Abstract ▼

The practice of the United Nations bodies is very important not only for understanding of contemporary operation of this international organization but also for understanding of contemporary international relations. The author points at execution of powers of the UN Security Council, pursuant to Chapter VII of the UN Charter, in the Libyan case. UN Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973 relative to Libya situation represent consistent continuation in execution of powers of the UN Security Council pursuant to Chapter VII as it was the case in the whole post Cold-War era. Nevertheless, it does not mean that these resolutions do not trigger certain controversial questions, such as limitation of these powers of the UN Security Council and potential disturbance of institutional balance within the United Nations.

Abstract ▼

The first Catholic associations that created the bases for confessional and later Christian Democratic parties had emerged as a reaction to the anti-clerical attacks at the time when the church and the state were opposed to each other. The basis for the creation of such organisations was the existing network of clubs, brotherhoods and various associations that by applying the catholic strategy led to the emergence of a new political factor – catholic activities. Their acting made the idea of catholic universalism, which additionally became more topical by the historical events, initiate launching the project of European integration as well. In order to ensure institutional mechanisms for long-lasting peace and security in Europe post-war Christian Democratic leaders wished to revive the Christian civilisation and the creation of a democratic form of the Holy Roman Empire. In this sense, since the 1920s Catholic parties and nongovernmental organisations started to establish the frames for the first Christian Democratic international organisations and fori. In this article, they are pointed as factors that carried out building of the social and political consciousness for the commencement of the process of European integrations.

Abstract ▼

The European Union faces difficulties in determining the borders of Europe within its enlargement policy and this problem also appears in determining the end of the “broader Europe” for its neighbourhood policy. The last enlargement has considerably changed the political, economic and social appearance of the Union, while the main goal that was set by the Lisbon Agenda – the European Union as the most competitive economy in the world – has not been achieved. The Union, however, improved its position in international relations in the previous decade, and especially the one to its Eastern neighbours – Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, or actually Russia with which it shares the neighbourhood policy that at the same time separates it from this state. The historical, geopolitical and economic overview of relations between Brussels and the capitals of Eastern Europe shows that the Union has made a great effort and invested large funds to avoid the anti-European orientation on its eastern edges. Undoubtedly, in the forthcoming years it will be necessary for the Union to clearly determine its borders and actually to bring into accord its economic and political relations with Russia.

Abstract ▼

Originally, Treaties on Establishing the European Communities did not provide the existence of the European Council in their institutional system. Actually, it originated from practice of periodical meetings of heads of states or governments of the European Communities within the so-called “summits“ that developed in the early 1960s. Formally legally, the European Council was recognised as a body of the European Communities as late as in 1987 when the Single European Act was adopted. In the Maastricht Treaty on the European Union, the European Council is mentioned in the so-called “common provisions“. It is the body that induces the development of the Union giving political directions for its acting. Thus, the creators of the Maastricht Treaty decided not to amend the provisions of the Treaty Establishing the European Community and add the European Council to the list of the Community standards bodies. This is because they formally legally treated it as a kind of the European Union supreme body with hybrid status, which resolved the problems that could not be resolved at lower levels, also defining general directions of development and adopting the Union’s general political positions. 2009 Lisbon Treaty provided that the European Council would become a European Union lawful institution. The greatest novelty in the proposal of the 2004 EU Constitution, what was taken over from the Lisbon Treaties, was the introduction of the position of the President of the European Council.

Abstract ▼

Two main issues are relevant for understanding of the phenomenon of integration. First, it is the question which factors motivate the given subjects to try to connect with each other in a wider whole and second, how a consensus is achieved on the procedure (the policy framework and legal principles) and substantial issues (i.e. solving of the core problems of the community integration). Therefore, the subject of the study is the following question: what leads to integration, how it works and how it is achieved.

Abstract ▼

Terrorism is deemed current regardless of the passage of time, thus an abundance of literature is devoted to the analysis of this phenomenon from different aspects. This paper presents the analysis of the capacity i.e. the possibility for terrorism, better known as a phenomenon and as a crime to be located within the legal notion of international crime. The tendency of defining international terrorism as a criminal act follows its emergence in the international law. So far, all defining attempts have been unsuccessful, inclusive of the latest where in parallel to defining aggression terrorism was to be introduced in the directory of international crimes. In the paper, the author presents the criteria used to reach conclusions, singling out one of them as a key – substantive peremptory norms of public international law that should make the foundation for defining terrorism as an international crime.

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The paper deals with the modern structure, mechanisms, practice and perspectives of the UN Human Rights Council, a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly of the UN, which has the institutional capacity to promote and protect human rights. After the introductory part that studies the creation of the Council from the UN Commission on Human Rights, its structure, objectives, mandate and the main procedures incorporated in the mechanisms of the UN human rights protection are analyzed. The final part of the text points to some of the controversial events in the past and the contemporary work of the Council, this also including the observations on the implementation of human rights protection mechanisms in the practice of the UN Human Rights Council.

Abstract ▼

The author analyzes international trade during the global financial crisis, observing its production structure. He limits this study to the most important segments of international trade – international trade in primary and industrial products, excluding services and products of intellectual property from the analysis. On the other hand, analyzing the international merchandise trade during the global financial crisis the author also takes into account foreign direct investments guided by transnational companies, which represent a specific form of entry into foreign markets, often replacing traditional forms of exporting goods. Therefore, this paper provides an overview of movement of foreign direct investments during the global financial crisis as well as the presentation of the key players in the global trade arena.