Guild Elspeth

This author's articles

• The Political Life of Data: The ECJ Decision on the PNR agreement between the EU and the US

  29 August 2006
  The recent spate of legal, legislative and other activity on both sides of the Atlantic related to the collection, storage, use and manipulation of personal data highlights the serious political differences that divide the EU and the US regarding the relationship of the individual and the state. This paper by two Professors of Law at Radboud University at Nijmegen asks what is ‘the political life of data’ that has so galvanised EU and US institutions? Their point of departure is the Passenger Name Record (PNR) Agreement between the EU and the US, which was recently declared unlawful by the European Court of Justice.

• The Humanitarian Crisis in Lebanon and the EU: Refugees, Displaced Persons and Competence

  29 July 2006
  The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon continues with no obvious end in sight. According to the European Commission by 25 July more than 40 000 evacuees had been transferred to Cyprus.

• What the EU can do about the Humanitarian Crisis in Lebanon - A JHA Approach

  27 July 2006
  The world has watched with increasing horror as the humanitarian crisis has developed in Lebanon since mid July 2006 when the Israeli offensive began. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees estimates that as of 27 July 2006, 700,000 people have fled their homes in Lebanon and more than 150,000 people have crossed into Syria. However, this is not just a crisis which is touching the Middle East, at least one EU Member State has been deeply affected by the mass influx of refugees from Lebanon on its territory - Cyprus. Thousands of Lebanese have flooded into the tiny island which has resulted in the country requesting the EU for help. Two things are critically needed - first to provide a safe haven for the displaced persons fleeing Lebanon; secondly to provide an orderly and coherent response where the member States demonstrate their solidarity with one another to take responsibility for the displaced persons for as long as necessary.

• The Hague Programme & the EU’s agenda on freedom, security and justice: delivering results for Europe’s citizens?

  11 July 2006
  This commentary assesses the progress of the EU in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, and concludes by making policy recommendations for the Finnish Presidency of the EU.

• Immigration and Criminal Law in the European Union: The Legal Measures and Social Consequences of Criminal Law in Member States on Trafficking and Smuggling in Human Beings

  30 June 2006
  This is a study of the legal framework on criminal measures on trafficking and/or smuggling and facilitating illegal entry in six Member States: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK, and the European Union. This issue is at the nexus of migration and criminal law. The system of criminal law in the Member States is a central part of the balance of the powers of the authorities and the rights of the citizen. The way in which civil liberties of the individual are weighed in comparison with public protection duties by the authorities is in essence a constitutional issue. The treatment of foreigners, in particular as regards their entry onto the territory and residence is not part of the constitutional settlements, but a field governed by state discretion and exceptionalism.

• The Nexus between Immigration, Integration and Citizenship in the EU

  12 April 2006
  What is the nexus between immigration, integration and citizenship in the EU, and what are the effects emerging from that relationship? The papers presented at the CHALLENGE seminar of 25 January 2006 addressed these questions and offered an overview of the main trends, issues, uncertainties and vulnerabilities surrounding these contested issues.

• L’état d’exception, le juge, l’étranger et les droits de l’Homme : trois défis des Cours britanniques

  13 February 2006
  Cet article examine la transformation de la relation entre les juges et les membres de l’exécutif au RU par l’intermédiaire du droit supranational. On observe, en analysant trois jugements rendus par les cours britanniques en décembre 2004, le changement fondamental en cours au sujet de la localisation de la souveraineté. Cet article évoque trois jugements qui soulèvent des doutes quant à la séparation des pouvoirs. En refusant d’accepter la différenciation entre le citoyen et l’étranger les cours détruisent la base pour l’exclusion de l’étranger des droits de l’Homme. Le mécanisme utilisé pour ce faire est l’incorporation du droit international au niveau national. En invoquant ainsi la mondialisation de la justice, les juges renforcent leur position d’arbitres de l’action et du comportement nationaux que ce soit à l’intérieur ou à l’extérieur de l’Etat. La frontière n’est plus déterminante, qu’il s’agisse de la frontière de l’Etat, de la frontière de l’état d’exception, ou de la frontière entre le citoyen et l’étranger.

• Security and the Two-Level Game: The Treaty of Prüm, the EU and the Management of Threats

  23 January 2006
  On 27 May 2005, seven Member States signed the Prüm Convention to step up cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration. Named after the German city in which it was signed, the Treaty’s main advantage is that it enables the signatories to speed up the exchange of information. However, this paper argues that the Treaty produces negative externalities for the European Union’s area of freedom, security and justice by circumventing the EU framework.

• Agamben face aux juges. Souveraineté, exception et antiterrorisme

  11 December 2005
  L’Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act a été promulgué le 14 décembre 2001. Cette loi a été votée du fait de la perception d’un état d’urgence au Royaume-Uni après les attentats terroristes du 11 septembre 2001 contre les Etats-Unis. Elle vise, selon son exposé des motifs, à : tarir le financement du terrorisme ; garantir la collecte et le partage par les services et les organismes gouvernementaux des renseignements nécessaires pour contrer les menaces terroristes ; rationaliser les procédures d’immigration concernées ; garantir la sécurité du secteur nucléaire et de l’industrie aéronautique ; renforcer la sécurité de substances dangereuses pouvant être ciblées ou utilisées par des terroristes ; étendre les pouvoirs de police des forces concernées ; garantir le respect des obligations européennes du Royaume-Uni en matière de coopération judiciaire et de police et celui de ses engagements internationaux en matière de lutte contre la corruption ; mettre à jour une partie de l’arsenal juridique de lutte anti-terroriste au Royaume-Uni.

• De Tampere à Séville, vers une ultra gouvernementalisation de la domination transnationale ?

  11 December 2005
  De Tampere à Séville, nous avons entamé une crise en spirale de la représentation politique allant des espoirs des ONG dans Tampere aux désillusions de Laeken et Séville, en passant par la colère de l’après-Gênes. Cette crise engendre une légitimité toujours plus chancelante de l’Union ainsi qu’une délégitimation forte des décisions des sommets du G8. Mais cela semble paradoxalement renforcer la détermination des divers gouvernants à imposer leurs vues sur la sécurité et l’ordre mondial. Dès lors, la période contemporaine est riche d’événements divers scandés par les noms de villes des sommets, Tampere, Québec, Nice, Göteborg, Gênes, Laeken, Séville... et une date le 11 septembre, qui n’ont quasiment rien en commun en termes institutionnels, en termes de discussion sur des sujets particuliers, mais qui pourtant font sens ensemble.

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