Supranational Power Research Articles

INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES

International law functions principally in maintaining the fabric of international relations, which reflects the overriding desire by states to resort to a supra-national power of legal mechanisms to resolve disputes that may arise among them on territorial claims without force and in a peaceful manner. The United Nations (UN), its Security Council, and its judicial organ - the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - were established after the Second World War primarily to achieve international peace and security. Consequently, the Constitutive Charter of the UN placed an obligation on member-states to resolve all disputes in a peaceful manner which was ostensibly geared towards forestalling the occurrence of another world war. Under the auspices of the UN, the world has achieved a comprehensive body of international law and dispute resolution mechanisms, some of which have helped to resolve disputes that would have otherwise threatened international peace and security. Despite this, scholars have paid less attention to how international law and the implementing agencies of the UN have contributed to global dispute settlement. This paper examines the significance of international law and its implementing agencies in the peaceful settlement of disputes. We argue that international law and its implementation agencies provide an effective framework for peaceful dispute settlement among nations, promoting global security and cooperation.

Legitymizacja ponadnarodowej władzy politycznej Unii Europejskiej w perspektywie wybranych teorii integracji europejskiej

The aim of this paper is to seek a theoretical framework for explaining the sources of legitimacy of EU political power. The research problem concerns the establishing of the sources of legitimacy of the EU political system, depending on the implemented theories of European integration. The research process uses selected theories of European integration: intergovernmental theory, neo-functionalism and constructivism, which point to diverse sources of legitimacy of supranational political power. These include: the will and interests of sovereign states, the high efficiency and effectiveness of supranational political power in achieving the goals of various interest groups, and social norms and values. The analysis carried out enabled a positive verification of the research hypothesis on the diverse origins of the legitimacy of EU supranational power, justified within the framework of selected theories of European integration.

Dispute Settlement Mechanisms: Gulf Cooperation Council Practice v. European Union Practice

Abstract Dispute settlement mechanisms (DSM) are the heart of international organisations without which organisations would be ineffective. The European Union (EU) is probably the most effective regional body whose efficacy is largely due to its powerful judicial organ, the Court of Justice (CJEU). This article also examines the DSM available in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in order to assess its effectiveness. It briefly discusses aspects of the EU and CJEU to help provide suggestions to improve the GCC DSM. This article concludes that the GCC DSM lacks effectiveness due to an inherent defect in its DMS organs. This defect is twofold: first, the GCC has yet to establish an effective judicial organ to deal with its disputes; and, second, there is a lack of political will to establish an organ that is vested with a supranational power that can override the individual will of the Member States.

Governance of the modern state: the role of digital technologies

Today the whole set of political, legal, educational and economic relations in society and the state is absorbed by its information and communication space. It is in it that all the terms and concepts of the various sciences that study the material and virtual worlds are interpreted, and it is obvious that political science cannot stand aside in this process. In the turbulent conditions of transformation of socio-political processes, it differentiates and integrates the problems that form its structural content — the activities of government and its relations with civil society; political institutions, processes and systems; technologies of political activity and motivation of political behavior of leaders; political aspects of international relations; national security and the establishment of supranational power structures in the nation-state. All this and much of what is not named / mentioned is of interest to political science, which today, in particular, conceptualizes various ideas of organizing a global information and communication space in which information is generated, interpreted and consumed, interacting with informational scientists, economics, etc. all spheres of socio-political activity. The article attempts to reveal the importance of the role of digital technologies in the transition from the model of e-government to digital: from a form of interaction to a new form of communication. Leading countries of the world have already proved that the implementation and management of new information and communication technologies (ICT) requires society to fully concentrate and mobilize attention to the development of information and communication, as the goal is to cover the whole set of research and educational processes of political and economic life. Relationships related to the creation, accumulation, storage, processing, dissemination and protection of all types of information have always been present everywhere, but in modern conditions they have acquired special qualities and affect all spheres of society, affecting the rights of different groups and generations. In particular, the importance of human and social rights and states related to the circulation of information, such as freedom of expression, the right to information and access to information, the right to privacy, political or socio-economic rights, is growing significantly. Key words: digital technologies, information and communication technologies, modern state, new forms of communication.

