Subject: Law Book Title: The Coherence of EU Law
The Coherence of EU Law
The Search for Unity in Divergent Concepts
Prechal, Sacha (Editor),
Professor of European Law, University of Utrecht
van Roermund, Bert (Editor),
Professor in the Philosophy of Law, Tilburg University
Print publication date: 2008
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2009 Print ISBN-13: 978-0-19-923246-8 doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199232468.001.0001 |
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Abstract:
The EU legal order sits above a diverse mix of 27 national legal systems, with some 23 different languages. Amongst such diversity, how can the unity and coherence of the European legal system be guaranteed? Is there a common understanding between lawyers from different national backgrounds as to the meaning and application of EU law? In addressing these issues the idea of ‘common concepts’ has played a crucial role. It is argued that the unity of the system is guaranteed by the consistent application of certain core principles shaping the law. Believers in common concepts argue that there is a relatively clear, shared, and accepted framework of ideas, providing an understanding of the system that is ultimately unified in spite of all apparent divergence. Sceptics hold that there is no such framework; ‘common concepts’ turn out to be additional sources of misunderstanding, confusion and, subsequently, legal divergence. According to a third thesis, there is indeed no common conceptual core, but the necessary unity and coherence of EU law can be articulated and even reinforced through the use of divergent concepts. The contributors to this collection of essays address these issues from different disciplinary perspectives — legal sociology, linguistics, comparative law, European legal scholarship, legal theory, and practical experience. The research group focused on the application of two general themes: the protection of rights and judicial discretion. In addition to the thematic research, case studies from core policy sectors are featured, including energy regulation and social policy.
Keywords: common concepts, core principles, divergent concepts, protection of rights, judicial discretion, EU law, unity, coherence Table of Contents
Preface
1.
Binding Unity in EU Legal Order: An Introduction
2.
Experiences from Professional Practice: Some Steps towards Empirical Research
3.
Translation at the Court of Justice of the European Communities
4.
Rights in the European Landscape: A Historical and Comparative Profile
5.
Rights in EU Law
6.
EU Rights and Discretion as Reflected in Spanish Public Law
7.
Protection of Rights: How Far?
8.
On Discretion
9.
Discretion, Divergence, and Unity
10.
Divergence and the Francovich Remedy in German and English Courts
11.
Stability and Flexibility in Administrative Decision Making: The Community Law Influence on Discretion with Respect to Administrative Decisions in German Law
12.
Democracy and Direct Effect: EU and National Perceptions
13.
Discretion and Public Policy: Timing the Unity and Divergence of Legal Orders
14.
Laws at Cross-Purposes: Conceptual Confusion and Political Divergence
15.
Binding Unity and Divergence while Creating a Common European Culture of Energy Regulation
16.
Conceptual Convergence and Judicial Cooperation in Sex Equality Law
17.
On the Unity of European Labour Law
18.
A Case of Multidirectional Constitutional Transplant in the EU: Infra-state Law and Regionalism
19.
Back to the Begriffshimmel? A Plea for an Analytical Perspective in European Law
20.
Conceptual Divergence, Functionalism, and the Economics of Convergence
21.
Towards an Internally Consistent Doctrine on Invoking Norms of EU Law
Index
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doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199232468.001.0001
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