scholarly journals Democratizing Foreign Policy: Parliamentary Oversight of Treaty Ratification in Pakistan

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Ghouri
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Treaty Ratification ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
Treaty Negotiations ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Parliamentary Oversight

Abstract Treaties are agreements between States negotiated by government executives. They are primarily meant to govern the relationship between States, but may have implications for the economic, political, and fundamental rights of citizens. As treaties create binding legal obligations for States enforceable under international law, this article primarily argues that Parliamentary oversight of treaties is necessary for their democratic legitimacy. It analyses the Ratification of Foreign Agreements by Parliament Bill (the ‘Bill’) which is currently being debated in the Senate of Pakistan. Offering critical overview of the existing treaty making procedures in Pakistan, the article evaluates several aspects of the Bill including its definition of foreign agreements and the proposed treaty ratification procedures in comparison with international law of treaties and relevant laws of the UK, Australia, and Kenya. Based on the comparative examination of the Bill, the article makes proposals for changes in the Bill's substantive provisions and make further suggestions for improvement, such as guiding principles on treaty negotiations and procedure for treaty withdrawals. The article concludes by giving a comprehensive package of practical recommendations for further development of the Bill's provisions on treaty ratification in accordance with international best practices.

scholarly journals EU Law’s Half-Hearted Protection of Religious Minorities Minority Specific Rights and Freedom of Religion for All

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 830
Author(s):  
Kristin Henrard
Keyword(s):  
Case Law ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Special Rights ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

This article begins with some reflections on the definition of religious minorities, their needs and rights and how this relates to the discussion about the need for minority specific rights in addition to general fundamental rights as rights for all human beings irrespective of particular identity features. Secondly, an overall account of the ambiguous relationship between religious minorities and fundamental rights is presented. The third and most extensive section zooms in on the EU and religious minorities, starting with an account of the EU’s general approach towards minorities and then turning to the protection of fundamental rights of religious minorities in/through the EU legal order. First, the EU’s engagement with minority specific rights and the extent to which these norms have been attentive to religious themes will be discussed. Second, the CJEU’s case law concerning freedom of religion and the prohibition of dis-crimination as general human rights is analysed. The conclusion then turns to the overall perspective and discusses whether the EU’s protection of religious minorities’ fundamental rights can be considered ‘half-hearted’ and, if so, to what extent. This in turn allows us to return to the overall focus of the Special Issue, namely the relationship between the freedom of religion for all and special rights for religious minorities.

8. Referendums

UK Politics ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 171-191
Author(s):  
Andrew Blick
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
Key Features ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Theoretical Considerations ◽  
Political Decisions

This chapter starts with a definition of the term ‘referendum’. A referendum is a means of involving the public in political decisions via voting on specific issues such as leaving the European Union. The chapter focuses on the use of referendums at the local level. It sets out the key features of a referendum. Who is allowed to vote in referendums? What sort of questions are put to voters? Under want circumstances should a referendum take place on specific issues? What are the risks associated with holding a referendum? The chapter also looks at regulations surrounding referendums in the UK. The theoretical considerations that the chapter examines are the fact that a referendum subject tends to be controversial, the relationship between referendums and direct democracy and the implications of the results.

International Law, the ECHR, and the EU

2021 ◽  
pp. 212-312
Author(s):  
Jan Wouters ◽  
Michal Ovádek
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Special Importance ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Intergovernmental Organization ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

This chapter focuses on the relationship between international law, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and the EU. International law features with respect to the EU both as an object of the EU's internal fundamental rights regime and as a source of human rights obligations. Whereas the latter reflects the original conception of international human rights law, the former is capable of generating unease due to the scope for contravening the principle of supremacy of international law. Moreover, although the ECHR can, in principle, be regarded as international law, it is of special importance to the legal order of the EU and its Member States, in addition to representing the most developed regional regime of human rights protection in the world. The specific character of the EU as neither a typical international (intergovernmental) organization nor a state often complicates the relationship with international law further. Nonetheless, Article 3(5) TEU requires the EU to contribute, in its international relations, ‘to the protection of human rights as well as the strict observance and the development of international law, including the respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter’. The chapter then looks at other Council of Europe instruments and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD).

scholarly journals Democratic Legitimacy between Port-au-Prince and Cairo: A Reply to Erika de Wet

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 208-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jure Vidmar
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International Law ◽  
Political System ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Legal Scholarship ◽  
Democratic Government ◽  
Normative Force ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Definition Of

In the 1990s, international legal scholarship was marked by democratic idealism and the belief that democracy had become the only legitimate political system. The more radical proposals even speculated about legality of pro-democratic intervention. Such re-conceptualizations of international law were met with determined criticism. However, even skeptical voices were willing to admit that democracy nevertheless did have some limited normative force in post-Cold War international law. While it would be an exaggeration to say that nondemocratic governments are illegitimate per se, a consensus started to emerge that international law prohibited at least a coup against a democratic government. In the absence of a workable definition of substantive democracy for international law purposes, a democratic government was understood as an authority which comes to power in an electoral process that is reasonably free and fair.

