Franklin Vrieze - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Franklin Vrieze
The Journal of Legislative Studies
IALS Student Law Review
The unprecedented outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 virus in the world and its grave consequenc... more The unprecedented outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 virus in the world and its grave consequences on human health, the economy and the everyday life forced national parliaments either to change its standard work mode or transfer their constitutional competences to the executive by declaring state of emergency. The detrimental effects of this unorthodox situation, especially on functioning of democracies, government branches’ division, economic disturbances and losses of jobs are yet to be determined and analyzed. Not expecting that the virus will reach pandemic proportions, the Macedonian parliament was dissolved for early parliamentary elections that ought to be carried out by a technical government, a commitment taken from the Przino Agreement in 2015. The state had faced a unique situation to get through the pandemic with a dissolved parliament and a technical government with limited competences. The constitutional vagueness regarding the work of the parliament in emergency sit...
Countries in transition increasingly count on anti-corruption commissions and agencies in the fig... more Countries in transition increasingly count on anti-corruption commissions and agencies in the fight against corruption. Franklin De Vrieze and Luka Glušac examine the case of Ukraine, assessing the role of the country’s parliament and anti-corruption agency in combating high-profile corruption
London School of Economics and Political Science, Mar 26, 2020
Parliaments can contribute to more accountable governance, not just by questioning government min... more Parliaments can contribute to more accountable governance, not just by questioning government ministers in the chamber, but also by monitoring the implementation and impact of the laws they pass. This post-legislative scrutiny can be divided into four categories: passive, informal, formal and independent forms. Comparatively, parliaments vary according to the extent to which they carry out post-legislative scrutiny. Franklin De Vrieze discusses these variations and argues that to be effective parliaments should both look at the implementation of legislation, its impact and at unintended consequences of some laws. At the time of the Covid-19 crisis, good-quality scrutiny of policies and legislation in all areas, including legislation on public health and government's response to Covid-19, has become all the more important. Photo by Luca Campioni on Unsplash How post-legislative scrutiny can improve a law's effectiveness Democratic Audit: Not all scrutiny is equal: how parliaments vary in scrutinising the implementation of legislation
As parliaments around the world adjust to working remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic, Franklin... more As parliaments around the world adjust to working remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic, Franklin De Vrieze argues that it is vital that they not only scrutinise governments' public health policies, but also have a role in overseeing the ensuing new public debt, particularly in developing countries.
Parliaments and Post-Legislative Scrutiny, 2020
The significance of post-legislative scrutiny FRANKLIN DE VRIEZE AND PHILIP NORTON A legislature ... more The significance of post-legislative scrutiny FRANKLIN DE VRIEZE AND PHILIP NORTON A legislature is a core institution of the state. Its core defining function is that of giving assent to measures of public policy that are to be binding (Norton 1990, p. 1). The process by which a measure becomes a law has four principal stages: gestation, drafting, deliberation and adoption, and implementation (see Norton 2013, pp. 70-7) The legislature is principally and necessarily core to the third stage. Prior to giving assent to a measure, it will normally debate its merits. In some legislatures, primarily in non-democratic nations, the debate may be perfunctory or formal. In others, it may be extensive and measures may be amended, sometimes rejected, as a result of the deliberations. Legislatures have been studied since one can identify them as having come into being, but over the past century scholarly study has been both limited and narrow. It has been limited because of the perception that, as Lord Bryce notably argued, legislatures are in decline (Bryce 1921, pp. 367-77). Power, he argued, had departed legislatures and gone elsewhere. Mass membership political parties, operating in an era of an expanding franchise, ensured executive dominance of the legislature and the approval of its measures. The focus of study thus shifted elsewhere, not least to executives and bureaucracies. When legislatures were studied, not least those legislatures that did exert some capacity to allocate values (most notably the US Congress), the focus was what happened in the legislature during the passage of a measure. When in postwar years there was a
Parliamentary Cooperation and Diplomacy in EU External Relations, 2019
The Covid-19 pandemic has led many countries across the world to pass emergency legislation, but ... more The Covid-19 pandemic has led many countries across the world to pass emergency legislation, but is there a danger that this legislation could lead to a permanent loss of civil liberties? Franklin De Vrieze explains what has to be done to prepare for the roll-back of these measures.
