Ratification Procedures Research Articles

The collapse of Kyoto Protocol: An analysis based on Game Theory

Everyone is a stakeholder in environmental issues. Contemporarily, climate change is incrementally imposing threats to human development, making multilateral cooperation necessary to minimise the impacts of climate-related risks. The Kyoto Protocol was a significant internationally binding agreement that aimed to reduce greenhouse gases emissions, whereas its signatories failed to achieve its target to a large extent. This paper analyzes the reason behind the failure of the Kyoto Protocol through a game-theoretic literature. The main factors that contributed to the collapse of the Kyoto Protocol include the complex nature of the environmental issue and strategic interest in the treaty ratification procedure. The global environment is defined as a public good, therefore, each country has a free-rider incentive to take advantage of others’ actions in pollution reduction, which is analyzed through a single prisoners’ dilemma game. When such a game is extended to a repeated prisoners’ dilemma game with an infinite horizon, there is a possibility that nations adopt a cooperative strategy in the long run. Simultaneously, the ultimatum game provides a representation of the treaty negotiation and ratification process, highlighting the importance of fairness and reciprocity of the treaty for its signatories. Potential solutions include trade sanctions, tax on exports, and the measure of cumulative emission has been evaluated at the end of the paper.

The Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe as a stage in deepening the integration of the European Union member states

The article generally analyses the prerequisites for the creation of the Constitution of the European Union. In particular, the factors contributing to its development were considered. Thus, it was found that following the results of the summit, at which a decision was made to develop a draft Constitution, the European Convention was formed, the creation of which provided for the completion of the institutional reform, the main purpose of which was to determine the future of Europe: the distribution of powers between the member states, the review of the EU treaties, the role of national parliaments, as well as the status of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. In addition, the article summarizes the structure of the Constitution. The Treaty on the Creation of the Constitution of Europe, which was supposed to become the basis of the future Constitution, was also analysed. It was determined that the future Constitution consisted of a preamble, four parts, protocols, and annexes. The article also explored that the Treaty was signed on behalf of the states mainly by the plenipotentiaries of the state, among whom the vast majority were prime ministers or foreign ministers. In addition, it was determined that the process of ratification of the Treaty was thorny. It was analysed that the European Parliament voted to support the implementation of the Constitution. Most of the parliaments of the member states, in accordance with the treaty ratification procedure adopted in the state, ratified the Treaty at the level of voting in the state parliament. The main prerequisites that stood in the way of the adoption of the Constitution were also investigated the main states that decided to hold a referendum on the ratification of the Treaty were identified. In addition, it was determined the states in which the citizens voted against the adoption of the Constitution because of the referendum, as well as those states where the citizens spoke in favour. It was also analysed that after the results of the referendum in France and the Netherlands, the leaders of the European Union decided to take a break and created a working group that will develop the next steps regarding the adoption of the Constitution. The article also determined that based on the results of the activity, it was decided to create a new agreement based on the Agreement on the Creation of the Constitution.

Treaty ratification Law – empirical study on the temporal efficacy of the parliamentary procedure

The empirical impact of laws is seldom studied in Romania and much less studied is the impact of laws on the activity of the legislative body. This paper analyses the efficacy of the applicable law regarding the treaty ratification procedure the Parliament has to follow. The present study appeals to the quantitative method of counting and calculating the time necessary to adopt a law on an international treaty, to better observe the efficacy of the law concerning the procedure itself. Results indicate that the applicable law on the treaty adoption procedure almost halved the time required to complete the parliamentary procedure. It is considered that while the law regarding the treaty adoption procedure brought about an effective improvement in the parliamentary procedure, empirical studies about the activity of institutions like the legislative body reveal maybe better perspectives in the study of legal institutions and the impact of the law.

