If in Doubt, Leave it Out? EU Precaution in WTO Regulatory Space

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Flett
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Political ◽  
International Level ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Balanced Approach ◽  
Available Information

This article reviews the way in which the concept of precaution, as commonly referenced in EU law, is received in the WTO. It argues that precaution is not a principle, but one facet of a principle of making rational judgments based on available information, the other facet of which is “that risk is worth taking”. Systematically pursuing high cost measures in response to low risks is not a balanced approach, and has probably contributed to the scepticism with which the concept is viewed in the WTO. However, this article goes on to argue that, without needing to be a principle, precaution is the determining legal feature in the SPS Agreement, because, unlike in the European Union, there is no legislative harmonisation of SPS measures at international level, WTO Members being free to set their own appropriate level of protection. In fact, the concept of precaution is relevant in the context of many other WTO provisions and is in some respects quite close to the concept of subsidiarity. Notwithstanding this, the first WTO SPS cases, driven by regulatory exporters and an interventionist WTO, have excessively emphasised scientific issues, masking policy judgments that the WTO has neither the legal nor the political authority to sustain. The article concludes that the proper way forward necessitates closer political, legal and administrative links between the WTO and other relevant international organisations, and a move away from consensus in the latter.

New Help or New Hegemony? The Transnational Indigenous Peoples' Movement and ‘Being Indian’ in El Salvador

2002 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 525-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
VIRGINIA Q. TILLEY
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
El Salvador ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Indigenous Activism ◽  
Political Leverage

The transnational indigenous peoples' movement (TIPM) can convey important political leverage to local indigenous movements. Yet this study exposes a more problematic impact: the political authority gained by funding organisations who interpolate TIPM norms into new discourses regarding indigeneity, and deploy that discourse in local ethnic contests. In El Salvador the TIPM has encouraged the state to recognise the indigenous communities and has opened a political wedge for indigenous activism. Yet TIPM-inspired programmes by the European Union and UNESCO to support indigenous activism paradoxically weakened the Salvadorean movement by aggravating outside impressions that Salvadorean indigenous communities are ‘not truly Indian’.

The very basis of our existence*

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beate Sjåfjell
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
The Political ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Environmental Dimension ◽  
Sustainable Societies

This chapter focuses on the neglected environmental dimension of sustainable development. It argues that ecological sustainable development as the new law is not only supported by normative necessity but also has a legal basis in the law of the European Union. The political and bureaucratic will to carry through the necessary practical implementation is, however, lacking. This does not affect the validity of the legal basis or that of the obligations flowing from the legal basis. Rather, it indicates a need to keep repeating the message until it gets through. The chapter outlines the legal basis and its implications for the prioritisation between the three dimensions in EU law. It concludes with some reflections on the possible contribution of labour to the necessary transition to sustainable societies.

Israel and the European Union

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Pardo
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Middle East ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Trade Relations ◽  
History Of ◽  
The One ◽  
Integration Project ◽  
The Eu

Israeli-European Union (EU) relations have consisted of a number of conflicting trends that have resulted in the emergence of a highly problematic and volatile relationship: one characterized by a strong and ever-increasing network of economic, cultural, and personal ties, yet marked, at the political level, by disappointment, bitterness, and anger. On the one hand, Israel has displayed a genuine desire to strengthen its ties with the EU and to be included as part of the European integration project. On the other hand, Israelis are deeply suspicious of the Union’s policies and are untrusting of the Union’s intentions toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to the Middle East as a whole. As a result, Israel has been determined to minimize the EU’s role in the Middle East peace process (MEPP), and to deny it any direct involvement in the negotiations with the Palestinians. The article summarizes some key developments in Israeli-European Community (EC)/EU relations since 1957: the Israeli (re)turn to Europe in the late 1950s; EC-Israeli economic and trade relations; the 1980 Venice Declaration and the EC/EU involvement in the MEPP; EU-Israeli relations in a regional/Mediterranean context; the question of Israeli settlements’ products entering free of duty to the European Common Market; EU-Israeli relations in the age of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP); the failed attempt to upgrade EU-Israeli relations between the years 2007 and 2014; and the Union’s prohibition on EU funding to Israeli entities beyond the 1967 borders. By discussing the history of this uneasy relationship, the article further offers insights into how the EU is actually judged as a global-normative actor by Israelis.

scholarly journals The interpretation complying with EU law manifested in the case law unifying judgment No. 15/2013 of the Portuguese Supreme Court of Justice

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 82-96
Author(s):  
Carla Machado
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
The Other ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
The One

This article aims to address the interpretation that has been made by Portuguese courts in relation to the concept of “communication of the work to the public” enshrined in Article 3 (1) of Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001, duly transposed into the Portuguese legal order by Law No. 50/2006 of 24 August, which culminated in the drafting of the case law unifying judgment No. 15/2013. By verifying its content and analysing the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (hereinafter CJEU), concerning the interpretation of that concept, we conclude that the said case law unifying judgment does not comply with EU law. Therefore, we will list, on the one hand, the inherent consequences regarding the upkeep of the interpretation that has been held by the Portuguese judicial authorities and, on the other, we will suggest solutions for the resolution of similar cases by appealing to the principle of conforming interpretation.

scholarly journals „La Țigănci”, nuvela-parabolă a profetismului eliadesc / "La Țigănci" – The Parable of the Eliadesc Prophetism

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-86
Author(s):  
Liliana Danciu
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Short Story ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Political ◽  
Rite Of Passage ◽  
Main Character ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
The Future ◽  
Naked Body

