Suchergebnisse

This book explores the issue of environmentally-induced migrations from the point of view of international human rights law, international humanitarian law, international refugee law and international law of statelessness. Last few years have become a period of unprecedented growth in the number of studies devoted to the forced migration caused by climate change. The book by professor Jane McAdam, published by Oxford University Press, differs significantly from previous studies in this area. The focus of the author became a state responsibility for the situation of climate-change induced displaced people with a particular focus on legal aspects of this problem. The basis of the author`s considerations are four particular areas of public international law: international human rights law, international humanitarian law, international refugee law and international law of statelessness. The issue of climate change-induced displacement is now becoming a growing challenge for public international law. The growing number of climate change migrants becomes a challenge for the international istitutions dealing with humanitarian assistance. Sea level rise become a factor of specific legal problems, such as climatic deterritorialization of the state, state succession on the new territory, the status of people forced to leave their country submerged under the waters of ocean (forced migrants?, refugees?, stateless people?, citizens of the former country continuing its status within a new territory?).

Adjusting the legal status, and support policies for migrant workers is an issue on the agenda of international institutions for nearly a hundred years. The first efforts to protect foreign workers have been taken during the first session of the International Labour Conference in 1919. In the following decades ILO activities has led to the preparation of three international documents concerning this issue (non-binding ILO Convention No. 66 in 1939, and Convention No. 97 of 1949, and No. 143 of 1975). For many decades, the problem of the protection and assistance of migrant workers' rights was considered as a narrow issue of international labor law. Codification efforts, undertaken during seventies, has led to the adaptation of the UN document (International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families) in 1990, and inclusion this issue into more general area of international human rights law. Despite this fact, and the existence of several categories of documents concerning migrant workers within Council of Europe, the European Union, and even ASEAN, the protection of migrant workers has never been effectively functioning system. The aim of this article is the analysis of the codification of that issue, and the main obstacles to consensus on the protection of migrant workers' rights. The state parties of the UN Convention contains primarily countries of origin of migrants (such as Mexico, Morocco and the Philippines). It seems, therefore, that despite 46 ratifications the, UN convention does not have a global character, and activities of its monitoring body (Committee on Migrant Workers-CMW) reflects primarily demands of sending countries. The article closely examines particularly controversial provisions of the ILO and UN documents from the point of view of current labour migrations and policies of sending and host countries.

The European Union does not have an autonomous and self-standing public policy concerning the protection of landscape. Instead, it adopts fragmentary and incidental measures meant to protect landscape. These measures are adopted within the frameworks of other EU policies, most importantly the EU environmental policy as well as other policies which are integrated with it (such as agricultural policy or policy concerned with special planning). In all these realms, the EU shares its powers with its member states. In some important areas, such as e.g. the property regime, the member states retained their exclusive competences. This particular distribution of powers makes the implementation of the extra-EU international law instruments rather difficult and not sufficiently effective to produce a worthwhile impact. These obligations have a limited influence because most of them are obligations of "a diligent pursue" rather than "firm result". As such, they are unlikely to give rise to direct application of respective conventional provisions. Notwithstanding, their importance is much more pronounced in the area of legal reasoning, where even the EU or domestic measures have to be interpreted in the light of the EU and/or its member states' obligations arising from international conventions on landscape protection.

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) is a descriptive formula used to reflect on asymmetries in economic development and consequential conflict of interests arising between various states of the world. These asymmetries and conflicts of interests have their reflection in these states' environmental policy mix - implemented domestically and pursued in the international context. The emerging map of mutual interests and dependences results from the consideration of external costs and benefits pertaining to respective national environmental policies. The EKC makes it evident that these costs and benefits cannot be evenly spread over all the states. This urges these states to adopt such interjurisdictional arrangements which are based on the identification of a possible multilateral exchange of economic policy favours and international financial transfers. Such an exchange, whenever occurs, has a generalized reciprocity formula. The function of such an arrangement is to make it possible for Nash equilibria to emerge, as such are most likely to produce the highest possible level of effectiveness in the long run. Such a behavior may not be cooperative in the short and medium term, yet the bottom-line cooperativeness is achieved because most states have similar if not the same long-term environmental goals.

The breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 30 years ago still has a substantial impact on the post-Yugoslav countries which proclaimed independence. Bearing in mind that the breakup also generated a military conflict, e.g. in Croatia, the restoration of Serbian-Croatian relations remains problematic. One of the challenges is passing a fair judgment on people responsible for war crimes or crimes against humanity. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established for this reason in particular. Ante Gotovina – a Croatian general, was one of those indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in connection with the military operation "Oluja" during which some heinous acts of crime took place. Gotovina played a clear and primary role in this operation, and therefore his actions were the main count of the indictment, firstly, for the prosecution and then for the Trial Chamber of ICTY. However, the sentence of 24 years imprisonment was never carried out following a successful appeal. The Appeals Chamber did not uphold the verdict of the Trial Chamber owing to a serious legal error and, consequently, it acquitted Gotovina of all the charges. This issue became yet another source of Serbian-Croatian conflict in connection with the most important people held responsible for the crimes committed in 1991-1995.

This book explores the impact of climate change on the legal situation of small island states such as Marshall Islands. Climate change-related problems of these nations touching their legal situation in a very different way than in the case of large countries threatened by economic and social consequences of sea level rise (such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, Nigeria and Egypt). Presentation of scientific forecasts is an introduction to the in-depth deliberations from the point of view of international law. According to many researchers, global sea level rise of 0,5-1 m. is highly possible in the next hundred years. Sea level rise is not the only climate-related threat experienced by small island states. Among other significant problems associated with climate change we can list tropical cyclones, floods, and droughts. Island nations must prepare for such problems on the basis of public international law. The authors draw attention to the most crucial legal challenges associated with sea level rise, such as the deterritorialization of the state, continuity of statehood, the issue of citizenship or the legal status of forced environmental migrants. The authors draw attention to the significant legal challenges (e.g. the legal status of migrants forced to leave their country of origin/residence as a result of irreversible climate change). This issue has still not been regulated by international law documents. Much attention is also being paid to the analysis of the consequences of climate change on the basis of international law of the sea. The core elements of the analysis presented in this book are, inter alia, the impact of sea level rise on Exclusive Economic Zones and fishing rights. The book is focused on the social and legal challenges facing microstates. Presented considerations may become a useful point of reference in the analysis of the problems facing larger countries affected by climate change and sea level rise.

The aim of this paper is an analysis of development-induced displacement as a global social problem, diverse category of internal displacement and challenge for the international institutions and public international law. The problem in strongly linked with the reflection on the mechanisms of legal protection of particularly vulnerable communities and minorities. The paper complements the studies on empowerment of indigenous communities and more sustanaible development growth conducted on the basis of development studies.

The aim of this article is to analyse the international legal and political process of reconciliation between Serbia and Kosovo in terms of its impact on the scope of development directions and strategies of the European Union countries as well as Russia and the USA. Particular emphasis was placed on the treatment of these issues in the light of the activities of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office. The main theses assumed for the purposes of this article are as follows: firstly, that the policy of reconciliation between Serbia and Kosovo is multidimensional, including the necessity of the process of international criminal liability for the crimes committed by both states, while at the same time influencing the dilemmas of the development directions of individual European countries, but also of the European Union and the United States. In addition, the legal and political stabilization of the Balkan region, especially in the context of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, and the possibility of cooperation with these states as part of intergovernmental international organizations, is strategically extremely important for the EU, the USA, as well as for Russia. The Author critically analyses issues using polemics with the standpoint presented in the doctrine of the subject as well as interpreting selected instruments of international law and Kosovo's national law. The deliberations resulted in conclusions as to the determinants in terms of the directions of the legal and political development of the EU and Russia resulting from the complicated process of reconciliation and mutual settlement of sins by Serbia and Kosovo.

The publication discusses the current problems of the sources of electoral law in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. In the indicated countries, the basic sources of electoral law are their constitutions and statutes, which are a development of constitutional norms. Of great importance in the field of electoral law are also acts of international law, the parties to which are the above-indicated states. At the statutory level, Central Asian countries have developed two models of regulation of electoral law norms: the model of dispersed regulation, in which the provisions of electoral law to representative bodies were regulated in separate acts, and the model of concentrated regulation, expressed in one normative act – the electoral code. In each of these countries the system of sources of electoral law is generally consistent in terms of normative technics and axiological values with similar regulations in developed democratic countries.

