Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Ján Pavlík Title: Kant's Idea of Eternal Peace and the European Union Abstract: Kant's concept of human progress towards eternal peace, considerably influenced by A. Smith's theory of "invisible hand" as well as by his method of conjectural history, was intended to compensate the loss of medieval catholic universalism via presenting a philosophical vision of a new universalism, based on universal acceptance of abstract and formal rules. It fully corresponded to the transition of Europe from feudalism to free 38 market order. In spite of the the fact that the defenders of theEUrefer frequently to Kant, the economic policies of the Union (especially as concerns redistribution of resources) are at variance with Kant's classicaly liberal ideas. Pages: 11-39 Volume: 2004 Issue: 2 Year: 2004 File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/aop/download.php?jnl=aop&pdf=254.pdf File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/aop/254 File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlaop:v:2004:y:2004:i:2:id:254:p:11-39 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jiří Vaněk Title: Preconditions for the integration of Europe by one philosophical diagnosis Abstract: The subject of this essay is the idea of the unity of Europe and preconditions of that integration in heritage of 20th century by conception of spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset. There are the questions of the élite and the crowd, the problems od cultural and political values. The principle "unity and plurality" must preserve social and national identity. Pages: 40-44 Volume: 2004 Issue: 2 Year: 2004 File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/aop/download.php?jnl=aop&pdf=255.pdf File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/aop/255 File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlaop:v:2004:y:2004:i:2:id:255:p:40-44 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Petr Očko Title: Evropská identita v informační společnosti Abstract: Article considers various aspects of development of the nation-state in the time of modernity as well as implications for institutional settings of liberal democratic nation-state facing process of globalization and new mechanisms brought by the information society. On this basis situation of Europe and especially of the European Union, as a unique multi-cultural institutional structure, is examined taking into account especially question of European identity in contrast to cultural diversity of Europe. As a core matter this article argues that a solution for Europe could be in an attempt to redefine concept of identity of individual citizens of European states. Following Habermas' theory, this article explains that this new concept could be understood as forming a dual identity of citizen - one of its dimensions being universal political embedding in common values of the society, while the other one being rooted in cultural particularity of citizen's community, with possibility of connecting it to more cultural contexts. As the political dimension of the identity can never be completely separated from the cultural context from which it emerges, it must be emphasised that this level of identity must be understood as permanent process of democratic dialogue based on all representative cultural contexts of the society. New institutional structure of Europe must be based on three pillars in order to deal successfully with challenges of the information society and globalization: redefinition of identity of European citizens in terms of dual identity as mentioned above; actualisation of 64 educational systems in order to support this redefined content of citizenship; and finally activities to support possibilities of citizens' participation in the information society mechanisms, particularly support of the information literacy. Volume: 2004 Issue: 2 Year: 2004 File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/aop/download.php?jnl=aop&pdf=256.pdf File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/aop/256 File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlaop:v:2004:y:2004:i:2:id:256 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: David Lipka Author-Name: Josef Šíma Title: EU na cestě k politické centralizaci Abstract: European integration is usually taken as a means to attaint peace and prosperity or at least some short run benefits. Nonetheless political centralization is not conducive to peace. The opposite erroneous reasoning stems from Hobbesian concept of society. Much the less is centralization a necessary condition for prosperity. Arguments for short run benefits are both ethically flawed and economically shortsighted. Even granted the choice is not between the EU on the one hand and an ideal society on the other but rather between two "bads" it is possible to maintain the thesis the European centralization makes our society worse off compared to the present existence of nation states. Empirically it is supported by widening of the public sector in the EU. There, no wealth is produced but only consumed. Another thesis is based on the logic of norm production. The EU monopoly must entail counterfactually worse outcomes than quasi-competition among nation states. However, the key argument is that nowadays one should concentrate not on the current state of affairs but on the processes of future emergence of institutions. EU is definitely a barrier on the way to attain optimal institutional outcomes. It opens up new room for waste, hinders harmony and causes conflicts. As the history of the US proves threats like these regularly materialize. Pages: 66-74 Volume: 2004 Issue: 2 Year: 2004 File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/aop/download.php?jnl=aop&pdf=257.pdf File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/aop/257 File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlaop:v:2004:y:2004:i:2:id:257:p:66-74 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Ilona Švihlíková Title: Economic and political impacts of Euro on the Czech Republic Abstract: Euro - the common european currency - is viewed from many aspects in this paper. Firstly, I deal with the economic and political reasons for Euro launching. I mention positives as well as negatives of Euro, not leaving out the Stability and growth pact, as it is a very current issue. After this necessary general introductory part I concentrate on the main goal of this paper: the analysis of impacts of Euro launching on the Czech Republic. I list possible economic problems that may turn out to be a serious obstacle in launching the Euro in the Czech Republic. The last part deals with opinions of the main Czech political parties on Euro and tries to offer a prediction of the possible future development. Pages: 75-87 Volume: 2004 Issue: 2 Year: 2004 File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/aop/download.php?jnl=aop&pdf=258.pdf File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/aop/258 File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlaop:v:2004:y:2004:i:2:id:258:p:75-87 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Ivana Chlapcová Author-Name: Zuzana Trávníčková Title: Právní subjektivita Evropské unie. Význam, vývoj a právní úprava Abstract: The legal personality (or capacity) is an attribute that can belong