Ramses Wessel | University of Groningen (original) (raw)

Book Chapters by Ramses Wessel

Framing Convergence with the Global Legal Order, 2020

The European Union is not a state. Yet, it is increasingly involved in territorial questions, eit... more The European Union is not a state. Yet, it is increasingly involved in territorial questions, either of its own or of other states. Notions of territory and jurisdiction are central in international law. Indeed, state sovereignty implies that states are the sole rule makers and rule enforcers within a jurisdiction that is intrinsically linked to their physical territory. This is obviously different for international organisations, also considering that during the process of drafting the Convention on the Law of Treaties, the International Law Commission (ILC) had difficulties in accepting the existence of a ‘territory of the organization’. While the EU will largely leave internal border disputes to be settled on the basis of international law, territorial questions are increasingly important, not just in relation to the changing role of borders in its internal market, but also in the context of its role as a global actor. As a maturing legal system, the possibility of divergence from international law is thus pertinent. In that context, the main question that this chapter explores is if and how the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has used international law in the adjudication of (incidental) territorial matters that have arisen in the course of interpreting agreements with third states.

Papers by Ramses Wessel

Oxford University Press eBooks, Mar 1, 2018

The European Union’s ability to conduct its own foreign policy is not contested as a matter of pr... more The European Union’s ability to conduct its own foreign policy is not contested as a matter of principle. The Union is for instance the only non-state actor that participates in certain international functional regimes on equal footing with states. At the same time, the Union’s ability to conduct its own foreign policy remains under constant pressure, both from the outside and from the inside. This pressure is created by states, which use both external and internal legal narratives to try to rein in the at least at times quasi-sovereign external posture of the EU. Under international law the narrative goes that only states are vested with ‘original rights’ and hence are ‘primary subjects’ of international law. Even though other international actors accept that the Union takes at times a state-like position, ‘the EU is, under international law, precluded by its very nature from being considered a State’ and classified as an international organization. In that capacity, the Union remains seen as exercising delegated rights and at least partially as penetrable in that behind the organization there are still the Member States as the ultimate point of reference. These pressures have from the outset led to the idea that the EU

This paper provides a summary of the workshop 'The European Union's External Action and Internati... more This paper provides a summary of the workshop 'The European Union's External Action and International Law: A View From the Outside' jointly hosted by the ESIL Interest Group 'EU as a Global Actor' and City Law School, International Law and Affairs Group (ILAG).

Social Science Research Network, Jun 16, 2017

Martinus Nijhoff eBooks, 2008

Anales de Derecho

The main aim of the present paper is to revisit the different dimensions of cyberthreats and to c... more The main aim of the present paper is to revisit the different dimensions of cyberthreats and to classify them on the basis of definitions and descriptions used in international instruments with a view to establish (in)consistencies between the various norms. In the framework of a larger project on this topic, we have selected a number of key instruments with the aim of comparing the various norm-descriptions and definitions. Yet, cybersecurity threats are difficult to classify because of the overlapping categories, and the fact that the activities can originate from an individual actor or from non-state actors and groups. This paper finds that, despite the quite fragmented regulatory systems around the world, there is to a very large extent agreement on the basic notions and definitions. La revolución de la información permite un acceso amplio y rápido a los datos, pero también permite o amplía la posibilidad de que terceros traten de dañar los sistemas y causar daños. A pesar de la...

European Foreign Affairs Review

The tenth anniversary of the creation of the European External Action Service provides an opportu... more The tenth anniversary of the creation of the European External Action Service provides an opportune moment to take stock of the role which the Service has played in forging a more coherent, visible and effective EU foreign and security policy. At the same time, it offers a chance to field ideas on how the Union’s foreign policy actors might chart a course to guide the European External Action Service (EEAS) to what could be tumultuous teenage years. This article contextualizes the contributions to this first European Foreign Affairs Review (EFAR) Issue of 2021, which is devoted entirely to an assessment of where the EEAS’ strengths and opportunities lie, and which weaknesses need to be addressed to fit the Service for future purpose. European External Action Service, Common Foreign and Security Policy, esprit de corps, European Commission, Foreign Affairs Council, representation, EU Global Strategy

