Ton Van den Brink, Internationalization of Public Law; Getting Grip of a Concept and Its Consequences (January 15, 2010). European Review of Public Law, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1537217
This article focuses on the concept of internationalization of public law from a legal perspective. Public law is progressively subject to international influences. How to interpret this process, or even how to define it, is not that obvious. Internationalization may refer to different levels (conceptual, practical), different aspects (relevant actores, areas) or different points of view (national, international, citizens). Effects in and of national legal systems include processes of convergence and cross-fertilization. Also aspects of legitimacy, accountability and transparency are affected by internationalization. National legal orders provide for various coping mechanisms to deal with the effects of internationalization, such as ratification procedures for the approval of international treaties and – increased – involvement of states in international decision making procedures. Such coping mechanisms do, however, not always fully compensate for the negative effects of internationalization.
