Parliamentary Assembly Research Articles

Parliamentary Assembly as a factor for development and consolidation of the Union State

This article is dedicated to examination of the role of Parliamentary Assembly in development of the Union State. The goal is to trace the parliamentary activity in the Union State throughout the entire time of its existence, the objectives that were pursued, their transformation, and change of conditions for their accomplishment. This topic is especially relevant in the current context. A new milestone has passed in the history of Union State: December 2019 marked twenty years since its creation. Agreement on the formation of Parliamentary Assembly of the Community of Belarus-Russia Union State was signed earlier, in 1996. The novelty of this works consists in comprehensive and detailed analysis of different stages in formation of Parliamentary Assembly, which allows describing their role in further consolidation of the Union State. The scientific problem of this article can be articulated as follows: Parliamentary Assembly is not just a legislative institution that formulates the agenda for development of the Union State; it is also a platform for a continuous dialogue between Russia and Belarus. Therefore, examination of this government institution in an urgent scientific problem that allows revealing the key aspects of evolution of the Union State. As the resources for this article, the author explored the legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, legal information from official portals of the Union State and the Parliamentary Assembly. This underline the need for further development of parliamentarism in Russia-Belarus Union State for the purpose of improvement and strengthening of relations between the countries in the current conditions of international transformation. The article is based on most relevant documents pertaining to Russia-Belarus relations for the period from 1991 to the present.

Addressing Legitimacy in the EU’s Interregional Approach to Climate Change: The Case of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean

The 2015 Paris Agreement adopted at the twenty-first Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) constitutes a major landmark in the combat against climate change. However, international climate governance and the climate deal have been confronted with concerns about their legitimacy and accountability. In the same vein, while the combat against climate change also takes centre stage in the EU’s inter-regional relations, the EU’s approach has suffered from democratic deficits as well. Literature on parliamentary diplomacy and interregionalism has pointed at the potential of inter-parliamentary assemblies’ monitoring and deliberation functions in addressing the legitimacy gap of intergovernmental agreements. This article puts the focus on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean and climate change, and analyses to what extent and how the Assembly fulfills these monitoring and deliberation functions. In doing so, the article aims to examine how inter-parliamentary assemblies can contribute to the legitimacy of the EU’s inter-regional approach to climate change. The analysis is based on quantitative and qualitative text analysis, in-depth semi-structured interviews and participatory observation. The conclusion reads that, while the Parliamentary Assembly of the UfM (PA-UfM) has indeed used its monitoring and deliberative functions, there are several limitations related to the asymmetry between the EU and its Southern and Eastern Mediterranean partner countries, that hamper its potential contribution to add legitimacy to the Union for the Mediterranean’s (UfM) climate action. Climate change, legitimacy, European Union, monitoring, deliberation, inter-regionalism, parliamentary diplomacy, inter-parliamentary cooperation, energy, Mediterranean

Un paso más en contra de la “autotutela parlamentaria”

En la sentencia GK c. Bélgica el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos aborda una vez más las garantías que ofrecen los sistemas exclusivamente parlamentarios de verificación de actas y supervisión de mandatos en los que no se contempla ninguna instancia ulterior de carácter jurisdiccional. Muy pocos países europeos mantienen esta tradicional prerrogativa liberal, típica del parlamentarismo del siglo XIX. El examen de la validez de la renuncia de una senadora belga sirve de pretexto para poner el foco en las deficiencias registradas en el procedimiento parlamentario utilizado, dominado por la enorme discrecionalidad reconocida a la Cámara y la ausencia de garantías frente la arbitrariedad. La resolución de la Corte, sin innovar en exceso, permite confirmar la línea que se había iniciado con decisiones anteriores, en las que profundiza en la vertiente procesal de los derechos incluidos en el artículo 3 del Protocolo Adicional. El caso planteado en GK c. Bélgica ofrece interés al tratarse de uno de los pocos asuntos que escapan del derecho estrictamente electoral y entran de lleno en el derecho parlamentario, con la originalidad añadida de que el sistema belga pertenece al modelo parlamentario puro que, en este caso, se muestra en franco retroceso.

