Parliaments in democratic systems serve as the people’s representatives, legislators and overseers of the executive. They have the power to define the framework in which the executive can act and... Show moreParliaments in democratic systems serve as the people’s representatives, legislators and overseers of the executive. They have the power to define the framework in which the executive can act and must report about its action. For parliaments to fulfil their roles, though, they depend on access to information. Executive secrecy is an obvious impediment. How, then, do parliamentary actors try to reconcile secrecy and the normative demands of an open, democratic society? The study investigates their arguments, conflicts and patterns of agreement around this topic for the case of Germany. Using the example of two case studies – intelligence agencies and Public-Private Partnerships, the empirical analysis shows that substantive rationales are the main reference point for actors’ acceptance of executive secrecy. In their view, secrecy may be legitimate where it serves a specific goal. Information should be kept secret if its disclosure would obstruct achieving that goal. However, references to instrumentality are highly contentious in political practice. Procedural legitimation has the potential to fill the gap left by the contestation of substantive legitimation: legislation sets framework conditions ex-ante, and usually in a more generalized way, while parliamentary scrutiny works ex-post and deals with concrete issues, cases and conflicts. Show less
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued the rules for Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers for the third time in March 2021. This was prescribed by... Show moreThe United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued the rules for Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers for the third time in March 2021. This was prescribed by Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010). These anti-corruption rules require resource extraction issuers listed on the U.S. stock exchanges to publicly report the type and total amounts of payments made for the “commercial development of oil, natural gas or minerals” to governments all over the world. This Article argues that the long process of the creation of these rules, while frustrating for SEC officials and staff, can be conceptualized as a “stag hunt” involving other countries that host extraction companies on their stock exchanges. Show less
The expansion of the fund industry has been one of the most notable trends in the financial markets of recent years. Not only has the demand for funds among EU investors grown, but both the number... Show moreThe expansion of the fund industry has been one of the most notable trends in the financial markets of recent years. Not only has the demand for funds among EU investors grown, but both the number and types of investment funds also continue to increase. Since investment funds available in the EU can be established both inside and outside the EU, they may be subject to different investor protection regulations, depending on where the fund is located. Accordingly, different levels of investor protection may exist between investors investing in EU funds and investors investing in non-EU funds, including US funds. This book investigates whether there is a level playing field between EU investors investing in EU funds and EU investors investing in US funds and if not, if there is a legal basis in current EU law for the EU regulator to adopt additional investor protection rules applying to investment funds. The analysis considers the basic characteristics of investment funds, how they function in practice, and how they are regulated relating to investor protection issues. Show less
The overall aim of this article is to analyse the rights of corporations (mainly multinationals) when dealing with tax authorities in this new era of transparency and “fair share”. The article... Show moreThe overall aim of this article is to analyse the rights of corporations (mainly multinationals) when dealing with tax authorities in this new era of transparency and “fair share”. The article addresses two questions: First, what are the rights and obligations of corporations as taxpayers in these developments? Second, what should countries (including the tax authorities and judiciary thereof) do (i) to guarantee that the rules to implement exchange of information protect the confidentiality, privacy and participation of the taxpayer in the exchange and (ii) to guarantee that the rules to implement the BEPS Actions, as well as domestic and treaty anti-avoidance rules to tackle abusive and aggressive tax planning, are clear, easy to apply and reliable?This article will address the international instruments and domestic measures introduced to tackle tax evasion, harmful tax practices and abusive and aggressive tax planning (section 2.), and some problems in the application of these instruments and rules will be presented. Section 3. will first analyse the rights of a corporation to confidentiality and privacy, and the right to be notified, to be heard and to appeal against the exchange of information; the second part will analyse the rights of a corporation to certainty and transparency in terms of the availability, clarity, simplicity and reliability of tax rules. Finally, section. will provide some conclusions and recommendations. Show less
Als een bestuursorgaan een maximum stelt aan het aantal vergunningen, ontheffingen of concessies dat verleend kan worden of het beschikbare subsidiebedrag beperkt, is sprake van een schaars besluit... Show moreAls een bestuursorgaan een maximum stelt aan het aantal vergunningen, ontheffingen of concessies dat verleend kan worden of het beschikbare subsidiebedrag beperkt, is sprake van een schaars besluit. Door een dergelijk plafond kan de situatie ontstaan dat er meer aanvragers zijn dan beschikbare besluiten. Hoe moeten deze besluiten in dat geval worden verdeeld? Welke rechtsnormen moeten bij de verdeling in acht worden genomen? Centraal in dit onderzoek staat één van de rechtsnormen die bij de verdeling van schaarse besluiten in acht moet worden genomen: de transparantieverplichting. Door bepaalde transparantievereisten in acht te nemen, stellen bestuursorganen alle potentieel geïnteresseerde partijen in staat om een aanvraag voor een schaars besluit in te dienen. De transparantieverplichting draagt hiermee bij aan de gelijke behandeling van de aanvragers. In dit boek wordt onderzocht in hoeverre de transparantieverplichting bij de verdeling van schaarse rechten in het bestuursrecht in acht zou moeten worden genomen. De belangrijkste conclusie van het onderzoek is dat de transparantieverplichting een toegevoegde waarde heeft voor het Nederlandse bestuursrecht, gelet op de gewenste gelijke behandeling van geïnteresseerde partijen bij de verdeling van schaarse besluiten. Daarom zou de transparantieverplichting als onderdeel van het gelijkheidsbeginsel bij schaarse besluitvorming in acht moeten worden genomen. Show less
This thesis shows that quality of care in surgical oncology varies by provider and is partly based on differences in procedural volume and other attributes of hospitals. Especially for low-volume... Show moreThis thesis shows that quality of care in surgical oncology varies by provider and is partly based on differences in procedural volume and other attributes of hospitals. Especially for low-volume high-risk surgical procedures concentration of services in hospitals with better outcomes (outcome-based referral) can lead to dramatic improvement in short- as well as long-term outcomes. Casemix- and reliability adjustments are essential in the evaluation of quality of care. In addition, an integrated approach, in which several determinants of outcome are combined, might provide a more valid instrument to assess the quality of complex clinical processes. Clinical audit combines several ways to improve quality of care. It stimulates guideline adherence and provides clinicians with continuous and timely feedback on their performance, in relation to a national benchmark. Feedback itself has proven to be very effective, though the most important benefits of clinical audit can be found in the identification and appreciation of clinical processes that lead to better outcomes. This knowledge can be transferred to all practices treating such patient groups, improving outcome on a population-level. In addition, transparency of reliable, meaningful, hospital-specific outcome information, can catalyst the continuous process of quality improvement, steer patients to the right hospitals and reduce the costs of healthcare. Show less
This book deals with the collision of two fundamental rights within the European legal order: the right to access to documents and the right to data protection. If a document which is kept by one... Show moreThis book deals with the collision of two fundamental rights within the European legal order: the right to access to documents and the right to data protection. If a document which is kept by one of the European Union institutions contains personal data the two right collide. Although this possible collision is apparent, it is not sufficiently addressed in the two regulations in which both rights are further elaborated (Regulation 1049/2001 and Regulation 45/2001). After an analysis of legal developments within the EU, case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the relevant national legislation of the 27 Member States, the author presents his views on how the balance between the two rights should be struck. This leads to a concrete proposal for amending both regulations. Show less
