The Committee on Legal Affairs, or ‘JURI’ as it is informally known, is one of the smaller standing committees of the European Parliament, having 28 members and 27 substitute members, many of them being lawyers by training. As in the cases of all the parliamentary committees, its membership is a microcosm of the Parliament as a whole, reflecting, through the d’Hondt system, the proportionate share of the seats held by each political group in the hemicycle. The committee also has members from most of the member states of the European Union. The UK has two full members (including myself) and two substitutes. The committee’s work is shared between members of the different groups in proportion to their size. The committee’s current Chair is Giuseppe Gargani (Italy – EPP-ED Group) and it has four Vice-Chairs, Cristian Dumitrescu (Romania – PSE), Rainer Wieland (Germany – EPP-ED), Lidia Geringer de Oedenberg (Poland – PSE) and Francesco Speroni (Italy – UEN). The committee is assisted by a small secretariat of six administrators, one administrative assistant and four secretaries.
The terms of reference of the Legal Affairs committee are set out the Rules of Procedure as follows:
1. the interpretation and application of European law, compliance of European Union acts with primary law, notably the choice of legal bases and respect for the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality;
2. the interpretation and application of international law, in so far as the European Union is affected;
3. the simplification of Community law, in particular legislative proposals for its official codification;
4. the legal protection of Parliament’s rights and prerogatives, including its involvement in actions before the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance;
5. Community acts which affect the member states’ legal order, namely in the fields of:
(a) civil and commercial law,
(b) company law,
(c) intellectual property law,
(d) procedural law;
6. environmental liability and sanctions against environmental crime;
7. ethical questions related to new technologies, in enhanced co-operation with the relevant committees;
8. the Statute for Members and the Staff Regulations of the European Communities;
9. privileges and immunities as well as verification of members’ credentials;
10. the organisation and statute of the Court of Justice;
11. the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market.
The committee plays an important institutional role in advising the President of Parliament as to the expediency of Parliament’s initiating proceedings before the Court of Justice or joining in proceedings in support of another party (usually, but not invariably, the Council or the Commission).
It also advises other committees on the choice of legal basis for proposed legislation. The choice of legal basis – that is to say, the article or articles of the Treaty which give the Community the power to legislate in a particular field – is important since the wrong legal basis can result in legislation being struck down by the Court of Justice. The legal basis also determines what role Parliament plays in the legislative procedure – ie, is it merely consulted or does it have full powers of co-decision? If another committee wishes to propose a change in the legal basis, it has to consult JURI, otherwise the corresponding amendment cannot be voted upon in the plenary session.
Lastly, the committee advises Parliament as to whether to waive or defend members’ parliamentary immunity when any of them get caught up in legal proceedings in their member state.
There has recently been a considerable amount of legislative activity in JURI’s sphere of competence.
Civil law
As a result of the transition to co-decision (a procedure in which the Parliament enjoys equal rights with the Council of Ministers), private international law – formerly the province of academics – has become increasingly politicised. The issue of defamation in Rome II on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations has become a burning issue for the media, while that of damages in personal injury cases, especially traffic accidents remains a crucial one to citizens. As no agreement could be reached during the first two readings, Parliament has formed its conciliation delegation with a view to reaching a final agreement at the latest by 9 May 2007.
Rome I on the law applicable to contracts will complete its first reading in early 2007. Here, one of the key issues will be to persuade the United Kingdom to opt in, its current failure to do so being a disturbing development which threatens the unity of Community law and has been echoed in the area of maintenance obligations and the law applicable to divorce, where the committee will also be playing an active role in shaping new legislation.
Many of the initiatives dealt with by JURI relate to bread-and-butter issues for legal practitioners and litigants. Following the successful adoption in first and second reading agreements of the instruments on service of documents, the order for payment and, in all likelihood the European small claims procedure, further initiatives are to be expected on the attachment of bank accounts and other practical aspects affecting the day-to-day work of legal practitioners in the internal market.
With the Community’s accession to the Hague Conference on private international law, the committee is likely to focus increasingly on the external aspects of judicial cooperation, particularly with regard to jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments, cross-border service of documents, taking of evidence and administrative co-operation.
