This text provides background information for practitioners wishing to find out about the workings of the Court of Justice of the European Communities. This edition has been updated to reflect recent changes, including the impact on the Court of the Maastricht Treaty and the EEA agreement. The Court of First Instance is now fully operational, with its own rules on procedure, and there is a growing body of case law. The book also deals with amendments to the rules of procedure of the Court of Justice, and developments in case law, including Zwartfeld, Francovich and a number of others.
This examination of the European Court of Justice has been revised and updated to take account of the changes wrought by the Court of First Instance. The text now features details of the composition, procedures and jurisdiction of this Court and how it differs from the Court of Justice.
Offering an alternative exploration of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and its work, this book aims to start a conversation between legal, political and gendered examinations of the Court of Justice and some of the substantive areas of law it is concerned with. In doing so, it provides a broader and more holistic view of the Court and its work which can add to our understanding of the institution, its role and its case law as well as the contribution it can and does make to shaping law and policy and EU and national level.
The development of the judicial control of the European Communities is perhaps best illustrated by comparing the first decision the Court of Justice rendered in December 1954, under the ECSC Treaty, with its preliminary rulings van Gend & Loos (1962), ENEL (1964) and Simmenthal II (1978) rendered under the EEC Treaty. In the first case the Court quashed a decision of the High Authority impugned by an annulment action of a Member State for an illegal exercise of Community powers - a judicial control which at the time already represented a spectacular legal in novation introduced by the ECSC Treaty. At that time the Court was, for evident reasons, still reserved as to its role within the unprecedented institutional structure of the Community. In van Gend, ENEL and Simmenthal II, on the other hand, the Court resolutely pursued a judicial policy intended to ensure an effective operation of the Community legal order, a problem hardly envisaged in 1954. In these rulings the Court characterized the emerging legal order and stated its fundamental and indispensable requirements: the unlimited supremacy of Community law and its direct effect. The development of a superior and autonomous Community legal order was finally completed by the Court's recognition of fundamental Communiry rights of individuals. This development from an initially reserved stand of the Court searching for its proper role and its potentialities to a bold and determined judicial policy is truly remarkable.
Appearing at a time when the ancient problem of the individual versus the state once again occupies the minds of thinking Europeans, this important new book thoroughly evaluates the judicial system of the European Union, fully describing the nature of the judicial protection available to individuals, undertakings, and member States. With attention to the rapid and continuing development of the Community legal order, Schermers and Waelbroeck provide a much-needed perspective on the reasoning of the European Court of Justice in significant decisions, especially recent cases, and shed revealing light on how the rule of law may develop in future. An introductory chapter offers a masterful description of how Treaty provisions, Community acts, international law, and national legal orders interact in the procedures and decisions of the Court of Justice. Further chapters provide analysis and insight into such matters as the following: the crucial role of national courts as guarantors of the rights of individuals in Community law the validity of acts taken by Community institutions and member States, and protection against them the delivery of non-judicial opinion and other tasks of the Court of Justice the composition, function, and rules of procedure of the Court the organisation of the Court of First Instance and the appeal procedure against its decisions. Judicial Protection in the European Union is organised to facilitate its prodigious reference value. All important cases are examined, and abundant footnotes clearly indicate relevant precedents in each case. This is a fundamental source for students of European law, as well as a basic reference for practitioners and a valuable analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the European system of judicial protection.
