Contents
Ch 10 - The Law Of Europe.....................................................................................................................3
10.1 Early history and overview..........................................................................................................3
10.3 Main Institutions and the ECB....................................................................................................4
10.4 The ordinary legislative procedure.............................................................................................7
10.5 the internal market.....................................................................................................................8
10.7 EU law and national law of the member states........................................................................10
10.8 subsidiarity and the requirement of legal basis........................................................................10
10.9 towards an ever-closer union or not…?....................................................................................11
10.9.1 Spillover and Spillback........................................................................................................12
10.9.2 Euroscepticism...................................................................................................................12
Ch 12 - international law......................................................................................................................13
12.2 Topics of international law.......................................................................................................14
12.3 participants in the international legal system...........................................................................15
12.3.1 States.................................................................................................................................15
12.3.2 International organizations................................................................................................16
12.3.3 The United Nations............................................................................................................17
12.3.4 Multinational enterprises...................................................................................................19
12.3.5 Nongovernmental organizations.......................................................................................19
12.3.6 Individuals..........................................................................................................................20
12.4 sources of international law.....................................................................................................20
12.4.1 Treaties..............................................................................................................................21
12.4.2 Ius Cogens..........................................................................................................................21
12.5 Jurisdiction................................................................................................................................21
12.6 characteristics of international law...........................................................................................22
12.7 trends in the development of international law.......................................................................23
12.8 conclusion.................................................................................................................................24
International law and processes...........................................................................................................24
Abstract............................................................................................................................................24
II.2.1 Overview of international law and processes..........................................................................25
II.2.1.1 Treaties.............................................................................................................................25
II.2.1.2 customary international law.............................................................................................26
II.2.1.3 Soft law.............................................................................................................................26
II.2.1.4 International administrative law.......................................................................................27
II.2.1.5 voluntary binding agreements..........................................................................................27
,II.2.2 trends......................................................................................................................................28
II.2.3 conclusion................................................................................................................................30
,Ch 10 - The Law Of Europe
10.1 Early history and overview
Question: what is the Schuman initiative and to what did it lead?
Conclusion: an initiative from the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman to
place coal and steel production under a common authority, within the framework
of an organization open to the participation of other European countries. It led to
the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
Evidence: This proposal was inspired by the desire to improve relations between
France and Germany and to prevent a new war between these two countries by
combining their coal and steel production. Since coal and steel were crucial
resources for warfare, uniting the production of these two resources would make
a new war between the involved countries less likely
Question: what happened after the founding of the ECSC?
Conclusion: In 1958, the six States that founded the ECSC also founded the
European Economic Community, the EEC, by means of the Treaty of Rome. In
1992, the ECSC and the EEC (and Euratom, an organization of minor importance)
were joined by means of the Maastricht Treaty or the Treaty on European Union
(TEU). This treaty was followed by other treaties that reorganized the EU, with
the Treaty of Lisbon (2007) as provisional terminus.
10.2 sources of EU law
Question: what are the two main categories of European law?
Conclusion:
Primary EU Law Secondary EU Law
The treaties upon which the EU was Law created by the EU itself
founded Can create binding legal effects by
Most important one: Treaty of means of regulations, directives
Lisbon (gives form of Treaty on EU and decisions
and the Treaty on the Functioning Case law of the Court of Justice of
of the EU) the European Union
Legislative tools, treaties as Can give nonbinding
European legislative instruments recommendations and opinions
Treaties as texts containing law of
Europe
Question: how can secondary EU law create binding legal effects?
Conclusion:
o By means of regulations
o By means of directives
o By means of decisions
Question: what are regulations?
Conclusion: Regulations contain rules, just like «ordinary» legislation. They have
general application and are binding and directly applicable in all Member States.
This means that they directly create rights and duties for individual persons and
organizations in the Member States.
, Evidence: An example is Council Regulation No 2531/98 of 23 November 1998
concerning the application of minimum reserves by the European Central Bank
(ECB).
Question: what are directives?
Conclusion: Directives are a special type of legislation, directed to the Member
States, obligating them to bring about a legal situation conforming the contents
of the directive in their national law. In a sense, directives contain rules, but the
EU does not directly impose these rules. It is left to the Member States to
implement them in their national systems.
Evidence: An example is Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and
the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family
members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.
Question: what is the difference between regulations and directives?
Conclusion:
o By using a directive, rather than regulating an issue itself, the EU provides
the Member States with the opportunity to make a national regulation
that fits in the existing legal system
o At the same time, directives tend to be so specific that EU citizens and
companies can count on directive-based law to be practically the same
across other European Member States.
Evidence: Article 5 of the abovementioned Directive on the rights of Union
citizens reads: The right of all Union citizens to move and reside freely within the
territory of the Member States should, if it is to be exercised under objective
conditions of freedom and dignity, be also granted to their family members,
irrespective of nationality. For the purposes of this Directive, the definition of
‘family member’ should also include the registered partner if the legislation of the
host Member State treats registered partnership as equivalent to marriage
Question: what is the definition of decisions and how does it differ from
regulations?
Conclusion:
Decisions are meant for specific cases (regulations are meant to be
general)
A decision is binding
Decisions that specify their addressee only bind that addressee
Evidence: An example is the decision of 24 May 2004 of the Commission in a
proceeding against Microsoft, because Microsoft had, amongst others, made the
availability of the Windows Client PC Operating System conditional on the
simultaneous acquisition of Windows Media Player (2007/53/EC).
10.3 Main Institutions and the ECB
Question: what are the more important organizations of the EU?
