A Common Law for Europe
An essential guide for lawmakers, scholars, and students of law, this work takes on the formidable task of providing a detailed overview of the harmonization of law in the European Union. Skillfully researched, the authors seek to approach this topic with an eye to the recent enlargement process.
In highlighting the most recent actions of the European Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance, the book seeks to analyze the future strengths and pitfalls of EU Common Law. Court rulings are quoted at length, and work in conjunction with text inserts in providing a format that breaks down complex information. This open style of the book gives researchers the ability to quickly locate useful information and cite statements from EU institutions.
In outlining the sources and institutions of Community Law, and the challenges in harmonizing national and supra-national law-books, A Common Law for Europe has done a tremendous service for academics and future leaders of the European Union.
Introduction
Chapter I: Private law of the European Community: the process of harmonisation, uniformisation and unification.
1. Foreword
2. European Union and European Community
3. The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe
4. ‘European’ federalism
5. The last enlargement
6. Economic and monetary integration
7. The acquis communautaire
8. The dynamics of legal transplants
9. Defining ‘European Community Private Law’
10. Unification and uniformisation of the law
11. Harmonisation of the law
11. Effects on national laws
12. ‘Communitarisation’ of national laws
13. Areas of law which are affected by European Community Private law
14. Comparative law and European Community Private law
Bibliography Chapter I
Chapter II: The diffusion of legal rules and models and the transposition of concepts
1. Foreword
2. The diffusion of intra-Community models
3. The incorporation of extra-Community models
4. Compromise models
5. The Court of Justice, national courts and the circulation of legal models
6. Competition between legal models, political forces and economic policies
7. Language problems
8. Old terms for new concepts: some examples
9. The new concepts
Bibliography Chapter II
Chapter III: Harmonisation as an instrument for the ‘Reinforced Pre-Accession Strategy’
1. Foreword
2. The enlargement of the European Union to include the CEECs
3. The legal frame of reference
3a) Europe Agreements
3b) White Paper on ‘Preparation of the Associated Countries of Central and Eastern Europe for integration into the internal market of the Union’
3c) Agenda 2000. ‘For a stronger and wider Union-The challenge of enlargement’
3d) PHARE, ISPA and SAPARD programmes
3e) ‘Reinforced pre-accession strategy’: the Accession Partnerships
3f) APs and Regular Reports of the Commission
3g) APs and National Programmes for the Adoption of the Acquis (NPAAs)
4. The Accession Treaty
5. The central role played by the European Council in the enlargement process
6. The activity of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Bibliography Chapter III
Chapter IV Institutions and sources of Community law
1. Foreword
2. European integration
2a) Community and national competences
2b) The principle of subsidiarity
2c) The Constitution for Europe and the new rules
3. The institutional actors of European integration
4. The sources of Community law and their effect
5. Direct effect of Treaty provisions
6. Supremacy of Treaty provisions over domestic law
7. Direct effect of Regulations
8. Supremacy of Regulations over domestic laws
9. The Directives
10. The Decisions of the Commission
Bibliography Chapter IV
Chapter V: The adaptation of national laws to Community law
1. Foreword
2. The transposition of directives: the Italian 'Community Act' as an illustration
3. Remedies for failure to implement or incorrect implementation of the directives
3a) Directives which implement Treaty provisions which are already binding
3b) Directives of a prohibitory nature
3c) Directives which are sufficiently precise and unconditional
4. National entities bound to apply non-implemented directives
5. Vertical and horizontal direct effect of non-implemented directives
6. The position of national courts
7. The interpretation of national law ‘in conformity’ with Community law
8. Member States’ liability in damages for breach of Community law
Bibliography Chapter V
Chapter VI: A Common Law for Europe?
1. Foreword
2. Community law, Comparative law and European law
3. A return to jus commune?
4. The lex mercatoria and other unifying commercial practices
5. The initiatives for unification: Code, Restatement, and Collection of principles
5a) The Pavia group
5b) The McGregor Contract Code
5c) The Principles of European Contract Law
5d) The European Civil Code Project
5e) The Trento Common Core Project
5f) The Acquis Group
5g) Other initiatives
6. A view of European common law: uniformisation and diversity
Bibliography Chapter VI
List of abbreviations
List of Tables
Index