RESPECT FOR THE RULE OF LAW IN A TIME OF ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRISIS: THE ROLE OF REGIONAL INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE HUNGARIAN AFFAIRE

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-242
Author(s):  
Federico Casolari
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Alternative Solutions ◽  
The Eu

This article offers a critical analysis of the role played by regional international organizations (IOs) – in particular the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the European Union (EU) – in coping with the problems that have been affecting the rule of law in the aftermath of the recent economic and financial crises. The intent is to highlight the main shortcomings of the monitoring/enforcement tools designed by these IOs and to assess whether they require further revision. The specific focus will be on the mechanisms put in place in response to the illiberal practices and constitutional reforms adopted in Hungary from 2011 to 2013. This case is instructive in two respects. In the first place, those legal and political developments have been harshly criticized by all the IOs concerned, and so their response makes it possible to see (i) in what way and to what extent they operate in monitoring and protecting the rule of law, (ii) how well they interact in subiecta materia, and (iii) the strengths and weaknesses of their mandate. And, in the second place, the Hungarian question has made it apparent that violations of the rule of law at the national level can easily take on a systemic, structural and multifaceted dimension that rises to the European level – a problem I will be referring to as the “rule-of-law crisis”. This has prompted an overall rethinking of the way the rule of law needs to be enforced, in a debate that has gained momentum within the EU legal order, very recently leading to a proposal (in March 2014) for a new EU framework through which to strengthen the rule of law. Here, the potential impact of this framework will be considered by also taking into account the alternative solutions offered by scholars and stakeholders.

A Hard Law Approach to States Systemic Violations of Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union

2020 ◽  
pp. 363-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Poiares Maduro ◽  
Benedita Menezes Queiroz
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
National Level ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Eu

The rule of law is under threat in the European Union. Systemic violations of fundamental rights are affecting the rule of law, democracy, and judicial independence in some Member States and consequently the EU legal order. The level of interdependence between the Member States and the EU legal order is such that systemic violations of those principles in the Member States end up impacting on EU compliance with the same principles. Article 7 TEU did not prove, however, to be the most effective tool to face these problems due to its political nature. The EU’s intervention in the form of infringement actions to safeguard the rule of law at the national level may be a suitable action to address some these serious violations of fundamental rights. Despite of the earlier hesitation to take a bolder action in this regard, the EU Commission, after the Court of Justice’s recent decisions in Associação Sindical dos Juízes Portuguese and LM, brought infringement proceedings against Poland challenging this country reforms that put into question the independence of its judiciary. The Court established its power of judicial review over the rule of law in the Member States in C-619/18 Commission v Poland. Ultimately, this decision highlighted the role of EU law in safeguarding the rule of law in its Member States, but more importantly in safeguarding the rule of law in the EU legal order as a whole.

Europe to the Rescue

2019 ◽  
pp. 192-241
Author(s):  
Wojciech Sadurski
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
European Court ◽  
Venice Commission ◽  
Naming And Shaming ◽  
Near Future ◽  
The Eu

The Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Union (EU) possess significant legal instruments to affect and reverse anti-democratic changes in Poland, and some of these instruments have already been used, with varying degrees of success. The chapter opens with the CoE’s, and in particular the Venice Commission and the European Court of Human Rights’ contributions to policing Polish assaults on the rule of law. It then turns to the EU, and reflects upon the question as to whether the EU—with its assortment of different measures of ‘naming and shaming’ (Art. 7.1 Treaty on European Union (TEU)), sanctions (Arts 7.2 and 7.3 TEU), and legal infringement actions, as well as its newly crafted ‘rule of law framework’ (also known as the pre-Article 7 procedure)—has been so far, and can be in the near future, effective in cabining and reversing anti-democratic trends in one of its largest member states. The conclusion is affirmative: the EU has an important, even if limited, role to play in assisting Polish defenders of the rule of law and democracy.

scholarly journals Europe’s Other Democratic Deficit: National Authoritarianism in Europe’s Democratic Union

