I Book Review: Minority Protection and the Enlarged European Union: The Way Forward
| Published date | 01 June 2005 |
| DOI | 10.1177/016934410502300213 |
| Date | 01 June 2005 |
| Subject Matter | Part C: DocumentationI Book Review |
for obvious reasons. Hence, the need for an international mechanism to do the
needful.
The next and final segment relating to enforcement is entitled ‘Judicial
Enforcement at the International Level’. The topic is a misnomer as the discussion
extends from the possibility of holding corporations responsible by international
criminal tribunals to scrutiny by non-judicial bodies such as the UN treaty bodies,
the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism and NAFTA mechanisms. The discussion
on the possibility of holding corporations (not merely personnel) criminally
responsible is thought provoking and must be further explored. The study does not
however, discuss the possible contours of a future international mechanism to
enforce human rights obligations of corporations.
The study could have been enhanced by the inclusion of an in-depth analysis of
the global context in which the question whether corporations can be subjected to
human rights obligations arises as a crucial issue. Although the introductory chapter
deals with the effect of economic globalisation on human rights, it appears to be
somewhat cursory. The discussion does not bring into sharp focus the legal, political
and economic dynamics at play. While globalisation has created an urgent need to
find solutions to the questions raised in the study, the all pervasive nature of the
phenomenon makes real progress on the ground very difficult. Globalisation has
made it difficult for even States, as the primary duty-bearer in classical international
law, to discharge their human rights obligations. The requirement of deregulation
and other imperatives of globalisation make it very difficult for States to effectively
impose conditions on and monitor corporate behaviour at many levels. The legal
framework of globalisation itself will have to be tempered with human rights
considerations if effective solutions are to be found. While I do accept that the focus
of the study is a very technical legal issue, nonetheless one does not have the luxury
of discussing such issues disregarding the larger context in which the issues are
played out.
Overall, the study is well organised and logically presented, although at times the
author reaches conclusions in a somewhat hasty manner. The author must also be
congratulated on the lucid style of writing employed, although I must confess that
being the South Asian that I am I found some of the Nordic expressions to be a bit
puzzling, but quaint! The main value of the study lies in its methodical assessment of
the various developments at national, regional and international levels within the
framework presented on the international legal personality of corporations and the
horizontal application of international human rights obligations.
Gabriel Toggenburg (ed.),
Minority Protection and the Enlarged European
Union: The Way Forward
, LGI Books, Budapest, 2004, 180 p., ISBN 963-0419-
53-2*
Minority protection is not exactly the first theme that comes to mind when
discussing the EU and its competences, its reach. If anything, there has been lots of
talk about double standards in the sense that minority protection was required of
third States (as a condition for the conclusion of trade agreements) and became an
important political criterion for candidate countries. Internally however there is – so
far – a lack of a clear, overall policy.
I Book Reviews
Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, Vol. 23/2 (2005) 313
* Kristin Henrard, Associate Professor, University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
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