Paweł Hanclich

The Legal Basis of the European Community Customs Preferences for African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries - an Evaluation of the Cotonou Agreement and Its Economic Outcome

Summary

 

The article cast light upon the historical development of the preferential and trade relations between the European Community and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries (hereafter, ACP) through the resolutions of successive Lomé Conventions offering the latter a unilateral preferential access to the EC market. Additionally, the author discusses the Cotonou Agreement and the attempt to alter the relations in question. Another issue touched upon in the article is the common stance of the ACP adopted before entering the Cotonou Agreement and aimed to secure the longest possible period of preferential access of the ACP goods to the EC market. Moreover, the article reviews the ACP endeavours to save the previous EC relief in the wake of the anticipated alteration of the mutual trade relations. The EC attempts to replace the existing unilateral customs preferences for the ACP goods by gradually introducing the new model of trade relations based on the reciprocity principle.
The keystone of the article is the deliberation on the outcome of the Cotonou Agreement with its political foundation, trade and economic cooperation agreements, and the EC obligations of providing relief to the ACP. The EC aims at shifting the existing system of unilateral and preferential trade relations towards the establishment of free trade zones between the EC and the ACP beginning with 2008. Furthermore, the article presents some fundamental provisions of the Cotonou Agreement that guarantee the maintenance of the preferential import status for the goods from the ACP and discusses other conclusions of this international agreement, including the rules for determining the goods origin and the relief from the EC resources. The article concludes with the evaluation of the alteration of trade relations between the EC and the ACP provided for in the Cotonou Agreement. Finally, the author proposes a forecast of the resultant trade effects in the years to come.

Barbara Janusz - Pawletta

The War on Terror - the Problems of Legal Classification
Summary

 

The notion of "the war on terror" seems to escape any traditional legal and international classification. For it transpires that it has little in common with the classic understanding of war and all the related legal effects. It is more justified to define the war on terror against the backdrop of concrete particularities that may assume one of the forms mentioned below. Firstly, there is a series of subsequent international or local conflicts falling under the international humanitarian law. Secondly, there is a series of conflict-ridden incidents that fall under the standards of human rights protection. Another problem with qualifying the war on terror is that the contemporary terrorism activists declare the non-belonging to any state. The doctrine does not unambiguously state whether such acts suffice for the states' legal claim to use the right of self-defence provided for in the United Nations Charter. The right of self-defence is the only measure that states may refer to when engaging into a conflict and using a military force in their international relations without prior authorisation of the United Nations Security Council. Thus, the ambiguity as for the legal basis of a state military response if attacked by terrorists still features in the phenomenon of the war on terror.

Grzegorz Jędrejek

Decision-Making by the Housing Community Members - Selected Problems
Summary

The article puts to analysis the selected provisions of the Housing Ownership Act of 24 June 1994 (hereafter, HOA) pertaining to the management of a community property. Thorough analysis has been preceded by the definition of the legal status of a housing community. Any management's activity, whether exceeding the management's capacity or not, must fall within the issues related to the shared property. For effective decision-making in a mixed mode, it is not mandatory to gather the votes of all the tenants if the management follows the provisions of the HOA and not the provisions of the Civil Code related to community ownership and referred to by Article 19 of the HOA. When assessing whether the term "other activity" that the one mentioned in Article 22 par.1 of the HOA exceeds the capacity of the management, it is necessary to allow for the criteria related directly to the community, including the number of members or the size of the individual financial contributions.

 

Artur Kuś

Poland in the Common Trade Policy of the European Union
Summary

 

The EU common trade policy undergoes constant changes and embraces new areas of international cooperation. The policy strictly related to the EU economic integration is the common trade policy (hereafter, CTP). As a consequence of the establishment of the customs union within the EU, on 1 January 1970, the common trade policy was proposed. Ever since 1970, the trade policy towards third countries had been no more realized at the local level but at the community level. CTP offers preferential customs tariffs, namely the import of goods at lower customs rates than resulting from the union-imposed rate, and other measures rationing the sales of goods to third countries, e.g. protective measures and the so called extra-customs measures not entailing the modification of customs rates and not resulting from the implemented protective activities. CTP follows uniform rules on, inter alia: the alteration of customs rates, customs and trade agreements, market accessibility and antidumping activities, as well as the measures against foreign subsidies and export policy. Polish entry to the EU changed its status in the World Trade Organisation as a result of the elevation of trade policy to the community level. Currently and externally, CTP secures the coordination of trade policies of the member states and, to some extent, of joint foreign policy. The accession produced material changes in the Polish trade policy in both the legal and institutional dimension and the actual sales. Poland is no more engaged in an isolated trade policy. As of 1 May 2004, the policy in question was incorporated in to the EU import and export system. The membership opened new export destinations. On the other hand, the protection of the Polish market was diminished owing to the across-the-board reduction of customs rates after the acceptance of the EU tariff and a number of preferences granted by the EU to developing countries via trade agreements, customs preferences and unilateral preferences.

Ambroży Skorupa

New Forms of Consecrated Life
Summary

 

In the Code of Canon Law of 1983, the ecclesiastical legislator integrated the regulations pertaining not only to monastic institutes but also to secular institutes, as well as general canons on hermit life and consecrated virgins. The approach concerning consecrated life was continued by John Paul II and included consecrated widows and stressed the dignity of a consecrated woman. It is worth noting that the options for consecrated life are not exhausted as follows form Canon 605. The Church is open to the works of the Holy Spirit, yet some new forms of consecrated life may only be accepted by the Holy See.

 

Krystyna Święcka

 

The Circumstances Excluding the Unlawfulness of Journalist Publications
Summary

 

The article casts light upon the civil legal context of the circumstances excluding the infringement of personal interest by the mass media. Such circumstances are: journalist right to criticism, the consent of the interested party, the premises enabling the publishing of the facts from the individuals' private lives or the image publishing. Besides, the author draws attention to the frequent reference to the extra-statutory countertype of "the justified public interest". The liability of the press is regulated by the Constitution and the Civil Code as well as in the media law and copyright law. Personal interests remain in opposition to other constitutional interests, including liberty of speech and of the mass media. This collision justifies the need for equilibrium between both parties' interests. The author provides interesting examples of relevant judicial decisions and compares the domestic regulations with those of other countries.