The Journal of Legislative Studies, 2020
This article analyses parliamentary practices in conducting Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS) in Ge... more This article analyses parliamentary practices in conducting Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS) in Germany, Italy, France, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom against four categories of parliamentary approach in PLS. Parliaments as passive scrutinisers have few parliamentary structures, capacity and procedures for PLS and no parliamentary PLS reports. Parliaments as informal scrutinisers have few parliamentary structures and procedures but are stronger in terms of own parliamentary outputs on PLS. Parliaments as formal scrutinisers have more developed structures and procedures on PLS but remain weak in terms of outputs and follow up. Parliaments as independent scrutinisers are strong in terms of structures and procedures as well as in terms of reports and follow up. The case-studies indicate that the federal parliament of Germany is a passive scrutiniser in PLS, the parliament of Italy an informal scrutiniser, the parliaments of Sweden and France formal scrutinisers, and the UK Westminster and Swiss parliaments independent scrutinisers.
The Journal of Legislative Studies, 2020
The United Nations 2030 Agenda is a global framework for sustainable development. This article sh... more The United Nations 2030 Agenda is a global framework for sustainable development. This article sheds light on the engagement of parliaments to control the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs). For this purpose, institutional and non-institutional measures from a wide range of parliaments were evaluated and a general assessment framework has been developed, leading to the determination of a set of basic types of dedicated parliamentary bodies that handle SDG related issues and the nature of their cooperation with extra-parliamentary stakeholders. In this context, the Post-Legislative Scrutiny concept, which assesses both legal and impact dimensions of the implementation of law, has been studied, in order to prove whether it constitutes a viable long-term contribution in accelerating the achievement of the SDGs. Based on examples of good practice, the article presents tangible recommendations and urges parliaments to upscale action related to improving efficiency in the achievement of the SDGs.
The Journal of Legislative Studies, 2020
A legislature is a core institution of the state. Its core defining function is that of giving as... more A legislature is a core institution of the state. Its core defining function is that of giving assent to measures of public policy that are to be binding (Norton, 1990, p. 1). The process by which a measure becomes a law has four principal stages: gestation, drafting, deliberation and adoption, and implementation (see Norton, 2013, pp. 70-7) The legislature is principally and necessarily core to the third stage. Prior to giving assent to a measure, it will normally debate its merits. In some legislatures, primarily in non-democratic nations, the debate may be perfunctory or formal. In others, it may be extensive and measures may be amended, sometimes rejected, as a result of the deliberations. Legislatures have been studied since one can identify them as having come into being, but over the past century scholarly study has been both limited and narrow. It has been limited because of the perception that, as Lord Bryce notably argued, legislatures are in decline (Bryce, 1921, pp. 367-77). Power, he argued, had departed legislatures and gone elsewhere. Mass membership political parties, operating in an era of an expanding franchise, ensured executive dominance of the legislature and the approval of its measures. The focus of study thus shifted elsewhere, not least to executives and bureaucracies. When legislatures were studied, not least those legislatures that did exert some capacity to allocate values (most notably the US Congress), the focus was what happened in the legislature during the passage of a measure. When in postwar years there was a shift in study in the US to behavioural analysis, there was a focus on how members operated within the legislature in determining the outcome of legislation. Recent years, especially since the 1980s, have seen a shift in scholarly attention to legislatures (Martin et al., 2014; Norton, 2020) with some groundbreaking research, not least in the USA. As Martin, Saalfeld and Strom observed, there was a shift from the macro-level analyses of 'old' institutionalism to a micro level of analysis, inspired by a general rise of behaviouralism in the social sciences. 'In this conception of a political system the formal institutions of government were reduced to the "black box", where the conversion
Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights, 2020
Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS) is an emerging oversight technique which is applied by parliament... more Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS) is an emerging oversight technique which is applied by parliaments to scrutinise implementation and impact of specific laws or legal frameworks. This article takes stock of PLS practices in countries in South and Southeast Asia and argues that PLS can also be used to scrutinise complex processes at the national or supra-national level, such as the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). First, a wide introduction and the state of play in PLS is provided, with reference to different parliamentary and development approaches emerging from the application of PLS in parliaments worldwide, followed by two specific case studies: the law on microfinance in Myanmar and the law on social practice reform in Nepal. The examination of these case studies offers insights about the application of scrutiny techniques in different parliaments. The outcome of the analysis is used to respond to the main research question of this contribution: whether ...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019
The United Nations 2030 Agenda is a global framework for sustainable development. While the Execu... more The United Nations 2030 Agenda is a global framework for sustainable development. While the Executive in each country has a mandate to implement the respective measures, parliaments are entrusted with passing the related legislation as well as overseeing its implementation. This paper sheds light on the engagement of parliaments to control implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For this purpose, institutional and non-institutional measures from a wide range of parliaments were evaluated and a general assessment framework has been developed, leading to the determination of a set of basic types of dedicated parliamentary bodies that handle SDG related issues and the nature of their cooperation with extra-parliamentary stakeholders. In this context, the Post-Legislative Scrutiny concept, which assesses both legal and impact dimensions of law implementation, has been studied, in order to prove whether it constitutes a viable long-term contribution to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs. Based on examples of good practice, the paper presents tangible recommendations and urges parliaments to upscale action related to the achievement of the SDGs, as an additional means to strengthen their own position in the institutional system.
The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 2016
This article analyses the contribution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the South-East European C... more This article analyses the contribution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the South-East European Cooperation Process (seecp) to regional dialogue among parliamentarians. First, it examines the transformation of the seecp Parliamentary Dimension into a Parliamentary Assembly (seecp pa). Second, the article analyses two case studies: the participation of Kosovo in the seecp pa; and the establishment of a Secretariat for the seecp pa. These two case studies are selected because they have given rise to intensive political dialogue, thus providing a basis for the conduct of parliamentary diplomacy. They demonstrate the potential contribution of the seecp Parliamentary Dimension to conflict resolution, while acknowledging the dependence of the Parliamentary Assembly on the political processes handled through intergovernmental diplomacy. The article shows the limited, although positive, impact of the institutionalisation of this Parliamentary Assembly on parliamentary relations in South-Eas...
Security and Human Rights, 2008
Helsinki Monitor, 1995
The situation in Kosovo is stable and explosive. ' This remarkable statement, made by CSCE offici... more The situation in Kosovo is stable and explosive. ' This remarkable statement, made by CSCE officials based in Prishtina in June 1993, is still an apt characterization of the tense stalemate that continues to grip Kosovo five years after its autonomous status within Serbia was revoked by Belgrade. 1 Recent speculation in the Balkans envisages a long-term resolution of Kosovo's status after, or perhaps only in connection with, a lasting peace in Bosnia and Croatia.2 However, the lack of progress in finding a negotiated solution between Serbian authorities and Kosovo's Albanian majority, the activities of the so-called Serbian Resistance Movement and discussions among the Albanians' political parties within the province could easily lead to an explosive conflict affecting the entire Balkans. Cognizant of Kosovo's explosive potential, various international efforts, inter alia those of the OSCE, have been aimed at monitoring the situation and promoting a peaceful resolution to the region's status. This article will focus on recent developments in Kosovo itself and on some political initiativesincluding by the international communityto fmd a non-violent solution to the current stand-off through human rights monitoring and political dialogue.
