BOOK REVIEW

From Helsinki To Vienna: Basic Documents of The Helsinki
Process. Edited by Arie Bloed. Dordrecht/Boston/London:
Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. 1990. Pp. xiv, 285. $87.50

(Hardbound).

On August 1, 1975, a non-treaty was adopted at Helsinki, Finland,
by all the heads of state or government of Europe, except Albania,
plus Canada and the United States. The Helsinki Final Act, also known
as the Helsinki Accord, was the fruit of the Conference on Security
and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), the culmination of multilateral
preparatory discussions begun two years earlier. What East European
politicians regarded as merely a political document heralded an ongoing
process that has contributed in no small measure to the great changes
that have already changed the map of Europe.

Thus far, the ongoing CSCE has completed three major follow-
up conferences, each ending with the adoption of a concluding docu-
ment. These conferences were held at Belgrade (1977-78), Madrid
(1980-83), and Vienna (1986-89). The fourth follow-up conference is
scheduled to take place in Helsinki in March 1992. The pace of co-
operation, implementation of undertakings and innovations by the par-
ties were reviewed at these gatherings and may be measured in these
documents. Of course, these follow-up conferences were the main events
when the world watched most intently. Aside from these accomplish-
ments other important meetings took place, with positive results, al-
though without the glare of publicity accorded the follow-up conferences.

This book serves two functions. First, Dr. Bloed, who is a Senior
Lecturer of the Law of International Organizations at the Europa
Institute, University of Utrecht, and General Secretary of the Neth-
erlands Helsinki Committee, provides an excellent concise overview of
the Helsinki process from its genesis to the end of the Vienna CSCE
Follow-Up Conference. He also sets out a schedule of the planned
meetings to be held through March 1992, to keep the reader apprised
of the ongoing process. This part of the book will be most beneficial
to the neophyte who wishes to embark upon a study of the CSCE
process. His informative essay could have been of greater assistance to
the newcomer had Dr. Bloed used footnotes to direct the reader to the
appropriate extensive literature on each topic.

The second function of the book is to provide the reader with a
portable library of the important documents that have emerged. In this



IND. INT'L & COMP. L. REV.

regard, one finds what can be called twelve of the most essential
substantive documents necessary to study and assess the CSCE. Not
all of the documents are easily accessible to scholars elsewhere, for
example the Document of the Bonn Conference on Economic Coop-
eration in Europe adopted on April 11, 1990. Interestingly, in the
selected bibliography, Dr. Bloed gathers references to works in five
languages, but for some unexplained reason he has been rather stingy
with these sources given the rich literature which now exists.

Besides the three Concluding Documents of the Follow-Up Con-
ferences, Belgrade (1978), Madrid (1983) and Vienna (1989), and the
Helsinki Final Act (1975), there are the reports of specialized meetings
on Peaceful Settlement of Disputes at Montreux (1978) and at Athens
(1984), on Co-operation in the Mediterranean at Valletta (1979), on
the Scientific Forum at Hamburg (1980), and the Document of the
Stockholm Conference on Confidence-and Security-Building Measures
and Disarmament in Europe (1986). Main procedural rules and or-
ganizational modalities used in all the meetings and conferences are
found in the Document on Final Recommendations of the Helsinki
Consultations adopted at Helsinki (1973), and the annexes to the Vienna
Concluding Document (1989).

During November 19-21, 1990, the heads of state or government
met at the Paris meeting of the CSCE and adopted the "Charter of
Paris for a New Europe," which provided for the creation of the first
permanent CSCE institutions, namely, a small secretariat, a conflict
prevention center and an office of free elections. To comprehend the
present role of the CSCE, one needs to look at its antecedents. The
process underscores a commitment to human rights, economic liberty,
mutual security, environmental protection, democracy, and friendly
relations between states. Dr. Bloed's essay and relevant documents
admirably assist the reader to comprehend what has transpired in order
to follow the future of the CSCE.

Daniel C. Turack*

* B.A., (Toronto, 1957); L.L.B. (Osgoode Hall, 1960); L.L.M. (Michigan,
1961); S.J.D. (Michigan, 1969); Professor Capital University Law School.

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