Developments in the Protection of the Citizens' Rights Under International and European Law

• Author: Noémie Gagnon-Bergeron
• Position: LLM, Utrecht University, NL
• Pages: 88-91

Noémie Gagnon-Bergeron, ‘Developments in the Protection of the

Citizens’ Rights Under International and European Law’ (2018) 34(2)

Utrecht Journal of International and European Law pp. 88–91,

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/ujiel.479

UTRECHT JOURNAL OF

INTERNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN LAW

EDITORIAL

Developments in the Protection of the Citizens’

Rights Under International and European Law

Noémie Gagnon-Bergeron∗

Keywords: International Customary Law; International Criminal Law; Law of Treaties;

International Treaties; Property Rights; Migration Law; European Union; International Court

of Justice; Law of the Sea; Health Rights; Human Rights; International Human Rights Law;

International Humanitarian Law; Agrochemical Business; Global South; Civil Litigation; Public

Litigation; NATO; Protection of Civilians; International Organisations; Human Rights Bodies;

Criminal Law; Single Supervision Mechanism; Court of Justice of the European Union; European

Central Bank; National Competent Authorities

I. Introduction

After the publication of a fascinating Special Issue earlier this year, Utrecht Journal of International and

European Law (UJIEL) is also excited to release a General Issue filled with yet another collection of highly

relevant and interesting articles. This issue includes six articles and one case note, focusing on a variety of

different legal fields such as: international customary law, migration law, international human rights law,

international criminal law, and finance law. While each article and case note provides a unique perspective

on a specific issue, which merit undivided individual attention, a common theme that runs through most

of them is the focus on the rights of citizens. Whether it be property rights, as discussed in Shlegel’s arti-

cle, or the implication of human rights as addressed in the articles by Terwindt, Hill and Manea, as well as

Pinto, it is clear that the legal issue(s) these authors wish to analyse is taken from a perspective of how the

individual person is affected. The last article, however, focuses on investigating the implications of the SSM

framework. As such, it places more emphasis on structural and institutional consequences. The case note,

which also pays more attention to consequences that lie beyond the individual, is an interesting discussion

on the implications of an ICJ judgment with respect to the Law of Treaties and the Law of the Sea. In order

to give credence to each contribution in its own right, the next section will provide a brief overview of the

articles and the case note.

II. The Articles

In the article entitled ‘Identification of Customary Rules in International Criminal Law’, Yudan Tan exam-

ines whether or not there has been a shift away from the classic two-element approach (State practice and

opinio juris) in the identification of international customary law, specifically within the realm of interna-

tional criminal law.1 In order to answer this question, he makes a careful examination of the theories and

case law presented by international criminal tribunals.2 Despite the fact that his findings conclude in the

negative, Tan’s research offers important insight on the shifts that have occurred in the identification of

customary rules in the field of international criminal law.

Stefan Schlegel’s article offers a change in perspective when it comes to understanding the impact of

international treaties that relate to migration in his article ‘A Bundle of Rights – International Treaties

Regarding Migration in the Light of the Theory of Property Rights’. Schlegel argues that international

treaties regarding migration can be seen as mechanisms that transfer bundles of property rights from the

* LLM, Utrecht University, NL. Contact: n.gagnon-bergeron@students.uu.nl.

1

Yudan Tan, ‘Identification of Customary Rules in International Criminal Law’ (2018) 34(2) Utrecht Journal of International and

European Law.

2

ibid.