European Constitutional Law

538 Pages·2012·4.571 MB·English

by  Robert Schütze

European Constitutional Law
TheEuropeanUnionhasexistedforoverhalfacentury.Havingstartedasthe
‘Europe of the Six’ in a specific industrial sector, the Union today has
twenty-seven Member States and acts within almost all areas of social life.
The Union’s constitutional structures have evolved in parallel with this
immensegrowth.Bornasaninternationalorganisation,theUnionhasdevel-
oped into a constitutional Union of States. This new textbook analyses the
constitutionallawoftheEuropeanUnionafterLisboninaclearandstructured
way. Examining the EU in a classic constitutional perspective, it explores the
centralthemesofthesubject:thehistoryandstructureoftheUnion,thepowers
andproceduresofitsbranchesofgovernment,andtherightsandremediesof
Europeancitizens.Aclearthree-partstructureandnumerousillustrationswill
facilitate understanding. Critical and comprehensive, this is required reading
forallstudentsofEuropeanconstitutionallaw.
RobertSchu¨tzeisaReaderinLawatDurhamUniversity.

European Constitutional Law
ROBERT SCHÜTZE
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Firstpublished2012
PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationdata
Schütze,Robert.
Europeanconstitutionallaw/RobertSchütze.
p. cm.
ISBN9780521504904(hardback)
1. Constitutionallaw EuropeanUnioncountries. I. Title.
KJE4445.S348 2012
342.24 dc23
2011039144
ISBN9780521504904Hardback
ISBN9780521732758Paperback
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Summary Contents
Introduction:EuropeanConstitutionalLaw page1
Part I: History and Structure
1. ConstitutionalHistory:FromParistoLisbon 9
2. ConstitutionalNature:AFederationofStates 47
3. GovernmentalStructure:UnionInstitutionsI 80
4. GovernmentalStructure:UnionInstitutionsII 116
Part II: Powers and Procedures
5. LegislativePowers:CompetencesandProcedures 151
6. ExternalPowers:CompetencesandProcedures 187
7. ExecutivePowers:CompetencesandProcedures 223
8. JudicialPowers:CompetencesandProcedures 258
Part III: Rights and Remedies
9. EuropeanLaw:DirectandIndirectEffect 305
10. EuropeanLaw:SupremacyandPreemption 347
11. EuropeanLaw:RemediesandLiabilities 380
12. InParticular:EuropeanHumanRights 409

Contents
ListofIllustrations xviii
ListofTables xix
Preface xxi
Acknowledgements xxii
TableofCases xxiii
TableofEquivalences xxxvi
ListofAbbreviations lii
Introduction:EuropeanConstitutionalLaw 1
Part I: History and Structure
1 ConstitutionalHistory:FromParistoLisbon 9
Introduction 9
1. FromParistoRome:theEuropeanCoalandSteelCommunity 12
(a) The(supranational)structureoftheECSC 13
(b) The(failed)EuropeanDefenceCommunity 16
2. FromRometoMaastricht:theEuropean(Economic)Community 18
(a) Normativesupranationalism:thenatureofEuropeanlaw 19
(b) Decisionalsupranationalism:thegovernmentalstructure 20
(c) IntergovernmentaldevelopmentsoutsidetheEEC 23
(d) Supranationalandintergovernmentalreformsthroughthe
SingleEuropeanAct 26
3. FromMaastrichttoNice:the(old)EuropeanUnion 27
(a) TheTempleStructure:theThreePillarsofthe
(Maastricht)Union 29
(i) TheFirstPillar:theEuropeanCommunities 29
(ii) TheSecondPillar:CommonForeignandSecurityPolicy 32
(iii) TheThirdPillar:JusticeandHomeAffairs 33
(b) Adecadeof‘constitutionalbricolage’:AmsterdamandNice 33
(i) TheAmsterdamTreaty:dividingtheThirdPillar 33
(ii) TheNiceTreaty:limitedinstitutionalreform 35
x Contents
4. FromNicetoLisbon:the(new)EuropeanUnion 37
(a) The(failed)ConstitutionalTreaty:formal‘totalrevision’ 38
(b) TheLisbonTreaty:substantive‘totalrevision’ 41
Conclusion 45
2 ConstitutionalNature:AFederationofStates 47
Introduction 47
1. TheAmericanconstitutionaltradition:federalismas
(inter)nationallaw 49
2. TheEuropeanconstitutionaltradition:internationalversus
nationallaw 53
(a) Conceptualpolarisation:‘Confederation’versus‘Federation’ 54
(b) Earlycriticism:theEuropeantraditionandthe(missing)
federalgenus 56
3. TheEuropeanUnioninlightoftheAmericanconstitutional
tradition 59
(a) Thefoundationaldimension:Europe’s‘Constitutional
Treaty’ 60
(b) Theinstitutionaldimension:aEuropeanUnionofStatesand
people(s) 62
(c) Thefunctionaldimension:thedivisionofpowersinEurope 64
(d) Overallclassification:theEuropeanUniononfederal
‘middleground’ 65
4. TheEuropeanUnioninlightoftheEuropeanconstitutional
tradition 66
(a) Thesuigeneris‘theory’:the‘incomparable’EuropeanUnion 67
(b) Theinternationallawtheory:the‘MaastrichtDecision’ 68
(c) Europe’sstatisttraditionunearthed:threeconstitutional
denials 71
(d) Excursus:Europe’sdemocratic‘deficit’asa‘falseproblem’? 74
Conclusion 77
3 GovernmentalStructure:UnionInstitutionsI 80
Introduction 81
1. The‘separation-of-powers’principleandtheEuropeanUnion 83
2. TheEuropeanParliament 87
(a) Formation:electingParliament 87
(i) Parliament’ssizeandcomposition 88
(ii) MembersoftheEuropeanParliamentand
politicalparties 91
(b) Internalstructure:parliamentaryorgans 93
(c) Theplenary:decision-makingandvoting 94