Intellectual property and criminal law
Apart from the question of the Community Patent and the proposed European Patent Litigation Agreement, the committee will examine the enforcement of intellectual property rights, particularly under criminal law, where it should conclude the first reading of the Commission’s proposal in mid-2007. This constitutes the first Commission proposal applying the principles of the 2005 case on criminal sanctions in the field of the environment (Case 176/03). In this context, the committee will soon start examination of the Commission’s recent proposal on criminal sanctions for violations of environmental law. A crucial issue will be the precise extent of the Community’s competence in the criminal sphere. Second, the criterion of ‘necessity’ or ‘indispensability’ put forward by the Court will undoubtedly require clarification.
Furthermore, the committee’s own-initiative report on collective management of copyright has attracted much attention. This is a sensitive area and the rapporteur has chosen to highlight the Commission’s decision to opt for a non-binding recommendation rather than legislation. If, as the Commission is now proposing, this is followed up by a further recommendation on copyright levies, the committee is likely to take up this matter on its own initiative in order to make good the Commission’s failure to consult the Union’s democratic institutions on such politically delicate issues. This also highlights the whole issue of soft law and the better regulation agenda which is another recurring theme in the committee’s work.
Focus on contract law
The activity of the Legal Affairs committee in relation to what may be termed ‘the European Contract Law Project’ is instructive in demonstrating a number of the problems and issues which arise in the broad area of civil law competence. European contract law and the need for greater coherence across the legal systems of the European Union have been recurrent themes over many years. When, in the previous mandate, the Legal Affairs committee was actually the Legal Affairs and Internal Market committee, the linkage between the proper functioning of the Internal Market and the barriers to trade caused by differing provisions of national law and indeed by various sectoral community instruments was perhaps more obvious. The Legal Affairs committee and its predecessor committee had always strongly supported initiatives in the area of contract law with the aim of removing some of these legal barriers to cross-border trade. A number of resolutions to this effect were initiated and these have been taken up in the work of the Commission, particularly in respect of the consumer aspect of contract law.
Last year, the committee continued to formulate its views on the Commission’s proposal and work on the so-called ‘common frame of reference’ (CFR) in the field of European contract law, in particular on the Commission 2004 communication on ‘European contract law and the revision of the acquis: the way forward’ as well as the 2005 ‘first annual progress report on European contract law and the acquis review’. As a result of the report and the ongoing activity in this area, an informal European Parliament working group on European contract law has been founded, together with members of the now separate Internal Market and Consumer Affairs committee. The working group closely monitors developments in the field of European contract law, in particular, the work of the network of academic researchers currently engaged in a Commission funded project which informs the preparation of the CFR and the work of the broad network of stakeholders again established by the Commission to advise on the extent, content and possible provisions of the CFR. The member states also have a similar working group.
This could arguably be the largest current project within the area of European civil law. Therefore, it is essential that both arms of the EU legislature, the Parliament and Council, carefully track the important work going on in the Commission. However, the Commission is not at present proposing any clear ‘legislative’ instrument but rather a possible soft law CFR to be used merely as a tool by the legislature. It is not the much-discussed European Civil Code, but rather a so-called advisory instrument, a ‘tool-box’ for the legislator. The means by which the Parliament could maintain its right to be involved in this ongoing work, which is particularly critical from the Legal Affairs committee’s point of view, remains problematic. One of the results of the discussions in the working group was the organisation by the committee of a public hearing on European contract law on 21 November 2006. Other activities, for example a workshop, are planned this year. This area of the committee’s work, which is politically sensitive, must be regarded as being long term and strategic in nature. It also clearly forms part of Parliament’s scrutiny of the European executive, when instruments other than Regulations or Directives are chosen. It would be more than ironic at a time when there is so much said about the democratic or undemocratic nature of the European Union, if academic researchers and stakeholders had a greater input and say in the development of the EU’s contract law than directly elected parliamentarians.
