The European Court Of Justice And The Autonomy Of The Member States

Whereas individual Member State governments occasionally complain about judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union, especially when those judgments curtail that state's policy autonomy in a sensitive domain, the collectivity of the Member State governments have agreed, in each treaty revision so far, to confirm and extend the far-reaching powers which the Court of Justice possesses for enforcing EU law. The explanation of the paradox can only be that, deep down, the Member States of the EU remain convinced that an effective Court of Justice with strong enforcement powers is one of the salient features of European Union law which have stood the test of time, and feel no inclination to clip the wings of that Court for fear that this would affect the effectiveness of the European integration process. Nevertheless, the grumblings about single judgments, or about the consistency and direction of the Court in particular policy fields, have never ceased, and indeed have become more audible in recent years. This book deals with the perception that the Court of Justice, quite often, does not leave sufficient autonomy to the Member States in developing their own legal and policy choices in areas where European and national competences overlap.

Whereas individual Member State governments of the European Union occasionally complain about judgments of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), especially when those judgments curtail that State's policy autonomy in a sensitive domain, the collectivity of the Member State governments have agreed in each treaty revision so far to confirm and extend the far-reaching powers which the ECJ possesses for enforcing EU law. The explanation of the paradox can only be that, deep down, the Member States of the EU remain convinced that an effective ECJ with strong enforcement powers is one of the salient features of EU law which have stood the test of time and feel no inclination to clip the wings of the ECJ for fear that this would affect the effectiveness of the European integration process. Nevertheless, the grumblings about single judgments, or about the consistency and direction of the ECJ in particular policy fields, have never ceased and indeed have become more audible in recent years. This book - now available in paperback - deals with the perception that the ECJ quite often does not leave sufficient autonomy to the Member States in developing their own legal and policy choices in areas where European and national competences overlap.

Is the procedural autonomy of EU Member State a myth or a reality? What should this concept be taken to mean? Starting from the analysis of requirements and principles regulating, generally speaking, the relationships between Member States’ and EU law, this book provides a definition of procedural autonomy able to account for the concept’s inherent limits. Out of an analysis of the more relevant EU jurisprudence, the author identifies the rationale underlying the interventions of the ECJ on issues of procedural autonomy and the common logic that emerges from it; and reveals how, in an unchanged context of ‘procedural autonomy’ of the Member States, national procedural law becomes more and more ‘functionalized’ to the requirements of effectiveness of substantive EU law. As such, we should speak of a ‘functionalized procedural competence’ rather than of procedural autonomy. But this is by no means a case of “Paradise Lost.” The book includes a foreword by Prof. Jürgen Schwarze, one of the founding fathers of European Administrative Law.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has played a vital role in promoting the process of European integration. In recent years, however, the expansion of EU law has led it to impact ever more politically sensitive issues, and controversial ECJ judgments have elicited unprecedented levels of criticism. Can we expect the Court to sustain its role as a motor of deeper integration without Member States or other countervailing forces intervening? To answer this question, we need to revisit established explanations of the Court’s power to see if they remain viable in the Court’s contemporary environment. We also need to better understand the ultimate limits of the Court’s power – the means through which and extent to which national governments, national courts, litigants and the Court’s other interlocutors attempt to influence the Court and to limit the impact of its rulings. In this book, leading scholars of European law and politics investigate how the ECJ has continued to support deeper integration and whether the EU is experiencing an increase in countervailing forces that may diminish the Court’s ability or willingness to act as a motor of integration. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of European Public Policy.

This book is a contributed volume published by the Court of Justice of the European Union on the occasion of its 60th anniversary. It provides an insight to the 60 years of case-law of the Court of Justice and its role in the progress of European Integration. The book includes contributions from eminent jurists from almost all the EU Member States. All the main areas of European Union are covered in a systematic way. The contributions are regrouped in four chapters dedicated respectively to the role of the Court of Justice and the Judicial Architecture of the European Union, the Constitutional Order of the European Union, the Area of EU Citizens and the European Union in the World. The topics covered remain of interest for several years to come. This unique book, a "must-have" reference work for Judges and Courts of all EU Members States and candidate countries, and academics and legal professionals who are active in the field of EU law, is also valuable for Law Libraries and Law Schools in Europe, the United States of America, Latin America, Asia and Africa and law students who focus their research and studies in EU law.

The European Union is traditionally seen as a new and partly separate legal order within the global legal system. At the same time, the EU is an important player in the global governance network. The strong and explicit link between the EU and a large number of other international organisations raises questions concerning the impact of decisions taken by those organisations and of international agreements concluded with those organisations (either by the EU itself or by its Member States) on the autonomy of the EU legal order. This book addresses the relationship between the EU and other international organisations by looking at the increasing influence of norms enacted by international organisations on the shaping of EU law.

This book examines the EU accession to the ECHR from a systemic perspective as well as from the specific perspective of the 2013 draft accession agreement negotiated between the relevant body of the Council of Europe and the EU Commission. It mainly follows a legal positivist approach to examining the nature and scope of obligations that will regulate the new relationship between EU law and European Convention on Human Rights law, concentrating specifically on the issue of jurisdictional interface between the Strasbourg and Luxembourg courts. The book offers an in-depth examination of the core mechanisms of the draft accession agreement, taking into account the remarks in Luxembourg's Opinion 2/13, focusing especially on the issue of attribution of responsibility when a violation of ECHR has been jointly committed by the EU and its Member States, the inter-party procedure and the prior involvement mechanism. The work basically argues that EU accession to the ECHR will have a constitutional impact on the EU legal order, and may also have certain implications for the jurisdictional interface between the Strasbourg and Luxembourg courts. It also questions the mode of interaction between some normative aspects of ECHR law and EU law, offering certain arguments as to the interaction between the Charter of Fundamental Rights and ECHR from overlapping and accommodative perspectives post-accession. The book concludes that with the EU accession to the ECHR – as it stands right now with the draft accession agreement – the macro relationship between the Strasbourg and Luxembourg courts will change significantly, while their constitutional roles will become vertically accommodated and better specialized.

Is the procedural autonomy of EU Member State a myth or a reality? What should this concept be taken to mean? Starting from the analysis of requirements and principles regulating, generally speaking, the relationships between Member States’ and EU law, this book provides a definition of procedural autonomy able to account for the concept’s inherent limits. Out of an analysis of the more relevant EU jurisprudence, the author identifies the rationale underlying the interventions of the ECJ on issues of procedural autonomy and the common logic that emerges from it; and reveals how, in an unchanged context of ‘procedural autonomy’ of the Member States, national procedural law becomes more and more ‘functionalized’ to the requirements of effectiveness of substantive EU law. As such, we should speak of a ‘functionalized procedural competence’ rather than of procedural autonomy. But this is by no means a case of “Paradise Lost.” The book includes a foreword by Prof. Jürgen Schwarze, one of the founding fathers of European Administrative Law.