Helsinki Monitor, 2004
The violent events of 15-19 March 2004 throughout Kosovo marked one of the most serious challenge... more The violent events of 15-19 March 2004 throughout Kosovo marked one of the most serious challenges to both the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG). 2 This article examines the circumstances surrounding this 'collapse of society' and the challenges ahead during the fifth year of the international presence in Kosovo. 3 The March Crisis resulted in 19 deaths and over 900 injured, and drove more than 3,000 people from their homes. It has shaken the International Community's confidence in its ability to contribute to Kosovo's transformation into a multi-ethnic, open and tolerant society. Even before the March Crisis, everyone was aware that a difficult year lay ahead with Kosovo-wide elections scheduled for October 2004, the victory of nationalist parties in the Serbian parliamentary elections in December 2003 4 , the privatization process in Kosovo being put on hold and the question of the political heritage of the 1999 Kosovo war following the arrest of prominent figures of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during 2003. However, at least three positive developments had provided grounds for cautious optimism. First, UNMIK and PISG had been close to completing the draft Standards Implemenation Plan, a blueprint that would lay out what Kosovo's people and institutions would need to deliver in terms of good governance, the rule of law and other areas to allow for status negotiations to begin. What was more, with the setting of a first review date for mid-2005 the PISG had moved away from its previous confrontational mode towards UNMIK's Standards before status policy to one of partnership and joint responsibility. Secondly, at the beginning of March direct dialogue with Belgrade had been initiated at working group level. Two of the planned four working groups had 1 Franklin De Vrieze studied political sciences/international relations at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). He has been monitoring developments in Kosovo and the former Yugoslavia since 1992. Working for the OSCE Mission in Kosovo (OMIK) since August 2001, he is head of the 'Assembly Support Initiative', the donor-coordination mechanism for all support programmes to the Assembly of Kosovo. The extent of his work includes good governance legislation, international parliamentary cooperation and public administration reform. 2 On the PISG's establishment in early 2002, its competencies and organizational structure, see the previous article: F.
Helsinki Monitor, 2002
... after the 10 и On 13 December 2001 the LDK-official, Nexhat Daci, president of the Kosovo Aca... more ... after the 10 и On 13 December 2001 the LDK-official, Nexhat Daci, president of the Kosovo Academy of Arts and Sciences ... Haradinaj advocates the 12 Jakup Krasniqi, PDK Secretary General and a member of the Rambouillet delegation, became head of the parliamentary group ...
... SFRY. Momir Bulatovic and Milo Djukanovic had lead the revolution and became respectively pre... more ... SFRY. Momir Bulatovic and Milo Djukanovic had lead the revolution and became respectively president and secretary general of the Communist Party. ... Bulatovic). Bulatovic took three to six times more votes than Djukanovic in the northern ...
The Journal of Legislative Studies
IALS Student Law Review
The unprecedented outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 virus in the world and its grave consequenc... more The unprecedented outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 virus in the world and its grave consequences on human health, the economy and the everyday life forced national parliaments either to change its standard work mode or transfer their constitutional competences to the executive by declaring state of emergency. The detrimental effects of this unorthodox situation, especially on functioning of democracies, government branches’ division, economic disturbances and losses of jobs are yet to be determined and analyzed. Not expecting that the virus will reach pandemic proportions, the Macedonian parliament was dissolved for early parliamentary elections that ought to be carried out by a technical government, a commitment taken from the Przino Agreement in 2015. The state had faced a unique situation to get through the pandemic with a dissolved parliament and a technical government with limited competences. The constitutional vagueness regarding the work of the parliament in emergency sit...
Countries in transition increasingly count on anti-corruption commissions and agencies in the fig... more Countries in transition increasingly count on anti-corruption commissions and agencies in the fight against corruption. Franklin De Vrieze and Luka Glušac examine the case of Ukraine, assessing the role of the country’s parliament and anti-corruption agency in combating high-profile corruption
London School of Economics and Political Science, Mar 26, 2020
Parliaments can contribute to more accountable governance, not just by questioning government min... more Parliaments can contribute to more accountable governance, not just by questioning government ministers in the chamber, but also by monitoring the implementation and impact of the laws they pass. This post-legislative scrutiny can be divided into four categories: passive, informal, formal and independent forms. Comparatively, parliaments vary according to the extent to which they carry out post-legislative scrutiny. Franklin De Vrieze discusses these variations and argues that to be effective parliaments should both look at the implementation of legislation, its impact and at unintended consequences of some laws. At the time of the Covid-19 crisis, good-quality scrutiny of policies and legislation in all areas, including legislation on public health and government's response to Covid-19, has become all the more important. Photo by Luca Campioni on Unsplash How post-legislative scrutiny can improve a law's effectiveness Democratic Audit: Not all scrutiny is equal: how parliaments vary in scrutinising the implementation of legislation
As parliaments around the world adjust to working remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic, Franklin... more As parliaments around the world adjust to working remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic, Franklin De Vrieze argues that it is vital that they not only scrutinise governments' public health policies, but also have a role in overseeing the ensuing new public debt, particularly in developing countries.
