EU Law: Legal Systems and Acts

This innovative Research Handbook explores judicial, scholarly, and theoretical approaches to general principles in the EU legal order against the backdrop of considerable uncertainty about the concept. It does so by analysing both a diverse range of general principles in discrete areas of EU law ('zooming in') and external, wider perspectives on the notion of a general principle of law from international law, comparative law, and legal theory ('zooming out'). Rather than arguing for a single closed definition of what a general principle of law in the EU legal order must look like, this Research Handbook identifies conceptual, theoretical, and legal parameters within which the doctrine of general principles can be meaningfully discussed and contested in EU law. The different analytical layers built into this Research Handbook shed light on whether general principles are defined by the different contexts in which they apply; whether general principles are in practice leading to more coherence between different areas of EU law; and what challenges they create for the EU legal order. Chapters thus contribute to a more refined methodological and doctrinal understanding of general principles in the EU legal order. Opening up new spaces to critically reflect on the concept, role, significance, and limitations of general principles, the Research Handbook on General Principles in EU Lawwill be a key resource for scholars and students of European law, politics, and theory of integration and internationalisation.

This book celebrates 70 years of EU law. It is written by lawyers whose daily work in the Commission Legal Service ensures that EU law is correctly applied and properly implemented within the Union. EU law is the guiding thread of European integration. All major steps forward in the process of integration are reflected in acts of EU law. EU law characterises the past 70 years of the EU, from the ECSC to the EU of today. In those 70 years, the EU has transformed from an economic union to a union for its citizens.

This comprehensive Handbook provides a critical and analytical guide to the application of interdisciplinary research methods in EU law and explores the advancement of the EU legal landscape from an interdisciplinary research perspective. Venturing beyond doctrinal legal scholarship, it reflects on the cognitive synergies between EU law and other disciplines, and advances the debate on contemporary trends in EU law research. Bringing together a carefully selected group of expert authors, this Handbook surveys the ways in which studying and researching EU law has become an increasingly integrative endeavour. It presents key insights from fields traditionally associated with EU law, including history, economics and political science, but also disciplines traditionally less explored by EU lawyers, such as literature, social psychology and data science, thereby offering novel perspectives and epistemological tools that enrich our understanding of the EU and its laws. Showcasing the variety of research questions and methods advancing EU law studies, it provides a systematisation of the diverse approaches to studying the legal order of the EU. Interdisciplinary Research Methods in EU Lawis essential reading for researchers, academics and graduate students of European law and politics, and for those interested in research methods in law. Think tanks, research institutes and practitioners of EU law and related areas will equally benefit from the applied nature of the text.

This book presents the case law of Polish courts, namely the Supreme Court, administrative courts and the Constitutional Tribunal, in which the principles of EU law have been successfully applied. It discusses how Polish courts apply principles of consistent interpretation, primacy and direct effect of EU law in their daily adjudicating practice in order to ensure effet utile of EU law, resulting in effective protection of individuals' rights derived from the EU legal order. The book explores the legal nature of these principles and, in particular, the requirement that national rules that are found to be incompatible with legally binding and enforceable EU law should be disapplied by the domestic courts. It explains Polish courts' reasoning concerning the inseparable relationship between the principle of primacy of EU law and the remedy of disapplication of national law. As the guidelines provided for the national courts by the Court of Justice of the European Union are often quite vague, the work will be important and useful for academics and practitioners from different European jurisdictions to observe the manner in which these principles of EU law are applied in jurisdictions other than their own.

This comprehensive Research Handbook investigates the success of EU law enforcement processes. Going beyond traditional analyses of administrations and courts in isolation, it focuses on the increased cooperation seen between national and EU authorities, and on the widening variety of means used to enhance compliance with EU norms. Bringing together leading experts from law, political science, economics and socio-legal studies, this Research Handbook provides a state-of-the-art analysis of EU enforcement laws, policies, and scholarship. It presents conceptual, institutional, and sectoral perspectives on EU law enforcement, advancing existing knowledge on why, when, and how laws are being followed or disobeyed. Contributors explore enforcement in specific EU policy areas, including foreign relations, economic policy, the internal market, competitiveness, and citizen rights. It argues that an overarching EU enforcement strategy would be more successful than the current model of diverse methods of enforcement in different policy areas. Employing multi-dimensional and comparative approaches, the Research Handbook on the Enforcement of EU Lawwill be a valuable resource for scholars of European law and politics, public administration, governance, and compliance. It will also be a useful guide for public officials seeking to (re)design and assess effective and enforceable policies.

