Vesco Paskalev | Brunel University (original) (raw)
Papers by Vesco Paskalev
Transnational legal theory, Apr 3, 2017
The paper draws on the recent science and technology scholarship (STS) to criticise the dominant ... more The paper draws on the recent science and technology scholarship (STS) to criticise the dominant understanding of the role of science on which the existing system of transnational regulation is based. In particular, it employs the concept of epistemic subsidiarity suggested by Sheila Jasanoff to the science-based regulation in the EU to explain why the formal authority of the GMO regulators is crumbling, while some transnational regimes with no formal legal foundation flourish. It argues that to build their own authority, transnational regimes must not dismiss local concerns as 'unscientific' and 'political' but should themselves seek to take these concerns into account. The paper explores several ways in which this might be done in a multilevel system and concludes that instead of seeking to circumscribe the domains, we should strive to make their boundaries more porous.
Vesco Paskalev argues that the regulation of GMOs in the EU is a shambles. The main problem lies ... more Vesco Paskalev argues that the regulation of GMOs in the EU is a shambles. The main problem lies in a very narrow conception of risk and safety. All the emphasis is wrongly on laboratory tests, and evidence on the wider environmental effects is scant. Wider studies on the effects on consumption patterns or the cost pressures on non GM farmers are ignored. In addition, experts supplant the proper role of the political institutions, and the precautionary principle is rendered inoperative. Paskalev proposes specific legal amendments to remedy these faults
Most critical analyses assess citizenship-deprivation policies against international human rights... more Most critical analyses assess citizenship-deprivation policies against international human rights and domestic rule of law standards, such as prevention of statelessness, non-arbitrariness with regard to justifications and judicial remedies, or non-discrimination between different categories of citizens. This report considers instead from a political theory perspective how deprivation policies reflect specific conceptions of political community. We distinguish four normative conceptions of the grounds of membership in a political community that apply to decisions on acquisition and loss of citizenship status: i) a ‘State discretion’ view, according to which governments should be as free as possible in pursuing State interests when determining citizenship status; ii) an ‘individual choice’ view, according to which individuals should be as free as possible in choosing their citizenship status; iii) an ‘ascriptive community’ view, according to which both State and individual choices sh...
On Wednesday, 26 May the erstwhile grey eminence in the Johnson government, Dominic Cummings, spo... more On Wednesday, 26 May the erstwhile grey eminence in the Johnson government, Dominic Cummings, spoke. The 7-hour-long evidence session in front of the Joint Science and Technology Committee and Health and Social Care Committee of the British House of Commons failed to produce the smoking gun we were lead to expect, and the right-wing press did not miss to emphasise that Dom is now taking revenge for his dismissal. Yet Mr Cummings threw some light onto the corridors of power. According to the fact-checkers of The Guardian, his statements were generally factually correct. This light made clear at least three things that are interesting for students of constitutionalism and, in particular, of the implicit constitutionalism that determines the relationship between scientific expertise and power. This post will not attempt to evaluate the adequacy of the initial response to the pandemic in Britain, or the alleged dysfunctionality of its government or the right timing of the lockdown. Instead, it will use the revelations of Cummings' testimony to discuss the (im)possibility of evidence-based regulation and show why science is far too important to be left to scientists alone.
The proposed paper discusses the effect of the economic freedoms and especially of the free movem... more The proposed paper discusses the effect of the economic freedoms and especially of the free movement of people on the citizens' participation in national politics especially in the ‘peripheral’ member states. Each citizen, as we know from A.O. Hirschman faces perennial dilemma between ‘voice’ and ‘exit’. Further, citizens have to make a choice between taking action in the public sphere and pursuit of private welfare. The paper argues that EU is encouraging increasing number of people to take the less public-minded option in both cases. Thus, by facilitating the exit option on one side and enhancing the opportunities for private prosperity on the other, the EU, for all the good things it provides, subverts the democracy in these countries. Citizens are less likely to take to the streets and protest against corrupt or inept governments, and more likely to either move to another country or to turn to private consumption. Those who remain concerned about the way the society they liv...
