Permanent Council Research Articles

Narratives of the Russian Federation: from Military Strategy to War Crimes (Based on Statements at the OSCE Permanent Council Meetings)

Narratives of the Russian Federation: from Military Strategy to War Crimes (Based on Statements at the OSCE Permanent Council Meetings)

Development of Competences of the Primate of Poland and the President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference

The rights and privileges of the primates of Poland were considerable. Polish primates crowned Polish kings, blessed royal marriages, and presided over the funeral rites of Polish kings. They were the first senators of the Kingdom, and in the king’s absence they acted as his governor and interrex. They had the right to convene the Sejm, Senate councils and order general mobilisation; they were members of governmental bodies, had precedence before princes and dukes, sat before cardinals, had a princely title and a coat of arms, and wore purple robes. A turning point for the hierarchy came with the new legislation of the universal Church. Canon 438 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law expressly regulates that, apart from the prerogative of honour, the primate no longer has any power of governance, unless otherwise stated for some of them by apostolic privilege or approved custom. Canon 452 prescribes the election of the president of the bishops’ conference. Currently, Primate of Poland is an honorary title for the metropolitan archbishops of Gniezno. The privileges inherent in the functions of the primate are precedence during liturgical celebrations, a permanent place in the Permanent Council of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, the right to wear purple and to have 30 tassels in his coat of arms.

PROBLEMS OF THE OSCE FIELD MISSION IN MOLDOVA

The article is devoted to the specifics of the OSCE Mission in Moldova in the context of the Pridnestrovian settlement in the prevailing new geopolitical realities in the conflict region. Taking into account the position of Russia voiced in the OSCE Permanent Council, raising the question of the expediency of extending the mandate of this field operation, the purpose of the article is not only to identify key problems in the mission’s activities, but also to determine its significance for the negotiation process in the «5+2» format and in the broader context of the settlement – to ensure systemic communication between the parties to the conflict – Moldova and Pridnestrovie. The author, who for several years has been directly involved in multilateral international negotiations on the Pridnestrovian settlement, relying on an extensive empirical base and accumulated personal experience, comes to conclusions about the extremely low probability of resuming the official work of the «5+2» before the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis. The OSCE field mission continuing high potential in the issue of preserving communication channels between Chisinau and Tiraspol. The implementation of such an OSCE role meets Russia’s interests in this region.

A window of opportunity? The relevance of the rotating European Union presidency in the public eye.

The rotating EU presidency's relevance for EU politics has decreased since the introduction of a permanent council president. However, news salience and framing of the own government acting as the EU presidency can amplify publicity for EU affairs. We, therefore, evaluate the visibility and framing of the EU presidency in 12 Austrian newspapers for 2009-2019. We conduct an automated text analysis of 22 presidencies over 11 years, testing several hypotheses statistically, and qualify results via manually coded frames of the Austrian EU presidency in 2018. The results confirm the crucial importance of the domestication of EU politics, underscoring the potential of the presidency to serve as a window of opportunity for public debate. We discuss our findings with reference to the EU's democratic deficit.

Between EU candidacy and independent diplomacy: third country alignment with EU positions at the OSCE

ABSTRACT This article considers differentiated cooperation between European Union (EU) member states and third countries in diplomatic statements at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Using a novel dataset on interventions in OSCE Permanent Council meetings, it analyzes when and why third countries align with the EU's positions. The observed alignment patterns underline the complexity of third country motivations to form part of the EU's diplomatic alliances, such as their institutional proximity to the organization, or their own involvement in regional conflicts. In so doing the article explores the limits of differentiated diplomatic cooperation with the EU in multilateral security organizations. It also points to the constraints the EU faces when trying to establish itself as a relevant player in European and international security through diplomatic acceptance and amplification of its own views by others.