Institutional initiatives towards expanding democracy: the Election Commission of India and electoral mobilisation

ABSTRACT The Election Commission of India (henceforth, the EC), an institution created by the Constitution of India in 1950, manages and conducts parliamentary and state assembly (provincial level) elections. In recent elections, it has made tremendous efforts to make the electoral process more participatory. More than 900 million people were eligible to vote in the Indian parliamentary elections of 2019. In addition to the conventional ways of spreading voter awareness, the EC tried to reach out to voters through previously untried means to persuade them to come to the polling booths and vote – reflecting an institutional enthusiasm for popular mobilisation. However, there are also a significant number of missing names from the electoral rolls, and the EC faces accusations of being apathetic towards this anomaly. Is this eagerness on one hand and anomaly on the other symptomatic of ‘democracy at crossroads’, with India transiting to a more efficacious and involved institutional functioning, or is this an instance of strained institutional performance in the face of rising popular aspirations and tighter executive controls? The paper tries to explore this theme by looking at the functioning of the EC and its efforts towards voter participation in India.

The parliament of the world? Reflections on the proposal to establish a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly

AbstractOn 5 July 2018, the European Parliament adopted a recommendation to the Council endorsing a proposal for the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly. Conceived as a new primary organ of the United Nations (UN), the Parliamentary Assembly aims at complementing the work of the General Assembly by giving direct representation to the peoples of the world and passing binding legislation. This article reconstructs the historical roots of the proposal and speculates about the possible legal implications for both the UN and its member states stemming from the establishment of an elected citizens’ chamber within an intergovernmental organization. An argument is made that in order to achieve the stated goals of the model of United Nations Parliamentary Assembly endorsed by the European Union (EU), the required institutional changes to the UN system would be so radical as to effectively repudiate it in favour of a newly established system of international co-operation.

DSD: A Discussion at the Crossroads of Medicine, Human Rights, and Politics.

Over the past years, the topic of “disorder/differences in sex development (DSD)” or “intersex” people has become subject of the international political agenda. In 2017, a resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe argued that the practice of surgically modifying intersex children's genitals without medical necessity and without consent of the person concerned is a human rights violation. This resolution and related statements might impact heavily on pediatric urologists and their practice. While this resolution concerns a form of soft law and is not directly enforceable in member states, it might impact the national debates concerning legislation and medical guidelines on DSD. Consequently, this article reflects on this discussion by elaborating on the importance of human rights in our evolving understanding and legislation on DSD and other gender and sexuality issues in general. It constitutes a plea for a dialogue between medical professionals, lawmakers and human rights scholars which would lead to legislation and medical guidelines that take a holistic and rights-based approach.

The European System of Human Rights Protection: No Rolls-Royce, but a Solid Engine Fit for the Future? In Conversation with Council of Europe Insiders

Abstract The European Convention system has a unique structure among regional human rights regimes. Not only does it have a full-time Court and a Parliamentary Assembly, it is also the only system to have a political body, the Committee of Ministers, tasked with monitoring the implementation of judgments issued by the Court. While the day-to-day work is carried out by the Department for the Execution of Judgments (‘Execution Department’), the ministers’ deputies meet quarterly to examine the implementation (or ‘execution’) of (selected) judgments. How effective has this distinctive institutional arrangement been, and what challenges does it face in an era of increasing hostility to supranational human rights bodies? Anne-Katrin Speck, Research Associate with the Human Rights Law Implementation Project, discussed these questions with Andrew Drzemczewski, former Head of the Legal Affairs and Human Rights Department of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; Christos Giakoumopoulos, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe; and Michael O’Boyle, former Deputy Registrar of the European Court of Human Rights.

