The European Charter of Local Self-Government

Author(s):  
Chris Himsworth

The first critical study of the 1985 international treaty that guarantees the status of local self-government (local autonomy). Chris Himsworth analyses the text of the 1985 European Charter of Local Self-Government and its Additional Protocol; traces the Charter’s historical emergence; and explains how it has been applied and interpreted, especially in a process of monitoring/treaty enforcement by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities but also in domestic courts, throughout Europe. Locating the Charter’s own history within the broader recent history of the Council of Europe and the European Union, the book closes with an assessment of the Charter’s future prospects.

Temida ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 11-24
Author(s):  
Zoran Radivojevic ◽  
Nebojsa Raicevic

In International law, the status of persons with mental disabilities is regulated within the framework on the protection of persons with disabilities. Their rights are protected not only by international treaties comprising legal provisions of binding character for the parties but also by means of the so-called "soft law" comprising international documents which are not legally binding. Most of the general and subject specific treaties on human rights do not explicitly deal with the status of persons with disabilities. Only recently have some treaties been made containing legal provisions on special protection of persons with disabilities. The most important treaty of this kind is the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in the year 2006. The protection of such persons is regulated in much more detail by "soft law" which includes a number of documents adopted by the UN, the Council of Europe and the European Union. Although most of these documents primarily pertain to the rights and the status of persons with disabilities, there are a few that exclusively deal with the protection of persons with mental disorder.


Author(s):  
Joni Heliskoski

The article provides an analysis of the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the interpretation of Articles 24 TEU, first paragraph, second subparagraph, and 275 TFEU governing the question of the Court’s jurisdiction in the field of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The article first describes the background of those provisions as they resulted from the Convention on the Future of Europe and the 2003-4 and 2007 Intergovernmental Conferences and then compares the Court’s understanding of its jurisdiction to the drafting history of the provisions concerned. The main conclusion of the study of the case law suggests that the Court views its jurisdiction over the CFSP more broadly than the jurisdiction envisaged by the drafters of the Treaties. In particular, the Court both interprets the exclusion from its jurisdiction of acts based on the Treaty’s CFSP provisions in a narrow fashion and is prepared to review the legality of CFSP acts not only through direct actions but also through references for a preliminary ruling. However, the article argues that the provision of adequate legal protection in the field of the CFSP necessarily requires both the Court of Justice and domestic courts of the Member States to play their respective roles.


Author(s):  
Daryna Kosinova ◽  
◽  
Daryna Tkach ◽  
Vladyslav Melnychenko ◽  
◽  
...  

The article is devoted to defining the essence and main directions of adaptation of the legislation of Ukraine to the law of the European Union. The meaning of the term "adaptation" and the peculiarities of its legislative consolidation are established. In addition, the peculiarities of the process of adaptation of the legislation of Ukraine to the acquis communautaire (acquis) are determined. The article analyzes the history of the idea of adapting the legislation of Ukraine to the law of the European Union through the prism of concluded international agreements, according to which Ukraine has undertaken to reform its own legislation. The essence and significance of the most important of them are clarified: Partnership and Cooperation Agreements between Ukraine and the European Communities and their Member States (PCA) of June 14, 1994, which became one of the main elements of creating an institutional mechanism for adaptation and regulatory framework. for the consistent and effective implementation of this important vector of legal reform; Association Agreements between Ukraine, on the one hand, and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, on the other, which has become the largest international legal instrument in the history of Ukraine and the largest international treaty with a third country ever concluded by the European Union. The article analyzes the main legal acts of national legislation on the implementation of the provisions of international agreements to bring the legislation of Ukraine in line with the EU acquis. The annual reporting is detailed, which details the activities of public authorities in each of the areas of adaptation. Based on this reporting, the article analyzes the fulfillment of Ukraine’s commitments and the status of their fulfillment in percentage terms. In addition, an assessment is made of the effectiveness of the activities of public authorities in taking measures to implement Ukraine’s commitments and identifies the main areas for improving their activities.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (01) ◽  
pp. 113-147
Author(s):  
Noemi Nagy

This article overviews the 2016 developments concerning the status and rights of European minorities with respect to administrative and judicial proceedings, with special focus on language rights. The longest section of the article is devoted to the activities of the Council of Europe, including the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and the implementation of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages, as well as the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Furthermore, the relevant legal developments in the activities of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Union are presented.


2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 1257-1292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Bobek ◽  
David Kosař

Judicial independence appears on most laundry lists of all bodies or institutions engaged with the rule of law. It is considered an unqualified public good. As a result, all major players engaged in legal reform and building a rule of law have diverted significant resources to this issue. For instance, the United Nations created the office of Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers in 1994. The World Bank has been investing heavily in judicial reforms in Latin America and Asia. In Europe, the Council of Europe has been pushing for judicial independence and judicial reform throughout the continent. Additionally, the European Union included judicial independence among its core requirements for the accession countries. Both organizations, the European Union and the Council of Europe, then jointly encouraged legal and judicial reforms in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). A number of non-governmental organizations have likewise paid considerable attention to this issue.