The right to information activity of citizens as the source of the establishment of a new integrated communication science

The whole set of political, legal, scientific, educational and economic relations in society and the state absorbs its information and communication space. This is where all the concepts of the various sciences that study the material and virtual world are interpreted today. Political science as a social science cannot stand aside in this process. In turbulent conditions, it simultaneously differentiates and integrates the problems that make up its structural content. Activities of the authorities and their relations with civil society; political institutions, processes and systems; technologies of political activity and motivation of political behavior; political aspects of international relations and the problem of supranational power, everything is interested in political science, where today is the conceptualization of ideas of organization of global information and communication space – the spheres of generation, interpretation and consumption of information, the question of interaction of information actors in science, education, economic or political activities use a single information and communication environment. There is no doubt that the digital world we are entering is not only a new logical stage in the development of the technological sphere of humanity, but a transition of the existing political-legal and socio-political systems to a new dimension of reality. Digital technologies are already rapidly grasping the footholds for advancement in all spheres of society, and digitalization is becoming a trend in modern development, however, it will require ever more in-depth work to develop ever more effective ways of legal regulation of various information and communication relations, as well as effective organizational and legal support for informatization of the state. The complexity of this area is due to the fact that virtually all social and industrial relations have an information component, and therefore the information and legal nature are all norms of interaction in different sectors and spheres of citizens. For example, relationships that arise: in the production and dissemination of information by the media; when applying the organizational and legal mechanisms of its security; at creation and functioning of the state automated information and communication systems. Legal regulation of information relations and social production activities in the information and communication sphere (infosphere), one way or another, affect the organization of all political institutes and processes engaged in the process of creating all targeted programs to improve national, state and personal security of citizens of any country, normatively – legal acts, including laws on relations, which represent the subject of a new field of law integrated with the technical sciences – information law, which practically emerged 20–25 years . Both political science and jurisprudence are still amorphous enough and are not actively defining the scope of their tasks, but they exist and require their decision. Analysis of global trends in the development of mankind in the XXI century suggests that the further development of states will occur in the face of enormous technological and psycho-emotional challenges and risks associated with digital inequality of citizens, however, and under such conditions, the formation of societies and their policies is already happening today, military affairs and, of course, science and education. Risks are the foundation of a fundamentally new economy (knowledge-based economy), the basis of competitiveness in countries where new high-tech breakthrough technologies are being created based on digitized information. The digital economy is defined as an economy based on the digital use of digital information and communication technologies (ICTs), however, they do not take into account that digital technologies of information and knowledge processing are becoming, today, the energy that conceptually changes the organization of information and communication. Areas – Areas of processing (production, interpretation, communication) and consumption of information. The information space is changing – as a sphere of interaction of information actors who use a single information environment. Traditionally, the information environment refers to the totality of information infrastructure, ICTs and tools, as well as organizational and legal structures that represent the organizational, material and legal conditions for the existence and functioning of information actors. The basis (central part) of the information environment is not only the information and communication infrastructure – a set of interconnected communications, information systems and information resources, but also the ability of countries to adequately fulfill the political and legal conditions for its development. Key words: information, informatization, information and communication technologies, information and communication security, information and communication activity, information space, information war, humanities, scientific and educational policy, information legislation.

European Union Agencies: A global governance perspective

European Union agencies have been studied explicitly or implicitly from two distinct perspectives: an intergovernmental or a supranational point of view. Both relate to broader dynamics and aim to understand the forces that EU agencies respond to. However, different authors have pointed out that both perspectives can be observed simultaneously in EU agencies. This is because they combine intergovernmental coordination and access to supranational power with different intensities under conditions of institutional isolation and a strong professional identity. This article takes as its starting point this integrating vision and argues that EU agencies function as a new type of regional trans-governmental body that is flexible, adapts to the new age of global governance and actively participates in it. The paper discusses the literature on EU agencies along these lines and concludes with a plea to favour an analysis that includes global governance, in order to better understand how these bodies operate in transnational spaces. The fragmentation of sovereignty into multiple levels and regulatory spaces, where complex sectorial systems take on a global dimension to produce public goods, requires articulating hybrid institutional structures. EU agencies respond perfectly to this need as their institutional design endows them with a strong capacity for multilevel interaction.

