Arms Export Control in the European Multi-Level System

The legal framework for arms export control is a subject that is as topical as it is under-researched. Many countries, including Germany, are responding to current geopolitical upheavals (Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, the rise of China, conflicts in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region, Brexit and AUCUS) by increasing defence investment, which in turn is fuelling the trade in weapons and military equipment more generally. Germany currently ranks fourth in the world ranking of arms exporting countries.

At the same time, we witnessed a surge in arms export control instruments at an international, European and national level until recently: the Arms Trade Treaty came into force in 2014. The European Commission attempted to Europeanize the armament markets by issuing various directives and setting up its own Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space. In addition, the European Defence Fund and the Permanent Structured Cooperation in defence matters (PESCO) were launched in 2017 to bring Europe closer to "strategic autonomy" by creating a common industrial defence base. In a Franco-German treaty signed in 2019, the two countries established framework conditions for the export authorisation process for joint armaments projects. Finally, Germany has recently taken various measures to make arms exports more transparent and less susceptible to misuse.

Arms exports remain under-researched from a legal perspective: During the Cold War, the focus was on the disarmament regime for nuclear weapons; since 1989, research has focused on the integration, juridification and democratisation of European and international relations.

Against this background, the aim of this DFG project is to classify and contextualise the emerging multi-level system of arms export regulation: How does the democratic and judicial control of exports present itself? Is it convincing that the deployment of soldiers around the world requires a parliamentary mandate from the Bundestag, while arms exports are decided on in secret executive committees? Is there access to legal protection for those who are threatened by these weapons? If Germany and France are cooperating ever more closely in terms of armaments policy: What rules apply to exports? Which role do international legal requirements play in this? And above all: In which political frameworks are these questions discussed and decided? The aim of this project is to analyse these questions from the perspective of administrative, constitutional, European and international law and to identify ways to further develop a coherent multi-level system of arms export regulation from a constitutional and democratic perspective.