No. 2: Legal and political dimensions of contemporary conflicts in Europe

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The Challenge of Peace Building and Conflict Transformation: A Case Study of Northern Ireland
(2016) Jarman, Neil
This paper provides an overview of the transition from armed conflict to peace in Northern Ireland between 1994 and 2016. It discusses the main stages of the peace process and the main elements of the peace agreement in relation to the development of global thinking around peacebuilding as set out in the United Nations 1992 report Agenda for Peace and the 2000 Brahimi Report. The paper argues that while Northern Ireland is often highlighted as a positive example of peacebuilding, its example is not without limitations. Overall, the experience of the past twenty years emphasizes the importance of ensuring a broadly inclusive process and the need for a sustained commitment over a long period.
Cost of parliamentary politics in Ukraine
(2016) Meleshevych, Andriy
The objective of this paper is to conduct primary research on the cost of parliamentary politics in Ukraine, the financial implications of running for a seat in the national parliament (Rada), and the cost incurred by an MP once in office. Drawing upon semi-structured interviews with current and former members of the Rada, unsuccessful candidates for these positions, subject matter experts on Ukrainian parliamentary elections, the paper explores the main drivers of the cost of politics in Ukraine.
The Crimea Crisis from an International Law Perspective
(2016) Marxsen, Christian
In February and March 2014, Ukraine was literally overrun by a chain of events that eventually led to Crimea’s incorporation into Russian territory. Crimean and Russian authorities jointly used the internal conflict in Ukraine to deprive the Ukrainian government of its control over Crimea, to hold a so-called referendum, and to declare Crimea’s independence. On the day after independence was declared, Russia formally recognized Crimea as an independent state, and the Crimean parliament requested Russia to admit Crimea to the Russian Federation. Soon after that, the accession treaty was signed, and, within a few more days, all Russian constitutional requirements for Crimea’s accession to the Russian Federation were fulfilled. All parties to the conflict refer to international law to justify their positions. The Crimean authorities and Russia claim that Russia had a legal basis for intervening and that Crimea had the right to secede from Ukraine. Most states, however, reject these claims. Thus, three questions are presented: Was Crimea’s secession lawful under international law? To what extent has Russia violated international law? And what is Crimea’s status? This article addresses these questions. Part 1 briefly describes the relevant circumstances and events leading to Crimea’s secession. Part 2 reviews the legal obligations between Ukraine and Russia concerning territorial integrity and the prohibition against the use and threat of force. Parts 3 and 4 discuss the legality of Russia’s intervention in Crimea and the legality of Crimea’s secession from Ukraine, respectively. Part 5 concludes this article by answering the questions it raises.
Crimea’s Annexation in the Light of International Law. A Critique of Russia’s Legal Argumentation
(2016) Merezhko, Oleksandr
Crimea’s annexation by Russia violated a whole range of the fundamental principles of international law and international treaties guaranteeing Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the inviolability of its borders, and security. By annexing Crimea, Russia also violated the estoppel principle of law and international morality. In light of the principles of contemporary international law, as well as in light of the Russian doctrine of international law, the arguments put forward by Russia’s President Putin, Russian officials, and international lawyers are untenable and in contradiction of the previous Russian doctrine’s approach towards the relationship between the principles of self-determination and territorial integrity.
The EU and conflict mitigation in the European neighborhood: a story of a gap between ambition and deeds
(2016) Novakova, Zuzana; Petrov, Roman
From Russia’s aggression in Eastern Europe to the aftermath of the Arab Spring in the Southern Mediterranean, conflicts and violence highlight a range of new challenges to the EU’s external policy. There were six territorial disputes among the EU’s neighbours when the European Neighbourhood Policy was launched 12 years ago. None of these has been resolved, and both the Eastern and the Southern neighbours are more unstable and insecure today than they were when the Policy was launched. The EU seems unprepared to deal with these conflicts, as they now exist. This article analyses the European Neighborhood Policy as a framework for EU involvement in conflict prevention, management and resolution. The focus is twofold: first, on the principle of good neighborliness and the pitfalls preventing its effective implementation and, second, on the wider policy and political context of EU actorness in conflict and security matters.