The EU and its Member States’ Joint Participation in International Agreements, Nov 5, 2020

The EU Law of Economic and Monetary Union, 2020

It is a truism that the European Union’s self-proclaimed autonomy may be a helpful concept in leg... more It is a truism that the European Union’s self-proclaimed autonomy may be a helpful concept in legal terms–primary to preserve the monopoly of the European Court of Justice to interpret European Union (EU) law–but it is equally clear that the EU is to a large extent influenced by the decisions and policies of other international institutions. The present chapter aims to assess this external influence in relation to a specific, but core dimension of the EU, the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). More specifically, we will assess the influence of what these days is known as the Global Financial Stability Architecture (GFSA), on the EMU. As will be further explained below, the GFSA is a network of the key global financial institutions that collect data, conduct research, provide insight and propose rules of conduct for the financial sector. Its mission is to rethink (global) macroeconomic policy to make economies more resilient–how to steer the economy clear of risks that could lead it ...

On 15 December 2016 the EU Member States adopted a Decision to prevent a non-ratification by the ... more On 15 December 2016 the EU Member States adopted a Decision to prevent a non-ratification by the Netherlands of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. The Decision seems to address the main concerns of the Dutch 'no' voters expressed through the national referendum on the act to approve the Association Agreement. Yet, the fact that only a limited number of the signatories to the Agreement decide on a 'legally binding' interpretation of key elements in the Agreement is somewhat peculiar from a legal perspective. International treaty law offers a number of solutions to deal with objections of parties to certain elements in agreements. While acknowledging that mixed agreements are complex legal instruments and that creative legal solutions may help solve political problems, the legal solution chosen by the European Council should not form a precedent; also in view of the number of new mixed agreements that are to be concluded to coming years.

No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form ... more No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.

Research Handbook on the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, 2018

As argued elsewhere, these provisions have made it possible for the Court, albeit within limits, ... more As argued elsewhere, these provisions have made it possible for the Court, albeit within limits, to exercise judicial control with regard to certain CFSP acts. They also recalibrate its role in patrolling the borders between EU (external) competences based on the TFEU and the CFSP, while generalizing its capacity to enforce the principles underpinning the Union's legal order. 11 The case law that has developed since the entry into force of these provisions displays the Court's broad conception of its CFSP-related jurisdiction. Its basic understanding is encapsulated in the following formula: '[T]he final sentence of the second subparagraph of Article 24(1) TEU and the first paragraph of Article 275 TFEU introduce a derogation from the rule of the general jurisdiction which Article 19 TEU confers on the Court to ensure that in the interpretation and application of the Treaties the law is observed, and they must, therefore, be interpreted narrowly' (emphasis added). 12 Articles 24(1) TEU and 275(2) TFEU are thus not interpreted as establishing a distinct Court's jurisdiction for the purpose of the CFSP. Rather, the judicial control it intends to perform in relation to that policy appears to be the same as the one it exercises generally, as envisaged in Article 19 TEU, albeit within the limits spelled out in those Articles. This 'generalist' (so to speak) conception of the Court's jurisdiction in the area of CFSP led

Draft contribution to be published in Lucía Millán Moro (dir.) and Gloria Fernández Arribas (ed.)... more Draft contribution to be published in Lucía Millán Moro (dir.) and Gloria Fernández Arribas (ed.), Ciberataques y Ciberseguridad en la Escena Internacional, 2020

An update on the roles of the EU institutions and Member States An assessment of the current chal... more An update on the roles of the EU institutions and Member States An assessment of the current challenges on trade, investment protection and the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice

English & Commonwealth Law eJournal, 2017

The UK is the first EU Member State that has invoked Article 50 TEU. This study maps the process ... more The UK is the first EU Member State that has invoked Article 50 TEU. This study maps the process that leads to the withdrawal of the UK and the construction of a new relationship between the EU and the UK. A distinction has been made between three agreements that possibly will be concluded. The first agreement consists of the terms of the withdrawal including the financial settlement, the reciprocal rights of EU and UK citizens and the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The second agreement will arrange the future relationship and lays out the trade rules and cooperation in other areas as security. The third possible agreement exists of transition arrangements to cover the gap between the day of withdrawal and the entering into force of the future relationship agreement. The study gives an in-depth analysis on how these agreements will be realised, this includes the decision making actors, potential complications and the legal, political and financial consequences that der...