A Parliamentary Perspective on the Implementation of the Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

Abstract As a member of the Assemblée nationale, the lower house of the French Parliament, from 2012 to 2017, the author was part of the French delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), where he was entrusted with preparing, as a rapporteur for the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, a report on the implementation of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. This practice note underscores that it is the responsibility of PACE as an institution, and of its members individually, to follow closely the issue of the implementation of European Court judgments, even if the primary responsibility for supervising implementation, or ‘execution’, lies with the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. PACE can provide useful solutions where the implementation of judgments pertaining to long-standing or systemic problems is stalled or protracted, notably through field missions carried out by members and in particular by its rapporteur, which can complement the efforts deployed by the Committee of Ministers.

INFORMATION ASPECT OF THE FORMATION OF THE ANTI-TERRORIST EURASIAN SPACE

The article deals with the problem of completeness of information on measures to counter terrorism and extremism taken by the labor-surplus states of Central Asia. With the help of some former labor migrants, a new model of terrorism (IS 2.0) is being developed based on the use of pendulum migration of radical Islamists to the countries of Central Asia and Russia, such Islamists serve as the core of various extremist organizations. A serious problem for the Russian experts is that none of the countries (Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan) sending labor migrants to Russia publishes complex information each country publishes mainly statistical or regulatory information or news. For example, not all official documents are available in Tajikistan or Uzbekistan and it is difficult to obtain official statistics in Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan. Nevertheless, the analysis of the disparate experience of the three countries, among which we can highlight the purposeful work with labor migrants carried out by the representative offices of the Republic of Tajikistan abroad the courses for imams of mosques and clerics on the prevention of radicalization of the population organized by the State Commission for religious affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic and the system of social rehabilitation of repentant extremists in Uzbekistan prove the need for relevant information in a certain standardized form. The main sources of information used in the article are documents of the UN, the CIS Anti-Terrorist Center, speeches of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan containing statistical information, news information from the websites of the special services of the Kyrgyz Republic and legal documents of Uzbekistan. The article substantiates the conclusion about the need to highlight the information aspect in the formation of the anti-terrorist Eurasian space, the relevance of which was discussed at the Council of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly in May 2019.

Parlamentarier für Europa – Die Vernetzung des Bundestags mit europäischen interparlamentarischen Körperschaften durch Doppelmandate (1950-1969/70

The article examines inter-parliamentary institutions as a factor for interstate cooperation in Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. For this purpose, an analysis of the relationship between the parliamentary assembly of the European Communities, the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Western European Union and their connections to the Bundestag through dual mandates is carried out. Based on the relevant literature, the article highlights formal and informal inter-organizational links as well as partly overlapping and competing competences between these inter-parliamentary institutions. By using the example of the Federal Republic of Germany, multiple connections between the Bundestag and the emerging European parliamentary level are shown. Finally, the article focuses on the disentanglement of the parliamentary levels in the 1970s.

Russia and the European Convention (or Court) of Human Rights: The End?

Russia has been a member of the Council of Europe (CoE) for 25 years, and of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) for 22 years, which is in itself a remarkable achievement on both sides. This article asks the questions: how has this been this possible? And is the close and mostly positive relationship between Russia and the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) about to come to an end? In order to answer these questions, I first provide an overview of the USSR’s late acknowledgment of the need for compliance in its internal affairs with UN standards, and especially the contribution of Mikhail Gorbachev. I follow this with an account of Russia’s accession to the CoE and ratification of the ECHR under Boris Yeltsin, and a snapshot of the popularity for Russians of complaining to Strasbourg. Second, I turn to the very controversial rulings by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation (CCRF) and new legislation on the question of the CCRF ruling on the “impossibility” for Russia of implementing judgments of the ECtHR. Third, I analyse the controversial Yukos case. This was in fact the second and last until now such ruling on impossibility. Fourth, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe imposed sanctions on Russia following the illegal annexation by Russian of Crimea. Russia seemed poised to leave or be expelled from the CoE. But in 2019 a controversial deal was done. Fifth, I ask whether President Putin’s 2020 amendments to the 1993 Constitution really pose a threat to Russia’s continuing relationship with the CoE and the ECHR.