IMF Decision-making: The 2010 Reform is Not Enough

After the ‘long and intense debate’ in the 14th review, the IMF issued amendments on Quota and Governance Reform as well as Board Reform, including doubling the Quotas, shifting shares, protecting the representativeness of poorest members, abolishing the five appointed-directive system in the Executive Board, and setting a second Alternate Executive Director. The IMF believes the reform is a success, while many scholars hold the opposite opinion. This essay will argue that, though the reform has been completed, the goals for building a more democratic, less-developed-country-involved decision-making system inside the Fund have not been achieved, since the power of ‘veto’ and the supranational power of ‘informal advisor groups’ still exist. Moreover, the reform lack actions to make non-state actors’ voices heard in the organisation as well as to change the white-dominating system of employees, which issues are both related to the decision-making in the IMF.

Understanding the ASEAN way of regional qualification governance: The case of mutual recognition agreements in the professional service sector

AbstractExisting studies on Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) are mostly based on the European experience. In this paper, we discuss the ongoing attempt of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to establish very unique MRAs, using professional service qualifications, particularly engineering, as a case study. Several ASEAN professional service qualification MRAs employ a “hub‐and spoke” model, wherein neither the hub (regional mechanism) nor the spokes (national authorities) are more powerful than the other. This model features both harmonization of professional qualifications led by regional mechanisms and the recognition of partner countries’ qualifications granted by national authorities. Why does ASEAN need unique MRA governance that features both harmonization and mutual recognition? We find several valid practical explanations, such as limitations of supranational power, confidence building among members, and capacity development. More fundamentally, neither simple harmonization nor simple mutual recognition functions well in ASEAN, where three types of gaps exist among member states. The diversity in legal backgrounds suggests that the combination of harmonization preferred by civil law countries and mutual recognition preferred by common law countries is suitable. The variety in social norms ranging from market mechanisms to social safety implies that the combination of harmonization and mutual recognition is also suitable. Gaps in the price and quality of professional services across ASEAN member states requires the unique approach to facilitate and control the movement of professionals and to promote the joint practice between foreign and local professionals in both high and low income countries to create a win‐win situation.

Reflections on the ‘Administrative, Not Constitutional’ Character of EU Law in Times of Crisis

Abstract As is broadly recognized, the realm of administrative power greatly expanded over the course the twentieth century (particularly after 1945). This essay argues that this expansion, along with differential conceptions of legitimacy deeply bound up with it, are crucial to understanding not just the modern administrative state but also the nature of EU governance and the law governing its operation. Despite a dominant paradigm that seeks to understand EU governance in autonomously democratic and constitutional terms, the legitimacy of integration as a whole has remained primarily ‘administrative, not constitutional’. The EU’s normative power, like all power of an ultimately administrative character, finds its legitimacy primarily in legal, technocratic and functional claims. This is not to deny that European integration involves ‘politics’ or has profound ‘constitutional’ implications for its member states or citizens. The ‘administrative, not constitutional’ paradigm is meant only to stress that the ultimate grounding of EU rulemaking, enforcement, and adjudication comes closer to the sort of administrative legitimacy that is mediated through national executives, national courts, and national parliaments to a much greater extent than the dominant paradigm supposes. This is the reality that the ‘administrative, not constitutional’ paradigm on EU law has always sought to emphasize, and it is one that is particularly pertinent to the integration process in times of crisis. It is unsurprising, in these circumstances, that the public law of European integration has continually resorted to mechanisms of nationally mediated legitimacy in order to ‘borrow’ legitimacy from the national level. Unless and until Europeans begin to experience democracy and constitutionalism in supranational terms, the ‘administrative, not constitutional’ paradigm suggests that the EU’s judicial doctrines must be adjusted. The purpose should be to address the persistent disconnect between supranational regulatory power and its robust sources of democratic and constitutional legitimacy on the national level.

