European Union Law
Alina Kaczorowska-Ireland
- 1,086 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
European Union Law
Alina Kaczorowska-Ireland
About This Book
The fourth edition of this well established and highly regarded work on EU law maintains its character by combining comprehensive yet accessible coverage with in-depth analysis of the law and student-friendly pedagogy. It is fully up to date so encompassing critical examination of new important judgments of EU and national courts and developments in institutional, constitutional and substantive EU Law.
The book keeps its unique style in that it is both a textbook and a casebook. Case summaries are highlighted in colour-tinted boxes for ease of reference, and are accompanied by key facts and critical analysis, often in the light of subsequent developments.
The student-friendly approach is enhanced by market-driven pedagogical features, including:
- Concise outlines, at the beginning of each chapter describing its content and assisting in revision;
- An aide-mémoire, often presented in diagrammatic form, at the end of each chapter to highlight and reinforce key points;
- End of chapter recommended reading lists to encourage and facilitate further research;
- End of chapter problem and essay questions testing the students' ability to apply what they have learnt;
- Cross-references to show how topics are interrelated; and
- A map identifying EU Member States, candidate States; and, potential candidate States.
The book's companion website offers a range of teaching and learning resources including an interactive timeline of the EU, useful web links, self-test questions and much more.
This book is essential reading for those studying EU law on both undergraduate and postgraduate courses and will be of interest to students of political science, social science and business studies.
Frequently asked questions
Information
Sources of EU law
Contents
- Chapter outline
- 4.1 Introduction
- 4.2 Primary sources of EU law
- 4.3 General principles of EU law
- 4.4 External sources which derive from international commitments of the EU
- 4.5 Secondary sources of EU law
- 4.6 EU acts not expressly mentioned in Article 288 TFEU
- 4.7 The contribution of the ECJ to the creation of sources of EU law
- 4.8 “Soft law” and the open method of co-ordination (OMC)
- Recommended reading
- End of chapter questions
- Aide-mémoire
Chapter outline
- The primary sources are:
- The founding Treaties: the EEC and the EA Treaties as amended by subsequent Treaties. Accordingly, after the entry into force of the ToL, the EU is founded on the TEU and the TFEU.
- Protocols and annexes attached to these Treaties which form an integral part of them.
- Acts of accession of new Member States.
- Acts adopted by the Council, or the Council and the EP for the adoption of which approval by the Member States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements is necessary, e.g. Articles 311 and 233(1) TFEU as well as amendments to the EU Treaties effected under the simplified revision procedures provided for in Article 48(6) and (7) TEU.
- The CFREU (Article 6(1) TEU) (see Chapter 8).
The primary sources are at the pinnacle of the hierarchy of EU law. - General principles of EU law refer mainly to a body of unwritten principles which underpin the EU legal order. In the hierarchy of sources, general principles are either part of primary sources or inferior to primary sources but above all other sources. Their ranking depends on their origin. Many principles are expressly mentioned in the Treaties and in the CFREU and are therefore clearly primary sources. The ECJ has recourse to general principles in order to supplement other sources of EU law.
- External sources derive from international agreements concluded between the EU, and third States or international organisations. The EU has legal personality and as such is empowered to enter into international agreements. By virtue of Article 216(2) TFEU such international agreements are binding on the EU and the Member States, and form an integral part of EU law. In the hierarchy of sources they rank below primary sources and general principles of EU law but above secondary sources.
- Secondary sources are legislative and non-legislative binding acts which the relevant EU institutions are empowered to adopt. Three types – regulations, directives and decisions – are binding; the others – recommendations and opinions – have no binding legal force. Secondary sources which are binding rank in importance below primary sources, general principles of EU law and law stemming from international agreements. The ToL established a hierarchy of binding secondary sources in that a distinction is made between those binding acts which are adopted on the basis of the Treaties and are referred to in Article 289 TFEU as legislative acts, and those binding acts which are adopted on the basis of secondary acts, i.e. on the basis of legislative acts. These non-legislative acts are either delegated or implementing acts.
- Some EU acts not expressly mentioned in Article 288 TFEU are binding, some are not. If binding, their ranking depends on their object and material content.
- With regard to the case law of the ECJ, there is no doctrine of precedent under EU law. However, for many reasons, the most important being legal certainty, the ECJ is reluctant to depart from the principles laid down in earlier cases. Thus, previous case law is important as it provides guidance for subsequent cases which raise the same or similar issues, but previous judicial decisions are not regarded as a complete statement of law and are not binding on national courts or on the ECJ. Thus, they cannot be formally regarded as a source of EU law. However, as the ECJ has established constitutional principles and important concepts of EU law in its judgments, which have subsequently become sources of EU law, its case law is indeed an important source of EU law.
- Soft law can be described as “rules of conduct which in principle have no legally binding force but which nevertheless may have practical effect”. A new approach of the EU to soft law under which it becomes a hybrid between traditional soft law and hard law is a key element of the open method of co-ordination (OMC).
4.1 Introduction
“By contrast with ordinary international treaties, the EEC Treaty has created its own legal system which, on the entry into force of the Treaty, became an integral part of the legal systems of the Member States and which their courts are bound to apply.”195
4.2 Primary sources of EU law
4.2.1 The founding Treaties and their amendments
- the Treaty of Rome of 25 March 1957 establishing the EEC; it entered into force on 1January 1958;
- the Treaty of Rome of 25 March 1957 establishing the Euratom; it entered into force on 1January 1958.