Eu Law And National Constitutions

This two-volume book, published open access, brings together leading scholars of constitutional law from twenty-nine European countries to revisit the role of national constitutions at a time when decision-making has increasingly shifted to the European and transnational level. It offers important insights into three areas. First, it explores how constitutions reflect the transfer of powers from domestic to European and global institutions. Secondly, it revisits substantive constitutional values, such as the protection of constitutional rights, the rule of law, democratic participation and constitutional review, along with constitutional court judgments that tackle the protection of these rights and values in the transnational context, e.g. with regard to the Data Retention Directive, the European Arrest Warrant, the ESM Treaty, and EU and IMF austerity measures. The responsiveness of the ECJ regarding the above rights and values, along with the standard of protection, is also assessed. Thirdly, challenges in the context of global governance in relation to judicial review, democratic control and accountability are examined. On a broader level, the contributors were also invited to reflect on what has increasingly been described as the erosion or ‘twilight’ of constitutionalism, or a shift to a thin version of the rule of law, democracy and judicial review in the context of Europeanisation and globalisation processes. The national reports are complemented by a separately published comparative study, which identifies a number of broader trends and challenges that are shared across several Member States and warrant wider discussion. The research for this publication and the comparative study were carried out within the framework of the ERC-funded project ‘The Role and Future of National Constitutions in European and Global Governance’. The book is aimed at scholars, researchers, judges and legal advisors working on the interface between national constitutional law and EU and transnational law. The extradition cases are also of interest to scholars and practitioners in the field of criminal law. Anneli Albi is Professor of European Law at the University of Kent, United Kingdom. Samo Bardutzky is Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

This book provides an in-depth guide to researchers and practitioners who are interested in analyzing the evolution of EU law from a national and comparative constitutional law perspective. The volume deals with questions of how EU Member States’ constitutional systems, including the subnational tier, interact with the supranational level. It maps the evolution over time of constitutional strategies in the face of multi-level governance and individuates contextual factors on an empirical basis. The volume includes twelve national reports written by leading experts in constitutional and EU law, and in political science. The countries discussed include the six founding Member States, together with a selection of Member States in which a clear-cut evolution in the national constitutional approach towards the EU can be observed. These include the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom. The latter is included as an “extreme” case in which the change in constitutional strategy over time has resulted in withdrawing from the Union altogether. Taken together, the book assembles the building blocks of an explanatory theory of constitutional strategies in the face of multi-level governance. The volume will be of interest to students and researchers in comparative constitutional law, political science and multidisciplinary EU studies. It will also be a valuable resource for policy-makers.

This two-volume book, published open access, brings together leading scholars of constitutional law from twenty-nine European countries to revisit the role of national constitutions at a time when decision-making has increasingly shifted to the European and transnational level. It offers important insights into three areas. First, it explores how constitutions reflect the transfer of powers from domestic to European and global institutions. Secondly, it revisits substantive constitutional values, such as the protection of constitutional rights, the rule of law, democratic participation and constitutional review, along with constitutional court judgments that tackle the protection of these rights and values in the transnational context, e.g. with regard to the Data Retention Directive, the European Arrest Warrant, the ESM Treaty, and EU and IMF austerity measures. The responsiveness of the ECJ regarding the above rights and values, along with the standard of protection, is also assessed. Thirdly, challenges in the context of global governance in relation to judicial review, democratic control and accountability are examined. On a broader level, the contributors were also invited to reflect on what has increasingly been described as the erosion or ‘twilight’ of constitutionalism, or a shift to a thin version of the rule of law, democracy and judicial review in the context of Europeanisation and globalisation processes. The national reports are complemented by a separately published comparative study, which identifies a number of broader trends and challenges that are shared across several Member States and warrant wider discussion. The research for this publication and the comparative study were carried out within the framework of the ERC-funded project ‘The Role and Future of National Constitutions in European and Global Governance’. The book is aimed at scholars, researchers, judges and legal advisors working on the interface between national constitutional law and EU and transnational law. The extradition cases are also of interest to scholars and practitioners in the field of criminal law. Anneli Albi is Professor of European Law at the University of Kent, United Kingdom. Samo Bardutzky is Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

This title is a comprehensive textbook of EU constitutional law, setting out the structure, values, procedures, and policies of the European Union. It is a first point of reference for issues of EU constitutional law. The book encompasses six major parts. The first part addresses the formation history of the European Union, the treaties, the accessions, and the withdrawal of the United Kingdom. The second part covers the competences of the European Union. It contains an extensive analysis of the key constitutional principles governing the exercise of competences by the Union and the balance of power between the Union and its Member States, followed by an in-depth anaylsis of EU citizenship and the four freedoms, followed by an overview of the main internal and external policy domains. The third part addresses the role and workings of the various institutions (European Council, Council, European Parliament, Commission, European Court of Justice, and European Central Bank), the position of the Member States of the Union, and various other institutional matters. Part four explores the various decision-making processes, addressing not only the legislative and executive decision-making, but also the budget, CFSP, and external action. The fifth part looks at the legal instruments and the position of EU law in the EU and national legal orders, with an attention to the key principles of primary and direct effect, and the role of fundamental rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The final part sets out the complete and coherent system of judicial protection in the European Union, offering an overview of the various courses of action before the EU courts and in the national legal orders to enforce EU law or to obtain judicial protection.

This volume makes a contribution to the ongoing lively discussion on European constitutionalism by offering a new perspective and a new interpretation of European constitutional plurality. The book combines diverse disciplinary approaches to the constitutional debate. It brings together complementing contributions from scholars of European politics, economics, and sociology, as well as established scholars from various fields of law. Moreover, it provides analytical clarity to the discussion and combines theory with more practical and critical approaches that make use of the constitutional toolbox in analysing the tensions between the different constitutions. The collection is a valuable point of reference not only for scholars interested in European studies but also for graduate and post-graduate students.

Do individual constitutions, and the legal cultures underlying them, pose an obstacle to future EU integration? This ambitious collection brings together reports from all the European Member States, systematically setting out their individual constitutional guarantees. In doing so, it tracks possible roadblocks to the future evolution of European integration. Written by recognised authorities in each Member State, it offers an authoritative and rigorous overview of the European Union's constitutional landscape. Its single-structure approach allows for comparison while maintaining consistency. It will become the standard reference work for academics, students and practitioners in the field of European Union law and integration.

In the wake of the EU's biggest enlargement, this book explores the adaptation of the constitutions of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) for membership in the European Union. In response to the painful past, these new constitutions were notably closed to transfer of powers to international organizations, and accorded a prominent status to sovereignty and independence. A little more than a decade later, the process of amending these provisions in view of the transfer of sovereign powers to a supranational organization has proved a sensitive and controversial exercise. This book analyses the amendments against the background of comparative experience and theory of sovereignty, as well as the context of political sensitivities, such as rising euroscepticism ahead of accession referendums.