Women and Mediation in Religious Conflicts

The present article is an investigation into the possibility, raised by the research of both Shlain and Gilligan, in different contexts, that women have a distinctive capacity to ameliorate the kind of religiously motivated violence witnessed globally in the present era. To be able to make sense of the need for such intervention by women, the present global situation is first reconstructed with reference to recent, allegedly religion-motivated, so-called “terrorist” attacks, such as those in Paris, France. These attacks are placed in an interpretive framework provided by Huntington, on the one hand, and Hardt and Negri, on the other. More specifically, Huntington’s thesis is that we live in a time when global conflict will no longer occur on the same grounds as in earlier eras (e.g. ideological grounds like those of fascism or communism versus liberal democracy), but on cultural grounds instead, where religion will be the most important such cultural component motivating conflict. Hardt and Negri answer the question concerning the renewed prominence of religious fundamentalism by showing that this does not mark a return to a premodern condition, but is rather a postmodern phenomenon where cultures such as Islam reject the emergence of the new sovereign, supranational power, which they call “Empire”. It is against this backdrop that Shlain and Gilligan’s arguments concerning the specific predispositions of women towards mediation and intervention in situations of religious conflict must be seen. Shlain’s argument is that, since the earliest hunter-gatherer times women have concentrated on tasks that engage right-brain capacities such as nurturing and caring, while men focused on left-brain tasks that involve objectivity, logical thinking and dispassionate decision-making. While both genders have the same capacity to perform these different tasks, the one set became conventionally associated with women and the other with men, which has resulted in a predisposition on the part of women to perform these tasks. Gilligan provides confirmation of this claim from a different angle, namely the evaluation of children’s moral development. Her analysis of the respective reasoning of a boy and a girl who had to respond to a moral dilemma, shows that, contrary to the view that the boy displayed greater moral maturity than the girl by focusing on the question of justice, the girl displayed different priorities in her reasoning, namely her concern with human relationships. This is what led Gilligan to posit an “ethic of care” which is characteristically feminine. Considering the above it is therefore argued that women clearly possess a capacity for caring, empathy and nurturing that would be invaluable in situations of religiously motivated conflict, in which they should be encouraged to mediate.

Информационные технологии и экономические отношения: проблемы международно-договорной унификации в ЕАЭС

Since 2013, at the State Duma initiative, each April Saint-Petersburg has hosted the “Eurasian Economic Perspective” International Forum. This discussion venue for the exchange of opinions by parliament members of the post-Soviet states, with the participation of scientists, representing humanitarian sciences and education, furthers, among other things, the goal of the states’ integration and their economic development. The topic for discussion offered this year was the implementation problems of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Integration as of January, 1, 2015. One of the main integration problems is the problem of unification and harmonization of national legislations of the Treaty countries. The key question of the unification process is separation of powers and competences of the integration organization’s common body and the participating countries’ national bodies. The understanding of the supranational power of the common body is not correct. The integration experience in other unions between the states proves the importance of the sovereignty principle in the integration process. The author provides the analysis of former integration experience. For example, CMEA (Council of Mutual Economic Assistance) united the former Eastern European socialist republics and South-Eastern Asia and was dissolved in 90-ies after the transition of the States — participants to market economy. Notwithstanding its dissolution, CMEA created effective integration instruments on the basis of unification of national legislations: The CMEA General Conditions of Delivery. This instrument of the socialist common market continues to be practiced as model conditions for international contracts. The legal instrument of the International Business Corporation (IBC) has initiated the movement of resources that can be compared to the movement of capital in a free-market world. The CMEA experience has provided basic knowledge of cooperation, which was later used in other integration groups. The article also covers the economic integration of the European Union. It can be useful from the point of view of critics of “federalist” theories on the nature of integration of a group of states. The latter remains, as the authors show, to be subject to the International Law system. It is quite logical, that due to this position of the authors, they pay special attention to the key role of national legislation in the integration process. On the basis of the analysis of the Andean Common Market experience the authors underline the features of integration in the Latin American region. The comparative analysis of international regional unions of states is necessary to make the work of the Eurasian International Economic Union (EAEU) more effective. The Information Law is the technique that provides the diffusion of the most effective models of regulation for the purpose of economic integration. This approach in solving problems of economic integration in EAEU seems to be useful in search of the ways to overcome difficulties of the integration process.

