3,473
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
2 collections
    1
    shares
      scite_
       
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      The integration paradox: an ILC view on the EU contribution to the codification and development of rules of general international law

      research-article
      Overview

            Abstract

            The contribution of international organisations (IOs) to the process of identification, codification or development of rules of general international law is one still enveloped in a measure of mystery. While the United Nations (UN) International Law Commission (ILC) has long relied on IOs’ practice, and the practice of States within IOs, in carrying out its work, it has only recently begun to address the role that IOs might play in the formation or expression of rules of customary international law, jus cogens or general principles of law. In this process, the European Union (EU) has long been seen as an ‘odd’ fit. From the point of view of general international law, EU integration forms an apparent paradox: on the one hand, the degree of transfer of powers to the organisation renders it particularly well suited to be a ‘ jus generative’ force and a useful source of practice for the ILC’s work; on the other, its ‘exceptionalism’ often militates against the reliance on EU-related practice as evidence of existing or emerging rules of general application. This article looks at the effects of this ‘integration paradox’ in the ILC’s work by reviewing the references to, and the use of, EU practice in eight distinct codification projects, combined with interviews with ILC members and EU officials. It provides an ILC (outside) view on the relevance of EU practice for the identification, codification, and development of rules of general international law. This view, in turn, has implications for the operation of an EU (inside) foreign policy objective: its ambition to contribute to the development of international law, as expressed in Article 3(5) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).

            Author and article information

            Journal
            EWLR
            Europe and the World: A law review
            UCL Press
            2399-2875
            01 October 2021
            : 5
            : 1
            : 7
            Affiliations
            PhD Candidate, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Centre for International Law (ACIL), the Netherlands and Amsterdam Centre for European Law and Governance (ACELG), the Netherlands; t.m.cabrita@ 123456uva.nl
            Article
            EWLR-5-7
            10.14324/111.444.ewlj.2021.35
            e603979d-3866-444e-a7e4-d68db69b4942
            © 2021, Teresa Cabrita.

            This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY) 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited • DOI: https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444.ewlj.2021.35.

            History
            : 16 October 2020
            : 05 August 2021
            Page count
            Pages: 15
            Categories
            Article
            Custom metadata
            T. Cabrita, ‘The integration paradox: an ILC view on the EU contribution to the codification and development of rules of general international law’ [2021] 5( 1): 7. Europe and the World: A law review [15]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444.ewlj.2021.35.

            Social law,International & Comparative law,General law,Commercial law & legal protection,Law,Public law
            codification and development of international law,Article 3(5) TEU,European Union,Sixth Committee,International Law Commission,United Nations

            Comments

            Comment on this article