Law of the European Union, 3rd ed

Book abstract:

This third edition of Jo Shaw's textbook “Law of the European Union” provides an account of the constitutional principles and legal institutions of the European Union. Assuming no prior knowledge, the book offers the reader an introduction to the complexities of EU law and more specifically its relationship to national legal systems and its place in the wider economic, political and historical context.

Divided into five parts the book begins by tracing EU law back to its roots and seeks to put EU law in the context of the wider role of the European Union. Part II provides a useful background to the institutions and constitutional framework of the EU, which is then developed in Chapter 3 by examining the institutions at work. Part IV gives a detailed account of the EU's role in protecting human rights and looks at what European citizenship means in the legal context. Part V explores the relationship between the EU legal order and the national legal orders. The final part of the book looks at the judicial control of the EU institutions.

This new updated version provides valuable commentary on recent events including the coming into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, the 2000 Intergovernmental Conference, the Convention drafting a Fundamental Rights Charter for the EU and the programme for reforming the European Commission. It also includes a useful list of relevant websites for further reference at the end of each chapter.

This book should be of help to all those interested in understanding the basics of European Union law.

Jo Shaw is a Professor of European law at the University of Leeds and holds a Jean Monnet Chair in European Law and Integration.