*** WOLFGANG BENEDEK, PHILIP CZECH, LISA HESCHL, KARIN LUKAS, MANFRED NOWAK (under the direction of): European Yearbook on human rights 2018. Editions Intersentia (Sheraton House, Castle Park, Cambridge, CB3 0AX, UK. Tel.: (44-1223) 370170 - fax: 370169 - E-mail: mail@intersentia.co.uk - Internet: http://www.intersentia.com ) and NWV Verlag (9 Seidengasse, A - 1070 Vienna. Tel.: (43-1) 7963562-24 – fax: 7963562-25 - E-mail: office@nwv.at - Internet: http://www.nwv.at ). 2018, 625 pp., 65 €, 62 £, 78 $. ISBN 978-1-78068-706-3 (Intersentia) or 978-3-7083-1244-6 (NWV).
This tenth European Yearbook of Human Rights undoubtedly establishes the irreplaceable nature of this publication. The year 2017, which is reviewed by the editorial team through the contributions of thirty-five selected researchers, testifies to the worrying fate of the protection of human rights these days. This book is therefore a valuable reminder to politicians of the risks that are increasing in Europe and, at the same time, a call for vigilance to lawyers and, more broadly, to all citizens concerned to prevent the rule of law from being overly abused.
Once again, the book is structured in three main parts: the first part deals with the human rights challenges faced by the European Union institutions; the second part deals with those faced by the Council of Europe, while the third part looks at how the Organisation on Security and Cooperation in Europe has been called upon to act in this field. However, the book opens very usefully with a "Topic of the Year" which, no one will be really surprised by the editorial team's choice, focuses on the (still) ongoing rule of law, democratic and fundamental rights crisis in Poland. Formerly a highly renowned judge of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, Prof. Miroslaw Wyrzykowski methodically denounces a "vanishing constitution, namely a process of "hostile takeover" of the constitutional order through ordinary legislation, the Warsaw government authorities thus succeeding in violating the basic tenets of the rule of law. This situation results, he argues in an unstoppable legal analysis, from an "abuse of power by State authorities" which he believes will continue as long as Warsaw and the country remain in the hands of the Law and Justice Party, i.e. when it is finally ousted by new political actors determined to "respect the constitutional order, democracy, the rule of law and the rights of individuals".
Opening with an overview of the Court of Justice's "ambivalent" case law on human rights, the section on the European Union gives a significant place, with no less than six contributions, to the theme of migration and asylum. For example, Lisa Heschl and Alma Stankovic, both researchers at the University of Graz, note that the Court of Justice, through its judgments in 2017, has rather contributed to validating restrictive approaches to the Common European Asylum System and thus to prolonging human rights violations suffered by those who risk their lives in the Mediterranean. Two other contributions in this section critically examine how the European Union contributes to the integration of Roma in a way that respects human rights and the effective implementation of its Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief adopted in 2013. Finally, Theodor Rathgeber analyses in a rather positive way the stabilising role played by the Union within the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The sections on the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe are equally rich, naturally overlapping some of the themes addressed by the Union but nevertheless broadening the panorama substantially. It deals, among other things, with the interests of the child in cases of expulsion, Salafism and the rise of populism. A look is still taken at Ukraine, with book reviews on human rights usefully punctuating this absolutely essential landmark.
Pierre Bouvier
*** The Year Ahead 2019. The Great Disruption. Project Syndicate (PO Box 130, 12012 Prague 2, Czech Republic. Tel.: (420) 607887761 - Internet: http://www.project-syndicate.org ). 2018, 116 pp., 25 $. ISBN 978-0-578-42225-1.
