Book Review

In LM, the Court of Justice ruled that the executing Member State (in this case Ireland) must refrain from giving effect to an European Arrest Warrant where the issuing Member State (in this case Poland) is facing systemic or generalised deficiencies in the independence of its judiciary and where there are substantial grounds for believing that the individual concerned will consequently risk having his right to fair trial breached upon surrender. The case was not only legally complex, but also politically charged, as it was set within the context of systemic undermining of judiciary in Poland. This contribution focuses on critically assessing the judgment from the perspective of the relationship between the principle of mutual trust and fundamental rights, analysing the developments with regard to the nature of rights capable of rebutting mutual trust and the test required to do so. It also briefly reflects on the potential for the Court’s reasoning in LM, in particular the central positioning of the independence of judiciary in the EU constitutional order, to impact the ongoing legal and political proceedings addressing the Polish rule of law crisis.

This paper highlights the growing threat of cryptocurrencies being used for the purposes of money laundering and terrorist financing within the EU. Ireland was chosen as the case study for this piece because of the nation’s strong user adoption rate of the technology. Ireland also has the highest level of investment in blockchain businesses, as a percentage of total venture capital in Europe. Therefore, the maintenance of a secure network is paramount to cementing the nation’s status as an international technology hub, as well as to sustain the level of investment the country has become accustomed to. This paper begins by defining the problems of money laundering and terrorist financing and goes on to explain the technologies at issue in a manner which is accessible to the reader. The process of how both criminal and terrorist actors can use this technology to further their interests is presented in detail, with a discussion on what problems may be encountered should sufficient preventative measures not be implemented. The paper highlights the issues with the current legislative and enforcement frameworks and identifies three core failure. Finally, the effectiveness of the new EU Anti-Money-Laundering Directive is examined and a possible solution to the aforementioned core failures is offered.

This paper examines some of the lessons learned so far from the Brexit process. It analyses those lessons under three main headings: the European Union itself; the withdrawal process (including Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union); and European Union law. The lessons learned include the following: a realisation about the fragility of the EU project if such a politically stable and long-standing EU member state as the United Kingdom (which is traditionally one of the most compliant member states in terms of implementing EU law) could decide that it was not worthwhile remaining in the EU; the consequential need for the EU to validate itself even more with all of its citizenry; the complexity of EU law; the difficulties involved in withdrawing from the EU; the pervasive nature of EU law; the mistakes made in the Brexit process; and the continued significance of sovereignty not only as far as the Brexiteers are concerned but also as the Court of Justice of the European Union demonstrated in the Wightman litigation. Mistakes were made by both the UK and the EU in letting the situation come to a point where a majority in the UK voted in favour of Brexit – that was a mistake by both the EU and the UK. Mistakes have also been made by the UK in the Brexit process. The Brexit process clearly demonstrates the centrality of law as the force which unites and underpins the EU project. The Brexit process also shows the close interrelationship between law and politics in the EU so this paper combines issues of both legal and political science in its attempt to discern and discuss some of the lessons of Brexit so far.