Summaries of Articles published in French and Spanish
| Published date | 01 June 1961 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002085236102700209 |
| Date | 01 June 1961 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Summaries of Articles published
in French and Spanish
Enratom’s Means of Action
Euratom owes its basic characteristics to
those three trends :
by J. GIJSSELS.
(i) it is an international organization;
(ii) it has wide sovereign powers which it
exercises in an internal legal order;
Those responsible for the care of public
( iii ) it calls for the participation of ill
affairs are concerned with keeping under
Member States, persons and enterprises in
control the economic and technical develop-
accordance with the doctrine of integration,
ments which occur in society.
As soon as
which is the true foundation of the European
events elude the Rule of Law, interests are
Communities.
endangered and uncertainty and, thence, dis-
orders are to be feared. Evidence of this is
Euratom’s means of action are quite na-
provided by the revolutions that have con-
turally related to its basic features. They
vulsed the world and whose essential cause
form the subject of this article, whose essen-
has been that the social organization was un-
tial purpose is to throw slight on the legal and
suited to the social situation.
administrative aspects of those means of
action, and not on their intended economic or
If, in spite of its allegedly revolutionary
technical results.
Besides, the article does
nature, nuclear energy did not convulse the
not attempt to describe the institutional ma-
world, that was because organizational mea-
chinery of the Community, which is dealt
sures and rules of action were at once devised
with in other studies, including Professor
to :control the use of such a formidable power,
Flamme’s article in No. 1/1958, pages 33-46
and to incorporate it in an appropriate legal
of this Review ~, to which the reader is in-
and administrative system.
vited to refer.
The measures and rules in question have
combined to form the Law of Atomic Energy.
*
Although it has developed as a branch of
Law against the national legal background
The Community’s means of action may be
of each of the States concerned, it presents a
grouped under seven headings and briefly
relatively coherent appearance throughout the
summarized as follows.
world, since it has been strongly influenced
by such harmonizing factors as the uniform-
ity of the problems involved, the ascendancy
I.
Unilateral acts creating rights
of the pioneer countries and, especially, the
and obligations
clearly marked desire of most countries to co-
These
operate, and even to pool their efforts.
acts, which are the most typical ex-
pression of the Community’s souvereignty and
As put into that relatively coherent form,
are performed by the Council or the Commis-
the Law of Atomic Energy presents three
sion, according to which of those bodies is
basic features :
competent, are of different kinds :
(i) a strong desire for international co-
operation ;
(a) Regulations, compliance with all the
provisions of which, within the limits and
( ii ) a strengthening of the means of action
under the conditions set forth in the Treaty,
of a publi~c nature and the establishment of
is compulsory, and which apply directly in
specialized agencies able to enforce them;
any Member State. They have force as sta-
(iii) close (association of aU interested cir-
tutes and are directly enforceable.
When
cles, both public and private.
they are within the Council’s final compe-
i
tence, they are most frequently issued on the
( e) Budgets. Euratom ’has two budgets,
proposal of the Commission.
one of which covers working expenses, while
the other is intended to provide the necessary
Several important regulations, such as those
funds for the Community’s research and in-
concerning security of information, the co-
vestment programme. They are both pre-
ordination of investments and safety inspec-
pared in the same way. The Commission
tion, are supplementary to the provisions of
combines the returns showing estimated work-
the Treaty.
ing expenditure in a draft, and prepares the
(b) Decisions, here considered exclusively
draft research and investment estimates. The
estimates
to the extent in which they have legal im-
are then drawn up by the Council
plications. All their
and submitted to the
parts are mandatory and
Assembly for its opi-
directly enforceable, but only apply
nion.
When
to the
they have been voted, the
bodies
budgets are binding on the Member States,
or persons stated in them. They be-
which are under an
come operative
obligation to
upon notification to those
pay the
concerned. They
Commission the contributions assessed on
are, of course, limited by
the Treaty and subject to specia’1 conditions.
pre-established scales.
