The Outer Limits of European Union Law

The Modern Law Review, 1979

This new book aims to provide some insights on recent trends and patters in judicial dialogue between the Court of Justice of the European Union (hereinafter “CJEU”) and national courts (Constitutional Courts included). The book features seven contributions. Their order is not accidental: specific issues come after more general topics, these latter being dealt with within the first three chapters. The first article included in this book and written by Giuseppe Martinico serves as a relevant introduction to the subject-matter of this book. It aims at exploring the interesting issue of judicial application of the ECHR and EU law, in order to elucidate the vertical relationship between national judges (constitutional and common law alike) and these external legal sources. The second contribution is somehow related to the first one: Ioana Răducu discusses the dialogue between courts, and more precisely the way the former accept the decisions rendered by supranational courts and also the...

Polish Review of International and European Law, 2018

According to I. Pernice, the European Union has to be distinguished from an international organization for four reasons at least.First, there is no international organization where citizens have their own political representation and participate in the decision-making process. Second, direct legal action against individuals by directly applicable legislation does not happen. Third, the question of protection of fundamental rights against such ‘international’ power is not an issue. Last but not least, ‘no international organization provides for legal remedies of individuals against measures of that organization since there is no action having direct effect to the individual’. Therefore the author believes that the EU is an organization of citizens albeit having an appearance of an organization between states.Nevertheless one needs to remember that the European Union was founded as an intergovernmental organization by the European states on the principles of international law. That is...

2020

The Article deals with the complex legitimacy problem that arose in the aftermath of the Eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis. This crisis has triggered a “twin legitimacy deficit”, with output legitimacy undermined, in terms of the EU’s capacity to react through European-wide redistributive policies, and the input legitimacy of national representative institutions severely limited under the strict conditionality put in place by the new governance system and by the “command-and-control relationship” imposed. The case law of the Court of Justice, in cases like Pringle (Court of Justice, judgment of 27 November 2012, case C-370/12) and Gauweiler (Court of justice, judgment of 16 June 2015, case C62/14), has revealed the same paradox. On the one hand, we have witnessed the imposition by an “unaccountable technocracy” (or the self-imposition by Member States) of a series of automatisms that limit the autonomy of national governments. On the other hand, the “command-and-control” style of int...

The transition from the European Communities of the 50s to the European Union of the 90s of the last century has helped the European integration process to develop towards new and more ambitious objectives and tasks, with the aim of strengthening Union’s institutional architecture as well as rationalising and legitimising its legal order in terms of fundamental values and principles, to make it respectful of the rule of law and human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities (as stated by the new European Union Treaty, Article 2). Nevertheless we are experiencing times of crisis, in which there is a risk that the spirit characterising the early days of the construction of Europe, supporting its development albeit with diffi culties and uncertainties, can go astray. In order not to lose that spirit and see how to apply it to the present and future of the European Union (EU), it may be useful to indicate – though in a schematic way – a prospective view, through which to look at the matter of how to further the objective of a broader and deeper legal integration at European level, with regard to private law fi eld and, therefore, to citizens’ aff airs, in particular.

JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 2014

Law plays a complex political role in global governance, being a key framework through which ideas, institutions and interests engage, are captured and legitimized. Critical strands in legal scholarship have 'problematized' the supposed neutrality of international law and the narrowness of the 'universal' values underpinning it, highlighting its contingent nature and the changing relationship between these three elements over time. Consideration of the legal dimension of the European Union's (EU) role in global governance, as an international actor mandated to act according to identified values, with law identified as both a means and an end in this endeavour, offers a unique opportunity to explore the legal dimension to the EU's approach and reflect on the key role that law plays within this. The central question of this book-how, and to what extent can the EU shape the legal structures and substance of global governance in line with its rule of law based mission statement?-is insightfully addressed by legal scholars in contributions organized under six sections on the areas of global governance, security, trade, the environment, international finance and some social issues (migration and labour rights). In the book's concluding chapter, the editors propose that the EU's 'governance mode of foreign policy' (a conceptual insight proposed by De Búrca in her chapter of that title, which describes the EU's tendency to act collectively and establish and institutionalize stable external governance systems on a wide range of issue areas) is 'vindicated'. This conclusion perhaps overlooks the implications of reflections raised by some contributors such as De Búrca, Wu and Durán on aspects of the EU's interpretation and progression of the principles and objectives of its mission statement contained in Articles 3(5) and 21 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). They highlight a perceived dissonance between, for example, values such as 'equality' and 'solidarity' and the EU's approach to partnership, multilateralism and the development of developing countries, and the EU's efforts to promote its own rules and interests within certain sectors. More critical exploration of these tensions would prompt further consideration of the particular approach of the EU to its norm laden, law-focused mandate; how this shapes, facilitates or masks the exertion of influence and power within global governance arenas; and the significance and role of law to the resulting policy outcomes. This comprehensive work makes an important and timely contribution to a growing field of research. Both international relations and legal scholars will find this book very useful due to the breadth of the subject material considered and the accessible way in which this has been presented and woven together. Its structure makes it amenable to use both as a reference and as a teaching resource.

1997

The author would like to thank his colleagues at the Europa Instituut for their valuable comments on earlier drafts of this article. Research on this topic is possible thanks to a grant of the Foundation for Law and Public Administration (Reob). ' CFSP and CJHA are also respectively referred to as the 'second' and 'third' pillar of the European Union, next to the 'first' Community pillar.

EU Counter-Terrorist Policies and Fundamental …, 2009

The criticism of the perceived 'competence creep' of the European Union is not new. The book, The Outer Limits of European Union Law (comprising an introduction and 15 chapters) sheds some light on the validity of this criticism. It is persuasive in its claim that there are ultimate limits to the European Union’s competence and reveals both the strengths and the weaknesses of these limits. The book addresses the limits of EU law from three angles. First, the book seeks to draw these limits in different policy areas (citizenship, police co-operation, free movement provisions, etc.). Secondly, it addresses broader questions of legitimacy and the nature of the integrated European legal order. Thirdly, it discusses specific mechanisms (Art.308 EC), principles (proportionality, subsidiarity, conferred powers) and techniques used by the European Courts, the institutions, and the Member States to extend or contain EU law.

2006

, Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges (Belgium), Attorney-at-Law -Member of the Athens Bar. DRAFT Comments welcome at