The past two decades have seen a radical change in the online landscape with the emergence of GAFAM (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft). Facebook, specifically, has acquired a unique monopoly position among social media, and is part of the digital lives of billions of users. A mutual influence between Facebook and the legal framework has gradually emerged, as EU legislators and judges are on the one hand forced to accept the reality of new, widespread behaviors and practices and on the other have constructed a legal framework that imposes limits and rules on the use of the social network. This book offers a unique perspective on this relationship, exploring the various activities and services proposed by Facebook and discussing the attendant legal issues. Accordingly, questions concerning the GDPR, its principles, rights and obligations are in the center of the discussions. However, the book does not limit its scope to data protection: Facebook has alsogreatly contributed to a liberalization and democratization of speech. In accordance, the classic principles of media law must be revisited, adapted or suitably enforced on the platform. Intellectual property law governs what is owned and by whom, no matter whether raw data or informational goods are concerned. Frameworks on hate speech and fake news are the result of coregulation principles of governance, whereas defamation jurisprudence continues to evolve, considering the consequences of merely "liking" certain content. The economic model of advertising is also governed by strict rules. Above all, Facebook is currently caught in a dilemma of substantial interest for society as a whole: is it a neutral online intermediary, i.e., merely a passive player on the Internet, or is it transforming against its will into an editorial service?  In conclusion, the book has a dual purpose. First, it proposes a global and practical approach to the EU legal framework on Facebook. Second, it explores the current limits and the ongoing transformation of EU Internet law as it steadily adapts to life in the new digital world.

This edited volume explores the principle of solidarity in international and EU law. Although the concept is regularly invoked in international and EU legal and policy debates alike, its meaning, nature and functions, as well as normative contours still remain nebulous. The contributions in this volume reflect on the legal trajectory of solidarity in international and EU law and offer unique insights into the evolution and status of the principle in different fields of international and EU law. By doing so, the book also serves as a springboard for answering broader questions pertaining to what the stage of development of this principle may imply for the two legal orders and their interaction. As the chapters of this book show, the debate on solidarity is premised on conflicting visions regarding the values underpinning the international legal order as well as the self-interest or community-oriented driving forces behind States' action at the international level. The regional (EU law) perspective offers a new lens through which to revisit classic questions pertaining to the nature of modern international law and to assess its continuing relevance in a world of regional organizations presenting different visions (and levels) of co-operation. This book, the second volume to appear in the Global Europe Series, will appeal to international and EU law researchers and policy-makers alike with an interest in the nature and function of the principle of solidarity in international and EU law.

This book aims at exploring possible solutions to remove the obstacles to the free circulation of judgments in the civil justice area which arise from the remarkably different national rules on procedural time limits. The interplay between national and EU law reveals that time limits raise significant challenges connected with the right to a fair trial under Art. 6 ECHR and Art. 47 CFR, which negatively impact EU cross-border civil litigation. To overcome some of the weaknesses of the current legal framework governing the cross-border enforcement of judgments and strengthen the parties' procedural rights, the book intends to determine whether and to what extent time limits can be harmonised at EU level. Giovanni Chiapponi is doctor in law at the universities of Luxembourg and Bologna.

The role of law in responding to global environmental problems and the interplay between different levels of regulation and governance is becoming increasingly relevant in the field of liability and reparation for environmental damage. This book examines the relationship and reciprocal influences between the EU and the international legal order in a multilevel and comparative perspective, in relation to the ongoing efforts to elaborate effective regimes of liability and reparation for environmental damage. It addresses questions concerning the impact of interaction on the development, implementation and enforcement of appropriate responses to environmental damage within the respective legal orders and on a global level.