Communication Social Actions of Legislative Candidates in the Election of Representatives in the City of Madiun (Case Studi: Social Exchange of Legislative Candidates to Became DPRD)

Current social phenomena show that the local democratic process that should be running well and correctly in accordance with its purpose is to increase the participation of the people or community politics to elect their representatives in the Regional Representative Council (DPRD) which has not produced maximum election results legislative as a local political activity is carried out based on Law No. 2 of 2011 which was later revised with Law No. 07/2017 concerning elections which regulates the selection of candidates for DPRD which include selection, ratification, appointment, and in terminating board members of the research council this method uses a qualitative approach, where the focus of research uses a case study approach. The purpose of the study was to determine the social communication actions of a prospective legislative candidate in the legislative general election to elect people’s representatives in the DPRD city of Madiun. This research with a qualitative approach is one of the research procedures that produce descriptive data in the form of speech, behaviour, which can be observed from prospective board members. The data collection technique of this research is observation techniques, documentation through snowball sampling on each DPRD candidate who has become a permanent council candidate. To support the conduct of research, researchers used theoretical studies, among others, social exchange theory, Peter Blau and A Weber’s Social Action Theory. The results of this study highlight that; social, legislative communication actions concerning social behaviour, human social movements and social exchanges occur in the election of members of the City Council of Madiun; namely, there are activities for candidates to install campaign propprovide social assistance and transactional practices between voters and candidates at the end of the campaign.

The subject matter of arbitral tribunals in the resolutions of the Permanent Council (1776–1788)

Original version: Problematyka sądownictwa polubownego w rezolucjach Rady Nieustającej (1776–1788), “Czasopismo Prawno-Historyczne” [Journal of Legal and Historical Sciences], 2016, vol. 68, issue 2, pp. 85–108.

Protestanci w Rzeczypospolitej 1777-1786 – między unią sielecką a konfliktami (zarys problematyki)

Protestants in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Years 1777-1786: Between the Union of Sielec and Conflicts (Introduction to the Topic) This article examines the eighteenth century attempts to stimulate cooperation amog Protestants in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Such endeavors were undertaken in the years 1775-1776 in Great Poland, while in 1777 the Union of Sielec between Protestants of Little Poland and Mazowsze was concluded. The union was intended to bring together Protestant congregations as religious entities without interfering in particular doctrinal and religious differences among them. In 1780, Protestants representing all parts of the Commonwealth met at a general council in Węgrów. Unfortunately, the existing differences among the groups prevailed and led to conflict. In effect, the followers of the Sielec Union failed to find a conciliatory platform with the Great Poland Protestants, who were backed by the Russian Ambassador Otto von Stackelberg. In 1782, the General Council of Węgrów was dissolved, which led to the collapse of the Sielec Union. The latter section of the article examines the political prosecution of Protestants, who were attacked by the Permanent Council and the Parliament of 1784. Stackelberg’s interference, as well as the attitude of the Polish king Stanislaus Augustus towards Protestants, have been also presented.

Interview with Janez Lenarčič

Janez Lenarčič is currently serving as Commissioner for Crisis Management in the European Commission, a mandate he took up in December 2019. In this capacity, he is responsible for EU civil protection as well as humanitarian aid. Mr Lenarčič served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the European Union (EU) in Brussels from 2016 to 2019. From 2014 to 2016, he held the Secretary of State position in the cabinet of the Slovenian Prime Minister. His previous experience also includes the position of Director of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, in Warsaw, from 2008 to 2014. He has also served as Secretary of State for European Affairs, including representing Slovenia during the Lisbon Treaty negotiations in 2007 and later representing the Slovenian EU Council Presidency to the European Parliament in 2008. In 2002 and 2003 he held the position of State Secretary in the cabinet of the Slovenian Prime Minister, after which he served as Slovenian Ambassador to the OSCE. In 2005, he was also Chairman of the Permanent Council of the OSCE in Vienna. In 2000 he served as Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the following year he became the Diplomatic Adviser to the then Slovenian Prime Minister. Between 1994 and 1999 he was posted to Slovenia's Permanent Representation to the United Nations (UN) in New York, where he also served as the alternate representative of Slovenia on the UN Security Council. Mr Lenarčič holds a degree in international law from Ljubljana University.