Conclusion:
The commission Official task: the promotion of
the general interest of the Union
To fulfil its central role in
legislative procedures, the
Ch 10 - The Law Of Europe.....................................................................................................................3
10.1 Early history and overview..........................................................................................................3
10.3 Main Institutions and the ECB....................................................................................................4
10.4 The ordinary legislative procedure.............................................................................................7
10.5 the internal market.....................................................................................................................8
10.7 EU law and national law of the member states........................................................................10
10.8 subsidiarity and the requirement of legal basis........................................................................10
10.9 towards an ever-closer union or not…?....................................................................................11
10.9.1 Spillover and Spillback........................................................................................................12
10.9.2 Euroscepticism...................................................................................................................12
Ch 12 - international law......................................................................................................................13
12.2 Topics of international law.......................................................................................................14
12.3 participants in the international legal system...........................................................................15
12.3.1 States.................................................................................................................................15
12.3.2 International organizations................................................................................................16
12.3.3 The United Nations............................................................................................................17
12.3.4 Multinational enterprises...................................................................................................19
12.3.5 Nongovernmental organizations.......................................................................................19
12.3.6 Individuals..........................................................................................................................20
12.4 sources of international law.....................................................................................................20
12.4.1 Treaties..............................................................................................................................21
12.4.2 Ius Cogens..........................................................................................................................21
12.5 Jurisdiction................................................................................................................................21
12.6 characteristics of international law...........................................................................................22
12.7 trends in the development of international law.......................................................................23
12.8 conclusion.................................................................................................................................24
International law and processes...........................................................................................................24
Abstract............................................................................................................................................24
II.2.1 Overview of international law and processes..........................................................................25
II.2.1.1 Treaties.............................................................................................................................25
II.2.1.2 customary international law.............................................................................................26
II.2.1.3 Soft law.............................................................................................................................26
II.2.1.4 International administrative law.......................................................................................27
II.2.1.5 voluntary binding agreements..........................................................................................27
,II.2.2 trends......................................................................................................................................28
II.2.3 conclusion................................................................................................................................30
,Ch 10 - The Law Of Europe
10.1 Early history and overview
Question: what is the Schuman initiative and to what did it lead?
Conclusion: an initiative from the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman to
place coal and steel production under a common authority, within the framework
of an organization open to the participation of other European countries. It led to
the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
Evidence: This proposal was inspired by the desire to improve relations between
France and Germany and to prevent a new war between these two countries by
combining their coal and steel production. Since coal and steel were crucial
resources for warfare, uniting the production of these two resources would make
a new war between the involved countries less likely
Question: what happened after the founding of the ECSC?
Conclusion: In 1958, the six States that founded the ECSC also founded the
European Economic Community, the EEC, by means of the Treaty of Rome. In
1992, the ECSC and the EEC (and Euratom, an organization of minor importance)
were joined by means of the Maastricht Treaty or the Treaty on European Union
(TEU). This treaty was followed by other treaties that reorganized the EU, with
the Treaty of Lisbon (2007) as provisional terminus.
10.2 sources of EU law
Question: what are the two main categories of European law?
Conclusion:
Primary EU Law Secondary EU Law
The treaties upon which the EU was Law created by the EU itself
founded Can create binding legal effects by
Most important one: Treaty of means of regulations, directives
Lisbon (gives form of Treaty on EU and decisions
and the Treaty on the Functioning Case law of the Court of Justice of
of the EU) the European Union
Legislative tools, treaties as Can give nonbinding
European legislative instruments recommendations and opinions
Treaties as texts containing law of
Europe
Question: how can secondary EU law create binding legal effects?
Conclusion:
o By means of regulations
o By means of directives
o By means of decisions
Question: what are regulations?
Conclusion: Regulations contain rules, just like «ordinary» legislation. They have
general application and are binding and directly applicable in all Member States.
This means that they directly create rights and duties for individual persons and
organizations in the Member States.
, Evidence: An example is Council Regulation No 2531/98 of 23 November 1998
concerning the application of minimum reserves by the European Central Bank
(ECB).
Question: what are directives?
Conclusion: Directives are a special type of legislation, directed to the Member
States, obligating them to bring about a legal situation conforming the contents
of the directive in their national law. In a sense, directives contain rules, but the
EU does not directly impose these rules. It is left to the Member States to
implement them in their national systems.
Evidence: An example is Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and
the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family
members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.
Question: what is the difference between regulations and directives?
Conclusion:
o By using a directive, rather than regulating an issue itself, the EU provides
the Member States with the opportunity to make a national regulation
that fits in the existing legal system
o At the same time, directives tend to be so specific that EU citizens and
companies can count on directive-based law to be practically the same
across other European Member States.
Evidence: Article 5 of the abovementioned Directive on the rights of Union
citizens reads: The right of all Union citizens to move and reside freely within the
territory of the Member States should, if it is to be exercised under objective
conditions of freedom and dignity, be also granted to their family members,
irrespective of nationality. For the purposes of this Directive, the definition of
‘family member’ should also include the registered partner if the legislation of the
host Member State treats registered partnership as equivalent to marriage
Question: what is the definition of decisions and how does it differ from
regulations?
Conclusion:
Decisions are meant for specific cases (regulations are meant to be
general)
A decision is binding
Decisions that specify their addressee only bind that addressee
Evidence: An example is the decision of 24 May 2004 of the Commission in a
proceeding against Microsoft, because Microsoft had, amongst others, made the
availability of the Windows Client PC Operating System conditional on the
simultaneous acquisition of Windows Media Player (2007/53/EC).
10.3 Main Institutions and the ECB
Question: what are the more important organizations of the EU?
Conclusion:
The commission Official task: the promotion of
the general interest of the Union
To fulfil its central role in
legislative procedures, the
