Frans Pennings

Leonard F. M. Besselink

Sacha Prechal

Legality is a traditional normative concept to regulate the relationship between those in power and those subjected to that power. The principle of legality protects the citizen against the arbitrary use of power, or, more precisely, it demands a legal basis (which itself must be of a certain standard) to legitimize State action. Is legality under siege in Europe? The authors contributing to this provocative and important book answer this question in the affirmative. Twenty-one outstanding European legal scholars expose a spectrum of ways in which the traditional legality principle is under pressure because of the creation of new legal orders, including that of the EU, and the interaction between these new orders and that of the State, combined with such factors as expertise driven governance, difficulties of international organizations to meet their objectives due to a lack of adequate powers, and lack of parliamentary control. The question of whether the main functions of legality - legitimating, attributing and regulating the exercise of public authority - are still fulfilled in the context of the overlapping, interacting, and mutually dependent legal orders of the EU, the ECHR, and the Member States is at the background of all the essays in this volume. Recognizing that legality, if it is to survive, demands rigorous reconsideration of its scope and application, the authors interrogate not only such fundamental democratic issues as who has legitimate power to perform legislative acts and through these to exercise of public power over citizens, but also such urgent European problems as the following: ; the use of the precautionary principle in EU decision-making; the scope of the principle that the exercise of public authority must rest on an act of Parliament; the extent to which the EU can provide a legal basis for action of Member State authorities in the absence of such a basis within Member State legal orders; the constitutional position of independent 'regulators'; the requirements that ECJ and ECHR case law impose on the exercise of public authority; whether legislative results are coherent in the sensitive area of equal treatment; transparency, legal certainty, enforceability, and implementation of EC Directives in the field of workers' involvement; new instruments as the Open Method of Coordination and the involvement of social partners in decision-making; the de facto harmonization of national criminal justice systems; and the prominent role of the EU in the field of data protection. There can be little doubt that the issue of legality and to whom it applies - in a world in which the role of the modern State is changing profoundly - is a crucial one. It is highly important in the context of the ongoing discussion on the meaning of democracy and citizenship. This volume, with its clear message that reconsidering legality demands taking serious issue with the uncertainty engendered by the processes of globalization, will resonate profoundly among practitioners and policymakers in this time of momentous change.

The Eclipse of the Legality Principle in the European Union

Claire Bosse

In recent years it has become clear that many businesses, motivated by avoiding the rigidity and the price tag associated with labour law and social security, have succeeded in eroding the protection of labour law by creating numerous categories of workers classified as non-employees. In 1996 the International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted Recommendation 198, which asks its Members to undertake action to reduce 'disguised' employment relationships, with the goal of ensuring that those actually working in an employment relationship are actually given the corresponding legal status. Though these are - from a legal approach - two conceptually different phenomena, they are closely related from a social policy point of view. In order to make a substantial contribution to the discussion on these developments a group of noted European labour law scholars has undertaken the research assembled in this book, recommending labour law reforms based on a close examination of existing conditions. The eight authors analyse measures and legal instruments offered by the European Union and the ILO to cover persons performing personal work, as well as specific developments in Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Poland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In each case they describe viable ways in which categories of persons not treated as employees can be brought under the protection of labour law and how the distinction between employees and self-employed can become more clear. In a concluding final Chapter comparative conclusions are drawn on the basis of this study and recommendations are given to the EU, the ILO and the individual Member States. Among the specific issues covered are the following: * redefining the subordination criterion; * the role of the courts; * determination of the contract of employment; * forms of labour involving more than two contracting parties (e.g., employment agency arrangements); * the legal position of temporary workers; * 'employee-like' persons, e.g., home-workers or commercial representatives; * the 'bogus' self-employed; * introduction and effect of legal presumptions in labour law and/or social security; * developing uniform criteria for the employment relationship; * criteria for identifying self-employed but economically-dependent workers; * extension of protection of labour law to persons other than employees or the self-employed; and * social rights applicable to all work contracts irrespective of their formal qualification; * floor of core rights. This study seriously contributes toward overcoming the reluctant and piecemeal measures commonly taken to extend the protection of the employment contract. Although the authors acknowledge the continuing tension between labour law protection and the need for a flexible workforce, they also recognize the positive effects of best practices that lead to more certainty, fewer disputes, and clear (but still flexible if necessary) agreements. The book will be warmly welcomed as a signal contribution to addressing what one labour law scholar has called 'the most important industrial relations issue of our time.'

A Comparative Study

The Protection of Working Relationships

Martin Seeleib-Kaiser

In the 1990s, the Maastricht Treaty introduced the right to free movement for EU citizens. In practice, however, there are substantial barriers to making use of this right, particularly to integration and to accessing the social and welfare rights available. This is particularly true when it comes to accessing social rights, such as social assistance, housing benefit, study grants and health care. This book provides a detailed description and thorough analysis of these barriers, in both law and practice.

Frans Pennings

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