Framework Of International Organizations Research Articles

The application of international environmental law in armed conflicts

The article deals with the problem of environment protection during armed conflicts. The authors primarily focus on examining the possibility of applying international environmental law in armed conflicts. In the first part of the paper, the authors provide an overview of relevant rules of international humanitarian law which are important for environment protection and contained in different sources of law governing this area (international treaties, international customs and general principles). In this part, the authors point out to the weaknesses and shortcomings of the IHL environmental provisions, including both the traditional rules which have an indirect effect on environment protection and the contemporary rules which in most cases directly protect the environment. The second part of the article deals with the rules of international environmental law applicable in armed conflicts. The authors first examine the possibility of applying multilateral environmental treaties in armed conflicts. In that context, the authors point out to different types of such treaties, with specific reference to the treaties which do not contain provisions on their applicability during armed conflicts. Further on, the authors analyze the application of customary environmental rules in armed conflicts. These rules are considerably less important than international treaties and they commonly comprise a few general principles which may be considered nowadays as the rules of customary law. Finally, the authors explore the possibility of applying the rules of environmental soft law, such as the rules contained in different declarations and resolutions adopted at international conferences or within the framework of international organizations.

Incidence de la réforme économique sur le commerce extérieur hongrois

The effects of economic reforms on Hungarian foreign trade. The author shows the reasons for Hungarian economic reforms and their consequences for the trade with members of the Council of mutual economic assistance and with the rest of the World. The Hungarian economy is in a particular situation, since 40 % of its national income is exported. This implies a planning mechanism based on efficiency and using the advantages of the international division of labor. The extensive industrialization process could be followed during the post-war years in the framework of a closed multilateral compensation system introduced by the Council of mutual economic assistance. With the diversification of the economy and the reduction of growth rates during the sixties, the economic development was accompanied by imbalances and, in some countries, by sharp deficits in the balance of payments with the capitalist countries. It becomes necessary to reform the cooperation methods within the Council of mutual economic assistance. The Hungarian economic reform was not followed by a monetary reform, but the calculation of foreign trade operations using foreign exchange coefficients of real value can serve as a starting point for such a reform. The system of fixed prices was replaced by a mixed system using fixed as well as maximum and free prices. The Hungarian entre- prises received frequently the right to enter directly into relations with foreign enterprises, which allows them to keep for themselves the benefits of such transactions. This freedom of action concerns the operations within the group of socialist countries as well as outside of them. Hungary has also favored the cooperation in the field of production with capitalist-enterprises but until now, this policy did not give significant results. The Hungarian policy of foreign trade takes as its basic principle economic integration with other members of the Council of mutual economic assistance. But this should be done according to the principles of economic rationality and according to the new methods of cooperation established recently by the Council. The Hungarian economists consider that the solution of monetary problems is one of the most important targets of the reforms of the trade mechanism within the group of countries in the Council of mutual economic assistance. The solution of this problem requires however the abolition of autarchic national monetary systems and an establishment of organic ties between internal and external prices. The Hungarian reforms should favor also the trade between East and West. The author criticizes the opinion that the opposition between the economic systems hampers trade relations and advocates closer cooperation within the framework of international organizations.

Soviet Policy in ECAFE: A Case Study of Soviet Behavior in International Economic Organization

A significant aspect of post-Stalinist Soviet foreign policy has been the flexibility and imaginativeness with which it has maneuvered in under-developed areas, particularly in the non-aligned nations of Southern Asia—Afghanistan, Burma, Ceylon, India, and Indonesia. This innovation involved a fundamental shift in tactics and must now be considered a prominent feature of Soviet foreign policy. The previous neglect of South Asia was occasioned by a preoccupation with the sovietization of eastern Europe, the imperatives of postwar reconstruction and economic expansion, and the rise of communist China; it may also be attributed, in important measure, to Stalin's underestimation of the role which the area might play in enhancing the international position of the Soviet Union. This aspect of Stalinism is now over. Since 1953, Soviet leadership has pushed its interests in South Asia with skill and vigor, both on a bilateral basis and within the framework of international organizations. Of late, the bilateral ventures have received careful attention in this country. Less systematic attention, however, has been devoted to Soviet behavior in international economic organizations. In this respect, the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) affords an excellent opportunity to investigate this phase of Soviet political behavior.