“A Very Eden of the Innate Rights of Man”? A Marxist Look at the European Union Treaties and Case Law

1997 ◽  
Vol 22 (03) ◽  
pp. 581-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustav Peebles
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Commodity Fetishism ◽  
Exchange Value ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Eu

In this paper I approach the European Union Treaties (Rome and Maastricht) and the European Court of Justice's jurisprudence from a Marxist standpoint. I argue that the treaties and case law of the European Union (EU) revolve around the rights of things (commodities), rather than of people. People primarily gain rights within the EU by demonstrating that they embody exchange value and are therefore personified commodities; people are not accorded rights merely for being human. In essence, the treaties and case law have enshrined Marx's notion of commodity fetishism, which Marx asserted to be a social mystification, into transparent law. Focusing on the grand scheme of the treaties' jurisdiction in this manner also illuminates the role of the court as it struggles to balance the demands of capital's self-valorization with fundamental human rights. I then consider the consequences of this balancing act for the EU integration process. I argue that this phenomenon as a whole also carries implications for EU civil society and for notions of legal equality among persons.

The ‘puzzle’ of workers’ mobility in Italy

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-108
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Delfino
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Transnational Mobility ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
Eu Directives ◽  
Italian Legislation ◽  
The Eu

In Italy, workers’ mobility is a very complicated puzzle that is composed of different pieces. This paper deals with such different pieces under the perspective of workers' mobility within the European Union and highlights that the term mobility is not a synonym of posting (of workers), since the latter term indicates only one of the types (although the most relevant) of workers’ mobility. The author starts with workers’ mobility within the national border and beyond the European Union. Then, he concentrates his attention on the Italian way of transposing the EU Directives on the transnational posting of workers, which is very problematic, especially with reference to the role of collective bargaining agreements. Special attention is dedicated to the issue of public policy where an important role is played by Italian case law, which is very interesting and not uniform. The paper ends with some predictions about the forthcoming Italian legislation concerning both national and transnational mobility, which will be possibly influenced by the domestic political agenda.

scholarly journals The Limits of Agencification in the European Union

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 1223-1255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroslava Scholten ◽  
Marloes van Rijsbergen
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Lisbon Treaty ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Road ◽  
European Court ◽  
On The Road ◽  
The Eu

Although not explicitly regulated by the EU treaties, EU agencies not only exist but also have increased in number and power. In addition, while EU agencies may exercise very similar functions to those of the Commission, Articles 290 and 291 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) do not list agencies among the possible authors of non-legislative acts. The existing situation raises the questions of the extent to which the ongoing agencification in the EU is legitimate and what its limits are. This article addresses these questions in the light of the old and new Treaties and case law, including the just releasedESMA-shortsellingcase. It shows that while the Lisbon Treaty made a few steps forward on the road of legitimizing EU agencies and delegating important powers to them, the scope of powers that EU agencies can have remains unclear. In this respect, the European Court of Justice's lenient approach in theESMA-shortsellingcase is unfortunate because it neither clarifies the issue nor pushes the Union Legislator and the Member States to address it. Consequently, in the absence of clear limits, further agencification is likely to persist at the risk of increasing the democratic legitimacy deficit and remaining accountability gaps.

scholarly journals The European Court of Justice and the Policy Process

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne K. Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Member State ◽  
Case Law ◽  
European Court Of Justice ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Administrative Practices ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Eu

The European Court of Justice is one of the most important actors in the process of European integration. Political science still struggles to understand its significance, with recent scholarship emphasizing how closely rulings reflect member states’ preferences. In this book, I argue that the implications of the supremacy and direct effect of the EU law have still been overlooked. As it constitutionalizes an intergovernmental treaty, the European Union has a detailed set of policies inscribed into its constitution that are extensively shaped by the Court’s case law. If rulings have constitutional status, their impact is considerable, even if the Court only occasionally diverts from member states’ preferences. By focusing on the four freedoms of goods, services, persons, and capital, as well as citizenship rights, the book analyses how the Court’s development of case law has ascribed a broad meaning to these freedoms. The constitutional status of this case law constrains policymaking at the European and member-state levels. Different case studies show how major pieces of EU legislation cannot move beyond case law but have to codify its principles. Judicialization is important in the EU. It also directly constrains member-state policies. Court rulings oriented towards individual disputes are difficult to translate into general policies, and into administrative practices. Policy options are thereby withdrawn from majoritarian decision-making. As the Court cannot be overruled, short of a Treaty change, its case law casts a long shadow over policymaking in the European Union and its member states, undermining the legitimacy of this political order.

scholarly journals The Political Role of the European Court of Justice: How the EU Institutional Thresholds Shield the Integrationist Power of the Court

2019 ◽  
pp. 195-212
Author(s):  
Roberto Reyes Izquierdo
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Court Of Justice ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Role ◽  
Fundamental Factor ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Eu

The aim of this paper is to analyse how the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been a fundamental factor in the integration process of the European Union, in spite of the obstacles posed by the intergovernmental dynamics that have traditionally hindered the construction of a stronger, cohesive and more integrated Europe. Important principles such as direct effect or supremacy of EU law have been developed through ECJ rulings and case law, even when such principles were not literally foreseen in the foundational Treaties. Therefore, this paper argues that the role and power of the Court as an “indirect law-maker” have been essential for the construction of the European Union, and this has been possible due to the complexities and weaknesses of the legislative process involving the three main decision-makers: the Commission, the Council of the EU, and the European Parliament.

