The Gazette 1989

GAZETTE

JANUARY 1989

The Legal Implications of 1992

Address by Mr. Peter D. Sutherland to the Irish Centre for European Law. Mr. Sutherland is the

former Irish Member of the Commission of the European Communities responsible for

Competition Policy and Relations with the European Parliament.

Over the past few weeks, both here

in Ireland and throughout Europe,

there has occurred an explosion of

analysis and exhortation arising out

of the completion of the Single

Market by 1992. I have been an

active participant in the developing

public and political debate in

Europe on this issue ever since the

decision was taken by the present

Commission at a weekend of re-

flection in Royaumont in November

1984 (two months before it

formally took office) to identify the

completion of the Single Market by

1992 as the over-riding objective

for the Community. Emile Noel,

who served as Secretary General of

the Commission from 1958 to

1987, has recently said of that

meeting in Royaumont: "A strong

idea had been launched and you

had the impression that it would be

irresistible and that it would trans-

form the whole European process

in the years to come".

It is a matter of regret that the

kind of debate and analysis which

we are now having in Ireland did

not occur some 12 to 18 months

ago when we debated the adoption

°f the Single European Act. For

what we are now experiencing,

what we are now becoming con-

scious of, is simply the unfolding of

the approach and the commitment

entered into by the Single Act. It is

a matter of regret because our level

of preparedness would by now be

so much higher.

>ngle Market inevitable

believe I can also detect a

qualitative change in the way in

which the Single Market is now

being discussed. Firstly there is

ow widespread acceptance of its

inevitability: the phrase used by the

Heads of State and Government at

Hannover was "irreversibility".

1992 is no longer an aspiration, a

Proposal, a project; it is a reality

hich is now built into the plans,

Preparations and actions of govern-

ments and of businesses through-

nut the Community. Some of the

° st difficult decisions which will

enable us to complete the Single

Market have already been taken. In

February the Community's finan-

cial system was put on a sound

basis, the reform of the guidance

section of the CAP was completed

and the Structural Funds were

doubled in an overall package

which will not need revision until

1993. Last month there was a

series of seminal decisions on the

liberalisation of capital movements,

the mutual recognition of diplomas

and the liberalisation of the road

transport market followed by the

decision at Hannover to undertake

work aimed at preparing for

monetary union. While serious re-

negotiating difficulties lie ahead -

notably in relation to the

harmonisation of taxes - there is

also a much greater readiness in all

Member States than in the past to

make sure that such difficulties do

not become insurmountable. This

change in attitude is partly ex-

plained by the much clearer picture

which is now available of the con-

siderable economic benefits which

the Single Market will entail - GDP

to increase by up to 7%, prices to

fall by 6% and up to five million net

new jobs to be created. Finally, and

most welcome of all, there is the

realisation that these benefits will

not flow automatically to any par-

ticular region, sector or group of

persons but will have to be

competed for. 1992 leaves no room

for complacency: its impact will be

to provide a framework of perman-

ent competitive renewal in previ-

ously protected markets; the

winners will be those who are

ready to put in a good performance.

Legal Implications

In contrast to the economic

analysis, relatively little has been

said about the legal implications of

1992. Yet they are very far-

reaching, affecting the corpus of

laws, the Judiciary, the content and

mix of judicial proceedings, and

indeed the structure, organisation

and efficiency of national legal

systems. I therefore welcome very

much the focus of today's Con-

ference, but even more so the fact

that it is the first public manifesta-

tion of what I regard to be an

absolutely essential part of prepara-

tions for 1992 - the establishment

of the Irish Centre for European

Law. For law lies at the heart of the

European Community.

Legal Framework

Firstly, unlike previous efforts to

unite Europe, the Community has

been created by law. Secondly, the

Community is a source of law, both

through the founding treaties and

through the legal acts promulgated

by the institutions set up by the

treaties. Thirdly, the Community is

V I E W P O I N T

Contd. from page 3

This is certainly not the case

with regard to the Hague Conven-

tion on Child Abduction because it

has been ratified by a significant

number of countries whose

ratification would have a significant

relevance for Ireland, such as the

United Kingdom, the United States,

Canada and Australia as well as

France, Spain and Portugal. What

the Convention does is to provide

a system whereby the judicial or

administrative authorities of the

State where the child, which has

been wrongfully removed from the

custody of those persons entitled

to it, are obliged to order the return

of the child if proceedings are

brought within one year and even

after that period shall order the

return unless it is demonstrated

that the child is now "settled in its

new environment".

"Tug-of-Love" cases are difficult

enough to administer when the

parties are all within a single juris-

diction, they become immeasurably

more difficult and expensive where

the child is removed from one

jurisdiction to another. Anything

that can be done to smooth away

the difficulties of these unfortunate

cases should surely be a matter of

priority for our legislators.

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