The unprecedented experience of Gavrilescu, the main character in the La Țigănci short story, continues to arise  various interpretations, proving the viability of this eliadesc writing. For some literary critics, he is the anti-hero by definition, which lives what Eliade understands by "level break", but without understanding anything of it. The ordinary man, with a banal existence, routinely in the profane becomes the Chosen One uselessly claimed by sacred, for ignorance prevents him from seeing beyond the Illusion. In the hut of the gypsies, he crosses a rite of passage, from life to death, proof being the shrouded curtain that will wrap his naked body, the terrible thirst for unpopularity, and the surprising encounter with the always young Hildegard, the beloved of his youth.In this article, I try to reveal another dimension of this eliadesc short story, linked to the name of the main character, which, in my opinion, refers to the name of the archangel Gabriel, the "pair" of the other, Michael. As it is known, the name of the archangel Michael is directly related to the Romanian legionary movement in the inter-warperiod, a nationalistic, violent and criminal political-ideological movement that has successfully manipulated local religious and cultural elements to gain followers and become strong. Up to a point, the Romanian legionary movement stood under the sign of both archangels, synthesizing both the intellectual and the political dimensions.In time, the two directions have broken apart, and the legion has remained exclusively under the warlike sign of the warrior archangel. The Romanian intellectuals, who originally sympathized with the nationalist ideals of the legionary movement, distanced themselves from it and remained under the soteriological mark of Archangel Gabriel. This is, in my opinion, the message hidden by Eliade in this unusual short story. Also, using allegory and symbol, the Romanian author turns out to be a man of vision and prophesies the future of Romania, which has been culturally and historically marked, in time, by Germany. The present does not contradict Eliade, because Germany is the engine of the European Union, of which Romania wants to be part.

1. Context, Background, and Institutions

2020 ◽  
pp. 3-16
Author(s):  
Bernadette Rainey ◽  
Pamela McCormick ◽  
Clare Ovey
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
The Other ◽  
European Convention ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter examines the history and institutions associated with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It discusses the political context in which the European Convention was drafted and both the political developments and philosophies which shaped its content. It also examines the system of protection provided by the different organs of the Council of Europe; the relationship between those organs and other international courts and tribunals, including the European Union; and the role of the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, the Commissioner for Human Rights, and the other human rights instruments of the Council of Europe in the enforcement of the human rights provisions.

scholarly journals Article 3(5) TEU a decade on: Revisiting ‘strict observance of international law’ in the text and context of other EU values

2021 ◽  
pp. 1023263X2110151
Author(s):  
Rupert Dunbar
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Law ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Balanced Approach ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
External Relations ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
The Eu

Article 3(5) of the Treaty on the European Union concerns EU external relations and was a new provision of the Lisbon Treaty. It has been seized upon by scholars for its reference to ‘strict observance of international law’ by the EU in its relations with the wider world. However, recent case law in the Court of Justice of the European Union has demonstrated little movement towards this supposed ideal. This article supports the fact that rigid and unquestioning adherence to international law has not emerged in case law, particularly as Article 3(5) TEU also mandates that the Union ‘uphold and promote its values and interests’. By taking a broader view of both the text and context of Article 3(5) TEU in EU law as a whole, and through consideration of the limited demands international law places on domestic courts, the article argues that – contrary to current literature – a more expressly balanced approach towards respect for international law is required and should be nurtured in the case law.

Członkostwo bez akcesji? Norwegia i Islandia a stosowanie prawa Unii Europejskiej

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (15) ◽  
pp. 423-442
Author(s):  
Michał Drgas
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
The Other ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Area ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
The One ◽  
Do So

Norway and Iceland are two states that are closely integrated with the European Union (EU) despite formally not being its members. Above all this is a result of them being bound by parts of EU law. On the one hand, as members of the European Economic Area, they apply EU laws that constitute its internal market as well as acts related to most of other EU policies once contained in its first pillar. On the other hand, being Schengen associated states, they are also required to apply EU border crossing and asylum rules and regulations. The article examines the mechanisms and procedures employed to enable the two states to apply EU law as well as ensure its proper application. It also investigates the range of EU laws that Norway and Iceland are obligated to follow and the degree to which they do so.

Part V Global and Regional Security Mechanisms, Ch.54 The European Union

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanopoulos Eva
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Law ◽  
The Other ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Security Architecture ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Global Security ◽  
The One ◽  
The Eu

This chapter explores the European Union’s relationship and contribution to the international law of global security through the lens of ‘ambivalence’. The reasons for this approach are threefold. First, that relationship oscillates between symbiosis and friction. On the one hand, the European Union (EU) has been gradually integrated into the global security architecture. On the other hand, the EU, as a power bloc and ‘autonomous’ legal community, also provides a source of conflict with, disassociation from, or destabilization of, global security arrangements. Second, the interaction between EU law and global security law, as well as the substantive contribution of the EU to the law of global security, produces mixed results. Finally, the ambivalence of the EU as a ‘global security provider’ has also explanatory value when it comes to contemporary developments and challenges, particularly as they emerge from the EU’s response to the increased ‘questioning’ of the European project and the global liberal order more generally, and that cut across several aspects of global security.

4. The Supremacy of EU Law and its Reception in the Member States

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Foster
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Political ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Questions And Answers ◽  
Legal Arguments ◽  
Political Logic

The Concentrate Questions and Answers series offer the best preparation for tackling exam questions. Each book includes typical questions, bullet-pointed answer plans and suggested answers, author commentary and illustrative diagrams and flowcharts. This chapter presents sample exam questions along with examiner’s tips, answer plans, and suggested answers about the supremacy of EU law and its reception in Member States. Both the legal arguments for supremacy and the political logic are often considered in establishing the reasoning for EU law supremacy. The first question concentrates on the reasons for EU law supremacy from the point of view of the Union and in the view of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU (or also abbreviated CoJ)).

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