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“Les étranges actes de “soft law” de droit européen – C-911/19 CJUE, Fédération Bancaire Française”
Revue du Droit de l’Union Européenne 2023/3 (preliminary)

In contrast to what is usually defined as soft law – that is, value-free guidelines set either by the administration, but more frequently by international institutions, and which are followed regardless of their normative value because of their sophistication and standardisation – EU soft law casts doubt on the concept of ‘law’ itself. […] [which] finally culminated in Case C-911/19, Fédération Bancaire Française. Should “law” in the EU be defined only as actions adopted by the EU institutions through legislative procedures, or should it also include additional quasi-regulatory measures such as EU soft law? […]

September 2023

“The Effects of Eco and Smart Policies: A Social Justice Perspective”
Trends in Sustainable Smart Cities and Territories. SSCT 2023. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 732. Springer

This article aims to offer an insight often overlooked by policymakers within the smart and green innovation landscape: that of the social effects of these policies. In particular, in the first part of the introduction and trend scenario in European policies, the general framework of smart-eco innovation is outlined. Then, in the second part, the topic of the effects of these policies is touched upon, before going into detail on the two main aspects forming the basis of economic inequality: housing and employement. The article then comes to understand that smart and green innovation have significant drawbacks when it comes to inequality, especially at the spatial level. Therefore, it is crucial that all these elements are taken into account when implementing smart policies so that our cities become truly smart and not mechanical.
Available on Springer website HERE

August 2023

“Nudging: a double-edged sword in the era of Big Data”
8th International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Technologies (SpliTech), Split/Bol, Croatia, 2023

This article aims to analyse the tool of nudging, in its most recent evolution of hypernudging, from a mainly practical perspective. The development of the big data world and the parallel phenomena of datafication have on the one hand reduced the costs of implementing nudging and on the other hand exponentially increased its pervasiveness. By penetrating the intimacy of one’s private life, hypernudges risk compromising the renown individual’s right to be left alone. The article therefore elaborates on these privacy risks and attempts to offer solutions both theoretically and practically.
Available on IEEE Xplore website HERE

April 2023

“Regtech, un problème (et non une solution) : la problématique de la structuration des outils informatiques dans le cadre actuel de l’ue, du point de vue de la conformité, des droits fondamentaux et des sanctions en droit bancaire et financier”
Revue Internationale des Services Financiers 2022/4

Depuis un rapport d’Accenture de 2016, une ventilation structure le débat autour des RegTech : la gestion de l’identité (principalement les procédures de connaissance du client et la gestion des processus d’authentification et de gestion des données personnelles conformément aux nouvelles directives du GDPR) ; l’analyse des risques et des contrôles (avec des éléments tels que la cybersécurité et l’agrégation des données sur les risques pour la détection et la gestion des risques et des activités de contrôle) ; la surveillance (notamment les activités de lutte contre le blanchiment d’argent, le filtrage des ransactions, la détection et la prévention de la fraude) et la veille églementaire et le reporting (entre autres le reporting automatisé et l’interprétation de la réglementation). Ces domaines clés, qui couvrent l’essentiel des enjeux de ce secteur, nous permettent d’appréhender le secteur d’un point de vue pratique, et ont fait l’objet d’une littérature scientifique certes limitée, mais complète. […]
Available on Larcier Intersentia website HERE

March 2023

“Using Smart People to Build Smarter: How Smart Cities Attract and Retain Highly Skilled Workers to Drive Innovation (Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland)”
Smart Cities and Regional Development (SCRD) Journal 2023/1 7

Smart cities have been heralded as new powerhouses of economic growth and their capacity to fill this promise strongly depends on how attractive they are to highly skilled people. In fact, talented professionals can be regarded as their precondition and the fuel of innovation. In this article, we try to articulate how outstanding smart cities have managed to consolidate and retain a highly skilled graduate workforce. To this end, we analyse recent institutional developments in the cities with smart ambitions that achieve the highest smartness scores and compare them to parallel developments in those that obtain the lowest scores or no score across four countries: Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland. […]
Available on SCRD website HERE

“Privacy and Security Concerns in the Smart City”
Smart Cities 2023, 6(1)

This article will highlight negative personal privacy and informational security outcomes that may arise from development programs currently pursued in smart cities. It aims to illustrate the ways in which the remedies proposed so far appear insufficient from a legal or practical standpoint, and to set forth a number of tactical approaches that could be used to improve them. […] The study clarifies how significant data privacy and information protection are in the making of a successful smart urban community and provides insights on local Italian and Swiss policy makers’ interest about digital innovation tied to the development of data protection.
Available on MDPI website HERE

“Culture-Sensitive Public Procurement Benchmarking”
Journal of Infrastructure Policy and Management 2022, 4(1)

In this brief article we will address the measure of managing public procurement taking into consideration cultural, corporate and organizational specificities, with a sustainable development strategy in mind. […] [W]e need to be aware that integrating cultural factors when dealing with public procurement is fundamental when it comes to leadership issues. Underpinning leadership is an ability to comprehend people, their values, and characteristics, and how these factors may correct and adapt public procurement methodology.
Available on JIPM website HERE

August 2022

“Directive Crowdfunding et droit français : une simplification bienvenue”
Revue du Droit de l’Union Européenne 2022/2

With limited ambition, the Crowdfunding Regulation (2020/1503 ) breaks down national regulations and creates a regime that is extremely favourable to investors and market liquidity. Through a legal study comparing the options chosen by the French, Swiss and European legislators in the field of crowdfunding, this brief study aims to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of these regimes.
Available on Larcier Intersentia website HERE

“Establishing Participative Smart Cities: Theory and Practice”
Smart Cities and Regional Development (SCRD) Journal 2023/1 7

In recent years, there have been efforts carried out by international organisations, like the OECD or the EU, to push for smart cities to take inclusion as one of their core pillars. This raises the question of a newly discussed concept: participative (or participation) smart cities. More specifically, it raises the question of whether such a setting or program is feasible , and how passive participants can be transformed into active stakeholder. In order to answer the research question, this article intends to assess the level of citizen participation in a sample of selected smart cities. […] The article concludes that if smart cities want to follow international organisations recommendations to make cities more inclusive and participatory, institutional reforms must be conducted.
Available on SCRD website HERE