The Swiss Public Initiative against Mass Immigration (‘Masseneinwanderungsinitiave’): Caught between Constitutional Sovereignty and Pacta Sunt Servanda

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 559-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Kläser
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
High Importance ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Swiss Constitution ◽  
Contractual Relationship ◽  
Swiss Confederation ◽  
Free Movement Of Persons ◽  
Popular Initiative

This article seeks to bring some clarity to the publicly held debate on the Swiss federal popular initiative to limit immigration as it was adopted on 9 February 2014 by the Swiss people. It considers the crux of the matter, which is the implementation of the new Swiss constitutional article in the context of public international law. The initiative is stuck in between Swiss constitutional sovereignty and Swiss treaty obligations flowing from the agreement on free movement of persons between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation. Specific attention is paid to the democratic element anchored in the Swiss Constitution which, in contrast to other systems where the judicial element prevails, is of high importance for whole the process of a bilateral contractual relationship between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation.

scholarly journals Brexit and Acquired Rights

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 440-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Waibel
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
International Law ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Article 50

On March 29, 2017, the U.K. Government triggered Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) on withdrawal from the European Union following a referendum on June 23, 2016 in which 51.89 percent voted for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. As a hybrid provision, the much-discussed withdrawal provision in Article 50 TEU is part of EU law yet also anchored in public international law. Although the European Union is a unique, supranational organization that creates rights for individuals that are directly effective in national law, its member states created the European Union based on traditional treaties under international law.

scholarly journals Private International Law and the African Economic Community: A Plea for Greater Attention

2006 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 911-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Frimpong Oppong
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Law ◽  
Economic Integration ◽  
Private International Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
The Subject ◽  
National Boundaries ◽  
Free Movement Of Persons

Private international law deals with problems that arise when transactions or claims involve a foreign element. Such problems are most frequent in a setting that allows for the growth of international relationships, be they commercial or personal. Economic integration provides such a setting and allows for the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital across national boundaries. The facilitation of factor mobility resulting from economic integration and the concomitant growth in international relationships results in problems which call for resolution using the tools of private international law. An economic community cannot function solely on the basis of economic rules; attention must also be paid to the rules for settling cross-border disputes. Consequently, considerable attention is given to the subject within the European Union (EU)1 and other economic communities.2

scholarly journals Beyond the Control Paradigm? International Responsibility and the European Union

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 643-668
Author(s):  
Gleider I Hernández
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Legal Personality ◽  
European Governance ◽  
Control Paradigm ◽  
Internal Structures ◽  
International Responsibility ◽  
Federal Structure

AbstractFrom the perspective of public international law, the legal personality of the European Union (EU) carries with it the possibility for it to exercise rights and to bear obligations on the international plane. Its quasi-federal structure, however, requires consideration as to how these rights and obligations may be exercised. In this chapter, two regimes are compared: the EU’s rights and obligations as an international organisation and the possibility that its internal structures might be recognised on the international plane, thus leading to more complex notions of subsidiary responsibility, shared between the various levels of European governance.

Two Legal Orders: Divergent or Convergent?

1999 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen Denza
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Law ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Union Law ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
European Court ◽  
Effective System ◽  
Ec Law ◽  
Treaty Of Amsterdam

The conclusion of the Treaty of Amsterdam and its progress through the ratification procedures of the 15 member States of the European Union provides an occasion to re-examine a familiar question. What is meant by the claim by the European Court of Justice that the European Com-munity Treaties have created “a new legal order of international law”1 or, more radically, “a new legal order”?2 Is EC law to be regarded as a particularly effective system of regional international law, or has it been created as, or mutated into, an entirely new species of law? If there are indeed two legal orders, to what extent are they still capable of cross-fertilisation? What about “European Union law”? Have the Treaty on European Union and now the Treaty of Amsterdam eroded the dichotomy between the two legal orders of public international law and EU law? Is public international law itself taking on some of the characteristics which have made EC law an attractive as well as an effective system for regulating relations between sovereign States? Are the two streams converging?

scholarly journals The Inclusion of Shipping in the EU Emission Trading Scheme: A Legal Analysis in the light of Public International Law

10.17345/1286 ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Pérez Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Emission Trading ◽  
Emission Trading Scheme ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Trading Scheme ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Do So

After regulating Greenhouse Gas emissions from air transport, the European Union is now contemplating taking action on emissions from the shipping sector. In order to do so, the European Commission carried out a public consultation process between January and April 2012. This article analyses the legal problems that would arise, in the light of Public International Law, should the European Union decide to follow the path of aviation and include shipping under the European Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). To do so, the focus will be placed on six different normative bodies of international law: (1) the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol;(2) the MARPOL Convention; (3) the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; (4) the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the General Agreement on Trade of Services; (5) the principle of sovereignty over maritime areas; and (6) the bilateral agreements ratified by the EU containing clauses on maritime transport. The structure of each of the six normative bodies will be as follows: international commitments under each international norm, possibility of enforcement before tribunals and analysis of the legality of the EU measure in relation to that norm.

Bases of International Cooperation of Local Governments

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 885-900
Author(s):  
Paulina Krukowska-Siembida
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Local Government ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Community Law

At the turn of the 21st century, we witnessed a civilisational change that resulted in decentralisation and deconcentration of power. As a result, international cooperation between local authorities has increased. This article is to indicate the legal basis for international local government activities, forms of cooperation and their impact on regional development. The legal bases for this cooperation can be classified as follows: 1. Sources of public international law, 2. EU Community law, 3. Sources of national law. Having this in mind, the article will discuss the selected legal bases for international self-government activity in Europe, starting with the acquis of the Council of Europe, then moving on to the activities of the European Union. Finally, an analysis of forms of international cooperation of local government units in Poland are going to be presented. These considerations are largely of a theoretical nature, based in particular on jurisprudential analysis.

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