The current state of European contract law presents us with two central problems. Firstly, the inconsistencies in consumer acquis (set out yet again in the Green Paper of 7 February 2007) and secondly inconsistencies in EU general basic contract law as between the differing member state legal systems. These differences hinder the good functioning of the Internal Market, and in turn undermine the possibility of fulfilling the Lisbon Agenda. One only has to look at the additional transactional costs of differing legal regimes revealed by the Clifford Chance survey of a sample of their business clients to see that here is a problem waiting to be solved.
However there are political constraints on solving these problems. First, there is a tension between two conflicting principles – on the one hand there is the consumer acquis with a high level of consumer protection, which could be termed ‘state’ intervention into contract terms, whereas elsewhere in general contract law and indeed in the CFR there is the emphasis on freedom of contract, or party autonomy. There is also the clear distinction between tort, or non-contractual obligations and contract itself where we want to respect the choice of the parties. The consequent difficulties in formulating public policy (ie where should the legislator step in to protect persons or values?) and the use of mandatory rules at a Community level are well illustrated by the UK’s recent and disappointing decision not to opt into the proposed Rome I regulation. To what extent are we prepared to allow the EU legislator to set out the European values that could underpin general contract law? This is a political debate, not a technical or a legal one.
The second constraint is our legislative ability at EU level. The member states have in the main made the choice to go down the road of harmonising conflict rules, as exemplified in Rome I and Rome II, and not substantive law. This leaves each substantive body of national law intact and only attempts to dictate the choice of which law should be used at a particular time. In contrast, any legislative or binding instrument on general contract law might seem to fly in the face of this policy choice. Indeed, many would argue that the EU lacks legislative competence to do this, despite any internal market justification. However, perhaps the answer is that that EU conflict rules should point out not only which national law applies to a given situation but also when community law, first and foremost that concerning the internal market, itself takes precedence. This again has proved to be an intractable problem raising the continual dilemma between a country of origin approach and that of private international law or conflict rules. There is a need for further clarity as to how these two ideas interface.
All this demonstrates that we seem to be in the midst of erecting a very tangled web, a web of conflict rules combined sometimes with a 28th legal regime, and sometimes with harmonising internal market rules. We should perhaps reflect whether this approach to legislation in the civil law field is really the way to help the internal market and to provide the coherence that is sought. These considerations aside, there are many general principles of contract law, particularly in the consumer field, where more coherence would help the internal market, and it is these which will clearly form the focus of the work in the coming months as the review of the consumer aquis is addressed.
Diana Wallis MEP is Liberal Democrat Member for Yorkshire and the Humber, Vice President of the European Parliament, ALDE Coordinator for Legal Affairs.
Chairmen and Vice Chairmen
Mr Gargani graduated in law in 1958. Two years later he enrolled in Democrazia Cristiana (DC) becoming a national delegate of the DC Youth Movement. In 1964, he became a member of DC’s National Council, and eventually regional secretary in Campania responsible for the justice section of the DC Secretariat. From 1972 to 1994 he was a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, serving several times as chairman of the committee of justice. From 1979 until 1984, Mr Gargani was under-secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice. Mr Gargani was subsequently elected to the European Parliament for the Italian Meridionale constituency. Since 2001 Mr Gargani has been the chief of the justice division of Italian party Forza Italia, and he is chairman of the committee on legal affairs.
A member of the Social Democratic Party, part of the Party of European Socialists, Mr Dumiterescu – who is a vice-chairman of the committee on legal affairs – became an MEP on 1 January 2007 with the accession of Romania to the European Union.
After studying law in Tubingen, Heidelberg and Stuttgart, from 1975 until 1992 Mr Wieland acted as a chairman of various youth unions across Germany. In 1993 he became a member of the German Christian Democrats, and in 1997 was elected to the European Parliament. He is currently a vice-chairman of the committee on legal affairs.
She took a masters in economics at the Economics Academy in Wroclaw and carried out further postgraduate studies at the World Economy institute, Warsaw school of Economics (1997), and the French Institute of Administration in Warsaw (1999). Ms Geringer de Oedenberg joined Polish Television on the editorial staff (1989-2001), simultaneously working as a journalist on the weekly ‘Wiadomo?ci Kulturalne’ (1995-1997). For nine years from 1996 she ran the International Festival of Culture ‘Wratislavia Cantans’. Since 2004 Ms Geringer de Oedenberg has been acting vice-chairwoman of the Polish Television S.A. Programme Council in Wroclaw. She is a vice-chairwoman on the committee on legal affairs.