Dit onderzoek dient duidelijk te maken hoe de nationale crisisbeheersingsorganisatie heeft gefunc... more Dit onderzoek dient duidelijk te maken hoe de nationale crisisbeheersingsorganisatie heeft gefunctioneerd na de ramp met vlucht MH17 en in hoeverre dat heeft bijgedragen aan het beheersen van de crisis. Daarnaast dient het onderzoek in kaart te brengen hoe de communicatie is verlopen van de Rijksoverheid met nabestaanden, samenleving, Tweede Kamer en media. De evaluatie bestaat uit drie deelonderzoeken. In de eerste plaats is gekeken naar de interdepartementale crisisbeheersing. Hierin is de rol van de verschillende actoren onderzocht en hun onderlinge samenwerking. Ook is gekeken in hoeverre de internationale politieke dynamiek van het Oekraineconflict de besluitvorming en het functioneren van de crisisorganisatie heeft beinvloed. Het tweede deelonderzoek gaat nader in op de communicatie met en nazorg aan nabestaanden. Het derde deelonderzoek gaat over de vraag hoe de informatievoorziening is verlopen richting de Tweede Kamer, de media en de samenleving als geheel. De uitkomsten va...

International Organizations and International Dispute Settlement: Trends and Prospects, 2002

Europe and the World: A law review, 2018

Over the past decade, the representation and performance of the European Union in international i... more Over the past decade, the representation and performance of the European Union in international institutions in particular have been on the agenda of academics and practitioners alike.The widespread ‘representation battle’ about the issuing of statements in 2011 at the United Nations is emblematic. Several dozen EU statements in the UN were blocked for a couple of months over deep disagreement, not on content but on the mere symbolic issue of who ‘delivers’ the statement: ‘the EU’ or ‘the EU and its Member States’ in the United Nations. Internally, this issue was (only partly) solved by agreeing on a guideline for ‘general arrangements for EU statements’. The UN-representation saga is symptomatic of the difficulties that both EU and Member States actors experience more generally in international organizations and at international conferences.

Framing Convergence with the Global Legal Order, 2020

Oxford University Press eBooks, Mar 1, 2018

Social Science Research Network, Jun 16, 2017

Martinus Nijhoff eBooks, 2008

Anales de Derecho

European Foreign Affairs Review

The EU and its Member States’ Joint Participation in International Agreements, Nov 5, 2020

The EU Law of Economic and Monetary Union, 2020

Research Handbook on the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, 2018

English & Commonwealth Law eJournal, 2017

International Organizations and International Dispute Settlement: Trends and Prospects, 2002

Europe and the World: A law review, 2018

Informal International Lawmaking, 2012

actors. In some areas, States even have even ceased to play a role in governance and transnationa... more actors. In some areas, States even have even ceased to play a role in governance and transnational actors have taken over. Recently, Koppell sketchedboth empirically and conceptuallythe organisation of global rule-making. Even in the absence of a centralized global State, the population of what he refers to as GGOs is not a completely atomized collection of entities. 'They interact, formally and informally on a regular basis. In recent years, their programs are more tied together, creating linkages that begin to weave a web of transnational rules and regulations.' 13 This resulted in a network of multiple GGOs consisting of a variety of governmental, nongovernmental and hybrid organisations, which have as their main objective the crafting of rules and standards for worldwide application. 14 Third, the informality of so many of these global bodies has raised many accountability and legitimacy concerns, and it is this concern that is at the basis of the IN-LAW project. In a nutshell, the concern is that States, companies and individuals are confronted by rules that are adopted in settings that exercise a de facto decision-making power beyond the reach of the accountability measures of domestic or international law. 15 And several cases in the present book have indeed related informality to a lack of accountability and effectiveness. 16 IN-LAW, as defined above, includes a large number of bodies. From within the plethora of bodies active at the global level, in the following sections we will take a closer look at two kinds of informal international law-making bodies: harmonisation networks and international agencies. Although both types of bodies differ substantially, we feel that they both represent trends that make the implications of IN-LAW quite visible. C. Harmonisation networks 1.