Territorial Integrity and Self-Determination : The Approach of the International Court of Justice in the Advisory Opinion on Kosovo

[EN] On 17 February 2008 Kosovo approved its declaration of independence from Serbia. The declaration was raised as a unilateral secession, a category which to date is widely debated by the international community, but supported in that case by a respectable number of the United Nation member states. A great many legal issues have been raised by the International Court of Justice's Advisory Opinion on Kosovo. This opinion was eagerly awaited by legal scholars due to both its possible effects and the scope of its principles outside the context of decolonization in what it could constitute of new approach to the international scenario for the twenty-first century. The ICJ stated that the declaration of independence was in accordance with international law if it was not prohibited. The answer turned on whether or not international law prohibited the declaration of independence, without ever examining whether an entity seeking secession is entitled with a positive right to secede and if so, under which circumstances. The basic issue can be summarised as whether or not we are facing a new course in the interpretation of certain classical categories of international law: the principle of territorial integrity, statehood, sovereignty, recognition, the right to external self-determination, etc. In this study we shall analyse some of the aspects arising from the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo focusing on the territorial issue. Firstly we shall analyse the scope of the principle of territorial integrity of States and how it operates ; secondly, we shall focus on the scope of that principle in relation to the interior of the State, and ask ourselves how international law operates in relation to declarations of independence. Lastly, we shall deal with the principle of respect for territorial integrity in the specific case of Serbia with respect to Kosovo, and then end with a series of general conclusions. This study aims, definitely, to contribute to the theoretical debate on the challenges to the traditional certainties of international law in this area.

Global movements, national grievances. Mobilizing for “real democracy” and social justice

In the ashes of political and socio-economic collapse, social movements sometimes rise like a phoenix. Little more than a year has passed since the Tunisian uprisings, the spark that ignited a series of “mobilizations of the indignant” that spread like wildfire around the world. Many observers have reported on these unprecedented global protests. They have portrayed citizens who declare feeling marginalized if not scapegoated, and who reject the increasing inequalities between rich and poor, the declining mobility of most, and the “disclassment” of many. They have shown, as well, massive protests against governments and politicians that are perceived as indifferent at best, duplicitous at worst, and in any event as blatantly closed to popular concerns. Many journalists have indeed asked what took so long for people to protest given this fatal combination. For the social scientist, however, the questions of who, why and how mobilizes are not so simple. There are specific problematics of mediation between structure, culture and individual or collective agency that need to be addressed.

Individual notions of distributive justice and relative economic status

We present two experiments designed to investigate whether individuals’ notions of distributive justice are associated with their relative (within-society) economic status. Each participant played a specially designed four-person dictator game under one of two treatments, under one initial endowments were earned, under the other they were randomly assigned. The first experiment was conducted in Oxford, United Kingdom, the second in Cape Town, South Africa. In both locations we found that relatively well-off individuals make allocations to others that reflect those others’ initial endowments more when those endowments were earned rather than random; among relatively poor individuals this was not the case.

Régimen jurídico de las lenguas y reconocimiento de la diversidad lingüística en el Tratado por el que se establece una Constitución para Europa

The territory of the European Union is made up of a rich and wide-ranging universe of languages, which is not circumscribed to the «State languages». The existence of multilingualism is one of Europe’s defining characteristics and it should remain so in the constantly evolving model of Europe’s political structure. Nonetheless, until now, the official use of languages has been limited to the «State languages» and has been based on a concept of state monolingualism that has led to a first level of hierarchization among the languages of Europe. This has affected the very concept of European language diversity. The draft of the treaty establishing a European Constitution contains various language-related references that can be grouped in two major categories: on the one hand, those references having to do the constitutional status of languages, and on the other, those regarding the recognition of European language diversity. Both issues are dealt with in this article. In analyzing the legal regime governing languages set forth in the draft of the constitutional treaty, we note that the draft is not based on the concept of the official status of languages. The language regulation contained in the draft of the constitutional treaty is limited in character. The constitutional language regime is based on the concept of Constitutional languages but the official status of languages is not governed by this rule. The European Constitution merely enunciates rights governing language use for European citizens vis-à-vis the languages of the Constitution and refers the regulation of the official status of languages to the Council, which is empowered to set and modify that status by unanimous decision. Because of its broad scope, this constitutes a regulatory reservation. In the final phase of the negotiation process a second level of constitutional recognition of languages would be introduced, linked to those that are official languages in the member states (Catalan, Basque, Galician, etc.). These languages, however, would be excluded from the right to petition; they would constitute a tertium genus, an intermediate category between the lan guages benefiting from the language rights recognized under the Constitution and those other languages for which no status is recognized in the European institutional context. The legal functionality of this second, intermediate category will depend on the development of standards, i.e., it will depend on the entrée provided such languages in future reforms of the institutional language regime. In a later section, the article reflects on European Union language policy with regard to regional or minority languages, concluding that the Union has not acted in accordance with defined language policy guidelines when it has been confronted, in the exercise of its powers, with regional or minority languages (or domestic legislation having to do with language demands). The Court of Justice has endeavoured to resolve on a case by case basis the conflicts raised between community freedoms and the normative measures that protect languages. Thus, using case law, the Court has set certain language boundaries for community freedoms. The article concludes by reflecting on the legal scope of the recognition of European language diversity referred to in Article II-82 of the European Constitution and the possible measures to implement the precept that might constitute the definition of a true European language policy on regional or minority languages. Such a policy has yet to be defined.