CISG의 한계와 UNIDROIT원칙의 적용가능성

It is necessary to present that the UNIDROIT principle can be applied to international commodity sales contracts through arbitral award on the limits of application of CISG, and to examine how it is applied. In the following, we will examine the applicability of the UNIDROIT principle as a supplement for defects in Article 7 of the CISG. The CISG is a hard law as a convention, but the biggest feature of the UNIDROIT principle is that it is not a convention like the CISG, so it does not need to be domesticized through ratification procedures in each country, and it is non-binding and soft law. The CISG can be legalized domestically through ratification by the state, but the UNIDROIT principle cannot be legalized domestically through ratification. This characteristic allows the UNIDROIT principle to define matters wider than CISG. In addition, the UNIDROIT principle is based on universality and equity in domestic transactions, so it is highly applicable. Through a comparative legal review of the CISG’s defect supplementation regulations, we intend to clarify the defect regulations to promote predictable application of the law to international transactions with high uncertainty. The principles of CISG and UNIDROIT can be seen as a representative unified law applied to international commodity sales contracts. To this end, a comparative analysis was conducted with the UNIDROIT principle’s defect supplementation regulations, and as discussed in the attitude of the arbitral award, this attempt can play a role in finding a solution to the extent that the UNIDROIT principle has not been resolved by CISG. Therefore, in order to adapt the Convention to new needs and to develop each arbitration case according to the practical situation through analysis, the interpretation and defect supplementation of the Convention will be an important means of UNIDROIT.

Unraveling the Thought Probes of US Legislators on Trade Negotiations: Sentiment Analysis of the 108th and 112th US Congressional Speeches*

A plethora of literature has investigated the voting behavior of US legislators on trade bills to reveal a possible causal mechanism. Relying on dichotomous roll‐call voting data, however, has certain limitations on revealing the comprehensive thought probes of lawmakers on a complex diplomatic issue such as making an FTA deal. In this paper, we provide new insight to fill such a gap by analyzing congressional speech data during FTA ratification procedures. Using an automated web scraper, we collected the entire speech data (N = 5,372) of Senators and House Representatives in the 108th and 112th US Congress regarding AUSFTA and KORUS FTA, respectively. The speech sentiment analysis results show background and context (i.e., attitude‐behavior inconsistency) in the process of trade negotiations and agreements. Additionally, the results help identify important factors (i.e., ideology, constituency stimuli) that influence whether members of Congress stand for and against the FTA implementations.

In the Shadow of the Eastern Neighbour. Finland in the Security Policy of Russia and the Soviet Union from Peter the Great to Contemporary Times

Throughout its history, Finland’s relations with Russia have generally been determined by Russian attempts to secure control over the eastern part of the Baltic Sea region. In medieval times, it was mainly about the control of trade routes, especially between Novgorod, and Western Europe and Byzantium. After the founding of the new city of St. Petersburg by Peter the Great in 1703, the rulers of Russia were faced with the problem of ensuring security to that city. From a Russian point of view, it became vitally important to gain control over lands on the eastern side of the Baltic Sea. When Finland became a Russian province in 1809, it seemed that the Baltic security dilemmas of Russia had fi nally been resolved. However, the collapse of Tsarist Russia in 1917 changed that particular situation. Finland became independent, and Russia’s border moved east to the outskirts of St. Petersburg (renamed Petrograd during World War I). For the leaders of the Soviet Union, which had replaced the Romanov Empire, World War II provided an opportunity to try to regain lost Finnish territories. Although the Red Army did not manage to conquer Finland, during two wars (occurring between 1939–1940 and 1941–1944), the post war settlement saw the Soviet-Finnish border shift back westwards. Finland also had to reckon with the requirements of the USSR’s security policy and make it a priority of its own foreign policyAfter the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland modified its policy of neutrality and adopted a doctrine of non-alignment that has remained in place to this day. However, the increase of tensions in international relations in recent years, due to Russia’s aggressive foreign policy threatening its neighbours, has forced Finnish statesmen to rethink their country’s security policy. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Finland, together with Sweden, decided to apply for NATO membership. The ratification procedure is ongoing. The aim of this paper is to analyse, in a longer historical perspective, what Finland’s place was as regards the Russian and Soviet security policy, from Peter the Great to our times. The methodological approach refl ects the chronology of events which have occurred in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea region in the last 300 years. They are described to provide readers with necessary facts, and create the background for conclusions on the reasons for the Russian/Soviet policy towards Finland and, in a broader sense, the northern coasts of the Gulf of Finland.

