European public law

Book abstract:

This book examines the development of public law in the European context. It seeks to determine whether or not the influence on law making is a two way process with contributions to its development being made by Member States and the Community - or are we the mere recipients of public law as handed down by the Community?

The work is organised over fourteen chapters and chapter one starts with the primary question: what is European public law? Is it Community law set in its national context, or is something new and different emerging through an interchange of legal thought and practice across Member States and the Community and the European Court of Human Rights? Chapter two expands the discussion to examine the relationship between law and government in the EC, France, Germany and the UK. The contributions of the legal cultures of those countries to the development of European public law are explored in chapter three. Detailed assessment of the impact of European integration on UK constitutional law is made in chapter four, and devolution within the UK and subsidiarity within Europe are addressed in chapter five. The tensions posed by the increasing demand for openness and access to information are explored in chapter six. Chapter seven concentrates on the role of national parliaments in the

Community architecture, while chapter eight examines the principles of review now being used in English courts and the extent to which these are influenced by European doctrines. The Human Rights Act 1998 has made a deep impact on judicial control of government decisions affecting individuals, and this is discussed in chapter nine. The influence of the jurisprudence of EC law and the CHR in developing the liability of public authorities for tortious wrongdoing is ventilated in chapter ten. The role of the EU Ombudsman and the matters relating to citizens' grievances and rights is addressed in chapter eleven. Competition, regulation and markets with reference to provision of essential services are covered in chapter twelve. The thirteenth chapter looks to the future, but does so in reflecting the earlier discussion and addresses the question - does European public law exist? Chapter fourteen looks at future considerations and discusses present and future issues such as EMU, the codifying of European administrative law and its impact on the UK, and endeavours to set these in a wider international context where they have for many years been an influence in the development of public law.

The work will interest scholars students and practitioners engaged in public law and European law.

Patrick Birkinshaw is a Professor of Public Law and the Director of the Institute of European Public Law at Hull University.