In the seminal typology of legislatures suggested by Michael Mezey British House of Commons ranks... more In the seminal typology of legislatures suggested by Michael Mezey British House of Commons ranks in the group of the ‘reactive legislatures’ characterized by modest policy-making power and still high public support. Currently most of the European democracies with parliamentary systems, qualify in the same group – it is inherent feature of the parliamentary government that the Cabinet effectively dominates the parliament through the very same majority that sustains it.
IMISCOE Research Series, 2018
Debating European Citizenship, Sep 13, 2018
Debating Transformations of National Citizenship, 2018
Full-text contained in Cadmus is protected by copyright law and may be downloaded for personal re... more Full-text contained in Cadmus is protected by copyright law and may be downloaded for personal research purposes only. Any additional reproduction for other purposes, whether in hard copy or electronically, requires the consent of the copyright holder (s).
The regulation of new technologies, as well as many other areas of our increasingly complex and i... more The regulation of new technologies, as well as many other areas of our increasingly complex and interdependent societies, involves high uncertainty which grants broad epistemic discretion to the usually unelected regulators. This raises increasing concerns in the public law theory which traditionally requires all authoritative acts to be justified on the basis of certain principles mandated by the legislator (or in other words to be non-arbitrary). Political authorities respond to this challenge by the so-called science-based regulation however this approach in practice makes them defer to the advice of obscure and even less legitimate scientific bodies. Worse still, the courts are considered incompetent to review the scientific basis of such decisions and they fail in their duties in their own turn. In this paper I propose a way out of the latter problem, which was exemplified at least once in the well-known Pfizer case of the General Court of the EU. On my reading of the case, the...
In the present paper I will argue that the problem of disagreement is embedded in the structure o... more In the present paper I will argue that the problem of disagreement is embedded in the structure of rational decision making at a collective level. This was already done by Philip Pettit, who offered a model for collectivising reason. Further to him, I will emphasise that the collectivising reason leads to systematic frustration of popular will, i.e. rationality is always achieved at the expense of democracy (understood as responsiveness to popular will). This problem I term rationality gap . I suggest that there are three ways by which contemporary polities mitigate this structural problem – first, by identification with our common reason, second – by trust in the decisionmaking authority, and third, by persuasion by scientific arguments. In practice, the three methods are merged into a single rational discourse in the public sphere which eventually aligns (partially) the collective reason and popular passion. Yet, in increasing number of areas and loci of contemporary decision-maki...
Most critical analyses assess citizenship deprivation policies against international human rights... more Most critical analyses assess citizenship deprivation policies against international human rights and domestic rule of law standards, such as prevention of statelessness, non-arbitrariness with regard to justifications and judicial remedies, or non-discrimination between different categories of citizens. This paper considers citizenship deprivation policies instead from a political theory perspective—how deprivation policies reflect specific conceptions of political community. We distinguish four normative conceptions of the grounds of membership in a political community that apply to decisions on acquisition and loss of citizenship status: a ‘State discretion’ view, an ‘individual choice’ view, an ‘ascriptive community’ view, and a ‘genuine link’ view. We argue that most citizenship laws combine these four normative views, but that from a democratic perspective the ‘genuine link’ view is most preferable. The paper subsequently examines five general grounds for citizenship withdrawa...
Most critical analyses assess citizenship-deprivation policies against international human rights... more Most critical analyses assess citizenship-deprivation policies against international human rights and domestic rule of law standards, such as prevention of statelessness, non-arbitrariness with regard to justifications and judicial remedies, or non-discrimination between different categories of citizens. This report considers instead from a political theory perspective how deprivation policies reflect specific conceptions of political community. We distinguish four normative conceptions of the grounds of membership in a political community that apply to decisions on acquisition and loss of citizenship status: i) a ‘State discretion’ view, according to which governments should be as free as possible in pursuing State interests when determining citizenship status; ii) an ‘individual choice’ view, according to which individuals should be as free as possible in choosing their citizenship status; iii) an ‘ascriptive community’ view, according to which both State and individual choices sh...