WITHDRAWAL FROM THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE EUROPEAN INTEGRATION ASPIRATIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TÜRKIYE

The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence opened for signature in 2011 in Istanbul, Türkiye, and has been known as the most comprehensive international agreement advocating the prevention, prosecution, and elimination of violence against women and domestic violence. As of September 2022, 44 CoE member states, including all the EU countries, as well as the European Union itself as an international organization, are signatories to the Convention. The 2017 official signing of the Convention by the EU as a whole testified to the acceptance by Brussels of the former’s role as of an authoritative international legal instrument establishing all-European norms in this area. The degree of Türkiye’s involvement in its instrumentalization naturally derives from the international agreement’s unofficial name – the Istanbul Convention. The Republic of Türkiye was the first country to sign the Convention in 2011 with a unanimous vote of the parliament, and later in 2012 expressed its consent to be bound hereby. The decision of President Erdoğan to denounce the international agreement bearing the name of Türkiye’s largest city, adopted in 2021, has caused surprise and concern amid the international political and human rights community. The European Union was no exception; the move has been interpreted as a negative signal in terms of the state’s commitment to its obligations to ensuring the rights of women and girls, as well as guaranteeing basic human rights, democracy, and the rule of law at large, given Türkiye’s status of EU membership candidate. Meanwhile, the so-called Istanbul Convention has not yet passed the ratification procedure in individual EU countries, as well as within the European Union per se. Likewise, the Convention’s international legal stance remains volatile since most participating states have granted it the status as part of national legislation with a number of reservations. This article addresses the following question: whether Türkiye’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention may be considered a demonstrative political message of official Ankara impeding the country’s European integration aspirations.

Evaluation of the response to emerging environmental threats, focusing on carbon dioxide (CO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and scrubber wash water (SOx)

It has been acknowledged that most international regulations were triggered by a series of tanker disasters that had devastating effects on the marine environment. One way to better protect the aquatic environment is the proactive response of the member states of the various international organisations to expedite the ratification procedures for international conventions, mainly the International Maritime Organization (IMO) legal instruments. Every time this is achieved, ship owners become more responsible for protecting the marine environment, regardless of the economic costs involved. Following this path, ship owners will be obliged to cooperate with competent authorities when a vessel calls at a port for the loading, discharging, bunkering, repairing and other secondary operations, to counter the possible threat of emerging pollution. This paper focuses on issues that are mostly related to the amendments of Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention, which deal explicitly with air pollution. The paper also examines the relationship between technological innovations, the existing regulations and the environmental threats posed by carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds, and methods to deal with sulphur reduction.