Parliaments and Post-Legislative Scrutiny, 2020
The significance of post-legislative scrutiny FRANKLIN DE VRIEZE AND PHILIP NORTON A legislature ... more The significance of post-legislative scrutiny FRANKLIN DE VRIEZE AND PHILIP NORTON A legislature is a core institution of the state. Its core defining function is that of giving assent to measures of public policy that are to be binding (Norton 1990, p. 1). The process by which a measure becomes a law has four principal stages: gestation, drafting, deliberation and adoption, and implementation (see Norton 2013, pp. 70-7) The legislature is principally and necessarily core to the third stage. Prior to giving assent to a measure, it will normally debate its merits. In some legislatures, primarily in non-democratic nations, the debate may be perfunctory or formal. In others, it may be extensive and measures may be amended, sometimes rejected, as a result of the deliberations. Legislatures have been studied since one can identify them as having come into being, but over the past century scholarly study has been both limited and narrow. It has been limited because of the perception that, as Lord Bryce notably argued, legislatures are in decline (Bryce 1921, pp. 367-77). Power, he argued, had departed legislatures and gone elsewhere. Mass membership political parties, operating in an era of an expanding franchise, ensured executive dominance of the legislature and the approval of its measures. The focus of study thus shifted elsewhere, not least to executives and bureaucracies. When legislatures were studied, not least those legislatures that did exert some capacity to allocate values (most notably the US Congress), the focus was what happened in the legislature during the passage of a measure. When in postwar years there was a
Parliamentary Cooperation and Diplomacy in EU External Relations, 2019
The Covid-19 pandemic has led many countries across the world to pass emergency legislation, but ... more The Covid-19 pandemic has led many countries across the world to pass emergency legislation, but is there a danger that this legislation could lead to a permanent loss of civil liberties? Franklin De Vrieze explains what has to be done to prepare for the roll-back of these measures.
The Journal of Legislative Studies, 2020
This article analyses parliamentary practices in conducting Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS) in Ge... more This article analyses parliamentary practices in conducting Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS) in Germany, Italy, France, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom against four categories of parliamentary approach in PLS. Parliaments as passive scrutinisers have few parliamentary structures, capacity and procedures for PLS and no parliamentary PLS reports. Parliaments as informal scrutinisers have few parliamentary structures and procedures but are stronger in terms of own parliamentary outputs on PLS. Parliaments as formal scrutinisers have more developed structures and procedures on PLS but remain weak in terms of outputs and follow up. Parliaments as independent scrutinisers are strong in terms of structures and procedures as well as in terms of reports and follow up. The case-studies indicate that the federal parliament of Germany is a passive scrutiniser in PLS, the parliament of Italy an informal scrutiniser, the parliaments of Sweden and France formal scrutinisers, and the UK Westminster and Swiss parliaments independent scrutinisers.
The Journal of Legislative Studies, 2020
The United Nations 2030 Agenda is a global framework for sustainable development. This article sh... more The United Nations 2030 Agenda is a global framework for sustainable development. This article sheds light on the engagement of parliaments to control the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs). For this purpose, institutional and non-institutional measures from a wide range of parliaments were evaluated and a general assessment framework has been developed, leading to the determination of a set of basic types of dedicated parliamentary bodies that handle SDG related issues and the nature of their cooperation with extra-parliamentary stakeholders. In this context, the Post-Legislative Scrutiny concept, which assesses both legal and impact dimensions of the implementation of law, has been studied, in order to prove whether it constitutes a viable long-term contribution in accelerating the achievement of the SDGs. Based on examples of good practice, the article presents tangible recommendations and urges parliaments to upscale action related to improving efficiency in the achievement of the SDGs.