This open access book offers a new account on the legal conflict between privacy and trade in the digital sphere. It develops a fundamental rights theory with a new right to continuous protection of personal data and explores the room for the application of this new right in trade law. Replicable legal analysis and practical solutions show the way to deal with cross-border data flows without violating fundamental rights and trade law principles. The interplay of privacy and trade became a topic of worldwide attention in the wake of Edward Snowden's revelations concerning US mass surveillance. Based on claims brought forward by the activist Maximilian Schrems, the ECJ passed down two high-profile rulings restricting EU-US data flows. Personal data is relevant for a wide range of services that are supplied across borders and restrictions on data flows therefore have an impact on the trade with such services. After the two rulings by the ECJ, it is less clear then ever how privacy protection and trade can be brought together on an international scale. Although it was widely understood that the legal dispute over EU-US data flows concerns the broad application of EU data protection law, it has never been fully explored just how far the EU's requirements for the protection of digital rights go and what this means beyond EU-US data flows. This book shows how the international effects of EU data protection law are rooted in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and that the architecture of EU law demands that the Charter as primary EU law takes precedence over international law. The book sets out to solve the problem of how the EU legal data transfer regime must be designed to implement the EU's extraterritorial fundamental rights requirements without violating the principles of the WTO's law on services. It also addresses current developments in international trade law - the conclusion of comprehensive trade agreements - and offers suggestion for the design of data flow clauses that accommodate privacy and trade.

This book analyses the principle of equality from three perspectives: public international law, private international law and EU law. It is the first book in English providing a comprehensive overview of this principle in these areas of law and showing the current trends and issues concerning its application. Its main goal is to understand whether and to what extent the principle of equality has been affirmed in public and private international law, as well as EU law, and what - if any - the common core of this principle is. The analysis carried out in this contributed volume starts from general analyses of the principle of equality in the areas of the law covered by the book and then discusses the principle in more specific areas, such as human rights law, international adjudication (including investment law) and the law of international organizations. The book is intended to become a benchmark for academics dealing with matters of equality in public international law, private international law and EU law. It will be a useful tool for practitioners too, the collected chapters being based on the relevant case law dealing with the principle of equality. Daniele Amoroso is Professor of International Law in the Department of Law of the University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy. Loris Marotti is Assistant Professor of International Law in the Department of Law at the Federico II University of Naples, Italy. Pierfrancesco Rossi is Postdoctoral Fellow in International Law in the Department of Law of Luiss University, Rome, Italy. Andrea Spagnolo is Professor of International Law in the Department of Law of the University of Turin, Turin, Italy. Giovanni Zarra is Professor of International Law and International Litigation in the Department of Law at the Federico II University of Naples, Italy.

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.

The book analyses in-depth the issues raised by the European Parliament resolution of 20 October 2020 calling for an EU "Regulation on Liability for the Operation of Artificial Intelligence-Systems" which have now been followed up by the legislative proposals for an AI Liability Directive and a revised Product Liability Directive, published by the European Commission on September 28, 2022. These proposed new legal acts, which may lead to a far-reaching reshaping of liability law at European and national level, were discussed at the colloquium as the first expert event on this subject.

Presenting cutting-edge insights into the current state of EU legislation, this book addresses the profound changes that the EU's legislature has undergone in recent years and how these shape EU law. At the heart of this inquiry is how the strive for uniform EU legislation is balanced with the necessity to leave a certain degree of autonomy to member states, and how such tension between unity and diversity is reflected in the design of EU legislation. Featuring sectoral and cross-sectoral contributions from a diverse array of distinguished academics, the book examines how the tension between EU unity and national autonomy has evolved over time. In particular it considers the response to significant new developments in the EU constitutional and law-making framework. The chapters explore the legislative strategies that have been adopted across various fields of EU law and policy to shape unity and diversity, and the practical, conceptual, and constitutional issues that these engender. Case studies from different EU fields and member states are critically analysed alongside key concepts including harmonization, derogations, proportionality, and effectiveness. Both incisive and authoritative, this book will prove indispensable to academics, researchers and students with an interest in constitutional and administrative law, law and politics, and European law, politics and policy. Legal practitioners and policymakers wanting a better understanding of EU legislation and its impact on national legal orders will similarly benefit from the analysis and recommendations this important book makes.