Global Administrative Law Casebooks – Third Edition, 2012

Third Edition, 2012

edited by Sabino CasseseBruno CarottiLorenzo CasiniEleonora Cavalieri, and Euan MacDonald

with the collaboration of Marco Macchia and Mario Savino

While the structure of the book appears to be similar to that of the first and the second editions, this third edition introduces some significant changes.

The original version was something of an experimental attempt to demonstrate the relevance of global administrative law issues to contemporary legal scholarship, collecting the cases and materials used for courses on Global Administrative Law taught by Professor Sabino Cassese at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” and at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris. In the second edition (2008), each of the forty-one sections was considerably extended, and they all followed the same basic structure: an introductory or background section; a list of materials and sources (with hyperlinks, wherever possible); an analysis of the example in question; and a discussion of the various issues raised by the case, enabling each author to flag some basic theoretical problems, and to highlight the relations between the different topics examined in the book. Each contribution concluded with a list of recommended readings, relating specifically to the topic with which it dealt. Lastly, a general bibliography provided an overview of the most relevant works on global legal issues, and particularly global administrative law, divided into twelve different categories.

The 2012 edition has adopted the same basic structure for each section, but the number of cases and materials has been significantly increased. There are now over 180 separate contributions, i.e., four times the number of the second edition.

In particular, the methodology for expanding and improving the Casebook project has been twofoldFirstly, the scope of the volume has been enlarged through the introduction, within each area investigated, of the most relevant and up-to-date features of global administrative lawSecondly, the largely “Italian perspective” that characterized the previous editions has been enrichedby the participation of a range of foreign authors in the most recent iteration of project. The Casebook, originally conceived in Rome and New York, now draws on insights from many different corners of the world. Authors include professors and fellows from the US, Australia, Germany, the UK, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Singapore, France, Poland, Colombia, and many others; with the involvement of leading institutions such as the University of Oxford, New York University School of Law, the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg, the EUI in Florence, the National University of Singapore, Universidad de Los Andes, the University of Amsterdam, and Sciences-Po in Paris. Nevertheless, the Italian perspective still plays a crucial role in developing global administrative law, as evidenced by the recent contribution by a number of Italian scholars entitled Global Administrative Law: An Italian Perspective Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, Global Governance Programme, RSCAS Policy Paper 2012/04, by S. Cassese, S. Battini, E. D’Alterio, G. Napolitano, M. De Bellis, H. Caroli Casavola, E. Morlino, L. Casini, E. Chiti, and M. Savino, elaborated in cooperation with the Global Governance Programme at the European University Institute of Florence.

The issues covered in the Casebook have, as noted above, been extended to include crucial new areas of global regulation, as well as more general and overarching themes. In particular, the work includes a chapter on democracy in the global legal order, dedicated to an examination of the techniques and objectives that underpin the representative process and the protection of human rights. Another new chapter is dedicated to the status and role of Europe in the global legal space. Last but not least, the work opens with a section focused on the emergence of global administration, from both a structural and an organizational perspective, in order to help orient the reader through the analyses that follow.

In conclusion, this third edition aims to offer a more refined resource for the study and practice of global administrative law. Nevertheless, it is clear that the task that it sets itself is far from complete in its present iteration. Although most of the significant issues raised by global administrative law (such as accountability, participation, transparency, and due process) are examined in detail in this volume, there are – and there always will be – important aspects of the field omitted, which future editions will undoubtedly have to confront.

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