Posibilidades y límites de un constitucionalismo mundial ¿Qué queda del constitucionalismo cuando lo globalizamos?

El constitucionalismo no aspira a quedarse en un legado consumado sino que se presenta como un programa abierto de futuro. Como afirma Ferrajoli, más allá de su vocación de garantía de los derechos frente a la actuación de los poderes estatales, su ideología pretende servir, además, a la limitación de cualquier poder, no sólo público, sino también privado; a la garantía de todos los derechos, no sólo los derechos políticos y de libertad, sino también los sociales; y, por último, a todos los niveles, no sólo en el Derecho estatal, sino también en el internacional. Los proyectos cosmopolitas postulan la extensión del modelo constitucional estatal a cualquier sede de poder supranacional. Sin embargo, la realidad jurídica global dista en aspectos fundamentales del modelo constitucionalista. Entre las principales transformaciones se pueden señalar las tres siguientes: crisis de la unidad y supremacía; debilitamiento de la función legislativa o de dirección política y reforzamiento de la actividad ejecutiva y jurisdiccional; y sustitución de un constitucionalismo de los derechos por un constitucionalismo procedimental. La enorme distancia entre la realidad y el modelo en el ámbito global nos hace plantearnos cuál puede ser un modelo jurídico adecuado conforme a los criterios de una justicia global

La legitimación democrática del poder supranacional

<p>El presente artículo realiza un análisis crítico de los modelos conocidos que explican o articulan la legitimación del poder supranacional utilizando con la Unión Europea como paradigma. El objetivo consiste en establecer en qué medida cada uno de ellos está más cerca o más lejos de las coordenadas del constitucionalismo democrático –soberanía popular y derechos, imperio de la ley–. A través del texto se describiendo el que sería, según la autora, el modelo ideal</p>

La dimensión constitucional del poder presupuestario de la Unión Europea

<p>En el contexto del debate sobre las transformaciones que está experimentando el constitucionalismo contemporáneo, un lugar prominente viene a ser ocupado por la extensión de marcos constitucionales a realidades sociopolíticas que van más allá del Estado. El presente artículo pretende indagar en la morfología de estas nuevas realidades objeto del constitucionalismo, utilizando el específico caso de la Unión Europea y su poder presupuestario como evidencia empírica sobre la que explorar los contornos conceptuales del constitucionalismo supranacional. Pretende, básicamente, responder a dos cuestiones: ¿qué es la supranacionalidad y qué relación tiene este concepto con el constitucionalismo?, y ¿en qué medida el poder presupuestario europeo configura un poder supranacional inscrito en un marco constitucional?</p> <p>El artículo se estructura en torno a tres apartados. En primer lugar, se realiza una aproximación teórica al constitucionalismo supranacional. En segundo lugar, se describe el sistema presupuestario europeo, que pasará a ser analizado a través del concepto de supranacionalidad. Finalmente, la última sección resume las proposiciones formales y empíricas más relevantes</p>

Theory and Practice of Regional Integration Based on the Eurasec Model (Russian Point of View)

This article shows Russian point of view on the evolution of Eurasian integration as related to plans to create a Eurasian economic entity based on the EurAsEC model that began with the creation of the Customs Union and Common Economic Space. The article analyzes the legal theory of Russian authors of EurAsEC, based on a review of this integration and the legal documents of this process. The article details the institutional mechanism of the functioning of Eurasian integration and its legal characteristics, and gives a short legal history. The article shows that integration of post-Soviet countries based on EurAsEC is more successful than integration based on the CIS model despite the lack of supranational power of the institutions of EurAsEC.