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Daniel Kelemen
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
National Level ◽  
Partisan Politics ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Perspective Drawing ◽  
The Eu

This article argues for a radical recasting of the European Union democratic deficit debate. Critics have long argued that the EU suffers from a democratic deficit and that growing EU power undermines national democracy. But recent backsliding on democracy and the rule of law in Hungary and Poland reminds us that grave democratic deficits can also exist at the national level in member states and that the EU may have a role in addressing them. This article will place the EU’s struggles with democratic deficits in its member states in comparative perspective, drawing on the experience of other democracies that have struggled with pockets of subnational authoritarianism. Comparative analysis suggests that considerations driven by partisan politics may allow local pockets of autocracy to persist within otherwise democratic political unions.

scholarly journals The Council of Europe Activity for Culture

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Chyc
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Acquis Communautaire ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Subject

<p>The article is devoted to issues related to the activities of the Council of Europe for culture. The aim of the study was to show that the Council of Europe is an important international organization. The author analyzed the literature on the subject devoted to the Council of Europe, and characterized the legal achievements of this organization and its activities in the field of culture. Initiatives and cultural projects of the Council of Europe were discussed. A thesis has been put forward that the Council of Europe is a significant international organization which protects the cultural heritage of Europe. The functions of the Council of Europe and its importance as an organization operating in the field of culture, as well as guarding the acquis communautaire and principles based on the rule of law, democracy and respect for human rights, were analyzed. The article is a synthetic presentation of the role of the Council of Europe in the international arena. It presents, i.a., the ongoing discussion about the crisis of international organizations and shows the significant importance of the Council of Europe in shaping appropriate international relations in Europe.</p>

scholarly journals Compromise(d)? – Perspectives of Rule of Law in the European Union

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-227
Author(s):  
Márton Sulyok
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Eu

This paper introduces different perspectives of rule of law in the European Union starting out of the assumption that fear and (common) economic interests continue to be the primary motivator of European integration as to the European Union. The analysis touches upon the problematic tension between national specificities of the rule of law developed organically inside state frameworks of constitutionalism, through the practice of national constitutional courts and the practice and standards of international organizations and institutions in this matter. Starting out of problems brought about by open statehood and the “dialogical” development of rule of lawin the European Union, the paper also describes the institutions, concepts and processes relevant to the enforcement of the value of rule of law in the EU.

The promotion of security sector reform strategies: Comparing the roles of the European Union and Canada

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Vandemoorteele
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Security Sector Reform ◽  
Security Sector ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Common Policy

This article analyzes the role of the European Union (EU) and Canada in the promotion of Security Sector Reforms (SSR) activities in two regional organizations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The concept of SSR seeks to address the effective governance of security in post-conflict environment by transforming the security institutions within a country in order for them to have more efficient, legitimate and democratic role in implementing security. Recent debates within the EU have led to the adoption of an SSR concept from the Council and a new strategy from the European Commission on the SSR activities. Within the framework of the ESDP, the EU has positioned itself as a leading actor, in this domain, including in its crisis management operations. On the other hand, Canada, through its whole-of government and human security programs has also been an important actor in the promotion of SSR activities. Yet, even though several international organizations (including the United Nations, the OSCE and NATO) are effectively doing SSR activities on the ground, there does not exist a common framework within any of these organizations despite the role of the EU and Canada. As such, it is surprising to found no global common policy for SSR while this approach is precisely holistic in its foundations. Taking these elements into consideration, this paper analyzes two specific aspects : a) the absence of a common policy framework within international organizations and b) the major differences between the approaches of the OSCE and NATO in the domain of SSR and the implications for the EU and Canada’ roles.   Full extt available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v3i2.186

scholarly journals A Populist Monster and the future of Constitutional Democracy

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-100
Author(s):  
Andraž Teršek
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Constitutional Democracy ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Eu

