Category: International Law & Treaties
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Solving Mixity by Sidelining Consent
Question: Has the EU solved ‘mixity’ at the cost of democracy? Argument: The ‘split-and-apply’ doctrine, refined after Wallonia’s 2016 near-veto of CETA and now deployed on EU-Mercosur, lawfully detaches exclusive-competence trade from national ratification — yet removes the forum that once channelled national opposition into the decision. Conclusion: Dissent has not vanished but migrated into…
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Reform without inclusion?
– Main question: can BiH strengthen rule of law and fundamental rights while preserving a constitutionally exclusionary system? – Main argument: the post-Dayton framework institutionalised ethnopolitical division, while veto mechanisms and sectarian incentives obstruct reform. – Conclusion: democratic transformation depends on gradually expanding more inclusive and civic-based political participation within existing institutional structures.
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Strategic Association Treaty (SAT)
Main question: How can the EU enhance its strategic autonomy and competitiveness without causing internal deadlock through full membership expansion? Argument: The EU should adopt the Strategic Association Treaty (SAT), a pragmatic, hybrid framework enabling sector-specific integration with key external partners like Türkiye without full accession. Conclusion: Bypassing traditional accession politics via functional cooperation ensures…
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Sanctions on Cuba: Is it collective Punishment?
Are the sanctions a form of collective punishment? Can IHL paradigms be transferred to IHRL during ‘peacetime’? This essay argues how sanctions and their extraterritoriality violate leading tenets of International Human Rights Law. It goes through three fundamental rights sectors in Cuba showing how they affect rights. It concludes by proposing an earnest following of…
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EU Accession Process and the Barrier of Corruption
Ukraine’s accession highlights the question of whether alignment with EU law actually leads to real improvement in enforcement in practice. Even though Ukraine shows significant reform progress, systemic corruption exposes a gap between formal compliance and implementation. Bulgaria urges the EU to create outcome-based indicators beyond simple legislative compliance, further demonstrating that this gap continues…
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War in the Dark
1. Do Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure violate international humanitarian law? 2. The attacks systematically targeted civilian infrastructure during extreme winter conditions, causing disproportionate civilian harm with no identifiable military necessity, in breach of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I. 3.The law is clear. What is missing is the political will to enforce…
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Sovereignty vs. Security
Can the EU establish a sovereign defense force despite rigid legal hurdles and the reluctance of member states to cede national control? Since formal treaty reform is politically blocked by the requirement for unanimity, the only viable path forward is incremental integration through the Rapid Deployment Capacity. While a full European army remains a “legal…
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Ukraine and the Limits of International Justice
Main question: Can international law truly hold Russia accountable for aggression in Ukraine? Argument: Ukraine has pushed accountability forward through the ICJ, ICC, the Register of Damage, and a Special Tribunal, but each mechanism faces limits of jurisdiction, immunity, and enforcement. Conclusion: The war shows both the strength and the weakness of international justice: it…
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Compliance Is Political
How do advisory opinions matter politically if they are formally non-binding, and who is their real audience in contemporary disputes? The article argues that advisory opinions shape behavior by shifting the costs of non-compliance onto allies, donors, and international institutions rather than compelling the defendant state directly. It concludes that international adjudication is effective when…