EU Constitutional Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

EU Constitutional Law - Essay Example The frustration with integration theories was due to, first, the scope of the study of integration, second, the participants who were effectively engendering integration and third, the process or mechanism of integration. This approach indicated the importance of certain factors, which had been omitted in the initial assessment. Despite, rejection by the intergovernmental conference, the proposed introduction showed that the Convention's aim was to vitalize the idea of democracy. The democratic constitution of the European Communities was considered unimportant and unnecessary by many scholars who felt that an internal market endorsed individual freedom1. In spite of this, the EU's transformation from purely economic to political cooperation has necessitated such thinking. The Amsterdam Treaty2 has incorporated democracy as a fundamental value into the foundational treaties3. Article 2 of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe4 (CT) lists democracy as a central value of the Union and Articles 1- 47 buttresses this notion under the title "The Democratic Life of the Union" as representative5 and participatory6 democracy. Although, the necessity of democratic governance is universally recognized its discourse, premises and content are frequently discussed7. The holistic approach is based on society and the assumption that there exists a common good which differs from the aggregate of all individual interests. The subject of legitimacy in the individualist position refers to the individual and hence, the aim of public policy is to promote individual interests. A state-centered collectivist approach deters further integration and limits decision-making to the national parliaments8. Hence, at the European level, the Council of Ministers have to play a vital role and from an individualistic perspective and the European Parliament, which represents the European citizenry is the main organ for obtaining democratic legitimacy9. Foundation. The holistic legitimacy concept justifies the state-centered democratic vision, which states that only national peoples are subjects of legitimacy. Since, minorities accept majority decisions only if the citizenry has a certain national homogeneity, legitimacy has to be derived from national parliaments. Hence, absence of a European demos is a hurdle to further integration. The legitimacy of the state-centered, collectivist approach is dubious as no relationship exists between society and the nation state10, which is independent of a national or homogenous group11 or a cultural, religious or social consensus. Constitutional Treaty and Legitimacy. Article 2 CT lists dignity and individual liberty in the Union's fundamental values with the individualistic concept of democracy being adopted theoretically and it accords center stage to the individual in the European legal order, which is further strengthened by the guarantee of equality prescribed in Articles 2 and 45 CT. These provisions grant European citizens equal rights, rendering mediation of citizen's rights by a state or nation unnecessary. Therefore, the guarantee of liberty and equality exemplify that the European Constitution is based on an individualistic concept of democracy12. Article 1 (1) CT, lists the will of the member states to build a common future beneath

PETROLEUM POLLUTION IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS -(THE ROLE OF Literature review

PETROLEUM POLLUTION IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS -(THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND TREATIES) - Literature review Example To achieve this end, reviewer will concisely and critically discuss the literature’s structure, contents and evaluate if international laws are appreciated in resolving petroleum pollution cases in high seas. Content: Preventing Oil Spill thru Standards Authors of this literature are Nicholas P. Chereminisinoff and Paul Rosenfeld. They are chemical engineer and environmental chemist respectively with expertise on environmental pollution prevention and ecological restoration programs. Chereminisinoff and Rosenfeld aimed to share high impact contribution on pollution control processes by probing into petroleum industry to document best management practices and models, cleaner production of technologies and pollution prevention practices. This is clearly depicted in the title of the journal Pollution Prevention and Cleaner Industry: Best Practices in Petroleum Industry. Structurally, the literatures have no Abstract section but concise topic and themes where explicated in the Pre face Section. Authors detailed prevention of oil spill in six chapters, all of which had separate introduction, body and conclusion. Each chapter has proper author referencing to corroborate studies and they prescribed other references for further reading too. The document is sufficient of originality for journals, logically concluded with illustration and can be summarized without sacrifice to content. Authors indicated in introduction their serious concern on petroleum pollution in both land, air and high seas citing impact to industries, corporation and vessel owners that are supposedly boxed by policies on standard quality control (applied to oil extraction industry), corporation laws, maritime laws, insurance and environmental policies. Petroleum pollution’s devastating impact to ecosystem were all pointed in the introduction citing issues on protection, compliance to regulations, toxic management, performance audit, and the like. Thus, authors at the outset asserted tha t corporations engaged in the extraction and distribution of petroleum across continents should have transparent Environmental Aspects in accordance to internationally ISO standards for standard quality control to prevent disasters and environmental destructions. They urged corporate entities to strictly adhere to regulations by exercising strategic corporate planning, standard operational system, environmental protection standards, risk management, regular performance appraisal and thorough environmental impact assessments. As hypothetical assertion, they argued that corporation should not just generate revenue but must include pollution prevention for cost –efficiency, especially that oil extraction and distribution is a capital intensive venture. Authors manifested that they disfavored extractive industry’s productivity at the expense of environment and public safety. On methodology, authors did not expressly stated how data collection was done but their handbook cl early depicted the use of mixed qualitative and quantitative research studies that absorbed empirical facts which covered (a) comprehensive narration about petroleum industry, quality standards required in its facilities and operations and about quality