PAST AND PRESENT OF THE ULTRA-VIRES PRINCIPLE IN TURKISH COMPANIES LAW

Abolished Commercial Code No. 6762 art. 137 limited the entitlement of commercial companies to the “subject of activity” included in the company's articles of association. Transactions exceeding the scope of operation written in the company's articles of association were deemed to be ultra vires transactions and were deemed null and void. Since the transactions that were deemed null and void were not available in the legal world, it was not possible to make them valid again. Because, a legal transaction that does not exist is invalid from the very beginning; even if the interests of all parties require it, it is not possible to validate the transaction with approval or authorization. Therefore, since transactions outside the scope of business of commercial companies were also considered null and void, there was no approval or ratification procedure that could make them valid. The only way to carry out the aforementioned transaction in a valid manner was to change the articles of association, regulate the company's field of activity to include the aforementioned transaction, and re-do the transaction from the beginning. In the Turkish Commercial Code no. 6102 art. 125 provision emphasized that commercial companies have legal personality, as in article 137 of the abolished Commercial Code no. 6762. However, unlike the abolished one, by eliminating the ultra vires principle, which is a limit to the competence of commercial companies. It has been widely accepted in the meaning of Turkish Civil Code art. 48. This issue was also included in the Turkish Commercial Code no:6102 art. 125 justification, and it was stated that the ultravires principle was abolished. Therefore, it is understood that the ultravires principle was abandoned as a result of the conscious choice of the Lawgiver. The subject of business is no longer a limiting element of the legal capacity of commercial companies. Despite this, the subject of business still maintains its importance for trading companies. Turkish Commercial Code no:6102 art. 213, which regulates the mandatory elements of the articles of association of commercial companies, in the provisions of 339 and 5 76, the subject of activity continues to maintain its place as a mandatory element that should be included in the articles of association. In the aforementioned provisions, among the mandatory elements to be included in the articles of association, as a common expression in the aforementioned company types, the phrase "business subject in a specified and defined manner" is used. The subject of operation is also in the Turkish Commercial Code no. 6102 art. 233 and in the provisions of art. 371, it remains as a factor limiting the representation authority of those authorized to represent the company. When these provisions are evaluated, it is understood that although the ultra vires principle has been abandoned in terms of the competence of commercial companies, the principle continues to be preserved in terms of representation. In the study, the provisions of abolished Commercial Code no:6762 art. 137, which limits the license of commercial companies to the subject of activity and art. 128, which defines the license in the broadest sense, were determined as the starting point, and the provisions regulating the authority of representation of commercial companies were examined. Thus, the effects of the ultra vires principle on the competence and representation of commercial companies have been comparatively examined within the framework of the abolished Commercial Code No. 6762 and the current Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership: Text Overview and Outlook for Entry into Force

At the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit held on November 15, 2020, Korea, China, Japan, Australia, New Zea-land and 10 ASEAN countries concluded and formally signed the agreement. The RCEP is called a “mega-FTA” because of its large scale involving 15 countries in Asia and the Oceania region, with the economies of RCEP-participating countries accounting for about 30% of the world's production, trade and population.The RCEP agreement includes chapters on trade in goods and services, investment, SPS, TBT, e-commerce, intellectual property rights, as well as SMEs and cooperation, covering the entire economic relationship. Especially, the RCEP rules of origin integrate the various origin standards into a unified system, and have regional cumulative rules so that goods and materials of a member country which are used in the production of another good or material is considered as worked or processed in the region). In addition, a self-certification of origin by exporters or producers was introduced. Improvement of these origin rules is expected to increase the utilization of RCEP by companies and promote the formation of regional value chains. The e-commerce chapter can be evaluated to reflect most recent trade rules, including provisions for promoting cross-border e-commerce, such as paperless trade, electronic authentication, and trade facilitation using electronic signatures, as well as provisions related to the location of computer facilities and cross-border transfer of data. In addition, the intellectual property chapter includes provisions on the protection of IP rights covering copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs, and patents.The biggest significance of the RCEP agreement is that the world's largest mega-FTA was concluded amid the spread of new protectionism, and in the midst of the global economic slump due to COVID-19, thus providing an opportunity for economic recovery through regional free trade and expansion of investment. Korea is expected to be able to expand new markets and strengthen economic cooperation in the ASEAN region through the RCEP.As for the entry into force of the RCEP, if at least six of the ASEAN signatories and three or more of the non-ASEAN signatories complete the domestic ratification procedure, the ratification agreement between the countries will enter into force 60 days later. So far, Singapore, China, Thailand and Japan have completed ratification. After completing the impact assessment by June, Korea is expected to be able to ratify it by the end of 2021 or early 2022.

