Country Compliance Research Articles

Eksistensi Perjanjian Internasional di Era Global

This study aims to determine and analyze the existence of international agreements in the era of globalization. This research is a descriptive normative juridical law research. The approach used is a qualitative approach. In international relations, many countries experience problems in carrying out their relationships. This makes the role of international treaties very important, in order to regulate various matters that become agreements between countries in carrying out relations with other countries. For this reason, the role of international agreements in the era of globalization is an important topic to discuss. It aims to measure how far the country's compliance in carrying out international agreements. The implementation of international treaties well by the countries involved is the goal of the establishment of the international agreement.

Bridging the Abyss? Lessons from Global and Regional Integration of Ukraine

Multilateral and regional trade integration has become quite complex these days, very often involving states that pursue simultaneous economic arrangements, envisaging different liberalization and integration agendas. With such integration being so much intertwined, an obvious question arises whether concurrent participation of one state in several regional trade frameworks is legally and technically possible and which criteria should be met in this case. This article examines a particular example of Ukraine - a World Trade Organization (WTO) member - in its ongoing regional integration processes both to the West (free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU)) and to the East (Customs Union (CU) with Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia) through the prism of mutual compatibilities and WTO rules on regional trade integration. An assessment of the compatibility issue arising from various forms of economic integration has proved to be critical for the accurate analysis of any country's compliance with the WTO commitments. This article concludes that regional integration of Ukraine to the East requires careful considerations and structural redesigns. The recently discussed mode of integration into the CU would invoke legal and procedural difficulties for Ukraine in aligning it with the WTO rules as well as with its integration to the West. To this end, this article presents some practical observations concerning compatibility between Ukraine's different integration agendas and provides possible solutions to overcome legal problems arising thereof. The lessons derived from this article can be applied mutatis mutandis to other regional frameworks.

Medium-term energy outlook for Cyprus and its policy implications

This short paper presents results from an energy forecast model for the Republic of Cyprus. The model was used during years 2010–2011 to assist national authorities in their preparation of the National Renewable Energy Action Plan and the Energy Efficiency Action Plan of Cyprus in line with the requirements of European Union Directives. Major macroeconomic and price assumptions of the model are presented, and results from model application under different assumptions with regard to the evolution of energy efficiency are outlined and discussed. On the basis of these scenarios the paper discusses policy implications for Cyprus regarding the country's compliance with EU energy and climate legislation.

How effective are suspicious transaction reporting systems?

PurposeA fundamental element of international anti‐money laundering (AML) systems is the requirement that financial institutions file suspicious transaction reports (STRs) with financial intelligence units. Although the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has established global standards, there is a range of national laws, practices and experiences with STR systems. The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of national STR systems, by using Switzerland as a case study.Design/methodology/approachPrimary source documentation, complemented by observations at FATF meetings, are relied on to evaluate STR systems.FindingsThe FATF ratings of a country's compliance with international standards are objective, expert driven and consistent in application, but are limited as performance measures in that they ignore the costs of AML and STR measures. The effectiveness of the Swiss STR system is questionable because of serious under reporting of suspicious transactions. The Swiss STR system is efficient to the extent that there is a high usage of STRs and that large amounts of money are automatically frozen under the mandatory reporting obligation.Research limitations/implicationsEvaluation of national STR systems is limited because of a lack of reliable statistics on the extent of money laundering.Practical implicationsThis paper is addressed to policy makers who are concerned with assessing the effectiveness of STR systems. Future research would deal with STR systems in developing countries and the role of STRs in uncovering the financing of terrorism.Originality/valueInsider/outsider description of the FATF mutual evaluation process. Compilation and interpretation of statistical data on STR systems, as performance measures.

Smoking Patterns in Croatia and Comparisons with European Nations

In recent years, tobacco use and its control have become increasingly the focus of attention of policy-makers and researchers due to ill health effects of smoking on both smokers and non-smokers. This paper contributes to a neglected research area by focusing on tobacco use and its regulation in Croatia. In particular, this study uses recent survey information to analyze the tobacco use patterns in Croatia and influence of tobacco campaigns and to compare these patterns to other EU candidate nations and the EU as a whole. Overall the results show that in some aspects of tobacco use and regulation Croatia fares better than other European countries, while in other aspects it is somewhat lagging. For instance, on the positive side, more Croat smokers and ex-smokers were exposed to anti-smoking campaigns than smokers in other countries. However, the effectiveness of such exposure is modest in terms of the percentage of smokers who wanted to quit smoking and the relatively low share of population which claims protection from second-hand smoke. Croatia also has to further strengthen the country's compliance with international tobacco control mandates in terms of enforcement of existing tobacco consumption restrictions. Besides shedding light on the effectiveness of tobacco control policies, the findings of this study have some implications for Croatia's accession to the E.U.

Learning from structural adjustment: why selectivity may not be the key to successful programmes in Africa

AbstractMany donors have come to view selectivity in aid allocation—particularly towards countries with good governance—as the key for improving aid effectiveness. This position draws support from research according to which the success of policy reforms depends exclusively on domestic political economy factors. This finding has recently been questioned, however. This paper makes an original contribution to the literature with its attempt to identify the determinants of compliance with World Bank conditionality by employing publicly available data which evaluate a country's compliance directly. Our analysis suggests that poor compliance is not exclusively determined by exogenous factors, which the World Bank cannot influence, but is also a consequence of poor policy design. Better design of reform programmes is essential for greater aid effectiveness. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Domestic Policy and South Africa's Commitments Under the WTO's Basic Telecommunications Agreement: Explaining the Apparent Inertia

South Africa adopted the GATS Basic Agreement on Telecommunications and the regulatory principles in 1998. Obligations undertaken by South Africa mirrored the framework for the gradual telecommunications reform process that was begun in 1996. In the light of two threatened actions for anticompetitive practices in violation of the Agreement, this article reviews the nature of the commitments undertaken by South Africa and assesses the country's compliance to date. This article also seeks to explore the tension that arises between domestic policy reforms and international trade aspirations. It is argued that the dynamic produced through this tension affords domestic governments a mechanism with which to balance the seemingly opposing goals of competition and development. It is further argued that the broad regulatory principles, adopted by all signatories and often criticized for lack of precision, facilitate this fine balancing and afford domestic governments an opportunity to advance sovereign concerns while pursuing international trade ideals.

REMOTE SENSING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY IN TREATY VERIFICATION: PRESENT CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE

AbstractTreaty verification involves the acquisition and interpretation of data to establish a country's compliance to an agreement. Remote sensing and photogrammetry in verification is established in the intelligence community and is progressively entering the civilian sector as well. The Open Skies Treaty and the proliferation of commercial satellite imagery have created a niche for open, multilateral verification. These recent developments come at an opportune moment as the verification task has become more cumbersome and complex.This paper surveys the changes in the field of verification, aerial monitoring and satellite surveillance. It details existing and future verification tasks and presents the operational capabilities for fulfilling those tasks. The limiting factors are also presented.