FGV Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on EU-LA Global Challenges
FGV Rio Law is an Associate Partner of the GEM-DIAMOND project (Globalisation, Europe and Multilateralism: Democratic Institutions, the rise of Alternative MOdels and mounting Normative Dissensus) from the Marie Skłodowska Curie Action - Doctoral Network (Call EU HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01, grant n. 101073292).
This EU-funded project was launched in October 2022 and will assess the EU’s capacity to act given the challenges facing Democratic Institutions, the rise of Alternative MOdels and mounting Normative Dissensus (DIAMOND).
GEM-DIAMOND is a Marie Skłodowska Curie Action - Doctoral Network (MSCA-DN) involving 6 European - i.e. ULB, UvA, LUISS, UCPH, UBB, Paris1 - and 5 international – i.e. UoW, UNIGE, UL, WUT, FGV - degree-awarding Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) alongside 6 well-established non-academic institutions – i.e. CEPS, IAI, GMF, PATRIR, FIDH, EGMONT.
The project will hire and train 16 doctoral fellows to help address knowledge gaps associated with the growing dissensus undermining both multilateral and democratic practice. Its' key expected research outputs include:
- Sixteen original doctoral manuscripts
- One edited volume
- One handbook
- Four Special Issues
GEM-DIAMOND’s overall research program will tackle three shared knowledge gaps regarding contemporary strains on liberal democracy:
Objective 1: Conceptualising the seemingly mounting dissensus surrounding liberal democracy.
Objective 2: Unpacking the ambiguous role different actors can play as both champions and challengers of liberal democratic norms, values, and practices.
Objective 3: Assessing the impact of increased dissensus regarding liberal democracy on the policy instruments of the EU and its capacity to act in its internal and external policies.
FGV will participate in the co-direction of the PhD thesis of GEM-DIAMOND DOCTORAL Fellow Benedetta Arrighini and will issue a joint PhD degree with Université Libre de Bruxelles and LUISS University of Rome. Benedetta’s research title is “Breaking or branching with Brazil? The legal contestation of the rule of law and EU’s cooperation in criminal matters with Mercosur. A case-study”. The research is supervised by Professors Anne Weyembergh (ULB), Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida (FGV) and Rossella Sabia (LUISS University).
Research abstract
The research is a legal contestation, meaning a discussion based on legal roots on the rule of law impact in a very specific issue: the judicial cooperation in criminal matters within EU and MERCOSUR countries. In few words: will the EU take into consideration the rule of law once concluded the MERCOSUR agreement dealing with judicial cooperation?
The study will involve several aspects of the EU framework. First, the role of the EU as a global actor from a legal perspective: the EU external action is governed by the Treaties of the EU and the inquiry will focus on art. 3(5) TEU and article 21.2 (a) affirming the importance of the EU in the international scene, but at the same time the necessity to preserve, and on a certain sense, export its values. As a consequence, the conclusion of international agreements requires the respect of the EU principles, all included in the concept of rule of law. Among the subjects related to an international agreement, there is the judicial cooperation. The EU has a developing Area of Freedom Security and Justice, and its instruments have been expanded outside the EU borders through International Agreements, but also the international community. However, as already said, there is the need to evaluate the respect of the EU values.
The study will focus not on judicial cooperation as a whole, but on the cooperation in criminal matters, in which the risk to breach fundamental rights is high due to the relations within the State as warrant of order and respect of human rights of the victims, but also of the defendants.
The interaction within the EU external action and the judicial cooperation in criminal matters will be analysed using a practical example, meaning the interaction within the EU and Mercosur countries. Indeed, they have been concluding an International Agreement for years, with the peculiarity that the EU and Mercosur are two regional organization, and this contributes to add much more complexity in finding common points of view.
The cooperation in criminal matters is not a defined subject yet and from this the reason and the purpose of the research. It will map the current situation regarding cooperation in criminal matters looking at the international, European and national level, focusing on one country from the South Market, Brazil; Moreover, the study will a practical instrument, emblematic for the cooperation in criminal matters, meaning the extradition, this will be an opportunity to deep understand the interface, but also the possible difficulties in the respect of the rights of the defendants.
The last part will aim at evaluating the role of the EU as a global actor in criminal cooperation in criminal matters, a delicate issue that has been left behind without looking at the positive outcomes it can provide.
Check the GEM-DIAMOND’s website
The project aims to increase knowledge about the practice of normative production in different regulatory contexts, to stimulate interest in developing research on normative production of regulatory bodies at international and European levels, the challenges of normative implementation and enforcement, with the intention of accessing the role of governance reforms as a response to the challenges raised by the expansion of normative powers in international and European legal orders. The project will consist of two research lines: global regulation and global litigation.
One of the objectives of the project is to promote dialogue between the academic world and society, including policy-makers, civil servants, civil society actors.
In order to generate socio-economic impact, the project "The challenges of international regulation in the context of global governance: limits and possibilities of the EU method" will offer various activities both for the academic public and to disseminate knowledge and insights that support the formulation of public policies in Brazil.
It is noteworthy that the participation of partner institutions from South America and Europe will ensure greater visibility of the academic activities developed by the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. The impact, visibility and dissemination of the project will be widely promoted with the publication of research and marketing material and the intensive use of social media and its institutional website.
Partnerships with other institutions represent a central element for the implementation of the project, since their professionals bring a multidisciplinary, international and comparative vision. Once approved by the funder, the composition of the project team will include the participation of national and international educational institutions. Among the national ones, we intend to include the collaboration of the School of International Relations (FGV-RI) of São Paulo.