EU Trade Agreements: To Mix or Not to Mix, That Is the Question

The European Union (EU) can only act internationally on competences that have been transferred to it by its Member States. Trade agreements negotiated by the EU that include provisions outside its exclusive competences should be concluded as ‘mixed’. Mixed trade agreements must be ratified following not only the procedures set out in the EU treaties, but also the national ratification procedures of the Member States. As a result, national or even regional parliaments may block trade deals agreed between the EU and its trading partners after years of negotiations. Should the EU then avoid negotiating mixed trade agreements? We argue that the answer to this question depends crucially on the objectives of the EU when negotiating with its trading partners. If the EU is mostly driven by market-access motives, it should restrict the agreement to policy areas under its exclusive competence, thus insulating the trade deal from the legal and political risks of mixity. When instead its motives are mostly political, mixity is a ‘necessary evil’ to achieve non-trade objectives. Trade Agreements, European Unity, Competences, Ratification Procedures

Italy and Switzerland Sign New Agreement on Income Taxation of Frontier Workers: Initial Comments from an Italian Perspective

In this note, the authors analyse – with a focus on the Italian tax implications – the new provisions regulating the income taxation of “frontier workers” in the amending Protocol to the Italy-Switzerland Income and Capital Tax Treaty (1976) and the related implementing Agreement, both signed on 23 December 2020. Once the ratification procedure is completed, the new provisions will substantially update a well-established regulatory framework dating back to the mid-1970s.

The Constitutional Framework of International Law in the Gulf: Ratification and Implementation of International Treaties in GCC Constitutions

Abstract This article investigates how ratification and implementation of international treaties are regulated in GCC Constitutions and how these regulations currently operate. First, it considers the models of internal/international law relations that Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Constitutions espouse. Second, it then reviews ratification procedures and practices. Finally, it examines alternative options to guarantee implementation. Shifting the focus away from conventional court implementation mechanisms, the article argues that internal accountability mechanisms of executives might guarantee a more effective enforcement of international treaties in the GCC Member States.

Democratizing Foreign Policy: Parliamentary Oversight of Treaty Ratification in Pakistan

Abstract Treaties are agreements between States negotiated by government executives. They are primarily meant to govern the relationship between States, but may have implications for the economic, political, and fundamental rights of citizens. As treaties create binding legal obligations for States enforceable under international law, this article primarily argues that Parliamentary oversight of treaties is necessary for their democratic legitimacy. It analyses the Ratification of Foreign Agreements by Parliament Bill (the ‘Bill’) which is currently being debated in the Senate of Pakistan. Offering critical overview of the existing treaty making procedures in Pakistan, the article evaluates several aspects of the Bill including its definition of foreign agreements and the proposed treaty ratification procedures in comparison with international law of treaties and relevant laws of the UK, Australia, and Kenya. Based on the comparative examination of the Bill, the article makes proposals for changes in the Bill's substantive provisions and make further suggestions for improvement, such as guiding principles on treaty negotiations and procedure for treaty withdrawals. The article concludes by giving a comprehensive package of practical recommendations for further development of the Bill's provisions on treaty ratification in accordance with international best practices.

До характеристики міжнародно-правового забезпечення репродуктивних прав людини

До характеристики міжнародно-правового забезпечення репродуктивних прав людини

NAFTA Is Renegotiated and Signed by the United States

A twenty-four-year-old agreement was reborn on October 1, 2018, when President Trump announced that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) had been successfully renegotiated. The deal came after an arduous, year-long negotiation process that almost left Canada behind. As one indicator of its contentiousness, the deal lacks an agreed-upon name, but the United States is referring to it as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). It keeps some key NAFTA provisions mostly the same, including with respect to state-to-state dispute resolution, but eliminates, modifies, and adds other provisions. Among the changes: investor-state dispute settlement has been eliminated as between the United States and Canada; rules of origin for automobiles and rules for U.S. dairy products have been modified; and new provisions address labor protections, intellectual property rights, rights for indigenous persons, rules for trade negotiations with non-market countries, and the agreement's termination. The agreement was formally signed by the leaders of all three countries on November 30, 3018. It must be approved through the domestic ratification procedures of the three countries before it enters into force.

