EU Trade Agreements and Human Rights: From Extraterritorial to Territorial Obligations

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleProfessional

Abstract

As the European Union (EU) pursues bilateral trade agreements with third states, the EU should be cognizant of the potential ‘extraterritorial’ impacts of these agreements on the enjoyment of human rights in third states when designing and concluding bi- lateral trade agreements with third states. This article develops a jurisdictional model to determine the geographic scope of EU human rights obligations in the context of the adoption of EU bilateral trade agreements. It is submitted that the doctrine’s classic semantic focus on ‘extraterritoriality’, captured by such constructs as control, impact, or functional competence, clouds rather than illuminates matters of scope of human rights obligations in the context of trade agreements. Instead of looking for justifications for the extraterritorial application of human rights, it is suggested to turn the justificatory gaze to the internal territorial aspects of the human rights risks created by EU decisions on the conclusion of bilateral trade agreements. An internal-territorial model obviates the need for an elaborate conceptualization of ‘extraterritorial’ obligations.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)374-393
Number of pages20
JournalInternational Community Law Review
Volume20
Issue number3-4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Keywords

  • European Union
  • territory
  • extraterritorial application of human rights
  • trade agreements

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