II European Union
| Published date | 01 June 1998 |
| Author | Johannes Van Der Klaauw |
| DOI | 10.1177/092405199801600206 |
| Date | 01 June 1998 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Human Rights News
TBKP
or on the amount
of
any contributions it might have received. Consequently, the
application must be dismissed, there being no causal link between the violation found and
the alleged damage. Mr Sargin and Mr Yagci each claimed FRF 2,000,000 for
non-pecuniary damage. In support
of
their claims, they relied on the fact that the
dissolution
of
the
TBKP
had caused them to be banned from carrying on any political
activity, whether as members
of
the electorate or members
of
parliament or as founding
members, managers or financial controllers
of
apolitical party. The Court accepted that
Mr Sargin and Mr Yagci sustained non-pecuniary damage. It held, however, that a finding
of
aviolation
of
Article
II
constitutes sufficient compensation for it.
II
EUROPEAN
UNION
Johannes van der Klaauw
A.
EU
Policy on
Human
Rights,
Democracy
and
the
Rule
of
Law
On 24 February 1998, the EU Commission forwarded aCommunication' to the Council
and Parliament outlining its policy on human rights, democracy and the rule
of
law in the
EU partnership with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States. The
EU's
long-standing
contractual relationship with these countries is based on the Lome Convention.
The
purpose
of
this Communication is to explain to
ACP
partners how the Community inter-
prets the human rights clause
of
the Lome Convention, stimulate adebate in
ACP
States
to ensure that these Sates will comply with this clause and other essential elements
of
the
Convention, and start a discussion within the Council and among
ACP
States regarding
the future
of
EU-ACP relations on human rights. The Lome Convention was the first EU
contractual instrument with third countries to refer to human rights (Lome III Convention
(1985)) and extended references to human rights and clauses
of
non-execution have been
included in more recent versions
of
the agreement (Lome IV (1989) as revised (1995».
As is known, the Commission and Council are currently preparing a new format and
content for the Lome Convention (some
of
its elements are expected to be included in sub-
regional cooperation instruments) which necessitates areview
of
the application
of
the
current human rights clause, and the procedures for applying the current sanction
mechanism in case
of
violation
of
this clause.
The Communication represents an attempt to clarify the concepts cited in the human
rights clause
of
the current version
of
the Lome Convention, and proposes aplan
of
action
aimed at establishing asystematic dialogue with ACP partners on human rights,
democratisation and good governance. In this document, the Commission intends to offer
aconcrete operational framework for the political dialogue on human rights between the
EU and the
ACP
States, and to provide further guidance for the practical implementation
of
the human rights clause in EU technical assistance and development programmes, The
Communication refers to the underlying principles
of
the
EU's
human rights policy, which
have been set out in an earlier Communication on the
EU's
external dimension
of
its
Commission Communication to the Council and Parliament: Democratisation, the rule of law, respect for
human rights and good governance: the challenges of the partnership between the European Union and the
ACP States, COM (98) 146, 24 February 1998.
227
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