Ramses A. Wessel

Informal International Lawmaking

Informal international lawmaking (IN-LAW) is on the rise. It seems to fall outside the strictures of both domestic law as well as international law. Hence, this activity raises questions of accountability deficit. The books aim is to be empirical and problem-oriented. It intends to gauge whether there is a problem related to informal international lawmaking and, if so, to think about how to solve this problem in a way that can assist policy-makers and their stakeholders. The book distinguishes informal lawmaking from traditional lawmaking by focusing on the actors, process, and output. It argues that the international legal discipline will have to find ways to take the rich, effective, and (more often than not) legitimate normative output stemming from IN-LAW onboard to remain relevant.

The EEAS's diplomatic dreams and the reality of European and international law

This article confronts the diplomatic ambitions of the European External Action Service (EEAS) with the reality of European Union (EU) and international law. Treaty provisions as well as policy documents and statements of EU officials reveal a development in the direction of a strengthened role for the EU itself as a diplomatic actor. The findings underline a continued tension between the EUs diplomatic ambitions and EU and international law as it stands. In relation to the EUs internal structures, there is no doubt that in the new EU institutional landscape dividing lines remain firmly in place. Yet, the working arrangements do point to ‘holistic’ thinking implying co-operation and reciprocity. Subsequently, the article outlines how the EUs ambitions sit uncomfortably with traditional state-centred international diplomatic law. Extensive diplomatic activity of the EU depends on the willingness of third states to accept the EU as a diplomatic actor.

The Dynamics of the European Union Legal Order: An Increasingly Coherent Framework of Action and Interpretation

Institutional and normative convergence – Common Foreign and Security Policy – Pillar Structure – External Relations – Role of the Court – Normative Consistency – EU Legal Order – Legal Nature CFSP – Treaty of Lisbon – Legal Instruments – Decision-Making

The Kadi case: Towards a More Substantive Hierarchy in International Law?

On 3 September 2008 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered its judgment in the so-called Kadi case. This judgment may have an impact on the traditional monist approach of the European Community towards international law and hence on the way we look at hierarchy in the international legal order. With regard to the question of whether or not UN Security Council Resolutions should enjoy immunity from jurisdiction as to their lawfulness in the Community legal order, the Court held:

The position of the European Union in (other) international organizations: confronting legal and political approaches

The European Union is increasingly engaged in multilateral diplomacy and continuously stresses its ambitions in relation to, what it calls, ‘effective multilateralism’.2 Apart from its participation in international regimes in various policy fields,3 the institutionalization of the role of the EU in the world is reflected in its position in a number of other international organizations.4 Whereas the legal and political dimensions of the EU’s external relations in general have been given much attention in academic writings, this is less true for the position of the EU in formal international institutions. Yet, it is at these fora that a structural role of the EU in global governance becomes most visible. And it is this role that has become more interesting now that it becomes

EU External Relations Law: Text, Cases and Materials,

This major new textbook for students in European law uses a text, cases and materials approach to explore the law, politics, policy and practice of EU external relations, and navigates the complex questions at the interface of these areas. The subject is explored by explaining major constitutional principles, and elaborating upon them in policy-specific chapters ranging from common commercial policy and development policy over CFSP/CSDP and AFSJ to energy and enlargement policy. Specific attention is given to the relationship between European integration, the role of law, and the EU as an effective international actor. Designed for easy navigation, chapters include key objectives, summaries and textboxes, which frame key issues and guide the reader through the functioning of legal principles. Students gain a detailed understanding of the historical development, context and present functioning of EU external relations law in a highly politicised European and international environment

The Phenomenon of Multilevel Regulation: Interactions between Global, EU and National Regulatory Spheres

Rules are no longer merely made by states, but increasingly by international organizations and other international bodies. At the same time these rules do impact the daily life of citizens and companies as it has become increasingly difficult to draw dividing lines between international, EU and domestic law. This contribution introduces the notion of ‘multilevel regulation’ as a way to study these normative processes and the interplay between different legal orders. It indicates that many rules in such areas as trade, financial cooperation, food safety, pharmaceuticals, security, terrorism, civil aviation, environmental protection or the internet find their origin in international cooperation. Apart from introducing multilevel regulation on the basis of a number of examples, the authors try to set out an agenda for further research, including legal and non-legal approaches.

The External Dimension of the EU’s Area of Freedom, Security and Justice

This chapter examines the emergence of the external dimension of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice.

Between autonomy and dependence: the EU legal order under the influence of international organisations

The European Unions legal order is traditionally seen as largely autonomous within the global legal system. At the same time, the EU is an important player in the global governance network and has revealed its dependence on international law and international normative processes. The strong and explicit link between the EU and a large number of other international organisations raises questions concerning the impact of decisions taken by those organisations and of international agreements concluded with those organisations on the autonomy of the EU legal order. While the relationship between international and EU law as such is a popular academic theme, the increasing influence of norms enacted by international organisations and more loosely structured bodies on the shaping of the EU and its legal order has never before been studied in a similar comprehensive fashion.In this book, prominent academics and leading practitioners explore a wide variety of legal issues pertaining to the influence of the most prominent universal and regional international organisations and bodies on the EUs legal order, its institutional design and operational experiences. As such, this book will be of much value to academics, policy makers, civil servants, lawyers and judges with an interest in the interaction of international law and EU law, as well as the relations between the European Union and other international organisations.

Upholding the rule of law in informal international lawmaking processes

AbstractNew, alternative, forms of cross-border cooperation, in particular processes of informal international lawmaking (‘IN-LAW’), have emerged and gained prominence since the 2000s in response to an increasingly diverse, networked, and knowledge-based society. This transformation impacts on traditional notions of public international law as well as on the conceptualization of an emerging international rule of law. This is all the more the case given the tendency to emphasise the formal characteristics of the latter. The present article, nevertheless, challenges the assumption that informal international law is, because of its informal nature, by definition incompatible with a rule of law approach. The article thereto reintroduces a negative (shielding society from arbitrariness) and a positive (providing requirements for lawmaking) conception of the rule of law. First, it identifies actors and processes of informal international lawmaking and elucidates the extent of their reliance on legal principles as opposed to the wielding of arbitrary power on the international plane. Second, it operationalises a rule of law approach in the three phases of informal lawmaking processes (lawmaking per se, law-application and accountability). As such, it discusses how a number of concrete rule of law requirements related to participation, procedural guarantees, accessibility of norms, and accountability mechanisms are implemented. To conclude, it is submitted that rule of law theories can be reconciled with IN-LAW, without affecting the flexibility that is fundamental to the non-traditional norms produced at the global level.