While scholarly writing has dealt with the role of law in the process of European integration, so far it has shed little light on the lawyers and communities of lawyers involved in that process. Law has been one of the most thoroughly investigated aspects of the European integration process, and EU law has become a well-established academic discipline, with the emergence more recently of an impressive body of legal and political science literature on 'European law in context'. Yet this field has been dominated by an essentially judicial narrative, focused on the role of the European courts, underestimating in the process the multifaceted roles lawyers and law play in the EU polity, notably the roles they play beyond the litigation arena. This volume seeks to promote a deeper understanding of European law as a social and political phenomenon, presenting a more complete view of the European legal field by looking beyond the courts, and at the same time broadening the scholarly horizon by exploring the ways in which European law is actually made. To do this it describes the roles of the great variety of actors who stand behind legal norms and decisions, bringing together perspectives from various disciplines (law, political science, political sociology and history), to offer a global multi-disciplinary reassessment of the role of 'law' and 'lawyers' in the European integration process.

This insightful and discerning book offers a fresh discourse on the functioning of national courts as decentralised EU courts and a new thematic for revising some older understandings of how national judges apply EU law. Organised into three key sections, the interdisciplinary chapters combine approaches and theories originating from law, political science, sociology and economics. The first section addresses issues relating to judicial dialogue and EU legal mandates, the second looks at the topic of EU law in national courts and the third considers national courts' roles in protecting fundamental rights in the area of freedom, security and justice. The analysis of each is enriched through diverse research methods such as case-law analysis, citation network analysis, interviews, surveys and statistics. With its new legal and empirical assessment covering the newest member states of the EU, National Courts and EU Law will hold strong appeal for scholars and students in the fields of EU law, social sciences and humanities. It will also be of use to legal practitioners interested in the issue of judicial application of EU law. Contributors include: M. Claes, M. de Visser, M. de Werd, M. Wind, B. de Witte, T. Evas, M. Gorski, C. Hermanin, U. Jaremba, J.A. Mayoral, D. Piqani, K. Podstawa, R. Raffaelli, U. Sadl, A. Tatham, A. Torres Perez

Differentiation was at first not perceived as a threat to the European project, but rather as a tool to promote further integration. Today, more EU policies than ever are marked by concentric circles of integration and a lack of uniform application. As the EU faces increasingly existential challenges, this timely book considers whether the proliferation of mechanisms of flexibility has contributed to this newly fragile state or whether, to the contrary, differentiation has been fundamental to integration despite the heterogeneity of national interests and priorities. Written by emerging and established experts in the field, the chapters examine the present and future of differentiation in EU law. Part I covers general institutional aspects, with contributors examining the nature and characteristics of the various institutional and extra-institutional forms of differentiation. Part II takes a policy-oriented perspective, focussing on areas of EU law and policy in which differentiated integration is prevalent or particularly intriguing. This includes Economic and Monetary Union, the internal market, justice and home affairs, and foreign policy. Differentiated integration is now a defining feature of the EU polity, with the potential to impact almost every facet of EU regulation. This book will be essential reading for students and academics in EU law or anyone interested in the future of EU integration. Contributors include: V. Borger, M. Dawson, M. de Visser, B. De Witte, W. Devroe, A. Durana, N. El-Enany, C. Fasone, E. Ferran, E. Herlin-Karnell, C. Herrmann, S. Kingston, P. Koutrakos, A. Ott, S. Peers, D. Thym, P. Van Cleynenbreugel, S. Van den Bogaert, A.P. van der Mei, E. Vos, M. Weimer