Mr Speroni has degrees in political sciences (1975) and in law (1999), and worked as flight technician (1970-1997) and manager (2001-2004). Starting his political career on the Municipal Council of Albizzate (1986) followed by Samarate (1987-1990) and Busto Arsizo (since 1990), he was elected as a Senator from 1992 to 1999 and served as Minister for Institutional Reform for a year (1994-1995). Mr Speroni was elected to the European Parliament in 1994 and 1999, and is one of the vice-chairmen of the committee on legal affairs.
Members:
A former journalist who has worked since 1969 as a hotelier, Mr Bulfon represents the Austrian Socialist Party, and is a member of Committee on Legal Affairs.
Carlo CASINI (Italy). Mr Casini graduated in law in 1958 and started practising in 1960. He became a magistrate in Florence, and in 1966 was promoted to deputy state prosecutor. In 1999 he became an appeal court judge. Elected to the Italian parliament four times, Mr Casini has served as a rapporteur on the criminal procedure code, on adoption, drugs and terrorism. Elected to the European Parliament in 1984, he has served as chairman of the committee on legal affairs and citizens’ rights, as vice-president of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, and has presented reports on artificial insemination, international adoption and the exploitation of minors. From 2002 to 2006 he taught international law, human rights and bioethics at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum in Rome. Mr Casini is a member of the national executive of the “Scienza e Vita” committee, of the National Bioethics Committee (CNB) and of the European Group on Ethics (EGE).
A graduate in journalism and political studies from the University of Warsaw, Mr Czarnecki took a masters in law and administration from the University of Warsaw in 1986, before becoming an advocate, and he currently works for Czarnecki & Bagi?ska.
Bert DOORN (The Netherlands). After studying law at Groningen, Nancy, and Freiburg, Mr Doorn took a doctorate in competition law from Freiburg 1978, before working for the Confederation of Netherlands Industry (VNO), as a secretary for international affairs. He became the VNO’s secretary for matters relating company law in 1997, and was elected as an MEP in 1999.
Graduating in political sciences from Florence in 1989, Ms Frassoni was employed as a temporary agent for the Green Group in the European parliament specialising on constitutional affairs, until her election to the European parliament in 1999. She was elected as an MEP for the Belgian Greens (ECOLO) and in 2004 for the Italian Greens. She is currently a co-chair of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance.
Mr Karas holds a masters degree in European and international business law from the University of St. Gallen. A manager in the banking and insurance sector, he began his political career as an adviser to the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) in 1979, and was elected as an MEP in 1999. He has held the following posts: vice-chairman of the Austrian Federal Youth Association (1980-1990); federal chairman of the Young ÖVP (1981-1990); member of the national executive of the ÖVP (1981-1991); secretary-general of the ÖVP (1995-1999); president of the Austrian Aid Organisation (since 1998); vice-president of the Young European Christian-Democrats (EUJCD) (1981-1990); member of the European People’s Party bureau and council (since 1995), and member of the steering committee of the European Democratic Union (since 1995).
After graduating in law Ms Kauppi worked as a secretary in the Legislation Directorate in Finnland for two years. Ms Kauppi was elected to the European Parliament in 1999 and since then has held the following positions: member, committee on economic and monetary affairs (since 1999); member, committee on legal affairs (since 2004); member, committee on women’s rights and gender equality (since 2004), and chair of Finland’s PPE-DE Members’ group (since 2004).
Having studied law, physics and philosophy in Düsseldorf, Freiburg, Cologne and Bonn, Mr Lehne started his political career 1984 as a member of Düsseldorf city council. He was elected to the German Bundestag in 1986. In 1994 he was elected as MEP, and has served as the European People’s Party’s group co-ordinator on the legal affairs committee.
Ms Lévai took degrees including a doctorate from the Foreign Trade College, Eötvös Loránd University, and became a university teacher. From 1992 to 2001 she was a visiting lecturer at Swedish, Czech, German, Belgian, US, Danish and Italian universities, and from 1991 to 1996 she was head of the social policy department at Kossuth Lajos University. In 2002 she was employed by the Hungarian ministry of employment for a year, and subsequently served in a ministerial position from 2003 until 2004.
