Defining competences in EU law has always been problematic, notwithstanding the inclusion since the Treaty of Maastrict of the principle of conferred powers as central to the constitutional character of the EU. Under the principle of conferral, the Union only has those powers actually conferred by the Treaties. However, the concepts of a common market or of ‘ever-closer Union’ have a conceptual scope that potentially, in effect, negates the principle of conferral. This article argues that the framework of norm conflict offers conceptual insight into the dynamics of determining and limiting EU competence. In particular, it draws on the distinction between lex specialis and lex generalis to understand different ways of treating competence norms in legal reasoning. Following a discussion of the concept of competence norms, this conceptual framework is applied to two case studies: (1) on the right to strike and (2) the general law of external relations.

The present paper concerns procedural guarantees in immigration proceedings, thus addressing the broader question of the role of the general principles of EU law in respect of administrative decision-making. The main assertion is that certain requirements of procedural due process are recognized in EU law as fundamental rights. They must therefore be observed by Member State authorities when decisions significantly affecting the legal position of a person are taken, provided that the decision is at least partly determined by EU law. The relevant immigration proceedings involve measures related to the termination of residence as well as decisions related to denial or loss of a particular legal status. In effect, the actual scope of application of the EU's administrative fundamental rights is determined by the actual scope of activity of the European legislator. The author concludes that even a relatively ‘shallow’ harmonization of laws can lead to a ‘deep’ reshaping of the domestic legal order, by becoming a Trojan Horse for fundamental rights heretofore alien to some national immigration regimes.

Written in a transitional period between the two World Wars and taking place during the Austro-Hungarian monarchy's last days before World War I, Austrian author Robert Musil's novel, “The Man Without Qualities” considers the societal need of preserving order in times of political disorder by tracing the story of Ulrich, the “man without qualities”. Claiming that “if all that high-speed business doesn't suit us, let's do something else!”, the novel's main character emphasizes the emerging challenge of social cohesion in times of political transformation: between the collisions of public power and private autonomy; a nation-state past and an international future; and collective action and individual capacity.

Victor Kattan's “From Coexistence to Conquest: International Law and the Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1891–1949” is an archival excavation of the Israeli-Palestinian (Arab-Israeli) conflict and its origins. This review will examine the contours of Kattan's book followed by a brief examination of objectivity in academic scholarship often enunciated through the concept of ‘balance’ as it relates to those scholars (like Kattan) working on the conflict. Finally, this review will explore some of the weakness of the arguments that Kattan advances.

This article will give an overview of the idea and history of origins of preventive detention and the legal changes in the German Criminal Code that underlie the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) (17 December 2009). It will attempt an outlook by considering the prospective outcome of future law suits against German legal statutes relating to preventive detention, and will also describe the present situation and current legal recommendations, including the much-discussed alternative of detention in psychiatric wards. The article will close with a brief comparative look at the related legal problems arising in countries with a criminal law which is based on the establishment of personal guilt of the offender while facing public pressure to detain persons for protective reasons.

Irish legal education is under increasing pressure to reform and reinvent itself in the face of various challenges, especially those implied by the Bologna process. In line with two of the main priorities of the process, namely employability and student-centred learning, a growing number of Irish law faculties have incorporated, or are planning to incorporate, more practice-related components into the law curriculum and, in some cases, a fully fledged Clinical Legal Education programme. This is an important shift in the paradigm of legal education in Ireland which should be welcomed and encouraged by all stakeholders – students, academics, practitioners, judges and those involved in myriad capacities in the administration of justice.

In the first part, a comprehensive presentation is given about the general structure of legal education in Ireland dealing with the main legal education providers, academic and professional requirements for legal training, as well as figures on the legal population and the approximate cost of legal education. The second part goes on to consider three views about the role of practice in Irish legal education, namely the ‘traditional’ view, the ‘holistic’ view and the ‘clinical’ view. These schematically presented views reflect different perspectives on the nature and purpose of legal education. They do not necessarily compete with each other, especially the last two which could arguably complement one another in the general renewal that Irish legal education is facing at the moment. The traditional view is that the status quo, i.e., in which practical elements are not a big feature of legal education at third level, has worked well and should, more or less, be preserved. The holistic view encourages the teaching of some element of practical preparation, but that this can best be provided to students by third level institutions through interdisciplinary courses that put law in context. The view which favours clinical legal education is that more can, and indeed should, be done to enhance the preparation of students for law practice, although it has to be pondered in light of economic realities, competing views about pedagogy and the Bologna context.