Challenges in Implementing the Responsibility to Protect: The Security Council Veto and the Need for a Common Ethical Approach

In 2005 the member states of the United Nations recognized a “responsibility to protect” (“R2P”) victims of mass atrocities such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. They acknowledged a special role for the U.N. Security Council in responding to these atrocities, including potentially authorizing military action using its extensive powers under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter. However, the Council has very rarely been able to agree on appropriate action, and the five permanent Council members (“P5”), most notably China and Russia, have often vetoed or threatened to veto Council resolutions authorizing R2P action. The article argues that the veto poses a major impediment to the Council acting on its R2P responsibilities, and that to resolve it, the P5, and all U.N. member states, need to agree on a common ethical approach. The article proposes such an approach based on ethical concepts that are widely endorsed by states, especially in the U.N. Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and explores its implications for legal and ethical controversies relating to the role of the Council, its obligations under R2P, and proposed reforms of the veto.

Działalność ustawodawcza wolnych sejmów w czasach Rady Nieustającej (1778–1786)

The author discusses the legal framework of the legislative activity of ‘free’ (that is, not confederated) Sejms. He discusses parliamentary practice between 1778 and 1786 after a thorough analysis of the king’s legislative initiative with special emphasis on proposals submitted by the throne, and the role played by the Permanent Council in drafting laws. The author argues that numerous bills drafted by envoys had little impact on the results of Sejms because after the election and control of the executive authorities ended, there was no time to examine the drafts. Sejm decisions could be divided into two categories: a) decisions made before the separation of two chambers – concerning elections (of executive and judiciary authorities) and vote of acceptance for the Permanent Council; and b) legislative decisions made during further proceedings, with a special subcategory in the form of provisions related to the control over executive powers. The author also provides a quantitative analysis of legislative output between 1778 and 1786.

Rola senatorów w sejmach Rzeczypospolitej

During the three centuries of the functioning of the Sejm of the Commonwealth the role of the senators continued to change. Initially, they fulfilled chiefly the function of the royal council, predominantly advising the king and forcing through approval of decisions made at nobility sejmiks. At the same time, they constituted the second chamber of the Sejm, whose legislative rights were gradually reduced in the course of the Executionist (execution-of-the-law) Movement aimed at the emancipation of the nobility and represented primarily in the Chamber of Deputies. Already at that time strivings of the senators began to change by focusing on building up their position in the nobility-dominated provinces and declaring themselves defenders against the threat of royal absolutism. As a result, the involvement of the senators in the work conducted by the seventeenth-century Sejm diminished, a process expressed in low attendance and negligible fulfilment of the duties of presenting wota (opinions and commentaries), the work performed by resident senators, and taking part in Senate councils. Not until the King Stanisław Augustus era did the Sejm revive and the role played by the senators grow. The senators now gained influence upon the then established Permanent Council, via which they could control the executive and jurisdiction. Moreover, they became the support of royal-ambassadorial rule. By the time of the Four-Year Sejm their position collapsed in the face of rising patriotic and republican attitudes in the Chamber of Deputies. As a result, it was decided to radically limit the number of senators and their impact upon legislative activity, a resolution upheld also by the last Sejm held in Grodno. These resolutions, which to a great extent limited the role played by the senators, did not come into force.

Uwagi o sejmikach litewskich w czasach Rady Nieustającej na tle praktyki parlamentarnej powiatu kowieńskiego