Abstract The central objective of the post-socialist European countries which are also Member States of the EU and Council of Europe, as proclaimed and enshrined in their constitutions before their official independence, is the establishment of a democracy based on the rule of law and effective legal protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms. In this article the author explains what, in his opinion, is the main problem and why these goals are still not sufficiently achieved: the ruthless simplification of the understanding of the social function and functioning of constitutional courts, which is narrow, rigid and holistically focused primarily or exclusively on the question of whether the judges of these courts are “left or right” in purely daily-political sense, and consequently, whether constitutional court decisions are taken (described, understood) as either “left or right” in purely and shallow daily-party-political sense/manner. With nothing else between and no other foundation. The author describes such rhetoric, this kind of superficial labeling/marking, such an approach towards constitutional law-making as a matter of unbearable and unthinking simplicity, and introduces the term A Populist Monster. The reasons that have led to the problem of this kind of populism and its devastating effects on the quality and development of constitutional democracy and the rule of law are analyzed clearly and critically.

scholarly journals Rights and Powers in the European Union: Towards a Charter that is Fully Applicable to the Member States?

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Aida TORRES PÉREZ
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
Judicial Protection ◽  
Eu Fundamental Rights ◽  
The Eu

Abstract This contribution will tackle a central question for the architecture of fundamental rights protection in the EU: can we envision a Charter that fully applies to the Member States, even beyond the limits of its scope of application? To improve our understanding of the boundaries of the Charter and the potential for further expansion, I will examine the legal avenues through which the CJEU has extended the scope of application of EU fundamental rights in fields of state powers. While the latent pull of citizenship towards a more expansive application of the Charter has not been fully realized, the principle of effective judicial protection (Article 19(1) TEU) has recently shown potential for protection under EU law beyond the boundaries of the Charter. As will be argued, effective judicial protection may well become a doorway for full application of the Charter to the Member States. While such an outcome might currently seem politically unsound, I contend that a progressive case-by-case expansion of the applicability of the Charter to the Member States would be welcome from the standpoint of a robust notion of the rule of law in the EU.

scholarly journals State-building for the market economy in Eastern Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 471-491
Author(s):  
Paul Hare
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Law And Economics ◽  
Recent Analysis ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
New States ◽  
The Eu

AbstractKornai's earlier works embodied the idea that state institutions formed a system with a strong tendency to reproduce itself, and hence to resist minor reforms. Thus, at the end of socialism, huge changes were needed in politics, economics, and the law to build a new system oriented towards the market-type economy, which would again be stable, self-reinforcing and self-sustaining. Transition promoted the development of new states in Eastern Europe that conformed to the Copenhagen criteria for the EU accession. Were we too hasty in thinking that we had succeeded? The new systems are not returning to the previous one, and only in a few areas have the basic norms of a market-type economy been set aside in Hungary or Poland. But concerns arise at the interface between politics, law and economics – to do with the rule of law, the nature and role of the state, and the interactions between parliament, the executive and the judiciary. Unavoidably, there is also an interesting international dimension here, represented by the shift from the Warsaw Pact and CMEA to NATO and the EU. This paper explores these issues in the light of some of Kornai's recent analysis of developments in Hungary, while also drawing on his very insightful earlier works.

scholarly journals CORRUPTION, CAPITAL ABUNDANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vlatka Bilas ◽  
Mile Bošnjak ◽  
Sanja Franc
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
European Union Countries ◽  
The Relationship

The aim of this paper is to establish and clarify the relationship between corruption level and development among European Union countries. Out of the estimated model in this paper one can conclude that the level of corruption can explain capital abundance differences among European Union countries. Also, explanatory power of corruption is higher in explaining economic development than in explaining capital abundance, meaning stronger relationship between corruption level and economic development than between corruption level and capital abundance. There is no doubt that reducing corruption would be beneficial for all countries. Since corruption is a wrongdoing, the rule of law enforcement is of utmost importance. However, root causes of corruption, namely the institutional and social environment: recruiting civil servants on a merit basis, salaries in public sector competitive to the ones in private sector, the role of international institutions in the fight against corruption, and some other corruption characteristics are very important to analyze in order to find effective ways to fight corruption. Further research should go into this direction.

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