This article purports to examine and critically discuss some of the current proposals put forward by scholars to respond to the European Union (EU) rule of law crisis, which call into question, in different ways, the role of general international law. After outlining the state of the debate on the relationship between customary law and EU legal order (Section 2), the article considers some provocative arguments recently made on the alleged “implied withdrawal” of backsliding members via Article 50 TEU, through the prism of the 1969 Vienna Convention Law of Treaties (VCLT) (Section 3). Subsequently, the attention turns on the interplay between general international law and Article 7 TEU, the special mechanism for the enforcement of EU values. The article explores a radical proposal, namely, that of setting aside Article 7 TEU and imposing sanctions grounded on customary international law (Section 4). These theses advocate for the suspension or expulsion of recalcitrant members based on the fall-back on the “safety valves” for parties to treaties in international law, namely Articles 60-62 VCLT. Against this theoretical analysis, the article draws some final remarks on the approach followed in practice by the Union to manage its internal crisis and reflects on the implications of this approach from the perspective of the law of International Organizations and the concept of EU autonomy (Section 5).

Responding to the EU's Rule of Law Crisis: Any Role for General International Law? / M. Buscemi. - In: ITALIAN YEARBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL LAW. - ISSN 0391-5107. - 32:1(2023), pp. 93-115.

Responding to the EU's Rule of Law Crisis: Any Role for General International Law?

M. Buscemi
2023

Abstract

This article purports to examine and critically discuss some of the current proposals put forward by scholars to respond to the European Union (EU) rule of law crisis, which call into question, in different ways, the role of general international law. After outlining the state of the debate on the relationship between customary law and EU legal order (Section 2), the article considers some provocative arguments recently made on the alleged “implied withdrawal” of backsliding members via Article 50 TEU, through the prism of the 1969 Vienna Convention Law of Treaties (VCLT) (Section 3). Subsequently, the attention turns on the interplay between general international law and Article 7 TEU, the special mechanism for the enforcement of EU values. The article explores a radical proposal, namely, that of setting aside Article 7 TEU and imposing sanctions grounded on customary international law (Section 4). These theses advocate for the suspension or expulsion of recalcitrant members based on the fall-back on the “safety valves” for parties to treaties in international law, namely Articles 60-62 VCLT. Against this theoretical analysis, the article draws some final remarks on the approach followed in practice by the Union to manage its internal crisis and reflects on the implications of this approach from the perspective of the law of International Organizations and the concept of EU autonomy (Section 5).
EU rule of law crisis; EU values; Article 7 TE U; EU autonomy; customary international law; regime failure; law of treaties; suspension of membership; expulsion; self-help;
Settore IUS/13 - Diritto Internazionale
2023
6-nov-2023
https://www.sidi-isil.org/attualita-e-materiali/contributi-tratti-dallo-italian-yearbook-of-international-law/
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/1010188
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