The European Court of Justice


Book Description

This book provides a broad-ranging assessment of the Court's contribution to the integration process. It shows how the Court has taken advantage of opportunities when they have arisen in the European political process to "constitutionalize" the founding treaties and to exert a strong influence on policy decisions. It also examines challenges confronting the European Union and examines why the Court's active role has not encountered greater opposition and analyzes the implications for the Court of current issues.




Defending Checks and Balances in EU Member States


Book Description

This open access book deals with Article 7 TEU measures, court proceedings, financial sanctions and the EU Rule of Law Framework to protect EU values with a particular focus on checks and balances in EU Member States. It analyses substantive standards, powers, procedures as well as the consequences and implications of the various instruments. It combines the analysis of the European level, be it the EU or the Council of Europe, with that of the national level, in particular in Hungary and Poland. The LM judgment of the European Court of Justice is made subject to detailed scrutiny.




Taking the EU to Court


Book Description

This open access book provides an exhaustive picture of the role that annulment conflicts play in the EU multilevel system. Based on a rich dataset of annulment actions since the 1960s and a number of in-depth case studies, it explores the political dimension of annulment litigation, which has become an increasingly relevant judicial tool in the struggle over policy content and decision-making competences. The book covers the motivations of actors to turn policy conflicts into annulment actions, the emergence of multilevel actors’ litigant configurations, the impact of actors’ constellations on success in court, as well as the impact of annulment actions on the multilevel policy conflicts they originate from.




The New EU Judiciary


Book Description

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has started to implement what is arguably the most signi cant set of reforms since the Nice Treaty, with notably the doubling of the number of judges at the General Court and the disappearance of the Civil Service Tribunal. Controversies surrounding the process and outcomes of the reforms called for a broader re ection on the European Courts and the way they cope with old and new challenges. To this end, this volume brings together junior and seasoned academics and practitioners to take stock of the various aspects of these reforms and the overall functioning of the EU Judiciary, from comparative, ‘insider’, and ‘outsider’ perspectives. Broadening and deepening our understanding of the reorganisation of the EU Judiciary, the contributors offer incisive analyses of reforms and evolutions, including: – a critical appraisal of the reform process and the role and powers of the CJEU; – implications of the reforms for the Court of Justice and the General Court; – lessons from the practice of the now dismantled Civil Service Tribunal; – a re ection on the future Uni ed Patent Court; – an evaluation of the role of the CJEU’s members and staffs and their selection; – an insider’s perspective into the workings of the repeat players (Legal Services of the European Commission and of the European Parliament) and the parties’ lawyers; – an assessment of the procedural reforms before the Court of Justice and the General Court with a speci c focus on the PPU; – the unfolding and impact of the digital revolution (e-Curia) on the CJEU; – the challenges of the languages regime and legal reasoning before the CJEU. Comparative perspectives elucidate speci c judiciary reforms across Europe, including detailed analyses of developments at the European Court of Human Rights, the French Conseil Constitutionnel, and the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. As a timely assessment of the effects of recent reforms on the EU Courts’ decision-making practices, roles, and identities, and more broadly on the legitimacy of the EU and its institutions as a whole, this book is unparalleled. It will be of great value to practitioners engaged in EU litigation, scholars of European law and policymakers at EU institutions, and all those interested in judicial process and reform.




Judicial Protection in the European Union


Book Description

Appearing at a time when the ancient problem of the individual versus the state once again occupies the minds of thinking Europeans, this important new book thoroughly evaluates the judicial system of the European Union, fully describing the nature of the judicial protection available to individuals, undertakings, and member States. With attention to the rapid and continuing development of the Community legal order, Schermers and Waelbroeck provide a much-needed perspective on the reasoning of the European Court of Justice in significant decisions, especially recent cases, and shed revealing light on how the rule of law may develop in future. An introductory chapter offers a masterful description of how Treaty provisions, Community acts, international law, and national legal orders interact in the procedures and decisions of the Court of Justice. Further chapters provide analysis and insight into such matters as the following: the crucial role of national courts as guarantors of the rights of individuals in Community law the validity of acts taken by Community institutions and member States, and protection against them the delivery of non-judicial opinion and other tasks of the Court of Justice the composition, function, and rules of procedure of the Court the organisation of the Court of First Instance and the appeal procedure against its decisions. Judicial Protection in the European Union is organised to facilitate its prodigious reference value. All important cases are examined, and abundant footnotes clearly indicate relevant precedents in each case. This is a fundamental source for students of European law, as well as a basic reference for practitioners and a valuable analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the European system of judicial protection.







EU Law and Governance


Book Description

An accessible and interdisciplinary take on EU law and governance, situating EU law in its political, social and cultural context.




The Ghostwriters


Book Description

The European Union is often depicted as a cradle of judicial activism and a polity built by courts. Tommaso Pavone shows how this judge-centric narrative conceals a crucial arena for political action. Beneath the radar, Europe's political development unfolded as a struggle between judges who resisted European law and lawyers who pushed them to embrace change. Under the sheepskin of rights-conscious litigants and activist courts, these “Euro-lawyers” sought clients willing to break state laws conflicting with European law, lobbied national judges to uphold European rules, and propelled them to submit noncompliance cases to the European Union's supreme court – the European Court of Justice – by ghostwriting their referrals. By shadowing lawyers who encourage deliberate law-breaking and mobilize courts against their own governments, The Ghostwriters overturns the conventional wisdom regarding the judicial construction of Europe and illuminates how the politics of lawyers can profoundly impact institutional change and transnational governance.




East African Community Law


Book Description

East African Community Law provides a comprehensive and open-access text book on EAC law. Written by leading experts, including the president of the EACJ, national judges, academics and practitioners, it provides the most complete overview to date of this increasingly important field. Uniquely, the book also provides a systematic comparison with EU law. EU companion chapters provide concise overviews of EU law and its development, offering valuable inspiration for the application and further development of EAC law. The book has been written for all practitioners, judges, civil servants, academics and students faced with questions of EAC law. It discusses institutional, substantive and jurisdictional issues, including the nature of EAC law, free movement and competition law as well as the reception of EAC law in Partner States.