scholarly journals The EU Integration Process and its Role in the Albanian Sociopolitical Transformation

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-50
Author(s):  
Juliana Gjinko
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Intermediate Phase ◽  
Communist Country ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Full Membership ◽  
The Road ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Nearly thirty years after the fall of communism in Albania, European integration has been the main driving force for change and the real catalyst for reform. Today, a vast majority of Albanians continue to be convinced that the only way to develop, modernize and guarantee security is a full integration into the European family. The problem is not simply the duration of such an intermediate phase between obtaining candidate status and a full membership of the European Union. In fact, Albanians themselves are increasingly aware that the road to full membership of the European Union will be long, and that it will require a series of major and profound changes in the country, especially in the areas of the rule of law and functioning of institutions, along with implementing various standards that a society must meet in order to achieve this goal. The aim of this paper is to analyze Albanian use and abuse of the EU integration process in internal political discourse, reforms and transformation. A number of documents, publications and public speeches are examined in order to evaluate the impact of integration in this small, developing, post-communist country.

The Polluter Pays Principle in EU Climate Law: an Effective Tool before the Courts?

Climate Law ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Suzanne Kingston
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Polluter Pays Principle ◽  
Energy Law ◽  
The Eu

In EU law the polluter pays principle (ppp) enjoys constitutional status: Article 191(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (tfeu) enshrines it among the fundamental principles of the EU’s environmental policy. This article considers the legal status and development of the ppp in EU law, in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (cjeu) and in EU policy, most recently in the EU’s Green New Deal. It goes on to identify three bodies of climate-related litigation where the ppp has been most influential to date: first, cases concerning the EU ets and emissions; second, cases concerning EU energy law; and third, cases concerning EU state-aid law. The conclusion reflects on the potential role of the ppp in other areas, including climate cases based on human and environmental rights, and climate cases brought against private parties.

Treaty-making Procedures

2021 ◽  
pp. 57-100
Author(s):  
Jan Wouters ◽  
Frank Hoffmeister ◽  
Geert De Baere ◽  
Thomas Ramopoulos
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Case Law ◽  
European Court Of Justice ◽  
Historical Evolution ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Provisional Application ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
European Court ◽  
Important System ◽  
The Eu

This chapter provides an overview of the treaty-making procedures in the European Union. It explains the historical evolution of primary law in the field and gives examples for each step under Article 218 TFEU (negotiation, signature, provisional application, and conclusion). Excerpts of European Court of Justice (ECJ) case law illustrate how these provisions are interpreted and applied in practice. The chapter also discusses the principles covering suspension and termination of EU agreements, and the ever more important system that allows the EU to contribute to the adoption of international secondary law under Article 218, paragraph 9 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). A final section describes EU practice for adopting non-legally binding instruments and reproduces the new guidance of December 2017 issued by the Council and the Commission in this respect after the ECJ’s judgment in the case relating to the EU–Swiss Memorandum of Understanding.

scholarly journals Serbia’s EU integration process: The momentum of 2008

2009 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irena Ristic
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Crime ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
Lasting Peace ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

After four years of ambivalence, the relationship between the European Union and Serbia is again gaining a new opportunity to flourish. The new Serbian government is formed by parties which are strongly committed to Serbia?s EU integration and hence ready to carry out reforms and fully cooperate with the International Crime Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. This paper presents the current relationship between Brussels and Belgrade and its main obstacles. It emphasizes both internal and external problems of this relationship and their interdependency. In this regard the author argues that only by a mutual commitment of both Serbia and the EU lasting peace will be achieved in the Western Balkans and the region stabilized.

Le Agenzie dell’Unione Europea. Profili istituzionali e tendenze evolutive (The Agencies of the European Union. Institutional Profiles and Evolutionary Tendencies), by Vincenzo Salvatore. Pavia, Italy: Jean Monnet Centre of Pavia, University of Pavia, 2011, available on the Internet at .

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 626-627
Author(s):  
Mariachiara Alberton
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Institutional Model ◽  
Delegation Of Powers ◽  
The Eu

This book, coordinated and supervised by Prof. Vincenzo Salvatore, is part of the output of the workshop organized by the Università dell’Insubria in Varese in November 2010 which gathered legal and economic scholars and experts of EU Institutions with the aim of presenting and discussing present problems and future challenges of the EU agencies. The diverse set of perspectives contained in the book contributes significantly to rethink the role and nature of the EU agency institutional model, by pointing out some of the most relevant legal issues such as the delegation of powers and the lack of homogeneity of the model, which reflect features and peculiarities of the EU integration process.

European Court of Human Rights case law as a source of European Union law

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmytro Boichuk ◽  
Vitalii Hryhoriev
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Union Law ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
European Court ◽  
Legal Nature ◽  
The Eu

The article is devoted to the study of the legal nature of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights as a source of law of the European Union. Within the scope of the doctrinal sources and the existing case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union, the authors substantiate the logic of including existing the European Court of Human Rights case law in the EU law sources, citing arguments based on the EU law and the case law.

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