Thirty Years After Helsinki: Proposals for OSCE's Reform

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has recently released a report dealing with its operational and institutional reforms. Created in 1975 as a loose conference-style organisation, including Western and Eastern European states, it survived the end of the Cold War. It was based on political and moral commitments and was not created by a constitutional treaty. It has developed a wide range of activities based on a wide concept of international security. But its operational and institutional framework still lack solid legal bases. The report under consideration points out some issues that deserve further comment in the context of international security aspects of post-Cold War European cooperation. The legal aspects of the report and their possible implications are the main object of this comment.