Since 2010 the European Union has been plagued by crises of democracy and the rule of law, which have been spreading from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), catching many by surprise. This book argues ...that the professed success of the 2004 big bang enlargement mirrored the Potemkin villages erected in the new Member States on their accession to Europe. Slovenia is a prime example. Since its independence and throughout the accession process, Slovenia has been portrayed as the poster child of the ‘New Europe’. This book claims that the widely shared narrative of the Slovenian EU dream is a myth. In many ways, Slovenia has fared even worse than its contemporary, constitutionally-backsliding, CEE counterparts. The book’s discussion of the depth and breadth of the democratic crises in Slovenia should contribute to a critical intellectual awakening and better comprehension of the real causes of the present crises across the other CEE Member States, which threaten the viability of the EU and Council of Europe projects. It is only on the basis of this improved understanding that the crises can be appropriately addressed at national, transnational and supranational levels. Volume 5 in the series EU Law in the Member States
The global Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the private, family, and professional lives of individuals worldwide. This article discusses its impact on constitutional values in Slovenia and Spain, ...drawing primarily on my personal experiences. In the past two years, individuals in both countries have suffered greatly due to the pandemic. Millions lost their lives, whereas many continue to suffer the long-term effects of Covid-19. Since the start of the pandemic, the constitutional values of coexistence, mutual respect, human dignity, freedom, and solidarity have been under stress in both societies. The Slovenian and Spanish authorities have employed various measures and restrictions to curtail the spread of the pandemic, some more successful than others. The statistical data illustrates that the pandemic has more affected Slovenian society than Spanish, based on Covid-19 deaths per million inhabitants. This article posits a hypothesis, based on personal experience and observation of both constitutional systems, that the understanding and implementation of constitutional values during the pandemic depended on each country's traditions, culture, and customs. The article explores the reasons for such discrepancies between the two European countries. It submits that traditions, culture, and historical legacies have shaped the countries' approaches to protecting constitutional values during the global Covid-19 pandemic.
This article discusses managing religious diversity in post-secular societies by drawing lessons from business and human rights. Managing religious diversity has been traditionally played out in the ...realms of the state. A state’s primary obligation is to respect and protect religious diversity in its society. This article looks beyond the state by arguing that managing diversity is a two-way street. It submits that business and human rights standards are benchmarks by which state and corporations’ effective management of religious diversity should be measured and supervised. This article argues that business and human rights standards, such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, establish the obligations of business and other private actors, such as religious communities, to respect and protect human rights in private relations. Businesses carry negative and positive obligations to employ a human-rights-based approach to managing religious diversity in their business operations. Religious communities, for their part, have to manage religious diversity to the extent their autonomy and self-governance allow for it. Equipped with this knowledge, this article concludes that business and human standards, including the United Nations Guiding Principles, represent the standards that business and religious communities should comply with in managing religious diversity in private relationships.
Rio Tinto, a significant global extractive industry corporation, has been for almost two decades exploring large lithium reserves, purchasing land in Jadar Valley southwest of Belgrade in Serbia, and ...attempting to start extraction. In 2017, the Serbian government granted Rio Tinto a license to start extraction despite fierce opposition from civil society. This article critically analyses the successful social movement campaign against Rio Tinto's lithium project in Jadar Valley as an example of a bottom-up approach to business and human rights. It discusses and critically analyses the social movement against the current state of affairs in the areas of business and human rights in Serbia. It finds that a successful campaign against the Jadar project was possible due to the broad coalition of civil society and political actors. It remains to be determined if such a social movement against Rio Tinto was a one-time event or if it propelled a more systemic approach to business and human rights in Serbia and beyond.
Central and Eastern European countries have in last decades faced several obstacles to establish full-functioning liberal constitutional democracies and the rule of law. This article studies the ...impact of the European Court of Human Rights on the rule of law in Central and Eastern Europe by examining reasons for high number of judgements finding violations and difficulties in executing judgements in several of Central and Eastern Europe states. It analyses the contribution of the European Court of Human Rights in Central and Eastern Europe and asks whether its judgements have provided fundamental standards in the key dimensions of the rule of law. It does so by establishing the quadruple theoretical framework of the rule of law composed of: dealing with the past violations; the independence, impartiality and fairness of judiciary; pluralism, broadmindedness and tolerance; and protections under the right to life and the prohibition on torture, inhumane and degrading treatment. Central and Eastern European states have in last decades attempted to translate the rule of law de iure within governmental institutions and beyond. They have also attempted to internalise the values of the rule of law, constitutional democracy and democratic process. Equipped with this knowledge, this article argues that the European Court of Human Rights has contributed to establishing the rule of law de iure in Central and Eastern European countries, however its impact on the rule of law has been in practice limited due to institutional and policy limitations and wide-spread conundrums relating to the separation of powers, weak institutions and corruption. Therefore its values have yet to be internalised fully in domestic settings.
This Special Issue of the Hague Journal on the Rule of Law derives from the debates at the workshop on 'How to Resolve the Crisis of Constitutional Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe?' held at ...the Graduate School of Government and European Studies in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 9 and 10 December 2016. The workshop was organised under the auspices of the project on the Reform of the Rule of Law and Democracy, generously funded by the Slovenian Research Agency J5-7359 (A). The contributions to the workshop examined the state of the constitutional democracy and the rule of law in the Central and Eastern Europe.
Whether States have obligations to maintain standards of the rule of law and socio-economic rights during an economic crisis - theoretical foundations of the rule of law - interrelationship between ...rule of law and socio-economic rights - relevant European Court of Human Rights decisions - reasonable minimum core of socio-economic rights.
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