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Distinguished Essay

Governmental Decision-Making in the World Economy

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European Yearbook of International Economic Law 2011

Part of the book series: European Yearbook of International Economic Law ((EUROYEAR,volume 2))

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Abstract

On asking me to discuss the role of the state in the world economy, the editors kindly accepted my preference for the term “government”. Unlike “state”, that term does not focus on an entity separate from us. “We the People … establish justice, … promote the general welfare …” is how it is put in the preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America. Government being part of society, the term “governmental” is conceived here to designate but a mode of decision-making by the people. There is, of course, no substitute for the term “state” as a noun in other contexts, for instance when the reference is to the bearer of legal rights and obligations under constitutional law or international law.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Halper, The Beijing Consensus, How China’s Authoritarian Model Will Dominate the Twenty-First Century, 2010.

  2. 2.

    For the sociological background, see Meessen, Economic Law in Globalizing Markets, 2004, pp. 95 et seq.

  3. 3.

    Reinicke, Global Public Policy, Governing Without Government?, 1998.

  4. 4.

    Strange, The Retreat of the State, The Diffusion of Power in the World Economy, 1996.

  5. 5.

    For a broad survey, see, e.g., Donges/Freytag (eds.), Die Rolle des Staates in einer globalisierten Wirtschaft, 1998.

  6. 6.

    Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization of 15 April 1994 (including annexes with set of multilateral and plurilateral agreements), OJ 1994 L 336/1.

  7. 7.

    For a critical account, see Bhagwati, Termites in the Trading System, 2008.

  8. 8.

    Expressing concern in that respect, Mandelson, Doha a posteriori, in: Hohmann (ed.), Agreeing and Implementing the Doha Round of the WTO, 2008, p. 11.

  9. 9.

    Irwin, Free Trade under Fire, 2002, pp. 179 et seq.; for a recent general account, see Senti, Welthandelsorganisation (WTO), 2009, pp. 151 et seq.

  10. 10.

    Committee on International Trade Law, Second Report, International Law Association, Report of the 67th Conference, 1996, p. 247.

  11. 11.

    Committee on International Trade Law, Fifth Report, International Law Association, Report of the 70th Conference, 2002, p. 659.

  12. 12.

    Committee on International Trade Law, Eighth Report, International Law Association, Report of the 73rd Conference, 2008, p. 708.

  13. 13.

    See, e.g., Group of Twenty, Global Plan for Recovery and Reform, 2 April 2009; for a reiteration, see Group of Twenty, Leaders’ Statement, 24–25 September 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/leaders-statement-on-the-Pittsburgh-summit.

  14. 14.

    See generally Meessen, Prinzip Wettbewerb, Juristenzeitung 64 (2009), pp. 697, 703 et seq.; Meessen/Bungenberg/Puttler (eds.), Economic Law as an Economic Good, Its Rule Function and its Tool Function in the Competition of Systems, 2009.

  15. 15.

    UNCTAD, World Investment Report 2009, Part I, p. 32.

  16. 16.

    Meessen, International Expropriation Law in the Conflict Between North and South, Law & State 19 (1979), p. 106 et seq.

  17. 17.

    Meessen, Streitigkeiten über Auslandsinvestitionen vor völkervertraglichen Schiedsgerichten, in: von Verschuer/Gres (eds.), Liber amicorum für Alexander Riesenkampff, 2006, p. 93; for an excellent survey, see International Law on Foreign Investment, Final Report, International Law Association, Report of the 73rd Conference, 2008, p. 752.

  18. 18.

    For a cautious remark in that direction, see International Law on Foreign Investment, Final Report, International Law Association, Report of the 73rd Conference, 2008, p. 793.

  19. 19.

    Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals of Other States, 18 March 1965, 575 U.N.T.S. 159.

  20. 20.

    Meessen, International Expropriation Law in the Conflict Between North and South, Law & State 19 (1979), p. 106 et seq.

  21. 21.

    For a historical survey coupled with a timely warning against overreaching in dispute settlement agreements, see Crawford, Continuity and Discontinuity in International Dispute Settlement, J. Int’l Disp. Settlement 1 (2010) 1, pp. 3 et seq.

  22. 22.

    Meessen, ICN Accompanied Convergence, Instead of WTO Imposed Harmonization of Competition Laws, in: Hohmann (ed.), Agreeing and Implementing the Doha Round of the WTO, 2008, p. 223; id., Competition of Competition Laws, Nw.J.Int’l L. & Bus. 10 (1989), pp. 17 et seq.

  23. 23.

    Meessen, Economic Law in Globalizing Markets, 2004, pp. 131 et seq.

  24. 24.

    For the goals and sanctions in European and German competition law, see Meessen, Einführung, in: Loewenheim/Meessen/Riesenkampff (eds.), Kartellrecht, Europäisches und Deutsches Recht, (2nd ed.) 2009.