When Overlapping Organisations Play Two-Level Games: IMF–EU Interaction in Credit Lending to Latvia and Greece

ABSTRACTIn the literature, the cooperation of the IMF and the EU in credit lending has been discussed either from a state-centric, bureaucratic or institutionalist perspective. In this article, we examine the Troika as a set-up of multiple organisational overlap providing bureaucratic agents with constraints and opportunities for strategic action. Taking Latvia and Greece as cases in point, we analyse who prevails in a situation of conflict and why. How do these international organisations manage to overcome their differences and reach consensus? Drawing on the Two-Level game approach, we argue that negotiators are more likely to prevail over each other when their respective win-set decreases. We find that different strategies to manipulate win-sets are decisive to explain both cooperation and assertiveness. Changing costs of no agreement during a lending programme as well as the institutional procedures for programme ratification facilitate the use of these strategies.

Judicial Preview on the Bill on International Treaty Ratification

This research is aimed to find and introduce a new idea on the state administration, which has implications on the international treaty ratification procedure followed by Indonesia and additional authorizations of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia. The judicial preview in this research is an international treaty examination procedure by the Constitutional Court before an international treaty is transformed into a law, i.e. such international treaty is a Bill. The judicial preview shall have different terms in each country, such as Review ex ante, abstract review, judicial review. This procedure is applied when an international treaty has not been validated as a country’s national law. The benefits of a judicial preview shall be a solution to connect an ambiguity between the state administrative law and international law. The judicial preview is also the inter-state institutions real check and balance on the international treaty. Out of benchmarking results of four countries following the monism doctrine, i.e. Russia, Germany, France, and Italty and two countries following the dualism doctrine, i.e. Hungary and Ecuador, several additional authorizations of the Constitutional Court shall be summarized, i.e. via the Amendment of 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and/or regulations via laws. If both manners are not possible, the Constitutional Court may apply the judicial preview as a state administrative practice. An international treaty draft, which has passed through the judicial preview, may not be submitted to the Constitutional Court to be performed a judicial review, unless 5 (five) year-period has passed since the bill is enacted as a law.

PECULIARITIES OF THE RATIFICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EU-UKRAINE ASSOCIATION AGREMENT

PECULIARITIES OF THE RATIFICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EU-UKRAINE ASSOCIATION AGREMENT

What Red Lines, If Any, Do the Lisbon Judgments of European Constitutional Courts Draw for Future EU Integration?

The lingering European financial crisis continues to threaten the Eurozone and, in the opinion of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the very survival of the European idea. With this apocalyptic rhetoric, it is easily forgotten that only nine years earlier Europe overcame a predicament that was, at the time, equally described as the most challenging in its history. Two failed referendums in Member States of the European Union (Member States)—namely, in France and the Netherlands—stopped the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (Constitutional Treaty) in its tracks and led to an extended “period of reflection” for Europe's leaders. From this emerged a reboot of the Constitutional Treaty, now dubbed the Treaty of Lisbon, with few substantial changes, but more success throughout the ratification procedures. The final hurdle presented itself in the form of institutionally strong Constitutional Courts (CC) and Tribunals (CT) of the European Member States. Of these, the following were at one time or another seized with complaints against the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty: The AustrianVerfassungsgerichtshof(Austrian CC), the Belgian CC, theÚstavní soud České republiky(Czech CC), the FrenchConseil Constitutionnel(French CC), the GermanBundesverfassungsgericht(German CC), the Hungarian CC, theLatvijas Republikas Satversmes tiesa(Latvian CC), the PolishTrybunał Konstytucyjny(Polish CT), and theTribunal Constitucional de España(Spanish CT).