A graduate in art history, Mr Libicki entered the Polish parliament in 1991 for three terms. During his last term – from 2001 until 2004 – he sat on the committee on rules and deputies’ affairs, the European committee and as chairman of the Polish-Taiwanese parliamentary group. In 2003 he became an observer of the European Parliament before being appointed as chairman of the European Parliamentary committee of petitions.
A graduate of the École Polytechnique in Paris and the National School of Civil Engineering, he went on to obtain a higher degree in economics in 1972. He worked as a researcher at the Transport Research Institute and the Economic Research Centre, becoming director of research at the National Scientific Research Centre in 1988 and chief engineer at the Highways Department in 1990. Mr Lipietz became a member of the Île-de-France Regional Council in 1992 for two years, before joining the Villejuif Municipal Council in 1995. He was elected as an MEP in 1999.
A graduate in law as well as in business studies, he became an assistant to Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar from 1999 to 2002. Afterwards he was appointed secretary-general of the European People’s Party, a member of the group’s executive committee and its committee on external policies, later becoming executive secretary of the Centrist Democrat International group.
Graduating in law in 1971, Mr Masip Hidalgo has been a practising lawyer since 1972. He began his political career as a member of the Asturias Regional Parliament in 1982, and became minister for culture and sport in the regional government of Asturias (1982-1983). For eight years he served as a Mayor of Oviedo (1983-1991). In 1997 Mr Hidalgo became secretary-general of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) in Oviedo, and served as a member of the PSOE federal committee between 2000 and 2004.
Mr Mayer qualified as a lawyer and obtained a doctorate in law in 1990. Beginning his career as a lawyer in 1975, he then moved to academia becoming professor of law and administration between 1980 and 1990, and then Rector, of the Catholic Vocational College of North Germany. He began his political career as a municipal councillor in Bad Waldsee (1975-1980), becoming chairman of Vechta district from 1984 to 1991. He has also been chairman of the economic council of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Saxony-Anhalt, of the Federal Commission on European policy (1995-1999) and of the Oldenburg CDU’s committee on the development of the Weser-Ems region in Europe (since 1995).
After his law degree Mr Medina Ortega took a doctorate in law at Madrid and a masters in comparative law at Columbia University (1962). As an academic, he has held the following posts: professor of international law at the University of La Laguna (1975-1978); professor of international relations at Complutense University, Madrid (UCM) (since 1978), and director of the Institute of Educational Sciences (UCM, 1978-1982). On the political side he has served in the following roles: president of the PSP (Canary Islands, 1976-1978); chairman of the management committee of the Spanish Socialist Party in Lanzarote (1993-1994); a member of the socialist federal committee (1994-1997); a member of the Congress of Deputies for Las Palmas (1982-1987), and chairman of the its committee on foreign affairs. In 1986 he was elected as an MEP, in which capacity he has held the following positions: vice-president of the European Parliament (1986-1987); chairman of the delegation for relations with the countries of South America (1987-1989 and 1989-1994); vice-chairman of the committee on legal affairs (1989-1992) and co-ordinator for the socialist group in the committee on legal Affairs (1992-1994, 1999-2004).
Mr Nassauer passed his first state law examination in 1968 and second state law examination in 1972, before working as a judge of the provincial court of Kassel. Two years later he became a member (1974-1994) and vice-president (1991-1994) of the Hesse Landtag (local council). In 1992 he became a member of the central office of the CDU’s Hesse branch. Mr Nassaur was elected as an MEP in 1994, and – between 1999 and 2004 – served as chairman of the CDU/CSU Group in the European Parliament and chairman of the delegation for relations with the ASEAN countries, South-East Asia and the Republic of Korea.
A law graduate with experience as a professional journalist, Mr Pannella was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies from 1976 until 1992. He was a founder, secretary-general and chairman of the Radical Party and the Lista Pannella as well as co-founder of the international Radical Party. He has held various positions in different municipal councils, such as chairman of the XIII district of the municipality of Rome (Ostia), and member of the municipal councils of Trieste, Catania, Naples, Teramo, Rome, Aquila, Lazio and Abruzzo. He was elected as an MEP in 1979, 1996 and 1999.
