Synopsis "European Evolutions and International Law: Quo Vadis Europe?"
Contents The book opens by a Forward, which announces the reasons of the author to write about the European evolutions and the main subjects treated. The Contents are: Chapter I, about imperative norms, presents the evolution of European conceptions and practice, including that of the European Court of Human Rights(ECHR); Chapter II, about non-use of force, takes into account the concepts and justifications used by some States to justify military atacks on the territory of other States as against the existing norms of the UN Charter and their consequences on the legal framework of international law on this subject. Chapter III, on the position of the European Union on some international institutions, analysis the latest developments in the position of the EU on adhering to the European Convention of Human Rights, on protecting human rights in time of financial crisis or human rights of migrants, or as a party to European agreements for protecting environment, and finally on international law in general; Chapter IV, on the freedom of expression and of opinion, presents mainly the evolution of the jurisprudence of the ECHR on issues like: exclusion of protection for abuse of the freedom of expression, protection for different reasons(disclosing information of public interest, participation in political debate, protection of private and family life) and protection of specific professions (journalists, public officials, academia, judges and counsels); Chapter V, on jurisprudence with regard to economic, social and cultural rights, points out to the extended practice of the ECHR and the European Court of Justice of the EU, as well as other regional courts and of the quasi-jurisdictional bodies, in considering petitions and communications on the exercise of these rights in different parts of the world, as well as to the potential offered by the newly adopted Additional Protocol to the Covenant on economic, social and cultural rights to consider such cases and to contribute to extend respect for these rights. Chapter VI, on migrations and the right to asylum in Europe, considers on the basis of the jurisprudence of the two courts of justice how Europe, mainly the European Union, responded to the crisis of migration of 2013-2014, from the point of view of respect for human rights of the migrants and asylum seekers as they are provided for in international instruments accepted by all European States. The difference of positions between the decisions of ECHR and the practices followed by EU institutions and member States remains substantial and the crisis is not completely over. Chapter VII, on immunity of jurisdiction of States before the judges of other States, raised important legal and human issues for Europeans, in view of the many conflicts in which States were involved and which produced human victims: the principles of sovereignty and of equal rights of States and the question of the human right to a judicial remedy for the injury suffered, in particular by the violation of imperative norms like the interdiction of torture and of crimes against humanity. The decisions adopted may satisfy the first preoccupation, but did not offer any satisfactory answer to the question of respect for human rights of the victims. For States, for international bodies and for the legal profession this situation should not be acceptable and the problems remains to be solved.