Author(s):  
Jakub Jaraczewski ◽  
Wladyslaw Jóźwicki ◽  
Zdzislaw Kędzia

The chapter outlines the relationship between the European Union (EU) and two other regional organisations active in the field of human rights in Europe: the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Due to the specific nature of these organisations and the history of their interaction with the EU, specific modalities and dynamics have developed in both bilateral engagements, which the chapter attempts at characterising. When it comes to the EU’s engagement with the Council of Europe, the chapter outlines the special status of the European Convention of Human Rights in the EU legal system as well as the EU’s complicated history of and current attempts to accede to the Convention. The chapter also shows political interactions between the two organisations on different, mostly political, fora as well their common endeavours in the field of human rights, especially within the frames of the so-called Joint Programmes. Regarding the relationship between the EU and the OSCE, the chapter explores the modalities of the EU’s presence within the OSCE and the impact of the OSCE’s unique traits, such as its lack of legal personality and the requirement of unanimous agreement in all decision-making processes. Challenges and opportunities within both engagements are presented with a view towards highlighting the actions the EU could undertake in order to improve cooperation and strengthen its impact in the field, leading to better protection and promotion of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in Europe.


2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-139
Author(s):  
Eren Tatari

The “Second International Conference on Islam,” held at the University ofWisconsin-Madison on 24-25 April 2006, focused on the broad theme ofIslam and globalization through the lens of dialogue and conflict. Therewere four keynote speakers and more then thirty presentations on a widerange of topics related to Islam and the experiences of Muslims throughouthistory as well as in the contemporary world. The conference was markedby its multidisciplinary diversity and strong emphasis on constructive intellectualexchange among scholars.The four keynote speakers, Jocelyne Cesari (Harvard University),Thomas Michel, S.J. (Georgetown University), Scott Alexander (CatholicTheological Union), and Kemal Karpat (University of Wisconsin-Madison),touched upon various aspects of Islam at the age of globalization. Cesari’stalk, entitled “Global Islam between Fundamentalism and Cosmopolitanism,”presented a typology of three forms of Islamic identity that are emergingin the global age, namely, diasporic, pan-Islamic, and cosmopolitan. Inher words, diasporic refers to the localized relationships of Muslims whochoose to maintain strong ties with their country or city of origin, pan-Islamic emphasizes the effectiveness of the ummah concept in today’s world,and cosmopolitan refers to a worldview that is reflexive, in a sense definedby the status of being “other.”In his speech, “Confrontation and Dialogue: A History of Catholic-Muslim Relations,” Alexander outlined the history of this relationship sincethe advent of Islam, pointing to elements of dialogue and confrontation.Kemal Karpat discussed a most current topic in his speech, “Turkey and theEU: The End of a Millennium of Confrontation?” and analyzed the positiveconsequences of Turkey’s membership in the European Union (EU).The first panel, “Global Islam and the West,” accommodated papersexemplifying the responses and contributions of Muslims to globalization ...


2004 ◽  
Vol 76 (9) ◽  
pp. 117-128
Author(s):  
Sanja Đajić

Application of international law should be a regular practice of courts and other State authorities. Before applying international law, one should take a number of preliminary steps, such as verifying whether international treaty is in force, whether the matter falls within its scope of application resolving possible conflict with domestic law and checking for the practice and interpretations issued by the competent international authorities. The mere technique of application of international law is very similar to the application of domestic law, meaning that preciseness and clear rules of reasoning are required each time one is deciding on the basis of international law. In this paper, the author uses the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees by way of example, but similar questions could be raised concerning the application of any other international treaty. A large number of treaties that are binding on our State show that it is very important to be familiar with conditions and technique of application of international law, to ensure that neither the international responsibilities of our State nor the exigencies of the domestic legal system are impaired.


2019 ◽  
pp. 50-73
Author(s):  
Detlev Blanke

The Council of Europe and the European Union (EU) together declared 2001 to be the „European Year of Languages”. Since then, September 26 of each year has been celebrated as the “European Day of Languages”. These initiatives are indications that the significance of European language policy and the complex problems related to it have been receiving more and more attention. For present purposes, European language policy should be understood as consciously realized public influence on the status, use and spread of languages spoken in the EU. In this study, it is only possible to touch upon a few problems of this very broad field, including legal solutions, the languages and language knowledge of Europeans, practical language transfer, the costs of mulitilingualism and various language policy models.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stane Vlaj

The paper critically examines the planned introduction of fourteen regions in the Republic of Slovenia (RS). Regions as a mandatory second level of selfgovernment will be of major importance for the decentralisation of Slovenia, and consequently for the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity as the fundamental principle in arranging relations between the State and sub-national government levels. However, there are some serious disagreements about the size, competences and financing of the regions. An appropriate division of the state territory into regions is the basis for the optimal territorial organisation of material activities as well as for the settlement of population and decentralisation of state functions. Numerous economic, administrative, geographical and other reasons justify the need to divide Slovenia into regions, preferably into six to eight regions. The paper confronts this project with international criteria and standards as well as with some cases of regionalisation in the European Union (EU) and in the Council of Europe (CE) member states. The author recognises that in almost all CE member states, far-reaching reforms of regional authorities have been completed, are in progress or are planned for the years ahead. The CE, preparing a document (recommendation/convention) on regional self-government, respects the sovereignity and freedom of member states to determine their own internal organisation in conformity with the fundamental standards and principles of democracy. The CE also considers that the process of decentralisation and the regional authorities where they exist can facilitate economic growth, sustainable development, quality public services and the strengthening of democracy.


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