W artykule omówiono wybrane aspekty funkcjonowania sejmików litewskich w czasach Rady Nieustającej (zwłaszcza w latach 1776–1786). Wykorzystane zostały wiadomości na temat powiatu kowieńskiego znane dzięki Aktom sejmiku kowieńskiego w latach 1733–1795 opublikowanym w 2019 r. przez Monikę Jusupović. Informacje te skonfrontowano z danymi dotyczącymi sejmików lidzkiego i wiłkomierskiego pochodzącymi z kwerendy źródłowej w archiwach w Mińsku i Wilnie. Do celów porównawczych wykorzystane zostały wyniki badań historyków litewskich (sejmik wileński), polskich i białoruskich. W tekście przedstawiono m.in. takie zagadnienia, jak funkcjonowanie sejmików gospodarskich, relacyjnych i elekcyjnych. Zaprezentowano także informacje dotyczące typów akt sejmikowych, które są charakterystyczne dla parlamentaryzmu litewskiego. Omówione zostały dodatkowe wiadomości związane z życiem politycznym powiatu kowieńskiego, których nie uwzględniła M. Jusupović. W końcowej części artykułu wyeksponowane są specyficzne aspekty badań nad litewskim parlamentaryzmem. Dzięki zwyczajowi podpisywania uchwał sejmiku przez ogół osób w nim uczestniczących możliwe jest przybliżone oszacowanie liczebności zgromadzenia. W drugiej połowie XVIII w. nadal istniały znaczące różnice między sejmikami litewskimi a koronnymi, choć widoczna jest tendencja do upodobniania się modeli funkcjonujących w obu krajach.

The Punishment of Murderers in the Noble Courts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Second Half of the 18th Century

This article gives an analysis of the punishment the noble courts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania applied to murderers in the second half of the 18th century, where the noble courts acted as courts of first instance in hearing murder cases. The author aims to determine the catalogue of punishments applied in such cases and the trends in the application of punishments in terms of how they conformed with the valid legal norms of the day, and search for manifestations of the humanisation of the law. After an examination of 184 verdicts, the author found that in cases of wilful murder, the noble courts usually applied the death penalty as per the set laws. Exceptions applied only to individuals from the estate of nobles, who instead of receiving a death sentence were sometimes sentenced to lower or upper tower punishment, which was by law ordinarily applied to other crimes. At the same time, the executors avoided qualified ways of applying the death sentence (capital punishment). Of the qualified forms of punishment, only quartering was applied, usually to those convicted of the aforementioned crime, ritual murder, and, in some instances, in cases of robbery. Alternative forms of punishment were episodic, and were only applied to a small number of convicted persons: imprisonment as a form of punishment recommended by philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment was applied in only 5.3 per cent of murder cases. In most instances, imprisonment was related to the introduction of the 1782 Cardinal Laws of the Permanent Council. In this way, the research reveals the conservative nature of the estate of nobles in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and their efforts to continue to adhere to the strict law outlined in the Third Statute of Lithuania. It is likely that this practice could have been a result of the poor state of the penitentiary system, as there was not a single public prison in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the time where long-term imprisonment could have been possible.

“The Jacobin Clique”: Reflections on the Private Committee’s Membership

The article, which is based on a wide-ranging historical and theoretical material, examines the motives for involving the members of the Private Committee (Neglasny komitet) to the reforms of Alexander I of Russia. At the beginning of his reign, members of the St. Petersburg-based political elite competed with each other to influence the young emperor. The groups of high-ranking officials striving for control over governmental affairs were represented by two state institutions — the Permanent Council and the Governing Senate. However, it was the Private Committee, the circle of emperor’s “young friends”, that spearheaded reforms in Alexander’s early reign. The author comes to the conclusion that Alexander’s choice of the Private Committee members was not accidental as they shared a common set of qualities and were the only people from emperor’s milieu whom he trusted.

Information and Communication Activities of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in the Context of the Conflict in Eastern Ukraine

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) was deployed in 2014, following a request to the OSCE by Ukrainian government and the decision of Permanent Council. Since then, the OSCE remains the only organization that provides an international presence exactly in the conflict zone in the east of Ukraine. Unarmed civilian observers that represent OSCE participating states provide ongoing monitoring of the events and the security situation on the contact line and all over Ukraine. They monitor and control the implementation of the Minsk agreements, namely, observe the withdrawal of the heavy weapons from the demarcation line, monitor the facts of ceasefire violations, observe the humanitarian and security situation in the conflict zone. They also serve as a communication bridge between different parties of the conflict. By facilitating on-site dialogue, they are trying to reduce tensions and help to normalize the situation in the conflict zone. Information and communication activities are the core activities of the mission, defined by the objectives of its mandate. Communication and information exchange is carried out both by the direct leadership of the Mission, the Chief Monitor, the Deputy Chief Monitor and the observation teams on the ground near the contact line, and in ten regions all over Ukraine. The main target audience of SMM is OSCE’s 57 participating States, however in order to implement the mandate, Mission communicates with various target audiences from civil society representatives to the governmental officials and journalists. In its activities, Mission uses a broad communication toolkit that allows it to perform information interaction with various target audiences, which in turn, contributes significantly to the effective implementation of the objectives defined in its mandate. Key words: OSCE; OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM); communication; mediation; conflicts.