The Resolution "Strenthening the Decision-making process of the Parliamentary Assembly concerning credentials and voting" of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is Trojan horse for the Council of Europe

The Resolution "Strenthening the Decision-making process of the Parliamentary Assembly concerning credentials and voting" of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is Trojan horse for the Council of Europe

Analiza projektu ustawy o zmianie ustawy o zawodach lekarza i lekarza dentysty, ustawy o diagnostyce laboratoryjnej oraz ustawy o zawodach pielęgniarki i położnej, zawartego w druku senackim nr 1034/IX kadencja (sprzeciw sumienia)

Sprzeciw sumienia to odmowa wykonania obowiązku wynikającego z przepisów prawa ze względu na racjonalnie uzasadniony osąd moralny, który kwalifikuje wykonanie tego obowiązku jako etycznie niegodziwe (obiektywne zło). Prawo do sprzeciwu sumienia – integralny element wolności sumienia – jest konstytucyjnym prawem każdego człowieka. Jak podkreślił Trybunał Konstytucyjny w wyroku z 7 października 2015 r., K 12/14: „prawo powołania się na klauzulę sumienia i w rezultacie prawo do odmowy wykonania czynności sprzecznej z własnym sumieniem stanowi gwarancję wolności sumienia”. Obowiązkiem ustawodawcy zwykłego jest uregulowanie sposobu korzystania z prawa do sprzeciwu sumienia, czyli ustanowienie tzw. klauzuli sumienia.
 Uchwalony przez Komisję Praw Człowieka, Praworządności i Petycji Senatu RP projekt inicjatywy legislacyjnej dotyczącej ustawy o zmianie ustawy o zawodach lekarza i lekarza dentysty, ustawy o diagnostyce laboratoryjnej oraz ustawy o zawodach pielęgniarki i położnej w zamierzeniu miał uregulować klauzule sumienia w zawodach medycznych oraz jednocześnie zrealizować petycję wzywającą do uchylenia art. 3 ust. 2 ustawy z 17 maja 1989 r. o gwarancjach wolności sumienia i wyznania (generalnie zakazującego powoływania się na sprzeciw sumienia) i kompleksowego wykonania cytowanego wyroku Trybunału.
 Choć sama inicjatywa zasługuje na aprobatę, to jednak analiza treści projektu dowodzi, że tylko do pewnego stopnia wykonuje wyrok Trybunału, ignoruje żądanie zawarte w petycji oraz obniża ustawowy standard ochrony prawa do sprzeciwu sumienia.
 Na krytykę zasługuje przede wszystkim propozycja zobowiązania podmiotów leczniczych (w praktyce będą to ich kierownicy, np. dyrektor szpitala) do wskazania realnych możliwości uzyskania świadczenia, którego odmówił lekarz lub pielęgniarka (położna), a w przypadku diagnosty laboratoryjnego – do wykonania zlecenia. Narusza bowiem wolność sumienia, która – jak zauważył Trybunał Konstytucyjny – oznacza także ochronę przed postępowaniem, „które pośrednio prowadzi do nieakceptowalnego etycznie skutku, w szczególności przed przymusem współdziałania w osiąganiu celu niegodziwego” (np. przed obowiązkiem informowania, kto i gdzie może wykonać aborcję), jak również kwestionuje tzw. instytucjonalną klauzulę sumienia, do której respektowania wezwało Zgromadzenie Parlamentarne Rady Europy w rezolucji nr 1763 z 7 października 2010 r.

La paralización de una comisión parlamentaria de investigación vulnera el derecho de sus miembros al ejercicio de las funciones representativas

La sentencia supone una nueva contribución al extenso proceso de construcción jurisprudencial del derecho al acceso a cargos públicos del artículo 23.2 CE, al concluir que la dilación excesiva e injustificada de los trabajos de una comisión de investigación creada en el seno de las Cortes de Castilla y León, equivalente a su paralización objetiva, afecta al núcleo esencial del ius in officium de los procuradores recurrentes porque pone en riesgo el cumplimiento de la finalidad para la que la comisión fue creada y restringe o impide el ejercicio del cargo por parte de los miembros de la misma.

