The judicial construction of Europe

Abstract:

This book has two main objectives. The first is to demonstrate the extent to which the course of European integration has been shaped by a system of adjudication managed by the European Court of Justice. The second is to examine the operation of the legal system and show the effects of the ECJ’s case law on policy outcomes and the policy relevant behaviours of non judicial actors.

The work is organised over six chapters. Chapter one gives the background to the work. Chapter two offers a dynamic theory of integration, surveys the ECJ’s major activities, and examines how national judges have responded to the Court’s move to constitutionalise the Treaty. The next three chapters trace outcomes produced by the legal system in three areas of EU law - the free movement of goods, sex equality and environmental protection. The final chapter reviews the findings of earlier chapters and considers some of the major features of the overall course of European integration.

The work will interest a broad audience with an interest in European affairs as well as students in law and the social services.

Alec Stone Sweet is Chair of Law, Politics and International Studies at the Yale Law School and the Department of Political Science at Yale University. He is also Official Fellow and Chair of Comparative Government at Nuffield College, Oxford.