An engineer with a doctorate, Mr Sakalas worked from 1960 until 1962 at the Institute for Electrographics. As an academic he was associate professor (1972) and professor (1980) at the University of Vilnius. He became chairman of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party from 1991 to 1999 and was elected as a Member of Parliament in Lithuania in1996. Held a position of a Chairman of the Committee on the Verification of Credentials of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania (1990-1992) as well been a Deputy President of Parliament (1992-1996) and Chairman of the Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (2000-2004).
He worked as a journalist, publicist, publisher (1968-1989), commentator and editor-in-chief (since 1989), becoming vice-president of the Union of Czech Writers in 2000.
A qualified teacher with a degree in history, Mr Titley began his political career on West Midlands country council in 1981. He served as chairman of the West Midlands Enterprise Board and of the West Midlands Co-operative Finance Company (1982), and was elected as an MEP in 1989. He has held the following positions: chairman of the delegation to the EC-Finland joint parliamentary committee (1992-1993); chairman of the delegation to the EC-EEA joint parliamentary committee (1993-1994); chairman of the delegation to the EU-Lithuania joint parliamentary committee (1999-2002); chairman of the conference of delegation chairmen (2002). He has been leader of the British Labour group since 2002.
A graduate in history from London University in 1975 with a masters in local government from Kent University, Ms Wallis has been a solicitor since 1984. In 1995, she became deputy leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Unitary council, and was elected as an MEP in 1999. While in parliament she has held the following positions: first vice-chairwoman in the delegation for relations with Switzerland, Iceland and Norway (1999-2004); Liberal co-ordinator on the committee on legal affairs and the internal market (1999-2004); leader of the Liberal Democrat delegation (2000-2004); coordinator on the committee on legal affairs (since 2004). Ms Wallis has also been president of the Institute of Translations and Interpreting since 2001.
Qualifying as a doctor at Charles University, Hradec Králové, in 1965, he became a senior lecturer in medicine at Charles University, Prague, subsequently becoming head of the Institute of Sexology. Mr Zverina has also held the following political positions: member of Tábor Town Council (1994); vice-chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament and chairman of the committee for European integration of the Chamber of Deputies (2000). In 2004 he became chairman of the committee for European affairs of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament.
He took a masters in law from the Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznan in 1979. In 1983 he became a journalist with Polish Television working as a reporter, presenter, parliamentary commentator, head of information programme editing and director of the TVP branch in Szczecin.
Substitute Members of the Committee
A qualified lawyer since 1977, Mr Borghezio started working at Turin City Council in 1990. Two years later became a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and in 1994 he was elected as under-secretary of state for justice. He was elected as an MEP in 2001.
With a degree in chemical physics and mathematics, Ms Bowles worked as a patent and trade mark attorney since 1981. She became secretary of the Chilterns region Liberal Democrat Party (1990-1995); a member of the party’s federal executive and federal finance committee (2000-2003); co-chair of the international relations committee (since 2002); vice-president, European Liberal Democrats (since 2004) and vice-president of the Liberal International since (2005).
Ms Breyer studied political science at Saarbrücken and Berlin, and is a member of the Greens, for whom she acts as regional executive spokeswoman in Saarland. Ms Breyer was a member of Mandelbachtal municipal council, and was elected as an MEP in 1989.
Mr Chervenyakov is a member of the Coalition for Bulgaria, part of the Party of European Socialists, and became an MEP on 1 January 2007 with the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union.
After graduating in law in 1993, Mr Crowley became a senator and government spokesman on justice. He was elected as an MEP in 1994.
Mrs González was elected as an MEP in 1999 and sits as a member of the executive and federal committees of the Spanish socialist party. She was a member of the Basque Parliament and Minister for Trade, Consumer Affairs and Tourism in the Basque Regional Government between 1991 and 1998, and chair of the Spanish Socialist delegation to the EU between 1999 and 2004.
