European Law & International Law (e-books)

E-book

Alexander Bröstl - Marta Breichová Lapčáková - Martin Štrkolec (eds.)

Collection of scientific papers by doctoral students.

Thematically, the contributions are diverse: they feature fundamental principles in public law (basic principles of criminal proceedings, the principle of contradiction, basic principles of constitutional court proceedings, basic principles in private law and procedural law (superficies solo cedit), the principle of civil court proceedings in deciding labor disputes, equality of participants and the duty to instruct, objection of bias in light of the right to an impartial court, the principle of speed and the principle of economy in the decision-making activities of general courts, basic principles in legal theory and international law (general legal principles recognized by civilized nations), coexistence of the principle of equality and the principle of non-discrimination in the legal order of the European Union, argumentation through the principle of rule of law in the decision-making activities of courts, the impact of fundamental principles on the interpretation of legal norms.

It is important that the authors, i.e., doctoral students from law faculties in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, almost unanimously examine these principles in the process of application (interpretation) of law, from the perspective of how legal (primarily judicial) practice deals with them. This should be fundamentally welcomed and appreciated.

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Adam Giertl (ed.)

Proceedings from the VII. annual student symposium on international law held on April 11-12, 2014 at the UPJŠ training facility in Danišovce

Despite this, flying and space travel are now a common part of human civilization. What is the role of law in this process? This is the question posed by the organizers of the VII. annual student symposium on international law, aiming to evaluate the contribution of international law in the field of aviation and space flights, especially in light of current developments.

The individual topics were tackled by second, third, and higher-year students of the Faculty of Law at UPJŠ in Košice. The result of their work on the assigned topics, which the authors could consult with members of the Institute of European Law and the Department of International Law, is the presented work.

The proceedings are thematically divided into two parts. The first part acquaints the reader with selected topics related to aviation law, and the second part is dedicated to international space law.

With its focus, the proceedings also have a broader impact, as in some aspects it fits into the broader context of research conducted at the Institute of European Law and the Department of International Law, which focuses on examining the influence of regionalism on general international law and vice versa. This issue is also reflected in the topics of the individual contributions.

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Ján Klučka a kol.

The presented monograph, “Regionalism and Its Contribution to General International Law,” was prepared at the Institute of European Law and the Department of International Law of the Faculty of Law at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice as part of a project of the same name (APVV-0823-11) carried out in the years 2011–2015, and represents one of its final publication outputs.

The main reason for choosing this topic was the effort to evaluate regionalism in its various forms in relation to international law, and, conversely, to assess the place, significance, and role of international law in the creation and functioning of different forms of regional groupings. In fact, although regionalism is receiving increasing attention in doctrine, a more comprehensive assessment of its impact on international law and vice versa has so far been lacking.

This monograph attempts to partially fill this gap. Against the background of a brief historical development of regionalism, as well as its substantive and terminological components, the monograph examines in greater detail the individual types of regionalism—such as old and new regionalism, as well as contractual and institutional regionalism—their specific features, and their contribution to general international law.

Attention is also devoted to a specific phenomenon of contemporary regionalism, namely the influence of the European Union on its stabilization and development, both through practical measures and through a set of measures regulated by international treaties.

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Ján Klučka - Ľudmila Elbert

The present monograph "Regionalism and its Contribution to General International Law" was written at the Institute of European Law and Department of International Law, Faculty of Law, Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice, as a part of the project (APVV-O823-11) carried out in 2011-2015, representing one of its final publication utputs. 

The main reason for choosing the topic was to evaluate regionalism in its various relationships and forms with respect to international law, and also to evaluate the place,importance and duties of international law in respect to the establishment and functioning of various forms of regionalgroups.

It is a fact that even though a lot of attention has been paid to regionalism, a more complex evaluation of the impact it has had on international law, and vice versa, is still lacking. The efforts of the present monograph are to partially eliminate this gap.

After giving a brief insight into how regionalism has developed, its content and terminology, the monograph studies in more details individual types of regionalism in the form of old and new regionalism, as well as treaty and institutional regionalism; its specifications and contributions to the international law.

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Ján Klučka(ed.)

Collection of Papers from the International Scientific Conference Held on May 29–30, 2014 at the Faculty of Law, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice.

In the first half of this year, a scientific conference entitled “10 Years in the EU: Relations, Questions, Issues” was held in Košice, and the contributions from this event constitute the content of the present collection bearing the same name.

The aim of the organizers—namely, the Slovak Association of European Law, the Representation of the European Commission in the Slovak Republic, and the Institute of European Law together with the Department of International Law of the Faculty of Law at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University—was not only (even if loosely) to follow up on the previous 2009 conference “Community Law in Slovakia – Five Years ‘After’”, but, after another five years, to continue its main objective: to provide participants from both the academic and non-academic community with a space for further analysis and exchange of views on legal issues related to the membership of the Slovak Republic in the European Union and various current issues of the Union’s legal order.