This well-constructed, and well-written, collection fills a gap in the scholarship. It offers a rounded and plausible picture of the Court's role in Europe, engaging with the complexity of the law without losing sight of the bigger political picture. Well-contextualised, critical, but nuanced, discussions of the role of rights, economics, science, and institutions, and of the important particularities of EU adjudication, will make this volume unmissable for those interested in the political role of the Court of Justice of the EU.' - Gareth Davies, VU University of Amsterdam, The NetherlandsThis book delves into the rationale, components of, and responses to accusations of judicial activism at the European Court of Justice. Detailed chapters from academics, practitioners and stakeholders bring diverse perspectives on a range of factors - from access rules to institutional design and to substantive functions - influencing the European Court's political role. Each of the contributing authors invites the reader to approach the debate on the role of the Court in terms of a constantly evolving set of interactions between the EU judiciary, the European and national political spheres, as well as a multitude of other actors vested in competing legitimacy claims. The book questions the political role of the Court as much as it stresses the opportunities - and corresponding responsibilities - that the Court's case law offers to independent observers, political institutions and civil society organisations. Judicial Activism at the European Court of Justice will appeal to researchers and graduate students as well as to EU and national officials. Contributors: A. Arnull, L. Azoulai, M. Bulterman, S. Carrera, M. Dawson, M. de Visser, B. de Witte, V. Hatzopoulos, M. Hoereth, C. Kaupa, E. Muir, B. Petkova, E. Vos, C. Wissels

EU Federalism and Constitutionalism: The Legacy of Altiero Spinelli, edited by Andrew Glencross and Alexander H. Trechsel, represents the first book-length study of the travails of the implementation of federalism at the European level from the perspective of Altiero Spinelli's ideas and his political life, which were both devoted to a federally united Europe. It is also a timely publication given the protracted struggle to implement a new EU institutional architecture the 2009 Lisbon Treaty that is already being tested by the fallout from the global financial crisis. This fallout has brought into stark relief the tensions within the EU over the question of enhancing solidarity and federal unity or remaining a looser association of sovereign states. Hence by examining the successes and failures of federalism within the EU system, the book seeks to explain not only how the EU has reached its current impasse but also how it may fare in the future. To achieve this objective, the book takes an interdisciplinary approach that covers all three dimensions of the European project: historical, legal, and political. In this fashion, Andrew Glencross and Alexander H. Trechsel's EU Federalism and Constitutionalism: The Legacy of Altiero Spinelli offers a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the history, evolution, and future of federal principles and institutions in the European integration process."

Globalization and international economic governance offer unprecedented opportunities for cultural exchange. Foreign direct investments can promote cultural diversity and provide the funds needed to locate, recover and preserve cultural heritage. Nonetheless, globalization and international economic governance can also jeopardize cultural diversity and determine the erosion of the cultural wealth of nations. Has an international economic culture emerged that emphasizes productivity and economic development at the expense of the common wealth? This book explores the 'clash of cultures' between international law and international cultural law, and asks whether States can promote economic development without infringing their cultural wealth. The book contains original chapters by experts in the field. Key issues include how international courts and tribunals are adjudicating culture-related cases; the interplay between indigenous peoples' rights and economic globalization; and the relationships between culture, human rights, and economic activities. The book will be of great interest and use to researchers and students of international trade law, cultural heritage law, and public international law.

Culture represents inherited values, ideas, beliefs, and traditions, which characterize social groups and their behaviour. Culture is not a static concept but rather a dynamic force and as such has always benefitted from economic exchange. Nowadays globalization and international economic governance offer unprecedented opportunities for cultural exchange. In parallel, foreign direct investments can promote cultural diversity and provide the funds needed to locate, recover and preserve cultural heritage. Nonetheless, globalization and international economic governance can also jeopardize cultural diversity and determine the erosion of the cultural wealth of nations. The increase in global trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) has determined the creation of legally binding and highly effective regimes that demand states to promote and facilitate trade and FDI. An international economic culture has emerged that emphasizes productivity and economic development at the expense of the common wealth.This book explores the 'clash of cultures' between international law and international cultural law exploring some key questions such as whether states can promote economic development without infringing their cultural wealth? The book is split into four parts, the first part explore the main themes and challenges while part two considers the cultural life of international economic law, part three focuses on intellectual property law and the fourth explores issues in European law. The book contains original chapters by experts in the field including Yvonne Donders, Francesco Francioni, Federico Lenzerini and Ana Vrdoljak. It covers issues including whether grass root resistance developed to cope with the threats to culture posed by economic globalization, how international courts and tribunals are adjudicating culture-related cases, and the relationships between culture, human rights, and economic activities.

