Suchergebnisse

For many years, the ECJ has postulated the autonomy of the EU legal order. At the same time, it has also stressed the importance of noting that the UN and the EU are distinct legal orders. In light of this situation, we have one and the same international organization applying two diametrically opposed theoretical doctrines. Regarding the inner relationship with its Member States, the ECJ proclaims a unified legal order based on the monistic doctrine. Dualistic arguments, in contrast, serve to separate the EU legal order from international law. This paper intends to clarify whether this obvious contradiction is due to a simple misinterpretation by the ECJ or is grounded in flaws within the almost 100 year old theories of monism and dualism which can no longer serve to explain the relationship between legal orders satisfactorily. The paper concludes that the situation cannot be characterized as black and white. However, in order to establish fundamental foundations, a clear theoretical line is essential.

AbstractThe aim of this Article is to show that the enforcement of Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union ('TEU') values vis-à-vis Member States could benefit from the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights ('CFR') also in instances where the current interpretation of Article 51(1) CFR prevents this. This would be the case if the CFR were also applicable to purely domestic cases, eg—but not only—with regard to fundamental rights-relevant violations related to the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU. In this case, the European Court of Justice, which has already partly taken this path recently, could prevent the violation of core EU values. The most important historical challenge to those values in Europe today is the systematic dismantling of the rule of law and democracy in certain Member States. It is the very purpose of fundamental rights to provide answers to such dangers. When one speaks of the rule of law and democracy, one necessarily also means fundamental rights. This Article thus advocates an EU which perceives itself as a complete fundamental rights union. While the traditional interpretation of Article 51(1) CFR had a balanced division of competence between the EU and its Member States in mind, the disregard of Article 2 TEU values triggers a clausula rebus sic stantibus: the neat federal balance can only be upheld if both ends stick to the original promise made. It demonstrates two ways of completing the European fundamental rights union: treaty revision, on the one hand, and reinterpretation of Article 51 CFR, on the other hand. Both ways have in common that only a complete fundamental rights union can establish a system of fundamental rights protection that is uniform and thus equality-preserving in cases where national fundamental rights fail to provide sufficient protection.

Etablierte Theorien zur Erklärung des Verhältnisses von Völkerrecht zu Staatsrecht (Monismus, Dualismus) werden in der Arbeit kritisch gewürdigt. Aufgrund ihrer undifferenzierten, absoluten Rechtsfolgen sowie wesentlicher Veränderungen des Völker- und Staatsrechts werden ihnen aber Aktualität und damit eine zufriedenstellende Erklärung des Verhältnisses im 21. Jahrhundert abgesprochen. Lando Kirchmair skizziert eine Alternative und richtet den Fokus auf die Entwicklung neuer theoretischer Grundlagen zum Verhältnis von Völkerrecht zu Staatsrecht. Teil A. begründet die Theorie des Rechtserzeugerkreises (TREK), welche als gemeinsamer Nenner von Völkerrecht und Staatsrecht identifiziert wird. Teil B. analysiert die Auswirkungen der TREK anhand des Beispiels der österreichischen Rechtsordnung. Während die herrschende Lehre die Rezeption von Völkerrecht in die österreichische Rechtsordnung vertritt, stellt die Arbeit die Integration des Völkerrechts in die nationale Stufenbauordnung in Frage. Entsprechend der TREK werden die einschlägigen Bestimmungen der österreichischen Rechtsordnung als Ermächtigungsnormen zum Abschluss völkerrechtlicher Bestimmungen verstanden. Um grundlegende und nicht spezifische Fragen einzelner (Völker-) Rechtsquellen zu adressieren, werden die Rechtswirkung von Völkervertragsrecht, Völkergewohnheitsrecht, von allgemeinen Rechtsgrundsätzen, Rechtsakten internationaler Organisationen und erstmals auch von zwingendem Völkerrecht und einseitigen Rechtsgeschäften in der österreichischen Rechtsordnung untersucht

The introduction summarizes the key topics of the themed issue "Access to Waxes – The Collections from the Arab World of the Berlin Phonogramm-Archiv (BPhA)" and its contributions. It discusses the ethical, legal, and technical considerations involved in making these culturally significant but also sensitive recordings from the Arab world accessible to the public, especially in the context of ongoing debates around "decolonization" and cultural restitution.