From this perspective, a shift in the overall focus of the conference contributions in 2009 and 2014 can be observed. While the contributions from the first conference focused primarily on various aspects of the application of Union law in the Slovak legal system and related application problems, especially before courts and other authorities, the basic orientation of the contributions from the second conference is already different. The present collection also confirms that the contributions focus primarily on current issues of the European legal order and on certain aspects of the Union’s external policy, while the relationship of Union law to the Slovak legal system is no longer given primary attention.

Several contributions focus on areas characterized by a certain overlap or “cohabitation” of Union law with public international law, private international law, or, more broadly, international relations.

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Adam Giertl - Ľudmila Elbert

Collection of Papers from the 8th Student Symposium held on April 20–21, 2015 in Danišovce

The capture of the historic Syrian city of Palmyra by fighters of the radical Islamic State caused shock among the global public. The main reason is the barbarism with which this organization proceeds, not only in relation to the treasures of the world’s cultural heritage. The situation in the Middle East, where cultural treasures of inestimable value are under direct threat, demonstrates how fragile the world’s cultural heritage is. The reaction of the international public and world leaders shows how sensitively the destruction of cultural heritage is perceived.

The quoted statement chosen by the editors relates to the threat posed by the Islamic State—however, the spirit of this statement can be applied to any cultural wealth that forms part of the world’s cultural heritage. The destruction or damage of these values primarily represents a loss for humanity as such. Each destroyed artifact of world cultural heritage signifies the disappearance of a unique legacy left by previous generations for the future. At the same time, cultural heritage must be understood as a broad spectrum of assets—both tangible and intangible. Their legal protection was the topic of this year’s symposium. As with any social interest, the protection of cultural heritage can be ensured through various mechanisms and under different forms of social organization.

These diverse approaches are unified by law as a normative system. The question for the 8th year of the symposium on international law was what role international law plays in the protection of cultural heritage. In the context of the European region, the role of the European Union as a regional organization was examined.

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Ľudmila Elbert

The presented scientific monograph addresses the issue of the Rule of Law and its place, roles, and particularities at the level of international law. The Rule of Law is understood as a value that should govern communities, both domestic and international. It is thus compared to Kelsen’s basic norm, which should stand at the top of the legal order as the norm justifying the validity and existence of the norms of the legal order, both domestic and international.

Although the Rule of Law is studied at the international law level, it cannot be considered without understanding the Rule of Law in domestic law. Just as its development differs depending on whether it evolved within Anglo-American or continental law, its application and development also differ between domestic law and international law.

These differences are mainly caused by the roles and objectives that international Rule of Law is meant to secure, as well as by the distinct characteristics of domestic and international law.

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Adam Giertl (ed.)

Collection of Papers from the 9th Annual Student Symposium on International and European Law held on April 22, 2016 at the Faculty of Law, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice

As indicated by the very title of the 9th Annual Student Symposium on International and European Law, “Current Issues of Migration from the Perspective of International Law with Special Regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,” the participants focused on the highly topical subject of European migration, which they examined from various aspects of both international and Union law (a total of 9 contributions).

In assessing the role of individual actors primarily involved in addressing the problems arising from migration to Europe, particular emphasis was placed on the role of international specialized organizations, which often provide direct assistance to migrants “in the field” through humanitarian or medical aid. However, this is not the only response of the international community, as it is complemented by the activities of the concerned states as well as various non-governmental organizations and volunteers. Regarding the evaluation of the European Union’s activities, the symposium participants agreed that the mass migration wave caught the EU relatively unprepared—institutionally, legislatively, and technically—accompanied by a lack of clarity in adopting a fundamental approach to this reality.

It was also emphasized that these shortcomings occurred despite the fact that developments in the preceding period clearly signaled the possibility of gradual migration to the European Union escalating into a mass phenomenon. According to the participants, additional ex post and sometimes delayed measures adopted in response to the ongoing migration process contributed to an overall increase in political tension within the EU and divided its member states into opposing camps.

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Alena Krunková (ed.)

Proceedings of the Scientific Conference Held on June 28, 2016 at the Faculty of Law of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice in connection with the implementation of the project “The European Union and Its Impact on the Organization and Functioning of Public Administration in the Slovak Republic” – approved under number MVZP – SK PRES/2016/134

The Slovak Republic, as a member state of the European Union, is undertaking a historic role associated with the Presidency of the Council of the European Union within the presidency trio. At the beginning of 2016, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic announced a call for applications for grants for 2016 in the field of international relations and foreign policy, specifically focused on the Slovak Republic’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Faculty of Law of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice responded to this call and obtained a project aimed at carrying out research activities through a series of events focused on regional self-government in the Slovak Republic in the context of its role within the European Union. The Faculty has long been engaged with issues of European Union law both in its teaching and in the scientific research activities of its individual faculty members. The project aims to enrich this portfolio with special activities targeting not only professionals, but also students and the general public.

The first activity of the project was a conference entitled “The European Union and Its Impact on the Organization and Functioning of Public Administration in the Slovak Republic – Development So Far, Current State, and Perspectives.” The conference was attended by invited public officials, representatives of academia, and representatives of local government, as one of the main goals of the project is to connect the academic community with the practical sphere and thus involve practitioners in the planned activities within the project.

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