This chapter canvasses the impact on the administrative law of Bulgaria of the pan-European princ... more This chapter canvasses the impact on the administrative law of Bulgaria of the pan-European principles of good administration developed by the Council of Europe (CoE) in the aftermath of socialism and in the shadow of EU integration. It zeroes in on each of the three channels of CoE influence—the direct effects of the CoE conventions ratified by Bulgaria, the indirect introduction of pan-European principles by the national legislator, and through application of the European Convention on Human Rights. It finds that the influence of all these channels has been limited although some progress has been made. Finally, it places the quest for pan-European principles and good administration in the context of Bulgarian legal culture and argues that the formalist character of the latter is a serious impediment to the actual effect that any legal principles (as opposed to rules) may have in the country.
Most critical analyses assess citizenship-deprivation policies against international human rights... more Most critical analyses assess citizenship-deprivation policies against international human rights and domestic rule of law standards, such as prevention of statelessness, non-arbitrariness with regard to justifications and judicial remedies, or non-discrimination between different categories of citizens. This report considers instead from a political theory perspective how deprivation policies reflect specific conceptions of political community. We distinguish four normative conceptions of the grounds of membership in a political community that apply to decisions on acquisition and loss of citizenship status: i) a ‘State discretion’ view, according to which governments should be as free as possible in pursuing State interests when determining citizenship status; ii) an ‘individual choice’ view, according to which individuals should be as free as possible in choosing their citizenship status; iii) an ‘ascriptive community’ view, according to which both State and individual choices sh...
The paper offers an analysis of Bulgarian constitutional development since 2001 and the impossibi... more The paper offers an analysis of Bulgarian constitutional development since 2001 and the impossibility of progressive reforms. It links the decline of quality of democracy with the decline of quality of public discourse.
Transnational legal theory, Apr 3, 2017
The paper draws on the recent science and technology scholarship (STS) to criticise the dominant ... more The paper draws on the recent science and technology scholarship (STS) to criticise the dominant understanding of the role of science on which the existing system of transnational regulation is based. In particular, it employs the concept of epistemic subsidiarity suggested by Sheila Jasanoff to the science-based regulation in the EU to explain why the formal authority of the GMO regulators is crumbling, while some transnational regimes with no formal legal foundation flourish. It argues that to build their own authority, transnational regimes must not dismiss local concerns as 'unscientific' and 'political' but should themselves seek to take these concerns into account. The paper explores several ways in which this might be done in a multilevel system and concludes that instead of seeking to circumscribe the domains, we should strive to make their boundaries more porous.
Vesco Paskalev argues that the regulation of GMOs in the EU is a shambles. The main problem lies ... more Vesco Paskalev argues that the regulation of GMOs in the EU is a shambles. The main problem lies in a very narrow conception of risk and safety. All the emphasis is wrongly on laboratory tests, and evidence on the wider environmental effects is scant. Wider studies on the effects on consumption patterns or the cost pressures on non GM farmers are ignored. In addition, experts supplant the proper role of the political institutions, and the precautionary principle is rendered inoperative. Paskalev proposes specific legal amendments to remedy these faults
Most critical analyses assess citizenship-deprivation policies against international human rights... more Most critical analyses assess citizenship-deprivation policies against international human rights and domestic rule of law standards, such as prevention of statelessness, non-arbitrariness with regard to justifications and judicial remedies, or non-discrimination between different categories of citizens. This report considers instead from a political theory perspective how deprivation policies reflect specific conceptions of political community. We distinguish four normative conceptions of the grounds of membership in a political community that apply to decisions on acquisition and loss of citizenship status: i) a ‘State discretion’ view, according to which governments should be as free as possible in pursuing State interests when determining citizenship status; ii) an ‘individual choice’ view, according to which individuals should be as free as possible in choosing their citizenship status; iii) an ‘ascriptive community’ view, according to which both State and individual choices sh...