The power to make decisions has many
II.
applications, whether it is used for obtaining
Organic acts
information, granting privileges, issuing per-
Organic acts may either be essentially con-
mits or imposing penalties.
cerned with the internal organization of the
( c) Directives, which are binding, as to the
Community, in which case they are outside
results
the
to be achieved, on any Member State
scope of the article summarized, or
to which they
institute certain establishments
are sent, though the national
or
organs
authorities are competent as to how they are
closely connected with the performance of the
carried
duties which devolve
out and what means are used.
A
upon the Community.
directive is mandatory and enforceable
The latter class of
on a
acts are concerned with
Member State.
The directive method has
the organization of :
been used in pursuance of articles 30 and 31
of the Treaty
(a) The establishments of the Communi-
to establish the standards of
health protection of the public and of work-
ty’s Joint Nuclear Research Centre
ers, and’ on other occasions. Those standards
By merely co-ordinating and fostering na-
form a code for health protection in the
tional research, large-scale development of
Community. They are of historical impor-
nuclear science in the Community could not
tance, because they not only provide the first
be ensured. National efforts therefore have
common basis upon which the provisions of
to be supplemented by joint action.
the laws and regulations of the Member
States for health protection in the field of
The implementation of a definite research
nuclear energy may be evolved, but a’lso are
programme amounting to 215 million Euro-
an important and original contribution to
pean Monetary Agreement units is one of the
more comprehensive international agreement.
Community’s specific tasks. The carrying out
of certain parts of the joint programme is en-
(d) Adaptation and amendment of certain
trusted by contract to Member States, per-
provisions of the Treaty. In the cases res-
sons or enterprises and even to third States.
trictively enumerated in the Treaty, the
But the major portion of it has to be carried
Community’s institutions have been granted
out at the Joint Centre, it being understood
powers, subject to very precisely defined con-
that the Centre’s activities may be exercised
ditions, both to adapt certain provisions of
in different establishments.
the Treaty, which happen to be those con-
The Centre now comprises four existing or
cerned with the fields in which the develop-
contemplated establishments, at Ispra (Ita-
ment of the economy is ’liable to be most
ly), Karlsruhe (Federal Republic of Germa-
marked, and to remedy the Treaty’s inevit-
ny), Mol (Belgium) and Patten (Nether-
able shortcomings. These powers are beyond
lands). Some of them remain
the
partly national.
scope of conventional International Law,
and are intended to safeguard the efficiency
The organic provisions concerning the tak-
of the Community’s means of action in spite
ing over and management of the establish-
of changed circumstances or the arising of
ment were essentially the result of agreements
new problems that could not be foreseen when
with the competent Italian, German, Belgian
Euratom was established.
and Netherlands national authorities.
11
(b) The Supply Agency, which may be
~,
European Communities, would actively par-
compared with the public enterprises of
&dquo;
a
ticipate.
commercial nature that may be found in all .
A draft constitution for the European Uni-
modern States.
It performs duties in the
versity, which would provisionally be at
general interest of the Community. It is en-
Florence, and a draft convention on Euro-
dowed with legal personality and financial
pean scientific co-operation have been pre-
autonomy, so as to be an entity separate from
pared.
the Community; its management is, theo-
retically, on commercial lines.
It is planned that the University should be
The Agency, established
legally and financially autonomous, and have
on the capital
six departments : Law, Economics, Socia!l and
grant system, is subject to contro’1 by the
Political
Commission, which supervises it by
Sciences, History, Pure and Applied
means of
directives, the right
Mathematics, and Theoretical Physics. The
to veto the Agency’s de-
cisions, and appointing the director general.
courses, which would normally cover two
Any
years, would be post-graduate. The students
act of the Agency in the exercise of its
and teachers would be nationals of the Mem-
rights may be appealed against to the Com-
ber States and of countries
mission.
specia’lly connect-
ed with them. It is much hoped that third
The Agency started work on...
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