Las estrategias de especialización inteligente: una estrategia territorial para las regiones

[ES] A pesar de que existe un amplio reconocimiento de que los territorios necesitan desarrollar estrategias de innovación para la construcción de ventajas competitivas, hasta ahora no han sido explicitados el contenido y las particularidades del término estrategia aplicado al ámbito territorial, por lo que se ha utilizado frecuentemente con significados ambiguos.

Las casas-torre bajomedievales. Análisis sistémico de un proceso de reestructuración espacial/territorial

[ES] La torre banderiza es uno de los más relevantes elementos del patrimonio construido vasco. Diseminados por toda la geografía de la comunidad autónoma, se pueden encontrar ejemplos representativos de este tipo arquitectónico, característico de una convulsa etapa que se prolongó algo más allá del período de crisis bajomedieval (siglos XIV-XVI). Este trabajo pretende por un lado formular una propuesta interpretativa sistémica e integradora que, partiendo del análisis estratigráfico de las fábricas, muestre el peso específico de esta construcción como elemento de gestión de los recursos del territorio. Pero sobre todo, en las siguientes líneas se hace una decidida apuesta por una forma de entender la investigación histórico-arqueológica.

La contribución de los espacios protegidos al desarrollo socioeconómico de las comunidades rurales. Aplicación al parque natural de Izki (Álava)

399 p.:il.

El derecho de información del socio en la S.A. y en la S.R.L. Arts. 112 LSA y 51 LSRL

Este árticulo explica que el derecho de la información es uno de los denominados derechos individuales del accionista o socio, que se deriva de la titularidad de acciones o participaciones, derecho fundamental e inherente a la condición de socio, e inderogable, que se ostenta por normas imperativas que reconocen dicho derecho. Contribuye a un mayor control y participación del socio en la marcha de la sociedad ya que trata de facilitar a los socios un conocimiento directo sobre la situación y gestión social constituyendo, por tanto, uno de los más importantes derechos del mismo.

Sostenibilidad de las propuestas de suelo para nuevos desarrollos residenciales en la planificación territorial de Bizkaia

[ES] Este trabajo analiza la sostenibilidad de la Planificación Territorial de Bizkaia en relación al parámetro consumo de suelo. Para ello se estudian las propuestas realizadas por los Planes Territoriales Parciales en materia de nuevo suelo residencial destinado a acoger las necesidades de vivienda de los municipios incluidos en sus respectivas Áreas Funcionales.

El impacto de la diversidad socio-cultural en la escuela primaria desde la perspectiva del docente : perfil psico-social y (re)construcción de significados

416 p.

Análisis del tratamiento del medio físico en el planeamiento territorial de la Comunidad Autómoma del País Vasco (1940-2006).

851 p. : il.

Análisis psico-socio-económico de las consecuencias del desempleo en las sociedades capitalistas avanzadas: el caso de la CAPV

Como consecuencia de la actual crisis económica y financiera el desempleo se ha convertido en uno de los mayores problemas de las sociedades capitalistas avanzadas. Frente a la falta de estudios multidisciplinares que aborden este problema desde una perspectiva global,surge este trabajo que intenta unificar el pensamiento social, económico y psicologico entorno al desempleo. El fin último es elaborar políticas laborales más completas para intentar solucionar este problema.

Aproximación al proceso de la relación de la enfermería con la medicina, dentro de las instituciones socio-sanitarias de Euskadi. ¿Es una cuestión de género en el avance disciplinar?

Esta Investigación cualitativa desde una mirada cercana al holismo-humanismo y Feminismo mantiene una pretensión de Investigación y de Formación. Consiste en, una “aproximación a la realidad del proceso de la relación de la Enfermería con la Medicina, en las instituciones socio-sanitarias de Euskadi”, con el interrogante: ¿Es una cuestión de género en el avance disciplinar? Interesante, observar en la Enfermería asistencial la causa de las diferencias existentes en las relaciones entre dos profesiones interrelacionadas. La Enfermería y la Medicina han mantenido y mantienen diferentes tipos de relación personal y profesional basadas según el reconocimiento de los derechos de las mujeres dependiendo del contexto histórico de cada época y, esto, era de interés para determinar si es una cuestión de género para el avance de la Enfermería También, identifico la importancia del cuestionamiento y la reflexión con respecto a la existencia de ideas sexistas dentro de la propia profesión de la Enfermería y, no únicamente, dentro de la red socio-sanitaria que hace que el “cuidado” continúe considerándose una intervención vocacional femenina carente de profesionalidad. Un cuestionamiento que reto para poder contribuir a la reconstrucción y transformación social.

La innovación de la metrópoli: de Bilbao a Oresund y San Diego

445 p.

Acciones socio educativas de las Orquestas Sinfónicas Españolas y de Gran Bretaña

327 p. + anexos