5 Obligations of International Organizations, 5.2 Interpretation of the Agreement of 25 March 1951 between the WHO and Egypt , Advisory Opinion, [1980] ICJ Rep 73

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brölmann Catherine
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Advisory Opinion ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
The Icj ◽  
Legal Character ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Relationship

The 1980 WHO Advisory Opinion elaborates on the general legal obligations (grounded in the duty of co-operation and good faith) that are part of the relationship between an international organization and its host state. In this opinion the ICJ possibly for the first time articulated this relationship as a set of mutual obligations between legal equals. The opinion moreover enunciates the sources of international legal obligations binding upon international organizations (IOs): the treaties they conclude (uncontroversial); I customary international law; their constitutions. The Court uses the proverbial reassurance of UN member states in saying that the WHO is not a ‘super-state’. Finally, in accepting jurisdiction the Court explicitly separated the legal character of the question from the political considerations motivated by that question.

Regional Organizations

2019 ◽  
pp. 36-67
Author(s):  
Tan Hsien-Li
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Regional Organizations ◽  
Member States ◽  
Regional Institutions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter examines the relationship that Asia-Pacific regional and sub-regional organizations have with international law, looking at seven international organizations that span the region. It is commonly believed that the member states of Asia-Pacific regional organizations prefer less formalized institutions and fewer binding commitments. Conventional reasons for this include their history of colonialism, less legalistic and formalized cultures, and a preference for stricter conceptions of sovereignty. As such, their organizations are often perceived as less effective. However, the effectiveness of Asia-Pacific regional institutions should not be judged by one uniform standard. Instead they should be judged on their own definition of effectiveness. There should be a broader understanding that Asia-Pacific states consciously use and participate in their regional organizations differently than in other regions, and they may prefer less institutionalized models as these serve their purposes better and can still be successful.

Countering Anti-Constitutional Argument: The Reasons for the European Court of Justice’s Decision in Kadi and Al Barakaat

2009 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 15-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Eric Khushal Murkens
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
European Court ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
Failure To Protect ◽  
Ec Law ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis chapter examines the recent decision by the European Court of Justice in Kadi and Al Barakaat International Foundation. It is a response to criticism that the ECJ’s judgment, in providing for the review of EC measures implementing UN Security Council resolutions, undermines the authority of public international law. Instead of committing itself to international law and institutions at all cost, the ECJ concerns itself with the constitutional repercussions from national constitutional courts (in the case of failure to protect fundamental rights). Important as the relationship between EC law and international law is, there is a clear sense that the ECJ is responsible to, and will ultimately be held to account by, the courts and constitutions of the Member States of the European Union.

THE COMMON EUROPEAN SALES LAW, CONSUMER PROTECTION AND OVERRIDING MANDATORY PROVISIONS IN PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW

2013 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 463-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Bisping
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Consumer Protection ◽  
Private International Law ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Border Trade ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Common European Sales Law ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis article analyses the relationship of the proposed Common European Sales Law (CESL) and the rules on mandatory and overriding provisions in private international law. The author argues that the CESL will not achieve its stated aim of taking precedence over these provisions of national law and therefore not lead to an increase in cross-border trade. It is pointed out how slight changes in drafting can overcome the collision with mandatory provisions. The clash with overriding mandatory provisions, the author argues, should be taken as an opportunity to rethink the definition of these provisions.

Weaving a Tangled Web:Hapeand the Obfuscation of Canadian Reception Law

2008 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 55-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Currie
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
Canadian Law ◽  
The Relationship

SummaryThe majority Supreme Court of Canada judgment inHape— a case concerning extraterritorial applicability of theCanadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms— is premised on three aspects of the relationship between international and Canadian law: (1) the interaction of customary international law and Canadian common law; (2) the role of Canada’s international legal obligations inCharterinterpretation; and (3) the potential role of customary international law as a source of unwritten principles of the Canadian Constitution. This article reviews pre-existing law in all three of these areas and analyzes a number of innovations apparently introduced thereto, with little or no explanation, by the majority inHape. It concludes thatHapeseriously exacerbates an already uncertain relationship between international and Canadian law, with fundamental consequences for the rule of law in Canada.

Racial Grounds: a Definition of Identity?

1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-64
Author(s):  
Martin MacEwen
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Race Relations ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
National Origin ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
The Social ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Uk

This paper examines the meaning of ‘Racial Grounds’ in terms of legal definition and also the social implications which may stem from this. The UK legislation against racial discrimination shares some terminology with international and regional conventions and treaties but a broader definition is frequently extended to the latter. The UK definition of racial discrimination includes ‘race, colour, nationality and ethnic or national origin’. These terms are examined and some practical difficulties identified. Recent cases have suggested that to discriminate against someone on the grounds of his or her being English, Welsh or Scottish may not offend the Race Relations Act 1976. Such exclusion is against the spirit of the protection of human rights by international law and, the author suggests, is contrary to the commonsense interpretation of the legislation which has previously been followed.

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