european union

Swiss Institute of Comparative Law

The Swiss Institute of Comparative Law (Institut suisse de droit comparé, or ISDC) was established in Lausanne in 1982. Its primary task is to prepare legal opinions in respect of foreign law for the Federal authorities, courts, lawyers and other individuals. It also produces studies in comparative law, holds colloquia and carries out research projects. The Institute has an extensive law library, whose catalogue is available via the website. A set of legal links for countries from Afghanistan to Zambia is available on the Law Online page, annotated in English.

Council of the European Union: agreements database

This database, provided by the Council of the European Union, gives details of international agreements concluded between the EU and non-EU countries or organisations such as UN agencies; it also includes agreements between EU member states. The database covers all agreements since 1989, plus older agreements which are still in force and selected old agreements which are no longer in force. Ratification details and other status information are given. Official Journal references are provided, with links either to the full text or the EUR-Lex database's Official Journal search screen.

Arbeitsgemeinschaft für juristisches Bibliotheks- und Dokumentationswesen

The Arbeitsgemeinschaft für juristisches Bibliotheks- und Dokumentationswesen is an association for law libraries and legal documentation centres in German-speaking countries; it also has individual members from the library and information field. Its website provides information about the purpose and activities of the organisation, along with news, publications and links to other law library associations. The site is in German.

Centre for European Reform

The Centre for European Reform (CER) is a UK think-tank that is pro-European in nature, though not uncritical. The website provides information on the Centre's research, events and other activities. It includes details of publications, many of which are available in full-text online, a blog, and extracts from press reports quoting the CER statements. Research topics currently include EU foreign policy, competitiveness, enlargement, EU institutions and the Euro.

The Legislative Observatory

The European Parliament's Legislative Observatory website, also known as OEIL, consists mainly of a searchable database tracking every proposal through the EU legislative process. All ongoing legislative procedures are included, plus concluded procedures going back to July 1994. For each procedure, there are summaries of key stages in the legislative process and forecasts of future stages. Links to the full text of many legislative documents are provided.

TED: Tenders Electronic Daily

Tenders Electronic Daily, or 'TED', originated as the printed Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union (S series, or OJ S). TED is online-only and provides daily information on public contracts put out to competitive bidding in the EU member states and by EU institutions. The content can be searched or browsed and RSS feeds are available. There is a five-year archive. Users can register for free to access additional functions such as saved searches and customisation. The website is in all the official EU languages.

One Europe or Several? The Dynamics of Change Across Europe

This is the website of an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) programme which studied several areas of change and development within contemporary Europe. It ended in 2003. The programme aimed to examine " ... contemporary processes of political, security, economic, social and cultural change across the European continent, notably in relation to influences on convergence and divergence within and between European countries and prospects for integration and fragmentation." One Europe or Several?

Historical Archives of the European Union

Website of the Historical Archives of the European Union, which is based at the European University Institute in Italy. It consists substantially of bibliographic references to official documents produced by the major EU/EC institutions, including: the European Economic Community, the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Atomic Energy Community, the Council of Ministers, the European Commission and the European Parliament. Despite its name, however, it also covers archives relating to non-EU/EC bodies and archives acquired from individuals.

'Ever closer union' in need of a human rights policy: The European Union and human rights

This site contains the full-text of a Jean Monnet Working paper by Philip Alston and J.H.H. Weiler published by Harvard University in 1999. The document examines the existing strengths and weaknesses of human rights policy in Europe. In particular it focuses on the recognition of human rights issues in EU treaties and the current institutional arrangements. Criticisms of the current system are made. These include the belief that there is an excessive reliance on judicial remedies. Recommendations which include the establishment of new monitoring agencies are made.

Euromyths

This site is maintained by the European Commission Representation in the United Kingdom to provide facts about European Union legislation and directives and to undermine any false rumours perpetuated by the British press. It examines newspaper and magazine stories from 1992 onwards. Typical examples include: "the EU is trying to ban Prawn cocktail crisps" and "bagpipes told to pipe down". Each entry makes reference to the actual EU directive involved and provides the facts.

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