Anonimowość rodziców genetycznych a dobrostan zdrowotny dziecka. Uwagi na tle Rekomendacji 2156(2019) Zgromadzenia Parlamentarnego Rady Europy

Artykuł podejmuje problem zdrowotnego interesu dziecka poczętego w wyniku zastosowania technik wspomaganej medycznie prokreacji z użyciem obcych komórek rozrodczych. Zastosowanie nowoczesnych technologii medycznych staje się coraz bardziej powszechne, a procedury, które jeszcze kilka lat temu postrzegane były jako eksperymentalne, obecnie stają się świadczeniami standardowymi. Nie oznacza to jednak, że nie niosą za sobą żadnych zagrożeń. Prezentowany tekst obejmuje problematykę tych zagrożeń i konfliktów dla członków rodziny związanych z wykorzystaniem technologii do poczęcia i urodzenia dziecka. Chodzi o zapewnienie tzw. dobrostanu fizycznego i psychicznego związanego z faktem pochodzenia od określonych osób. Polskie prawo nie daje możliwości udostępnienia informacji identyfikujących dawcę komórek rozrodczych, a granice informacji zostały określone wąsko. Pozwala to na sformułowanie tezy, która jest weryfikowana w tekście, że ustawodawca polski nie zapewnia realizacji prawa do poznania własnej tożsamości genetycznej jako prawa do informacji w zakresie genomu dawcy ani tym bardziej prawa do poznania tożsamości dawców gamet jako prawa do informacji w zakresie danych identyfikujących dawcę. W tekście przedstawiono postulaty de lege ferenda na podstawie rozwiązań włoskich oraz Rekomendacji 2156(2019) Zgromadzenia Parlamentarnego Rady Europy.

THE SOLUTIONS TO ENHANCE PERFORMANCE OF PARLIAMENTARY FRIENDSHIP GROUP AND ITS POSITION IN PARLIAMENTARY DIPLOMACY

On one hand, this study has considered the theoretical foundations of foreign policy and parliamentary relations and introduction of new effect of parliamentary relations and the solutions to enhance and improve that at the political world using juridical-legal regulations. This study can be considered as a fundamental research to increase the information in theoretical field of jurisprudence and law, international relations and familiarity with this important concept in 21st century. On the other hand, because of investigating the issue of enhancement of parliamentary relations in field of politics in general form and the interaction of Islamic Consultative Assembly (Iranian Parliament) with international and regional parliamentary assemblies in special form and presentation of suggestions to enhance the interactions using juridical-legal regulations; this study can be considered as an applied research. In this study, the specialized knowledge and executive insight is improved from different aspects in field of theoretical (fundamental) and academic (applied) dimensions.

The Suitability of Using the Term «Hybrid War» for the Qualification of the Arme D Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine (from the Position of International Law)

It is investigated from the standpoint of international law the feasibility of using the term «hybrid war» to qualify the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The international legal doctrine and norms of international law concerning the subject of the research are analyzed. It is emphasized that, in accordance with norms of international law, armed conflicts have traditionally been divided into international and noninternational. The mentioned division contains ideal constructions, since no armed conflict can be exclusively international or non-international, the more so it does not contain «political wars», «information wars» and propaganda, collaboration, etc., that is all that is often included in the concept of «hybrid war». It is emphasized that to characterize the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the most acceptable is the use of the term «international armed conflict», which is used by the UN General Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Office of the Prosecutor of the International criminal court. It is noted that the use of the term «hybrid war» shifts the focus from the armed aggression of the Russian Federation (international armed conflict) to the very vague concept of «hybrid war». This can be used to deviate from the concept of international armed conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and in particular as a gradual transition to the concept of non-international armed conflict, with all its negative consequences, including the questions of responsibility of the Russian Federation and its senior officials. Key words: hybrid war; armed conflict; aggression; war crimes; International Criminal Court.

