accused in criminal proceedings leading to a conviction causes many legal and practical questions when an European Arrest Warrant is issued to execute such an in absentia judgment. Whereas some Member States see no problem in allowing trials without the accused, other Member States have serious objections to it. These different standards create many problems in practice and necessitate the executing judicial authority to request supplementary information

from the issuing ju...

This book addresses the relationship between restorative justice and children’s rights, an issue of increasing relevance to restorative justice theory and practice that has thus far received relatively little attention. Readers will find useful reviews of international human rights documents and of legislation, policy and practices in countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, North America, and Oceania. Each of the chapters demonstrates the compatibility between children’s rights ...

The judge is the holder of a state office in the rule of law. At the same time s/he is an individual with opinions, convictions and preferences. When the judge speaks, it may not always be clear to the outside world who is talking: the state or the individual. An opinion expressed by a judge may also rub off on the judicial office and, vice versa, the power and authority of the judicial office may reflect on the judge’s opinions, giving them special weight. It makes the judge’s speech int...

Legal English is a professional language. This means that a good command of ordinary English does not make a student automatically proficient in legal English. Many foreign law students on English language programmes experience problems when suddenly all their lectures, textbooks, discussions and written work have to be in English. A lack of familiarity with legal English canseriously impede their progress. And a command of legal English is not just a desirable academic skill. It has become a...