Judging EU Secrecy

The overall interaction between the political and the legal systems of the EU has been obscured in recent years. One area where this has happened is that of ‘transparency.’ By selecting a number of recent cases about the interpretation of the access to documents regulations, this article highlights how meta rules on rules can reveal structural fault-lines that are absolutely crucial to understanding how the European Union is developing as a matter of practice. The fault-lines thus revealed all boil down to EU supranational institutions in one form or another struggling to maintain an internal ‘space’, to think, to negotiate, to deliberate, as the case may be, in all serenity and without being disturbed by the broader ‘public’. The cases discussed in this paper also reveal what can be described as a process based and essentially discretionary rationale for secrecy as opposed to a necessity based policy rationale for secrecy. Finally, some wider conclusions are drawn on the relationship between supranational power and legal accountability forums in Luxembourg.

Uncovering European Union Immigration Legislation: Policy Dynamics and Outcomes

The member states of the European Union (EU) have recently experimented with constructing a common immigration policy. This gives rise to an important and fascinating question: what happens to immigration policy once it is no longer made in national capitals? Have national governments been able to retain ultimate control over the field of EU immigration policy? Or do we see slippage towards supranational power, with the Commission, Parliament, and Court of Justice expanding their influence? If EU institutions have gained power, do they use this power to defend the rights and freedoms of immigrants against restrictionist national governments? Using participant interviews (listed in Appendix I) and documentary analysis, I analyse negotiations over three EU immigration laws: the directives on family reunification, long-term residence, and economic migration. I assess whether national preferences are implemented in these directives, or whether supranational institutions have moved policy away from national preferences, potentially expanding immigrant rights and freedoms.

Botswana's economy and labour market: are there any lessons for SADC regional integration?

Regional integration is a necessity for sustainable development and the generation of dynamic growth amongst SADC countries. For real integration to be achieved, there is a need for deep integration, which allows countries to surrender part of their sovereignty to a supranational power that will be responsible for bringing in uniformity amongst member nations in terms of policies and action. Countries in the region, even those like Botswana that have done well economically, share problems of poverty, high unemployment and disparity in income distribution. Botswana, however, has some lessons to offer to the region, coming mainly from its prudent management of the economy, democracy and peace. As regional integration may lead to underinvestment in skills development if not properly coordinated, countries need to pursue employment creation more vigorously.

Auf dem Weg zu einer europäischen Raumordnung und die Rolle der Regionen in Deutschland

Although the EU-Commission is lacking a formal authority for spatial planning it performs regional policy: by using the structure funds, the European nature conservation policy, the TEN etc. In addition, given the political structure and context of the EU a European spatial planning strategy should be impossible (it would have the counterproductive effect of strengthening the supranational control power). But despite all this, a European spatial planning strategy is developing based on networks of vertical «planning fraternities» (connecting national and supranational senior officers). The model of the conceptual thrust is not at all the German system but rather a mixture between the French (projectoriented) regional policy and the Dutch spatial coordinating strategy. However, the highly fragmented and sectorialized policy system of the EU will hardly allow anything else but a regional policy although at a higher level of regional rationality. No doubt, a strengthened European regional policy will back the regions to stronger engagement in lobbying activities in Brussels. But regional planning would not gain from it; rather, the EU challenge will force the regions to define more precisely their visions and goals as to where they intend to move and how they could avert to become more outerdirected by Brussels. In addition, the German regions will come under pressure to cooperate with the Länder in order to get more influence on the European agenda setting.

Private supranational power (multinational enterprises and European integration)

Private supranational power (multinational enterprises and European integration)