Hybrid War or Civil War? The Interplay of Some Methods of Russian Foreign Policy Propaganda with International Law
(2016) Zadorozhnii, Oleksandr
This article discusses the attempts of Russian officials to hide the elephant in the room - Russia’s military participation in a war that Russia falsely portrays as civil war in eastern Ukraine. Unlike Russia’s propaganda, it relies on the facts of Russia’s involvement in Ukraine, facts that show that Russian troops participated in the fighting in Donbas even though this has been adamantly denied by the highest ranking Russian officials. The author concludes that international law requires Russia and Russian leaders to be held responsible for waging a war of aggression against Ukraine.
Illegal Crossing of the State Border in Light of Polish Criminal Law
(2016) Banasik, Katarzyna
The subject of this paper is the illegal crossing of the Polish border. The paper focuses on criminal law issues. To explain the element "in violation of the relevant regulations", being one of the elements of the criminal offences regarding the illegal crossing of the state border, the author begins by presenting the significant regulations of the Schengen Borders Code and of the Polish statute on the protection of the state border. The author then makes a detailed analysis of offences concerning the unlawful crossing of the Polish border. The statute of limitations on punishability and provisions for the rehabilitation of offenders convicted of the illegal crossing of the Polish border are also the subject of the analysis. The author concludes by making the evaluation of Polish criminal law regulations on the illegal crossing of the state border.
The Orange and Euromaidan Revolutions: Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives
(2016) Kuzio, Taras
Ukraine has experienced two popular uprisings in a decade (2004, 2013–2014), which took place in four different circumstances. Firstly, the Orange Revolution began as a protest against election fraud during an election cycle while the Euromaidan began in protest at the abrupt end to European integration and was outside an election cycle. Secondly, whether the incumbent was leaving office (Leonid Kuchma, 2004) or seeking to be re-elected and remain in power indefinitely (Viktor Yanukovych, 2013–2014) had a direct bearing on regime strategies against the protestors. Thirdly, Russian intervention was limited to finances, the supply of political technologists and diplomatic support in the former whereas during the latter, Russia used its intelligence, special forces and military to intervene in the protests, annex territory and invade Ukraine. Fourthly, the type of leader which was in power (former Soviet nomenklatura versus thuggish and criminalized Donetsk clan) had a direct impact on whether the authorities would seek compromise and non-violence (Kuchma, 2004) or reject compromise and resort to violence through vigilantes, Berkut riot police and the Security Service (Yanukovch, 2013–2014).
Post-Conflict Reparation: Ukrainian Restitution Remedies for Property and Restitution Complaints before the European Court of Human Rights
(2016) Antsupova, Tetyana
This article describes the proposed Ukrainian legislation on national remedies for the restitution of property damaged or destroyed during the conflicts in Eastern Ukraine and Crimea. Noting gaps in this proposed legislation, it emphasizes the need for an effective National Strategy for post-conflict reparations and a related Action Plan. The article also analyzes the European Court of Human Rights’ decision in Lisnyy and Others v. Ukraine and Russia, in which the Court ruled inadmissible for want of evidence the applicants’ complaints about the shelling of their homes in Eastern Ukraine during the hostilities there that began in April 2014. The article concludes by examining the Lisnyy and Others v. Ukraine and Russia decision’s implications for a national remedy for the restitution of property damaged or destroyed during the ongoing hostilities.
The Separatism of Chechnya in 1991: Prerequisites for the Republic’s Secession from Russia
(2016) Kermach, Ruslan
The article deals with the case of Chechen separatism, which resulted in the secession of the Republic from Russia in 1991. The theoretical framework for this study is based on considering secession as a dynamic process triggered by a shift in the perception of a cost-benefit equilibrium regarding a possible attempt at secession. The second section of the article briefly analyzes the most important structural prerequisites, which could have been conducive for Chechen secessionism at the beginning of the 1990s. The last section explains the factors, which could have been crucial in changing the initial calculation of a costs and benefits equilibrium regarding the possible attempt at secession. Among the above mentioned factors, the rise of ethno-nationalism and nationalist elites creating discourse justifying the secession of the Chechen Republic. The role of the center-periphery relationship and the weakening position of the federal center in Moscow are also considered in the article.

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