The Journal of Legislative Studies, 2020
A legislature is a core institution of the state. Its core defining function is that of giving as... more A legislature is a core institution of the state. Its core defining function is that of giving assent to measures of public policy that are to be binding (Norton, 1990, p. 1). The process by which a measure becomes a law has four principal stages: gestation, drafting, deliberation and adoption, and implementation (see Norton, 2013, pp. 70-7) The legislature is principally and necessarily core to the third stage. Prior to giving assent to a measure, it will normally debate its merits. In some legislatures, primarily in non-democratic nations, the debate may be perfunctory or formal. In others, it may be extensive and measures may be amended, sometimes rejected, as a result of the deliberations. Legislatures have been studied since one can identify them as having come into being, but over the past century scholarly study has been both limited and narrow. It has been limited because of the perception that, as Lord Bryce notably argued, legislatures are in decline (Bryce, 1921, pp. 367-77). Power, he argued, had departed legislatures and gone elsewhere. Mass membership political parties, operating in an era of an expanding franchise, ensured executive dominance of the legislature and the approval of its measures. The focus of study thus shifted elsewhere, not least to executives and bureaucracies. When legislatures were studied, not least those legislatures that did exert some capacity to allocate values (most notably the US Congress), the focus was what happened in the legislature during the passage of a measure. When in postwar years there was a shift in study in the US to behavioural analysis, there was a focus on how members operated within the legislature in determining the outcome of legislation. Recent years, especially since the 1980s, have seen a shift in scholarly attention to legislatures (Martin et al., 2014; Norton, 2020) with some groundbreaking research, not least in the USA. As Martin, Saalfeld and Strom observed, there was a shift from the macro-level analyses of 'old' institutionalism to a micro level of analysis, inspired by a general rise of behaviouralism in the social sciences. 'In this conception of a political system the formal institutions of government were reduced to the "black box", where the conversion
Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights, 2020
Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS) is an emerging oversight technique which is applied by parliament... more Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS) is an emerging oversight technique which is applied by parliaments to scrutinise implementation and impact of specific laws or legal frameworks. This article takes stock of PLS practices in countries in South and Southeast Asia and argues that PLS can also be used to scrutinise complex processes at the national or supra-national level, such as the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). First, a wide introduction and the state of play in PLS is provided, with reference to different parliamentary and development approaches emerging from the application of PLS in parliaments worldwide, followed by two specific case studies: the law on microfinance in Myanmar and the law on social practice reform in Nepal. The examination of these case studies offers insights about the application of scrutiny techniques in different parliaments. The outcome of the analysis is used to respond to the main research question of this contribution: whether ...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019
The United Nations 2030 Agenda is a global framework for sustainable development. While the Execu... more The United Nations 2030 Agenda is a global framework for sustainable development. While the Executive in each country has a mandate to implement the respective measures, parliaments are entrusted with passing the related legislation as well as overseeing its implementation. This paper sheds light on the engagement of parliaments to control implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For this purpose, institutional and non-institutional measures from a wide range of parliaments were evaluated and a general assessment framework has been developed, leading to the determination of a set of basic types of dedicated parliamentary bodies that handle SDG related issues and the nature of their cooperation with extra-parliamentary stakeholders. In this context, the Post-Legislative Scrutiny concept, which assesses both legal and impact dimensions of law implementation, has been studied, in order to prove whether it constitutes a viable long-term contribution to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs. Based on examples of good practice, the paper presents tangible recommendations and urges parliaments to upscale action related to the achievement of the SDGs, as an additional means to strengthen their own position in the institutional system.
The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 2016
This article analyses the contribution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the South-East European C... more This article analyses the contribution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the South-East European Cooperation Process (seecp) to regional dialogue among parliamentarians. First, it examines the transformation of the seecp Parliamentary Dimension into a Parliamentary Assembly (seecp pa). Second, the article analyses two case studies: the participation of Kosovo in the seecp pa; and the establishment of a Secretariat for the seecp pa. These two case studies are selected because they have given rise to intensive political dialogue, thus providing a basis for the conduct of parliamentary diplomacy. They demonstrate the potential contribution of the seecp Parliamentary Dimension to conflict resolution, while acknowledging the dependence of the Parliamentary Assembly on the political processes handled through intergovernmental diplomacy. The article shows the limited, although positive, impact of the institutionalisation of this Parliamentary Assembly on parliamentary relations in South-Eas...