to the participators in international relations. It divides all the members of international society into two groups. First of them consists of entities, that enjoy the legal personality - we describe them as subjects of international law. In this group belong states, intergovernmental organisations (so called IGOs) and a group of various other units, e.g. The Holy See or the Sovereign Order of Malta. The second group is composed from the entities without legal personality under international law. Here we could find wide group of non-governmental organisations and strong supranational corporations. They may possess significant political power and heavily influence deciding of the states and intergovernmental organisations, they may have legal personality under municipal law but they do not enjoy the legal personality under the international public law. The legal personality is defined as possessing rights and duties enforceable at law. It means, that the subject under international law can conclude agreements, can enter into diplomatic relations (enjoys so called right of legation), can submit claims and act before international court or judge, has right to enjoy immunities for itself and for its representatives, can become a member of international organisation or become a party of international convention and also has to hold the responsibility for own unlawful actions. International organisations, as a subject of international law, enjoy the legal personality different from the personality of member states. There is no doubt about the legal personality of European Communities. Every of the three charters founding the European Coal and Steal Community, European Community and Euroatom includes explicit provision, that the founded organisation enjoys legal personality. Looking at the Maastricht and as well at the Amsterdam treaty, we cannot find any smilar provision concerning the legal personality of European Union. The issue of whether the Union has legal personality is disputed. The prevailing view is been that it was not the will of the member states to give the Union legal personality. Expert opinion generally maintains that an international organisation such as the European Union doesn't have the legal personality unless its founders confer such personality on it expressly. In contradistinction to the original treaties about Communities the member states in Maastricht treaty did not acknowledged the personality of Union. Article 24 and 38 of the Treaty of the European Union (added by the Treaty of Amsterdam) give the Council of the European Union the capacity to conclude international agreements. But this competence is strictly limited only on areas covered by the Common Foreign and Security Policy and Police and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters and only when it is necessary to implement those titles. The legal effects of such agreement apply only on member states individually and according to the terms and conditions laid down by national law. Regarding this provision the European Union must be seen as a Union of States without legal personality of its own under international public or domestic law, which, when it takes action at international level, does so on the behalf of the member states on not on his own account. The question of legal personality was comprehensively researched by the European Convention. There was created a working group on legal personality. The group examined the matter closely and for the purpose heard the views of a number of experts. In the final report that was brought into open in October 2002 the working group recommended conferring explicit legal personality on the Union. The single legal personality, according to the opinion of working group, should replace the existing legal personalities. The question of legal personality was one of the "simple" issues discussed by Convention. The working group on legal personality has finished its search quite early (comparing with other working groups) and the final report was established on broad consensus. Pages: 88-100 Volume: 2004 Issue: 2 Year: 2004 File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/aop/download.php?jnl=aop&pdf=259.pdf File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/aop/259 File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlaop:v:2004:y:2004:i:2:id:259:p:88-100 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Ladislav Jakl Title: European Integration and Industrial Property Rights Abstract: During the second half of the twentieth century there was a general desire, as in other fields of law, for harmonization of the laws of industrial property on an international, and even worldwide, basis. This was due to the development of a more internationally oriented flow of technology and to the increase of international trade which made harmonization urgent in both the patent and trademark field. This led to the International Conference on Industrial Property held in Paris in1880 which adopted a draft convention which contained in essence those substantive provisions which are still today the main features of the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property. The Paris Convention was signed by 11 states in Paris in 1883. It has been revised several times. The great majority of the more than 150 Member States are parties to the latest revision of Stockholm of 1967 and 1979. The Paris Convention was followed by a bunch of more particular international treaties dealing with more detailed aspects of industrial property rights as the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks 1891, the Madrid Agreement on the Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of Origin on Goods of 1891, the Lisbon Agreement on the Protection of Appellations of Origin of 1966, the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purpose of the Registration of Marks of 1957, Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification and so on. In the second half of the twentieth century the above mentioned harmonization activities went over to the integration efforts in the field of industrial property protection. The Patent Cooperation Treaty- PCT has been signed and came into force in 1978, the European Patent Convention of 1977, which established the European Patent Office in Munich. In the field of trademarks and designs the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market has been established. The aim of it is the registration of the Community Trademarks and Community Designs. The Czech Republic took part in the harmonization and integration activities from the very beginning. It s task has been successfully completed by access to the main international treaties in the field of industrial property protection, namely to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Trademarks and to the Protocol to this Agreement, further to the Patent Cooperation Treaty and to the European Patent Convention. A quite new period of the integration process in this field comes in connection with our European Union membership. Pages: 101-110 Volume: 2004 Issue: 2 Year: 2004 File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/aop/download.php?jnl=aop&pdf=260.pdf File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/aop/260 File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlaop:v:2004:y:2004:i:2:id:260:p:101-110