Abstract ▼

For the last few years, the German foreign policy has been under constant temptations and substantial reconsideration. The key role in resolving the difficult economic and financial crises in the EU, the development of close economic ties with the Russian and other rising world economic powers, the decision to sustain in the UN Security Council in deciding to authorise the use of force in Libya, as well as the dominant attitude towards the crises in Greece and Kosovo clearly shows the wish of Germany to pursue a more independent foreign policy. In spite of all these efforts and its huge economic power, Germany has failed to become a global political power. Moreover, in order to protect and develop its trade interests Germany must remain within the frameworks of the EU and the NATO. For a long time, Germany has been one of Serbia’s most important economic and political partners. Since it is realistic to expect that Germany will be more oriented towards developing its economic ties with the new world economic powers, the Western Balkans and Serbia will not be in the focus of its foreign and economic policies. Therefore, for Serbia, it will be useful to concentrate on the cooperation with the mighty German provinces that have their interests in developing this cooperation. In the future, the Kosovo issues will remain the main obstacle to it.

Abstract ▼

The majority of the Christian world today is affected by weakening adherence to principles of religious practice. The reverse is the case in the countries of predominantly Orthodox tradition. After the collapse of communism, all types of human freedom were revived, including the religious one. The consequence is the revival of the Orthodox Christianity. It is reflected in the influence of the Orthodox Church on the society. Today, the most respected institutions in Russia and Serbia are the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Church, respectively. Considering the decline of the Western Christianity, the revival of the Orthodox Church has raised hopes that the Western Christianity can be revived, too. Important Christian denominations, therefore, show great interest in including the Orthodox Church in the general Christian project. It is particularly evident in the Roman Catholic Church foreign policy. The Roman Catholic Church is attempting to restore relations with Orthodox churches. In this sense, the most important churches are the Russian and the Serbian Church. But, establishing relations with these two is for Vatican both a great challenge and a project of great significance.

Abstract ▼

After the Security Council had established the international administration in Kosovo on grounds of the Resolution no. 1244 of 10 June 1999 for the construction and reconstruction of the legal and economic systems, the support and protection of human rights, the provision of humanitarian and other assistance, it adopted the conclusion that the achievement of a political settlement for the southern Serbian province would primarily depend on the development and consolidation of peace and security. Accordingly, in May 2001, the international administration adopted the Constitutional Framework for Provisional SelfGovernment in Kosovo, which defined the status of the Serbian southern province as a whole and indivisible territorial entity under the interim international administration. The Constitutional Framework is regulated as a substantial transfer of state responsibilities by the peoples of Kosovo and Metohija to the provisional institutions of self-government and it should “enjoy substantial autonomy within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia”. This institutional development is aimed at establishing constructive cooperation among various ethnic communities in order to build a common democratic state. Since this solution is not quite legally balanced, it could not go without any negative consequences in terms of national sovereignty. The suspension of sovereignty of the Republic of Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija has eventually contributed to creating of the conditions for the socalled unilateral declaration of independence of the Republic of Kosovo. The analysis of the activities undertaken in the field of resolving the status issue after the unilateral declaration of independence of 17 February 2008 suggests that the solution for the Kosovo and Metohija should be primarily sought within the United Nations system.

Abstract ▼

The paper analyses international flows and effects of a form of investment capital in case of China. Apart from the fact that they are a form of imports of foreign savings as a source of investment capital, foreign direct investments are rightly considered one of the potentially most significant factors of economic growth and international transfer of technology and knowledge. The empirical research has confirmed that such their potential, this also including the degree of its utilisation, depends on the absorption capacity of the host country. China has recorded the greatest rates of economic growth in the last decade and its response to challenges of the global economic crisis has been the most successful. Also, China is the largest investment area in the world and the inflow of foreign direct investments is very significant, resulting from the attractiveness of the Chinese economy itself and measures for attracting foreign investments. The Chinese experience with the effects of foreign direct investment has been multiple, being both positive and negative, and it is very useful for other countries. On the other side, Chinese investments abroad have recorded fast growth rates, although their scope is still small in comparison to those of the most developed countries and they are present only in trade flows.

Abstract ▼

Although international organisations as subjects of international law are obliged to respect fundamental human rights in their acting, a very small number of them are contracting parties to international instruments for human rights protection, unlike their member states, which are contracting parties to many of them. As international organisations take more and more activities that can and often result in violation of human rights there is an obvious problem to what forum victims of those violations can turn to for determining responsibility of the international organisation. The European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice have developed through their practices modalities for indirect control of acts of international organisations by controlling the acts of their member states, which result from their duties as members of those organisations. The paper assumes that such control is efficient and that it fills the void in the international system of determining responsibility for violation of human rights through acts of international organisations according to which, the states basically keep on being responsible for violation of human rights.