Launched in Central and Eastern Europe in the early 1990s to establish democracy, the Project Syndicate initiative is undoubtedly the most successful press initiative of recent years. It has now acquired a global reach, with its network of eminent columnists being read and published around the world. Equipped with a rich iconography, this annual publication attests to the quality and relevance of the analyses conveyed by Project Syndicate, which this year sees "the great disruption" take the place of the "great depression" of the 1930s, then the "great moderation" of the 1980s and, finally, the "great recession" that has just been recorded. Eminent economists (notably Joseph Stiglitz), politicians (e.g. former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown) and representatives of the academic world shed light on some aspects of this disturbing news, with Jean-Claude Juncker and Federica Mogherini speaking on behalf of the European Union. (MT)
*** Politics. Belgian review of analysis and debate. ASBL Politique (9 rue du Faucon, B-1000 Brussels. Tel.: (32-2) 5386996 - E-mail: info@politique.eu.org - Internet http://www.revuepolitique.org ). December 2018, No. 106, 132 pp., 12 €. Subscription: 45 € (40 € for PDF, 50 € for both versions).
The progressive reference magazine in French-speaking Belgium devotes its feature in this issue to the theme of "imported conflicts and diasporas", with diversified perspectives on the repercussions in Belgium (but also, as a watermark, in other European Union countries) of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the support of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the tensions in Africa. For the Middle East conflict, Michèle Sibony analyses in particular the massive support that Jews in France give to Israel, while a contradictory debate focuses on the university boycott of this country. For Africa, the recent conflict in the Moroccan Rif is the subject of several contributions, two others speaking about how diasporas experience conflicts in Great Lakes Africa. In addition, a look is taken at the very diverse interpretations of the concept of "basic income" or universal benefit, while several speakers are interested in the media's stance towards democratic culture, in particular with an exchange between Jean-Jacques Jespers (Université libre de Bruxelles) and Mediapart's boss, Edwy Plenel. In this regard, it is also worth mentioning Edgar Szoc's reflection that, in addition to the "generalised mediocrity that has accompanied the rise of social networks", it is also necessary to "allow ourselves to think about the formidable space of democratisation that it opens". The "media columnist" Maryam Benayad reminds us that the role of the journalist was always, in Albert Londres's opinion, "to turn the pen in the wound", whatever its nature. (MT)
*** EMMANOUIL GOUNARIS: Topical issues in Greek foreign policy and international law. Law of the sea, Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, Adriatic Sea, Southern Mediterranean, Arctic, Antarctica and the problem with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Editions Nomiki bibliothiki (23 rue Mavromichali, GR-10680 Athens. Tel.: (30-210) 3678800 - fax: 3678922 - E-mail: info@nb.org - Internet http://www.nb.org ). 2018, 328 pp., 25 $. ISBN 978-960-622-450-8.
Emmanouil Gounaris, a Greek ambassador specialising in the law of the sea, the Arctic, the Antarctic and geographical names, presents in this book various studies on current issues in Greek foreign policy and international law. The first part focuses on Greece's marine areas in the Aegean Sea, the Ionian Sea, the Adriatic and the Southern Mediterranean. The author pays particular attention to Greece's relations with Turkey on the delimitation of the continental shelf and, more generally, to Turkey's allegations against Greece. It also refers to the problems Greece faces in delimiting its maritime zones with other neighbours such as Egypt, Cyprus, Libya, Italy and Albania, as well as their impact on Greek foreign policy. A study is also devoted to the International Maritime Organisation. The second part consists of studies on the Arctic and Antarctica, areas in which Greek leaders have expressed interest through the 1920 Svalbard/Spitzberg Treaty, the 1959 Antarctic Legal Treaty, the 1980 Antarctic Treaty for the Protection of Marine Biological Resources, the 1988 Wellington Treaty for the Exploitation of Antarctic Mineral Resources and the 1991 Madrid Protocol for the Protection of Antarctica. The third part includes studies and historical cartographic documents on the so-called "Skopje" problem and the Greek Macedonian greekness, in the light of Greek and international history. Finally, Part IV contains maps and photographs of the international meetings and conferences at which the international treaties mentioned in the book were adopted, together with a substantial bibliography. (AKa)