No. I (2014)

The Centre for European Research and Education is pleased to present the first issue of the Pécs Journal of International and European Law (PJIEL). The PJIEL aims to provide a platform for the publication of analysis and research relating to international law and European law, with specific attention devoted to legal developments in the Western Balkans. The additional Western Balkans focus of the PJIEL originates from the editors’ firm belief that the legal developments in the states of the aforementioned geographic area, and the process of their European integration is to be regarded as one of the most crucial and topical issues on the European continent.

The journal is published electronically twice a year by the Centre for European Research and Education of the University of Pécs, Faculty of Law. The PJIEL, as an open access journal, covers international law (public as well as private) and European Union law subjects. Articles are submitted to anonymous peer review before publication. As regards sections, the journal comprises of the following:

– Articles : longer studies regarding relevant issues of international and European law;

– Case notes and analysis: shorter reflections on recent judicial or other legal developments;

– Legal developments in the Western Balkans: Focusing on the states of the Western Balkans, especially (but not limited to) their relations with the European Union;

– Book reviews: reviews of books or collected volumes dealing with issues relevant to the journal.

The editors are very grateful for the work provided by the journal’s editorial board, and for their ongoing support regarding our efforts to make the PJIEL a truly noteworthy forum for scientific publication. Our editorial board members are Władysław Czapliński (Warsaw University), Gilbert Gornig (Philipps University of Marburg), Tamás Lattmann (National University of Public Service), Nives Mazur-Kumric (University of Liège), András Osztovits (Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church), Gábor Sulyok (István Széchenyi University), Jorn van Rij (InHolland University of Applied Sciences) and Norbert Tóth (National University of Public Service).

The publisher of the journal, the Centre for European Research and Education (CEERE) was originally established in 1996 and incorporated into the Faculty of Law of the University of Pécs in 2000. It has 14 years of experience in curricula development, providing courses on European integration issues, editing publications, organizing conferences and roundtable debates on EU policies and law. The University of Pécs is one of the biggest state universities in Hungary, and plays a significant role in higher education on national and international level as well as in the academic, economic and social life of the region.  As one of the most prestigious legal education institutions of Hungary, the Faculty of Law celebrated the 90^th anniversary of its establishment in 2013.

The debut issue of the PJIEL deals with various current issues of international and European law which all deserve scientific. Adrienne Komanovics evaluates recent developments regarding the strengthening of UN human rights treaty bodies. AnikóSzalai assesses the prospects of a more unified international protection regime for minorities and the rights of indigenous peoples. Ágnes Töttős explores the past, present and future of the EU’s Seasonal Workers Directive. Melinda Szappanyos takes a comparative approach to analysing the content and enforcement of the right to education in higher education in Council of Europe member states and in the Republic of Korea. Jorn van Rij looks at human trafficking and prostitution policy from a European criminological perspective. Norbert Tóth and Balázs Vizi deliver the Western Balkans-focussed article of the issue when they look at the international law obligations relating to minority rights regarding Kosovo. Finally, Veronika Grekszaand Johannes Hermann provide a review of Christoph Grabenwarter’s Commentary of the European Convention on Human Rights.