The twentieth issue of our journal is now in the hands of the esteemed Reader. Already at the start of the Pro Futuro, our editorial board set the goal of publishing issues in English from time to time. In 2019, we finally had the opportunity to do so.

This paper is built around the workers’ fundamental right to take collective action and collective bargaining. Although, this right is firmly embedded in the majority of labour law systems in the social policy (meaning labour law, too) of the European Union, it is worth analysing it separately with an independent meaning. We can approach this right from the fundamental rights, the fundamental treaties or from certain directives, so we can find several questions that are difficult to answer properly. These problems are mostly catalysed by the necessary collision between the need for socially motivated legal protection and the fundamental economic freedoms. In my research, I analyse this right – along with some other connected ones – with the help of the recent case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Pillar of Social Rights because the latter highlights the holistic approach in the current reforms of EU social policy.

All legal systems have their own solution for the treatment of the essential change of circumstance subsequent to the conclusion of the contract. Some of them allow for the judicial amendment of the contract, if the conditions of the clausula rebus sic stantibus are fulfilled.  There are other states, where the possibility to modify the contract by judicial act in case of an essential change of circumstances subsequent to the contract conclusion has only recently been recognised by the national legislation. In the following, it is to be reviewed how and by what means and models English law treats those changes of circumstances which occur after the conclusion of the contract and significantly reshape the contractual relationships.

Nowadays, multinationals have become so strong that they can easily compete with states. Consequently, they have the opportunity to develop several tax minimalization strategies such as transfer pricing, inversion, hybrid entities etc. All these have a negative impact on the world economy and state budgets. Despite detrimental effects, certain countries try to cooperate with multinationals by transforming themselves into tax havens. In this framework, they provide multinationals with various kinds of tax advantages such as deductions, low tax rates and preferential tax rulings (“sweetheart deals”). Although, the general attitude towards tax avoidance in the European Union is negative, particular member states’ tax systems display several characteristics of tax havens. In this regard, it should be noted that multinationals regularly use the loopholes and other advantages of the Dutch tax system to minimise their tax liability. The following study – after a brief view to the characteristics of tax havens– will illustrate these options by highlighting the fact that the country – despite the denial of the respective governments – still displays several characteristics of - tax havens.

The article surveys elements of the Kingdom of England’s relations with the Hanseatic League, the Dutch Republic and Scotland throughout certain periods of history. There is a particular focus on legal measures and regulations adopted by England with regards to the traders of the Hanseatic League in the 14th and 15th centuries and Dutch traders in the 17th century. In relation to Scotland, there is an overview of how restrictions enacted by England helped to contribute in part to the Union of 1707, and of some consequences which followed on from this important historical development. The study can be said to be of interest in terms of certain developments taking place in Europe at the present time. 

Although the security benefits these technologies offer security benefits to our society, their widespread application can involves and clearly leads to serious legal issues and concerns, including technological encounters, disputes and grave concerns for individual citizens’ rights of privacy. Various forms of identification, such as driving licenses, passports, and other identity cards, are progressively being combined with biometric information used by ever-changing and more advanced systems. With no doubts, it can stated as well that the use of them will be spread to other sectors too. Therefore, It safe to assume that this noticeable prosperity of personal information will involve and ache for more advanced data protection measures, encryption technologies, and other safeguarding measures, both to inspire their acceptance and use by the civilian population and to keep this critical information from falling into the wrong hands.