scholarly journals The Simplification of Biological Diversity in International and EU Law

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3424
Author(s):  
Henrik Josefsson

Every system that manages or assesses biodiversity rests on a simplification of its complexity. The simplification of biodiversity is debatable and difficult; even, for example, regarding the elements on which the assessment and management should focus. Nevertheless, within law, there are assessment and management schemes that are based on a simplified understanding of the meaning of [the construct of] ‘biodiversity’. For example, the Ecosystem Approach, European Union (EU) Habitats Directive, and the EU Water Framework Directive try to assess the status of different biodiversity elements based on their different ‘biodiversity’ simplifications. As the conservation of biodiversity is a vital global question, it is important to include the right elements within the ‘biodiversity’ construct to achieve no net loss. Based on international and EU law, I conceptualize a consistent legal simplification of ‘biodiversity’.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 275
Author(s):  
Mathijs Carmen ◽  
Simon D. Berrow ◽  
Joanne M. O’Brien

The Shannon Estuary in Ireland is home to a resident population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and is designated as a Special Area of Conservation under the EU Habitats Directive. It is an important industrial area, with numerous deep-water berths for shipping. Despite its high conservation value, there are few published studies on habitat use or foraging behavior of the Shannon dolphins throughout the year. The present study assessed the year-round presence and foraging activity of bottlenose dolphins at different locations in the middle and inner estuary using static acoustic monitoring. Dolphin presence was found to decrease with increased distance from the estuary mouth, i.e., where the estuary meets the Atlantic Ocean, while at the same time, foraging was found to be considerably higher in the upriver areas, suggesting the inner estuary was an important foraging area. Model predictions for seasonal, tidal and diel foraging were highly variable across locations, indicating that changes in dolphin behavior occurred over relatively small geographical scales. These results indicate that conservation efforts should consider the Shannon Estuary as a dynamic aggregation of habitats and future development initiatives should attempt to mitigate disturbance to the dolphins during important foraging periods on seasonal and diel scales.


2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
DOUGLAS EVANS ◽  
ANDRÁS DEMETER ◽  
PETER GAJDOŠ ◽  
ĽUBOŠ HALADA

SUMMARYThe European Union's (EU's) Habitats Directive includes annexes listing the habitats and species requiring protection. As new countries join the EU these lists need to be amended to remain pertinent. In 2004 and 2007, 12 countries, mostly in central Europe, joined the EU and were asked to propose native species or habitats that required protection; this formed an initial base for negotiations with the European Commission in consultation with the existing member states and with scientific support from the European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity. The 12 countries made 831 proposals, resulting in the addition of 191 species and 33 habitats, and geographical exemptions for eight species. Although the Directive provided definitions, these needed to be supplemented with additional criteria to permit assessments of the proposals. The process involved many actors at both European and national level. This illustrates the development of biodiversity governance and provides potential lessons for future activities, including the need for scientific guidance and the importance of involving all relevant actors.


2012 ◽  
pp. 475-511
Author(s):  
Federico Casolari

Law Although EU law has established a general framework concerning the fight against discriminations on the grounds of religion (namely as far as equal treatment in employment and occupation is concerned), the related ECJ case law is not very rich. This article tracks and evaluates the impact of the ECHR case law devoted to the freedom of religion on the interpretation and application of EU law concerning religion discriminations. It argues that the ECHR case law may contribute to identify the notion of ‘religion' which is relevant for EU law, while several arguments may be put forward against the application of the Strasbourg approach to the balancing between the right to quality based on religion and others human rights into the EU legal order.


2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 491-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanna Laaka-Lindberg ◽  
Kimmo Syrjänen

Abstract The dioicous epixylic liverwort Cephalozia macounii (Aust.) Aust. is rare over its entire distribution area in the Northern Hemisphere. It is protected under the EU Habitats Directive and classified as critically endangered in Finland and Sweden. One reason cited for its rareness and the declining trend in its distribution its poor reproductive capacity. It does not produce asexual gemmae, which in general is common among liverworts. Although female plants with perianths are quite common, the male plants of the species have rarely been seen and sporophytes have not been described until now. In this paper we describe and illustrate the sporophytes of C. macounii on the basis of an old specimen collected in Southern Finland in the 1800s.


Author(s):  
Maria Fanou

In its recent Opinion 1/17, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) examined the compatibility of an external judicial body, the Investment Court System (ICS) under the EU–Canada Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), with EU law. At a time when judicial independence has arisen as one of the main challenges for the rule of law in the EU, this article discusses the Court’s findings in relation to the compatibility of the ICS with the right of access to an independent and impartial tribunal.