The article examines if Poland can, in accordance with international law, effectively combat pressure on the border with a country de facto supporting an aggressor. Analysis of, among others, the Geneva Refugee Convention, EU law, the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and jurisprudence validate previous findings that right to life and prohibition of torture are non-derogable, permitting to protect borders and fight with terrorism. National procedures are challenged by a need to individualize decisions refusing entry and denying protection. Still, this does not justify violating human rights.

The creation of socio-economic policy is not, however, the main domain of the second chamber, especially in those systems, where the model of asymmetric bicameralism is implemented. The limitation of the process of creating economic policy is observable for example in the Czech Republic, where the Senate does not participate in passing of the budget act. Socio-economic policy of the state is not the main scope of interest of the Polish Senate either. The majority of legislative initiatives results in the creation of a new law and it does not raise the subject of socio-economic state policy directly. There are to be found, however, some initiatives that propose changes in the tax system, labour law, social care law or in the area of pensions and annuities. Owing to the legislative initiatives of the Senate accounting chambers and employers' associations were created. While analyzing the role of the Senate in socio-economic state policy the actions of Senate committees, especially of the Budget and Public Finance Committee, the National Economy Committee, the Family and Social Policy Committee, the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee are worth emphasizing. Those committees put forward amendments to the budget act, review the laws passed by the Sejm or international agreements concerning socio-economic policy. Some of the effects of the Polish Senate's committee work is, among many, proposing by the Budget and Public Finance Committee, on behalf of the Senate, a number of amendments to consequent budget acts. It should be stressed, however, that the Senate undermines its role in the field of socio-economic policy. It takes, so to say, additional measures to other activities. A lack of long-term and comprehensive programmes can be seen in those actions. The Senate uses the instruments of government, nevertheless, it does so in moderation.

After the collapse of the USSR, a huge superpower that occupied one sixth of the land, the question of succession arose before the states that were part of it. The USSR occupied a vast territory, participated in international obligations, had debts, was a member of international organizations. It was obvious that the relationship between the newly formed states depended on how it was possible to divide the "legacy" of the USSR. The USSR took an active position at the international level, was engaged in the development of weapons. The issue of dividing all assets and liabilities worried the entire international community. His decision was difficult, and the legal basis for making decisions on succession did not seem to everyone to be indisputable. At present, it is obvious to everyone that the Russian Federation became the main heir of the USSR, it was the Russian Federation that continued the policy of the USSR, continued to participate in international relations and in the fulfillment of obligations, despite the equality of all states that were part of the USSR. The issues of the succession of the USSR and Russia are the subject of study of modern international law. Within the framework of this article, some aspects of the indicated topic will be highlighted.

This article identifies the political challenges for Central Europe resulting from the Russian Federation conducting competition below the threshold of war. The main research methods, both inductive and deductive, were analysis and a survey of the existing literature. There is still aggression in international rivalry, and its level is deliberately regulated so as not to cross the threshold of open armed conflict as defined by international law. The contemporary rivalry of the Russian Federation takes on an unlimited scope and goes beyond the physical sphere: the main emphasis in its application is on non-military and non-lethal forms of influence that can be easily combined with kinetic ones. The exploitation of the space between the binary borders of war and peace was practically verified both under the Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union. It has been confirmed that a great deal of importance in Russia is now attached to unconventional activities and that their application offers great opportunities to achieve strategic objectives without the need to resort to direct military confrontation.

The aim of the paper is to analyze the endeavors undertaken by the authorities of independent Lithuania to deal with the crimes committed by the Soviet Union against Lithuanian society, in particular against representatives of the anti-Soviet resistance movement, by using the notion of crime of genocide rooted in international law. The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Drelingas v. Lithuania of 12 March 2019, which approved the legality of the qualification of "ethno-national-political" genocide of "forest brethren" committed by the Soviet occupation authorities, was one of the key elements confirming the Lithuanian policy in this regard. This ruling reopens the discussion on the possibility of trying the crimes of the Soviet Union, at the same time raising certain legal and political doubts – as generally expressed by the Russian Federation.