By describing and analysing the process which precedes decision-making in the Council of Ministers, an insider's view is presented in this book of the process of decision-making in the European Union. The main subject is the Permanent Representatives Committee, comprising Ambassadors of the Member States to the European Union, the Permanent Representatives. Coreper has the general responsibility for preparing the work of the Council.

The book is based on a legal thesis, which was published in Dutch at the end of 1993. For the English version the text has been revised and, where necessary, updated. The content, which is largely derived from practical experience, should provide a clearer picture of the current state of affairs of European integration in general, and the functioning of the European institutions in particular. To this extent the book serves the political objective of creating transparency in the decision-making of the European Union.

Audience:

All those working in the public services, international organizations, universities, liberal professions and economic life whose everyday work brings them into contact with aspects of the European Union and its institutions.

This text contains articles on issues such as: transnational terrorism; limitations on the power of the UN Security Council to exercise its enforcement powers under Chapter VII of the Charter; on the uniting of States in respect of treaties; and the weighing of evidence in a dual national case at the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal. The documentation section surveys Dutch state practice for the parliamentary year 1994-1995; international agreements to which the Netherlands is a party; Netherlands judicial decisions and municipal legislation involving questions of public international law, and Dutch literature in the field of public international law and related matters. This Yearbook is included in the 1995 subscription to the Netherlands International Law Review (Volume 42).

Two major factors brought about the establishment of the Netherlands Yearbook of International Law in 1970: demand for the publication of national practice in international law, and the desirability for legal practitioners, state representatives and international lawyers to have access to the growing amount of available data, in the form of articles, notes etc. The Documentation section contains an extensive review of Dutch state practice from the parliamentary year prior to publication, an account of developments relating to treaties and other international agreements to which the Netherlands is a party, summaries of Netherlands judicial decisions involving questions of public international law (many not published elsewhere), lists of Dutch publications in the field and extracts from relevant municipal legislation. Although the NYIL has a distinctive national character it is published in English, and the editors do not adhere to any geographical limitations when deciding upon the inclusion of articles.

The 1998 Netherlands Yearbook of International Law contains expert articles on issues such as new challenges to IMF jurisdiction, and a perspective on provisional measures under UNCLOS. The documentation section surveys: Dutch state practice for the parliamentary year 1996-1997; international agreements to which the Netherlands is a party; Netherlands judicial decisions and municipal legislation involving questions of public international law; and Dutch literature in the field of public international law and related matters. The Yearbook is included in the 1998 subscription to the Netherlands International Law Review (Volume 45).