A law graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies, Ms Fontaine was elected as an MEP in 1984, and has held the following posts: vice-president (1989-1999) and president (1999-2002) of the European Parliament and chairwoman of the Conference of Presidents (1999-2002).
A literature graduate elected to Neuilly Municipal Council in 1983, she became an MEP in 1999.
Mr Gauzès is a graduate of the Institute of Political Studies with a degree in economics and a diploma in public law (1969). He worked as a lecturer at Toulouse University for Social Sciences (1969-1972), before practising as a lawyer in Paris (1973-1979 and 1994-1998). From 1980 until 1994 he worked as a lawyer in the Council of State and at the Court of Cassation, and was an in-house lawyer with a bank from 1998. He became Mayor of Sainte-Agathe-d’Aliermont in 1983, and a member of Haute-Normandie Regional Council in 1993.
Ms Hazan has a masters degree in private law and a diploma from the Institute of Criminology. She was nominated to the National College for Judicial Officials in 1980, and has had the following legal appointments: judge for the implementation of sentences, Châlons-sur-Marne (1980); children’s judge, Nanterre High Court (1983) and Paris High Court (1995); adviser to the Minister for Employment and Solidarity (1997-1999), and president of the Judiciary Association (1986-1989). Elected to the European Parliament in 1999, her political appointments include: Socialist Party national secretary responsible for social issues (since 1995); member of Reims Municipal Council (since 2001), and member of the Champagne-Ardenne Regional Council (1998-2001).
A graduate in aeronautical engineering Mr Radwan also qualified as a lawyer in 1995, and worked in-house in the IT and telecommunications sector (1996-1999). Elected as an MEP in 1999, his political appointments include: district chairman of the Junge Union in Miesbach (1989-1994); district chairman of the Junge Union of Upper Bavaria (1994-1999); member of local, district and regional executives of the Christian Social Union; district chairman, Upper Bavarian Small Business Union, and member of Miesbach District Council.
After qualifying as a lawyer Ms Roth-Behrendt worked the chancellery of the Mayor of Berlin. She was elected as an MEP in 1989, she served as PSE spokeswoman on the environment, health policy and consumer protection between 1989 and 2004, and as chair of the BSE committee of inquiry (1997).
Ms Stauner qualified as an interpreter in English, French and Russian taking her Doctor of Laws in 1984. She was elected as an MEP between 1999-2004 and again since January 2006, and has held the following positions: ministerial official in the Bavarian civil service (1979-1987); official working for the West German Foreign Office with the UN in Geneva (1987-1990); ministerial official, Bavarian State Chancellor’s office (1991-1999); head of section for employment and training, Bavarian Employment Ministry (2005); district chair, Christian-Social Employees’ Association (CSA), Upper Bavaria.
Qualifying as a solicitor in 1964 Mr Sumberg worked in private practice until 1999. He served as a Conservative councillor on Manchester City Council from 1982 to 1984, and was elected to Parliament from 1983 to 1997, during which time he served as parliamentary private secretary to the Attorney-General (between 1986 and 1989). He has been a member of the European Parliament since 1999.
Mr Zingaretti has held the following political positions: member of Rome Municipal Council (1991-1993); national Secretary of ‘Sinistra Giovanile’ (1991-1995); chairman of the International Union of Socialist Youth (1995-1997); socialist party official responsible for international relations (1998-2000), and secretary of the Roman Federation of the socialist party (2000-2004).
Mr Toubon graduated in public law from the Lyons Institute of Political Studies and then attended the National School of Administration. He worked as a senior administrator of the prefect of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and from 1974 to 1976 was technical adviser in the office of the Prime Minister, Jacques Chirac. In 1997 he became an adviser to President Chirac. He has held the following positions: Rassemblement pour la République (RPR) party’s national delegate with responsibility for elections (1976-1978); deputy secretary-general with responsibility for elections (1978-1981); secretary-general of the RPR (1984-1988); member of the RPR committee on ‘Man and Society’ (1990). Deputy Mayor of Paris and Mayor of the 12th arrondissement of Paris (1983-2001); councilor of the 19th arrondissement of Paris (since 2001); Minister for Culture and the French-Speaking World (1993-1995), and Keeper of the Seals and Minister for Justice (1995-1997).
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