Nationalism, transnationalism and European socialism in the 1950s: a comparison of the French and German cases

ABSTRACTThis article explores national dimensions of transnational interaction between the French Socialist Party (SFIO) and the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the 1940s–1950s within a comparative framework. Doing so allows us to uncover why the French and German parties retained intensive transnational contacts with one another despite their disappointments with postwar socialist internationalism. The SFIO and SPD were eager to put a socialist stamp on reconstruction, European integration, and French-German relations. The article shows why transnational engagement with their cross-Rhine colleagues appeared the most promising path to do so. Despite lengthy conflicts on Cold War politics, the international politics of reconstruction, and, later, decolonization and the Algerian and Suez Wars, the SFIO and SPD successfully compartmentalized their differences by establishing an autonomous track for transnational relations in European parliamentary assemblies. French-German cooperation on matters of European integration yielded the period’s greatest transnational successes, including the establishment of the Congress of Socialist Parties of the European Communities. In the early 1960s, the two-track nature of French-German inter-socialist relations endured but structural factors eroded the balance of power between French and Germans needed to sustain the mutual satisfaction with transnational cooperation that had peaked in the mid-1950s.

The issue of legal regulation of languages in Ukraine

The article raises the issue of implementing constitutional norms on ensuring the rights of national minorities by Ukraine. It is established that certain provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On Education” dated 05 September 2017 have been criticized both at national and international level as regards termination of curricular programs in languages of national minorities other than EU languages. It is determined that a change in language policy resulted in a conflict of interest in Chernivtsi on 17 October 2017 between representatives of Romanian national minority and representatives of NGOs "Right Sector" and "Freedom" as to the right to study in their native language. It is established that Ukraine, in violation of the international obligations defined by international treaties in the field of protecting the rights of national minorities, including those ratified by Ukraine, did not take into account the relevant recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Venice Commission, the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Monitoring Mission, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Rapporteur on Minorities.According to the results of the analysis, it is established that there is no special law determining the spheres of public life and measures to guarantee the rights of national minorities. The respective guarantees for teaching in the mother tongue were not established in the law on the status of the state language dated 25 April 2019.It is concluded that to resolve this problem, it is necessary to adopt a constitutional law that would determine the procedure for the use of national minority languages. In connection with this, the object of research is Draft Law of Ukraine "On Languages in Ukraine" No. 1103 submitted for consideration to the Verkhovna Rada on 29 August 2019 by V.V. Novynskiy, M.S. Mahomedov and others. Formal-legal, comparative-legal and logical methods are applied.The content of Part 5 of Article 53 of the Constitution of Ukraine is analyzed, it was concluded that it did not set an alternative, but it sets a mandatory obligation to perform all actions of the state to guarantee the rights of national minorities.It is concluded that it is necessary to adopt a special law on languages in Ukraine in order to implement the Constitution of Ukraine. It is recommended that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine include Draft law No. 1103 on the agenda, consider it, and adopt it as a basis in the first reading. It is recommended to adopt laws related to the draft law on national and cultural autonomy, on indigenous peoples of Ukraine, on national minorities (new version), on local referenda, on an all-Ukrainian referendum.

“Assembled as one man”. The councils of Henry II and the political community of England

O estudo das origens parlamentares da Inglaterra — e de outros reinos — tem se concentrado tradicionalmente em aspectos como a composição social das assembleias e a representação territorial. Argumentou-se que as assembleias parlamentares nasceram quando os três estamentos da sociedade medieval foram convocados para se encontrar com o rei nos conselhos feudais. Contudo, tal abordagem levou a algumas conclusões anacrônicas que negligenciaram a importância da presença da comunidade política, das communitas ou universitas regni nessas assembleias como um fenômeno chave para compreender as origens parlamentares. Tal comunidade era o corpo de nobres, reunidos como um nos conselhos, não porque representassem o reino, mas porque eram o reino.