Security and Human Rights, 2008
Helsinki Monitor, 1995
The situation in Kosovo is stable and explosive. ' This remarkable statement, made by CSCE offici... more The situation in Kosovo is stable and explosive. ' This remarkable statement, made by CSCE officials based in Prishtina in June 1993, is still an apt characterization of the tense stalemate that continues to grip Kosovo five years after its autonomous status within Serbia was revoked by Belgrade. 1 Recent speculation in the Balkans envisages a long-term resolution of Kosovo's status after, or perhaps only in connection with, a lasting peace in Bosnia and Croatia.2 However, the lack of progress in finding a negotiated solution between Serbian authorities and Kosovo's Albanian majority, the activities of the so-called Serbian Resistance Movement and discussions among the Albanians' political parties within the province could easily lead to an explosive conflict affecting the entire Balkans. Cognizant of Kosovo's explosive potential, various international efforts, inter alia those of the OSCE, have been aimed at monitoring the situation and promoting a peaceful resolution to the region's status. This article will focus on recent developments in Kosovo itself and on some political initiativesincluding by the international communityto fmd a non-violent solution to the current stand-off through human rights monitoring and political dialogue.
Helsinki Monitor, 2004
The violent events of 15-19 March 2004 throughout Kosovo marked one of the most serious challenge... more The violent events of 15-19 March 2004 throughout Kosovo marked one of the most serious challenges to both the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG). 2 This article examines the circumstances surrounding this 'collapse of society' and the challenges ahead during the fifth year of the international presence in Kosovo. 3 The March Crisis resulted in 19 deaths and over 900 injured, and drove more than 3,000 people from their homes. It has shaken the International Community's confidence in its ability to contribute to Kosovo's transformation into a multi-ethnic, open and tolerant society. Even before the March Crisis, everyone was aware that a difficult year lay ahead with Kosovo-wide elections scheduled for October 2004, the victory of nationalist parties in the Serbian parliamentary elections in December 2003 4 , the privatization process in Kosovo being put on hold and the question of the political heritage of the 1999 Kosovo war following the arrest of prominent figures of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during 2003. However, at least three positive developments had provided grounds for cautious optimism. First, UNMIK and PISG had been close to completing the draft Standards Implemenation Plan, a blueprint that would lay out what Kosovo's people and institutions would need to deliver in terms of good governance, the rule of law and other areas to allow for status negotiations to begin. What was more, with the setting of a first review date for mid-2005 the PISG had moved away from its previous confrontational mode towards UNMIK's Standards before status policy to one of partnership and joint responsibility. Secondly, at the beginning of March direct dialogue with Belgrade had been initiated at working group level. Two of the planned four working groups had 1 Franklin De Vrieze studied political sciences/international relations at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). He has been monitoring developments in Kosovo and the former Yugoslavia since 1992. Working for the OSCE Mission in Kosovo (OMIK) since August 2001, he is head of the 'Assembly Support Initiative', the donor-coordination mechanism for all support programmes to the Assembly of Kosovo. The extent of his work includes good governance legislation, international parliamentary cooperation and public administration reform. 2 On the PISG's establishment in early 2002, its competencies and organizational structure, see the previous article: F.
Helsinki Monitor, 2002
... after the 10 и On 13 December 2001 the LDK-official, Nexhat Daci, president of the Kosovo Aca... more ... after the 10 и On 13 December 2001 the LDK-official, Nexhat Daci, president of the Kosovo Academy of Arts and Sciences ... Haradinaj advocates the 12 Jakup Krasniqi, PDK Secretary General and a member of the Rambouillet delegation, became head of the parliamentary group ...
... SFRY. Momir Bulatovic and Milo Djukanovic had lead the revolution and became respectively pre... more ... SFRY. Momir Bulatovic and Milo Djukanovic had lead the revolution and became respectively president and secretary general of the Communist Party. ... Bulatovic). Bulatovic took three to six times more votes than Djukanovic in the northern ...