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.

Constitutional Change through Euro-Crisis Law contains a comparative constitutional analysis of the impact of a very broad range of euro-crisis law instruments on the EU and national constitutions. It covers contrasting assessments of the impact of euro-crisis law on national parliaments, various types of criticism on the EU economic governance framework, different views on what is needed to improve the multilevel system of economic governance, and valuable insights into the nature of emergency discourse in the legislative arena and of the spillover from the political to the judicial sphere. In addition, it deals with how bailout countries, even if part of the same group of euro area Member States subject to a programme, have reacted differently to the crisis.

Constitutional Change through Euro-Crisis Law contains a comparative constitutional analysis of the impact of a very broad range of euro-crisis law instruments on the EU and national constitutions. It covers contrasting assessments of the impact of euro-crisis law on national parliaments, various types of criticism on the EU economic governance framework, different views on what is needed to improve the multilevel system of economic governance, and valuable insights into the nature of emergency discourse in the legislative arena and of the spillover from the political to the judicial sphere. In addition, it deals with how bailout countries, even if part of the same group of euro area Member States subject to a programme, have reacted differently to the crisis.

Social rights, while traditionally the neglected sibling within the human rights family, have been prominent on the agenda in Europe in recent years. The debate over the justiciability of social rights in the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the revision of the Council of Europe's European Social Charter, have contributed in different ways to this prominence. The chapters in this book examine these recent developments, and discuss some of the current dilemmas and challenges for the system of protection of social rights in Europe. The collection moves deliberately beyond the traditional focus on labour rights to consider other social rights which are seen to be of growing importance, such as health and disability in particular. Writers who are familiar with, and in some cases who have worked within, the various European systems assess different aspects of their functioning, including their respective mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement. The relationship between the two main systems of protection of social rights (The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Social Charter) is considered both in a chapter on the possibility for future accession of the EU to the ESC, as well as through a series of case studies on the right to work, to health, to freedom from discrimination, and the rights of the disabled. This approach allows reflection on the respective strengths and weaknesses of these two systems, and the existing tensions and synergies between them.

Social rights, while traditionally the neglected sibling within the human rights family, have been prominent on the agenda in Europe in recent years. The debate over the justiciability of social rights in the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the revision of the Council of Europe's European Social Charter, have contributed in different ways to this prominence. The chapters in this book examine these recent developments, and discuss some of the current dilemmas and challenges for the system of protection of social rights in Europe. The collection moves deliberately beyond the traditional focus on labour rights to consider other social rights which are seen to be of growing importance, such as health and disability in particular. Writers who are familiar with, and in some cases who have worked within, the various European systems assess different aspects of their functioning, including their respective mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement. The relationship between the two main systems of protection of social rights (The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Social Charter) is considered both in a chapter on the possibility for future accession of the EU to the ESC, as well as through a series of case studies on the right to work, to health, to freedom from discrimination, and the rights of the disabled. This approach allows reflection on the respective strengths and weaknesses of these two systems, and the existing tensions and synergies between them.

This book reappraises the constitutional fundamentals of EU foreign relations law. The essays in the book examine and reassess the basic principles of EU foreign relations law that have emerged over 50 years of incremental Treaty-based and judicial development and explore the particular character of the EU's "external constitution". They have been written against a background of change and debate: the deliberation over the character of the appropriate constitutional framework which has surrounded the drafting of the Constitutional and Reform Treaties, the increasingly cross-pillar nature of much EU external action, and renewed interest in the accountability of foreign relations policy and practice to democratic and judicial review within and without the EU. This collection will be of interest not only to EU foreign relations law specialists but also to those concerned with broader constitutional issues within EU law. In exploring the legal context in which the EU seeks to develop an international identity, and to structure and execute policies at the international level, the collection will also interest those working in international relations.