On Wednesday, 26 May the erstwhile grey eminence in the Johnson government, Dominic Cummings, spo... more On Wednesday, 26 May the erstwhile grey eminence in the Johnson government, Dominic Cummings, spoke. The 7-hour-long evidence session in front of the Joint Science and Technology Committee and Health and Social Care Committee of the British House of Commons failed to produce the smoking gun we were lead to expect, and the right-wing press did not miss to emphasise that Dom is now taking revenge for his dismissal. Yet Mr Cummings threw some light onto the corridors of power. According to the fact-checkers of The Guardian, his statements were generally factually correct. This light made clear at least three things that are interesting for students of constitutionalism and, in particular, of the implicit constitutionalism that determines the relationship between scientific expertise and power. This post will not attempt to evaluate the adequacy of the initial response to the pandemic in Britain, or the alleged dysfunctionality of its government or the right timing of the lockdown. Instead, it will use the revelations of Cummings' testimony to discuss the (im)possibility of evidence-based regulation and show why science is far too important to be left to scientists alone.
The proposed paper discusses the effect of the economic freedoms and especially of the free movem... more The proposed paper discusses the effect of the economic freedoms and especially of the free movement of people on the citizens' participation in national politics especially in the ‘peripheral’ member states. Each citizen, as we know from A.O. Hirschman faces perennial dilemma between ‘voice’ and ‘exit’. Further, citizens have to make a choice between taking action in the public sphere and pursuit of private welfare. The paper argues that EU is encouraging increasing number of people to take the less public-minded option in both cases. Thus, by facilitating the exit option on one side and enhancing the opportunities for private prosperity on the other, the EU, for all the good things it provides, subverts the democracy in these countries. Citizens are less likely to take to the streets and protest against corrupt or inept governments, and more likely to either move to another country or to turn to private consumption. Those who remain concerned about the way the society they liv...
In the seminal typology of legislatures suggested by Michael Mezey British House of Commons ranks... more In the seminal typology of legislatures suggested by Michael Mezey British House of Commons ranks in the group of the ‘reactive legislatures’ characterized by modest policy-making power and still high public support. Currently most of the European democracies with parliamentary systems, qualify in the same group – it is inherent feature of the parliamentary government that the Cabinet effectively dominates the parliament through the very same majority that sustains it.
IMISCOE Research Series, 2018
Debating European Citizenship, Sep 13, 2018
Debating Transformations of National Citizenship, 2018
Full-text contained in Cadmus is protected by copyright law and may be downloaded for personal re... more Full-text contained in Cadmus is protected by copyright law and may be downloaded for personal research purposes only. Any additional reproduction for other purposes, whether in hard copy or electronically, requires the consent of the copyright holder (s).
The regulation of new technologies, as well as many other areas of our increasingly complex and i... more The regulation of new technologies, as well as many other areas of our increasingly complex and interdependent societies, involves high uncertainty which grants broad epistemic discretion to the usually unelected regulators. This raises increasing concerns in the public law theory which traditionally requires all authoritative acts to be justified on the basis of certain principles mandated by the legislator (or in other words to be non-arbitrary). Political authorities respond to this challenge by the so-called science-based regulation however this approach in practice makes them defer to the advice of obscure and even less legitimate scientific bodies. Worse still, the courts are considered incompetent to review the scientific basis of such decisions and they fail in their duties in their own turn. In this paper I propose a way out of the latter problem, which was exemplified at least once in the well-known Pfizer case of the General Court of the EU. On my reading of the case, the...
