Extraterritoriale Inspektionen der EU. Zu Funktion, Erscheinungsformen und völkerrechtlicher Problematik eines Instruments des internationalen Verwaltungsrechts

The article refers to the EU's unilateralism as a response to the shortcomings of the international legal order. As long as the international order lacks institutionalized implementation and enforcement mechanisms for the protection of public interests, individual states or groups of states assume responsibility to compensate for this deficiency. The EU does so by carrying out inspections of third-country plants. Exemplary cases for these extraterritorial inspections can be found in food law, climate protection law and in maritime governance. However these extraterritorial inspections appear legally dubios as the EU partly interferes in the internal affairs of third states and also affects individual rights. The inspections are regularly conducted with the consent of the respective entities; however, the EU does not hesitate to use its economic power to thereby push through its own regulatory ideas. By exerting pressure, the EU artificially generates the consent to conduct its inspections worldwide. Against this background the article argues that extraterritorial inspections may be an important and effective tool to guarantee the obedience of certain standards in a globalized world, but should not be allowed to undermine the sovereignty of third states or reduce individual rights. This article proposes to compensate these deficiencies by establishing international regulatory structures which ensure that extraterritorial inspections meet adequate standards of legal protection and democratic legitimacy.