Resolution 1106 (2168/18) (OAS), Precautionary Measure No. 731–18, & Precautionary Measure No. 505-18 (IACHR)

In the spring of 2018, the White House and executive agencies issued a series of orders aimed at more aggressive enforcement against irregular entry of migrants at the southwest border. In analyzing the legal validity of the new U.S. immigration policy decisions, the Inter-American System questioned and strongly condemned the U.S. policy and practice of separating migrant families. On June 29, 2018, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) issued a resolution that rejected any migration policy that resulted in the separation of families. Specifically, it urged the U.S. government to implement measures to avoid the separation of families, to seek unification of children and parents already separated, and to promote the identification of migrants and refugee seekers in accordance with international law. After the issuance of the resolution, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted Precautionary Measure No. 731–18, Regarding Migrant Children Affected by the “Zero Tolerance” Policy Regarding the United States of America (the children's measure), and Precautionary Measure No. 505–18, Concerning Vilma Aracely López Juc de Coc and Others Regarding the United States of America (the parents’ measure), both of which recognized that the rights to family life and personal integrity were at risk.

The Protection of Historical Artifacts in Ottoman Empire: The Permanent Council for the Protection of Ancient Artifacts

The Protection of Historical Artifacts in Ottoman Empire: The Permanent Council for the Protection of Ancient Artifacts

Działalność misji specjalnej OBWE na Ukrainie – sukces, porażka czy impuls do reform?

In what follows I analyze, on a macro-level, the role played by the OSCE in negotiating the ceasefire agreement during the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The activity set up to implement the cease-fire arrangements of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine will be examined in more detail. By analyzing the documents of the OCSE, I will focus on the specific scale, mechanisms, and ways of implementing tasks that result from the Minsk Agreements and which the OSCE Permanent Council imposed on the Mission. This analysis will also be an attempt to assess its efforts so far and to indicate the most important difficulties and obstacles faced by the international community in the process of normalization of the Donbas situation.

Kazachstan jako obecny przewodniczący OBWE – rok 2010: nowa rola średnich państw w podejmowaniu globalnych decyzji strategicznych na podstawie konsensusu

The paper concerns the issue of Kazakhstan presiding over the OSCE this year, and the issue of the role played by medium-sized states in the contemporary architecture of international relations. As the interests of global players continue to clash incessantly, medium-sized states are forced to make increased efforts to build a safer and more stable world. The author uses the example of Kazakhstan to analyze the role of medium-sized states, which can be compared to that played by small and medium-sized enterprises in building an efficient and stable economy. The small and medium-sized states are increasingly appreciated on an international scale in various areas. Kazakhstan is consistently working to achieve its goals, not only at present within the OSCE, but as a future head of other organizations, many of which have been established on Kazakhstan’s initiative; the country has always been distinguished by its international activity. Many of these initiatives have been successfully implemented by the OSCE itself. The above-mentioned organizations include the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC), Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), International Organization of Turkic Culture, and the Permanent Council of Ministers of Culture of the International Organization of Turkic Speaking States (TURKSOY). It is important to include the new independent states in the common ideology of the development of market economies and democratic institutions. As a regional leader in Central Asia, Kazakhstan is better prepared to implement this mission than other states. Not all Kazakhstan’s initiatives fall within a purely European framework. As the country is located at the cusp of Europe and Asia, its government pays constant attention to Euro-Asian issues, all the more so as, after its presidency of the OSCE, Kazakhstan will chair the Organization of the Islamic Conference in 2011.