In the present paper I will argue that the problem of disagreement is embedded in the structure o... more In the present paper I will argue that the problem of disagreement is embedded in the structure of rational decision making at a collective level. This was already done by Philip Pettit, who offered a model for collectivising reason. Further to him, I will emphasise that the collectivising reason leads to systematic frustration of popular will, i.e. rationality is always achieved at the expense of democracy (understood as responsiveness to popular will). This problem I term rationality gap . I suggest that there are three ways by which contemporary polities mitigate this structural problem – first, by identification with our common reason, second – by trust in the decisionmaking authority, and third, by persuasion by scientific arguments. In practice, the three methods are merged into a single rational discourse in the public sphere which eventually aligns (partially) the collective reason and popular passion. Yet, in increasing number of areas and loci of contemporary decision-maki...
Most critical analyses assess citizenship deprivation policies against international human rights... more Most critical analyses assess citizenship deprivation policies against international human rights and domestic rule of law standards, such as prevention of statelessness, non-arbitrariness with regard to justifications and judicial remedies, or non-discrimination between different categories of citizens. This paper considers citizenship deprivation policies instead from a political theory perspective—how deprivation policies reflect specific conceptions of political community. We distinguish four normative conceptions of the grounds of membership in a political community that apply to decisions on acquisition and loss of citizenship status: a ‘State discretion’ view, an ‘individual choice’ view, an ‘ascriptive community’ view, and a ‘genuine link’ view. We argue that most citizenship laws combine these four normative views, but that from a democratic perspective the ‘genuine link’ view is most preferable. The paper subsequently examines five general grounds for citizenship withdrawa...
Most critical analyses assess citizenship-deprivation policies against international human rights... more Most critical analyses assess citizenship-deprivation policies against international human rights and domestic rule of law standards, such as prevention of statelessness, non-arbitrariness with regard to justifications and judicial remedies, or non-discrimination between different categories of citizens. This report considers instead from a political theory perspective how deprivation policies reflect specific conceptions of political community. We distinguish four normative conceptions of the grounds of membership in a political community that apply to decisions on acquisition and loss of citizenship status: i) a ‘State discretion’ view, according to which governments should be as free as possible in pursuing State interests when determining citizenship status; ii) an ‘individual choice’ view, according to which individuals should be as free as possible in choosing their citizenship status; iii) an ‘ascriptive community’ view, according to which both State and individual choices sh...
This chapter canvasses the impact on the administrative law of Bulgaria of the pan-European princ... more This chapter canvasses the impact on the administrative law of Bulgaria of the pan-European principles of good administration developed by the Council of Europe (CoE) in the aftermath of socialism and in the shadow of EU integration. It zeroes in on each of the three channels of CoE influence—the direct effects of the CoE conventions ratified by Bulgaria, the indirect introduction of pan-European principles by the national legislator, and through application of the European Convention on Human Rights. It finds that the influence of all these channels has been limited although some progress has been made. Finally, it places the quest for pan-European principles and good administration in the context of Bulgarian legal culture and argues that the formalist character of the latter is a serious impediment to the actual effect that any legal principles (as opposed to rules) may have in the country.
Most critical analyses assess citizenship-deprivation policies against international human rights... more Most critical analyses assess citizenship-deprivation policies against international human rights and domestic rule of law standards, such as prevention of statelessness, non-arbitrariness with regard to justifications and judicial remedies, or non-discrimination between different categories of citizens. This report considers instead from a political theory perspective how deprivation policies reflect specific conceptions of political community. We distinguish four normative conceptions of the grounds of membership in a political community that apply to decisions on acquisition and loss of citizenship status: i) a ‘State discretion’ view, according to which governments should be as free as possible in pursuing State interests when determining citizenship status; ii) an ‘individual choice’ view, according to which individuals should be as free as possible in choosing their citizenship status; iii) an ‘ascriptive community’ view, according to which both State and individual choices sh...
The paper offers an analysis of Bulgarian constitutional development since 2001 and the impossibi... more The paper offers an analysis of Bulgarian constitutional development since 2001 and the impossibility of progressive reforms. It links the decline of quality of democracy with the decline of quality of public discourse.