Concessions and Similar Instruments in the EU and beyond

Concessions continue to be a topic of interest to both daily practice and legal scholarship. This book highlights some specific themes to help bridge the current research gap. It deals with situations in which the government has a de facto or legal monopoly on (the allocation of) certain rights and where the private party acquiring these rights must make investments to subsequently be able to exploit these rights. The risk of recouping the costs incurred lies with the private party. Examples include mining, operating casinos, and operating parking garages. Although concessions are used in quite a few cases for these matters, this is not always the case. Indeed, sometimes similar instruments such as licenses or permits are used. The book anticipates this by including these instruments in its scope.

This bilingual – French and English – comparative law study focuses on EU countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain), as well as countries outside the EU (Argentina, Egypt, the United States of America, and Switzerland). To facilitate comparison, four concrete cases for analysis and discussion have been identified: the exploitation of arcade halls and casinos, mining resources, advertising on street furniture and municipal car parks. Three main questions are addressed: 1) What legal instrument is used to allocate the right to exploit? 2) What legal procedure is used to allocate this right? 3) How are the private party and the investments made by this party protected? In ten chapters with national reports, these cases are discussed in an in-depth manner and are set against a general overview of the legal system of the country concerned. Each national report has a general conclusion that transcends the separate cases that are studied. The main findings and conclusions of this book are presented in two chapters with an extensive transversal analysis.

All in all, this book gives the reader important insights into the situation surrounding ‘concessions’, provides a basis for thinking about solutions and raises important questions for future research. A must read for anyone dealing with concessions in academia or practice.