Download Thursday, 17 May

Announcements
- NO Response Papers due in Section
tomorrow. BUT don’t get behind on your
reading, as discussion questions/guide is
posted.
EU Facts and Figures
Population: EU is 450 millions citizens
Economy: 3rd highest GDP in the world (US, JAP)
Enlargements: 27 Member States TODAY
1958: created with 6 states:FRA, GER, ITAL, NETH, LUX, BEL
1973: 3 more (UK, Ireland, Denmark)
1981: Greece
1986: 2 more (Spain, Portugal)
1995: 3 more (Sweden, Austria, Finland)
2004, May 1: The ten newcomers: Cyprus, the Czech
Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland,
Slovakia and Slovenia
2007, Jan. 1: Bulgaria and Romania
Common Currency: January 1, 2002 (EURO) € (UK, SWE,
DEN opted out)
The European Court of Justice &
the EU Legal System
I. Overview of EU Institutions and Processes
A. Council of Ministers: state interests
B. The European Commission: EU interests
C. The European Parliament: citizen interests
D. The European Court of Justice: ensure
uniform interpretation of EU law
I. Overview of EU Inst. and Processes, cont.)
E. Processes of Integration:
1. Balance of Power in Legislating
-Council of Ministers is dominant, but
overtime EP has gained more powers
2. Negative and Positive Integration
II. ECJ Functions and Composition
A. ECJ Functions
1. Jurisdiction over disputes involving MS, EU
institutions, businesses and individuals.
2. Preliminary Ruling Procedure: concrete
review and links the domestic legal system
with the EU legal system.
(II. ECJ Functions and Composition,
A. Functions, cont.)
Preliminary Ruling Procedure
National Court
2. Case comes before a national
court. Judge refers to ECJ as the
case raises a question of EU law.
4. Court applies the ECJ ruling
Disputants
1. Dispute arises at
national level
ECJ
3. ECJ resolves the
dispute and sends
back to court.
(II. ECJ Functions and Composition,
A. Functions, cont.)
3. Infringement Proceedings: Commission
takes MS to ECJ for failure to implement EU
law.
(II. ECJ Functions and Composition,
A. Functions, cont.)
Infringement Proceedings
European Court of Justice
1. If a nat’l govt. fails to comply with EU Law, the
Commission can bring a case before the ECJ reporting the
violation.
2. If ECJ finds that they are in non-compliance, it rules that
the state must comply. Financial penalties will apply.
Commission
Disputants
Nat’l Govt
(II. ECJ Functions, cont.)
B. ECJ Composition
-27 Judges
-6 year terms, that are renewable
-no dissenting opinions
III. Constitutionalization of the Treaty
A. Relationship between Int’l & domestic law
- This relationship is normally governed by
national constitutional rules
1. Monism
2. Dualism
(III. Constitutionalization of the Treaty, cont.)
B. The ECJ’s Approach
1. Van Gend en Loos (1963), Direct Effect
a. Background to case
b. Preliminary Reference (concrete review)
c. State opposition to direct effect
d. ECJ decision
(III. Constitutionalization of the Treaty,
B. The ECJ’s Approach, cont.)
2. Costa (1964), Supremacy
a. Background to the Case
b. Preliminary Reference (concrete review)
c. The ECJ Decision
IV. Impact of the EU Legal System:
Main Questions and Tensions
A. National Sovereignty
Definition: the ability of a government to
exercise unilateral control over their borders,
policies and laws and to operate without
outside influence over their internal affairs.
(IV. The Impact of the EU Legal System
A. National Sovereignty, cont.)
Question: What happens to national
sovereignty when national governments
empower international institutions?
(Question: What happens to nat. sov., cont.)
1. Member States retain control
- ECJ is controlled by states, EU policy
outcomes reflect powerful states
2. EU institutions and individuals can have an
independent impact on integration.
- short time horizons, unintended
consequences of EU laws, individuals bring
claims to ECJ
(IV. Impact of EU Legal System, cont.)
B. Is the institutional arrangement in the EU
Democratic?
Given that, EU citizens are governed by thousands of
EU laws:
Is the structure of the EU legal system sufficiently
democratic for European citizens? The ECJ can act
to ensure national govt. compliance with EU laws
creating rights for individuals, but the ECJ can also
expand the meaning of EU law. Is this democratic?
Why or why not?