  25. 25.

    von Hayek, The Pretence of Knowledge, Swed. J. Econ. 77 (1975), p. 433; id., Wettbewerb als Entdeckungsverfahren, 1968.

  26. 26.

    Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, 1975, p. 83.

  27. 27.

    For the concept of market failure and its remedies, see Cassidy, The Logic of Economic Calamities, 2009.

  28. 28.

    Meessen, Wettbewerb – richtig dosiert, Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb 60 (2010), pp. 6 et seq. (reprinted in Wirtschaft und Verwaltung 13 (2010)).

  29. 29.

    Financial Times, 11 November 2009, p. 16; Financial Times 19 November 2009, p. 9.

  30. 30.

    Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, International framework for liquidity risk measurement, standards and monitoring, Bank for International Settlements, Consultative Document, 17 December 2009, http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs165.htm.

  31. 31.

    Arner, The Competition of International Financial Centers and the Role of Law, in: Meessen/Bungenberg/Puttler (eds.), Economic Law as an Economic Good, Its Rule Function and its Tool Function in the Competition of Systems, 2009, p. 193.

  32. 32.

    Remarks by the US president in the State of the Union Address, 27 January 2010, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-state-union-address.

  33. 33.

    Statement of Paul A. Volcker before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the US Senate, 2 February 2010.

  34. 34.

    Meessen, Wettbewerb – richtig dosiert, Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb 60 (2010), pp. 13, 14.

  35. 35.

    http://www.econ-law.se/Description%20ALI%20project.htm.

  36. 36.

    Weiss, Reforming the Dispute Settlement Understanding, in: Hohmann (ed.), Agreeing and Implementing the Doha Round of the WTO, 2008, p. 269.

  37. 37.

    See, e.g., Todino, International Competition Network, World Competition 26 (2003) 2, p. 283.

  38. 38.

    Meessen, Internationales Kartellrecht der EU, in: Loewenheim/Meessen/Riesenkampff (eds.), Kartellrecht, Europäisches und Deutsches Recht, (2nd ed.) 2009.

  39. 39.

    Meessen, Economic Law in Globalizing Markets, 2004, pp. 245 et seq.

  40. 40.

    See note 1 and the accompanying text.

  41. 41.

    See note 13 and the accompanying text.

  42. 42.

    Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, 9 April 2010, UN Doc.A/HRC/14/27.

  43. 43.

    See e.g. Resolution 1375 (XIV) of 17 December 1959.

  44. 44.

    For the report of the debate preceding the adoption of Resolution 1375 (XIV), see UN yearbook 57 (1959).

  45. 45.

    For a comprehensive survey, see Kälin/Künzli, The Law of International Human Rights Protection, 2009.

  46. 46.

    ICJ, South West Africa Cases, Ethiopia v. South Africa, Liberia v. South Africa, Judgment of 18 July 1966, I.C.J. Reports cons, 50 (1966); for a rejection of the Court's view, see diss. op. Jessup, ibid., at pp. 323 seq.

  47. 47.

    ICJ Case concerning the Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company Ltd., Belgium v. Spain, 2nd Phase, Judgment of 5 February 1970, I.C.J. Reports 3.33 (1970).

  48. 48.

    Ragazzi, The Concept of International Obligations Erga Omnes, 1997.

  49. 49.

    Frowein, Konstitutionalisierung des Völkerrechts, Berichte der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Völkerrecht 39 (2000), p. 427.

  50. 50.

    Tumlir, The Need for an Open Multilateral Trading System, World Econ. 6 (1983), pp. 393, 403 et seq.

  51. 51.

    Petersmann, Rights and Duties of States and Rights and Duties of Citizens, Towards the “Constitutionalization” of the Bretton Woods System Fifty Years after its Foundation, in: Beyerlin (ed.), Recht zwischen Umbruch und Bewährung. Festschrift für Rudolf Bernhardt, 1995, p. 1087; Cottier, The Constitutionalism of International Economic Law, in: Meessen/Bungenberg/Puttler (eds.), Economic Law as an Economic Good, Its Rule Function and its Tool Function in the Competition of Systems, 2009, p. 317.

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  1. Rotterdamer Strasse 45, 40474, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Karl M. Meessen

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  1. Karl M. Meessen
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Correspondence to Karl M. Meessen .

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  1. LS für Staats- und Verwaltungsrecht,, Europarecht, Europäisches und, Universität Passau, Innstr. 39, Passau, 94032, Germany

    Christoph Herrmann

  2. , School of Law, University of Hamburg, Rothenbaumchaussee 33, Hamburg, 20148, Germany

    Jörg Philipp Terhechte

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Meessen, K.M. (2011). Distinguished Essay. In: Herrmann, C., Terhechte, J. (eds) European Yearbook of International Economic Law 2011. European Yearbook of International Economic Law(), vol 2. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14432-5_1

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