2009 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilmar Süda

Metsamardikate (Coleoptera) uued liigid Eestis The article presents faunistic data on 85 species of Coleoptera new to the Estonian fauna. Most of the material has been collected within the framework of various research and monitoring projects carried out in Estonian nature reserves (1998-2009). A new type of trunk window trap, designed by the author in 2004 mainly for monitoring purposes, has been successfully used. 17 of the 85 species are new for the fauna of whole Baltic region: Pseudeuglenes pentatomus (Ths.) (Aderidae), Caenocara subglobosum (Muls. & Rey), Xyletinus tremulicola Y. Kangas (Anobiidae), Choragus sheppardi Kirby (Anthribidae), Cryptocephalus saliceti Zebe (Chrysomelidae), Dirrhagofarsus attenuatus (Mäklin), Hylis cariniceps (Rtt.), Microrhagus emyi (Rouget) (Eucnemidae), Gnathoncus communis (Marseul) (Histeridae), Notolaemus unifasciatus (Latr.) (Laemophloeidae), Agathidium discoideum Er. (Leiodidae), Anisoxya fuscula (Ill.) (Melandryidae), Mordellistena neuwaldeggiana (Pz.) (Mordellidae), Ripidius quadriceps Abeille de Perrin (Rhipiphoridae), Lissodema cursor (Gyll.) (Salpingidae), Aphodius quadrimaculatus (L.) (Scarabaeidae) and Eutheia schaumii Kiesw. (Scydmaenidae). One of the species, Caenocara subglobosum (Muls. & Rey) (Anobiidae), is new for the whole Northern Europe. Specimens of this species were collected from eastern and southern Estonia: most were caught in window traps but some also emerged from the collected fruiting bodies of Common Puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum). For 21 new species, Estonia lies on the northern edge of their range. Three of these, Triphyllus bicolor (F.), Mycetophagus ater (Rtt.) and Glischrochilus grandis (Tournier) that were collected from 6-10 sites, have a wider distribution in Estonia. Two species, Xyletinus tremulicola Y. Kangas (Anobiidae) and Stephanopachys linearis (Kug.) (Bostrichidae), have been listed on Annex II of the EU Habitats Directive. Two new species (Lymantor aceris (Lindemann) and Xyleborinus saxesenii (Ratz.)) were also added to the list of Estonian bark beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae).


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-200
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Woch

The right of family members of Union citizens to live with them in the host Member State has always been considered essential for an effective freedom of movement of citizens. However, the provisions of Directive 2004/38/EC contain a different description of the scope of rights of family members of Union citizens taking advantage of the freedom of movement of persons as to the possibility of accompanying or joining EU citizens taking advantage of the freedom of movement of persons, depending on whether they belong to the circle of ‘closer’ or ‘distant’ family members. This issue acquires particular significance in the context of family members who are not citizens of any Member State of the Union. For individuals belonging to the circle of ‘closer’ family members, the EU legislator grants the subjective right to accompany or join a Union citizen exercising the right of the freedom of movement of persons. In the latter case, the legislator only obliges the host Member States to facilitate entry and residence for such individuals in accordance with their national legislation. The glossed judgment, by determining the status of individuals under legal guardianship within the framework of the Algerian kafala system as a ‘distant’ family member of a Union citizen, clearly touches upon a significant issue in the context of the Union’s freedom of movement of persons.    


2021 ◽  
pp. 124-141
Author(s):  
Colin Faragher

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses the Treaty framework and sources of EU law as well as the institutions of the EU. It covers the legal background to the UK’s departure from the EU, the legal process through which the UK left the EU, the key provisions of the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (2020), and the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020. This chapter also discusses the effect of the UK’s departure from the EU on the status of the sources of EU law and the effect of leaving the EU on the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms as well as failure to transpose a Directive into national law and the effect of leaving the EU on the Francovich principle.


2020 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-267
Author(s):  
Monika Zalnieriute

In Google LLC v. Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU or Court) held that the EU law only requires valid “right to be forgotten” de-referencing requests to be carried out by a search engine operator on search engine versions accessible in EU member states, as opposed to all versions of its search engine worldwide. While the ruling has been perceived as a “win” for Google and other interveners, such as Microsoft and the Wikimedia Foundation, who argued against worldwide de-referencing, the Court also made clear that that while the EU law does not currently require worldwide de-referencing, “it also does not prohibit such a practice” (para. 72). As a result, the CJEU found that an order by a national supervisory or judicial authority of an EU member state requiring worldwide de-referencing in accordance with its own national data protection laws would not be inconsistent with EU law where the data subject's right to privacy is adequately balanced against the right to freedom of information. By leaving the door to extraterritorial de-referencing wide open, the CJEU continues to pursue its post-Snowden hard-line stance on data privacy in a manner that is likely to transform the data privacy landscape.


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