Uses the EU Treaty framework to (re)assess the legitimacy of the Court of Justice's institutional role in European integration.

Offering an alternative exploration of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and its work, this book aims to start a conversation between legal, political and gendered examinations of the Court of Justice and some of the substantive areas of law it is concerned with. In doing so, it provides a broader and more holistic view of the Court and its work which can add to our understanding of the institution, its role and its case law as well as the contribution it can and does make to shaping law and policy and EU and national level.

This book provides a broad-ranging assessment of the Court's contribution to the integration process. It shows how the Court has taken advantage of opportunities when they have arisen in the European political process to "constitutionalize" the founding treaties and to exert a strong influence on policy decisions. It also examines challenges confronting the European Union and examines why the Court's active role has not encountered greater opposition and analyzes the implications for the Court of current issues.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has played a vital role in promoting the process of European integration. In recent years, however, the expansion of EU law has led it to impact ever more politically sensitive issues, and controversial ECJ judgments have elicited unprecedented levels of criticism. Can we expect the Court to sustain its role as a motor of deeper integration without Member States or other countervailing forces intervening? To answer this question, we need to revisit established explanations of the Court’s power to see if they remain viable in the Court’s contemporary environment. We also need to better understand the ultimate limits of the Court’s power – the means through which and extent to which national governments, national courts, litigants and the Court’s other interlocutors attempt to influence the Court and to limit the impact of its rulings. In this book, leading scholars of European law and politics investigate how the ECJ has continued to support deeper integration and whether the EU is experiencing an increase in countervailing forces that may diminish the Court’s ability or willingness to act as a motor of integration. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of European Public Policy.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has started to implement what is arguably the most signi cant set of reforms since the Nice Treaty, with notably the doubling of the number of judges at the General Court and the disappearance of the Civil Service Tribunal. Controversies surrounding the process and outcomes of the reforms called for a broader re ection on the European Courts and the way they cope with old and new challenges. To this end, this volume brings together junior and seasoned academics and practitioners to take stock of the various aspects of these reforms and the overall functioning of the EU Judiciary, from comparative, ‘insider’, and ‘outsider’ perspectives. Broadening and deepening our understanding of the reorganisation of the EU Judiciary, the contributors offer incisive analyses of reforms and evolutions, including: – a critical appraisal of the reform process and the role and powers of the CJEU; – implications of the reforms for the Court of Justice and the General Court; – lessons from the practice of the now dismantled Civil Service Tribunal; – a re ection on the future Uni ed Patent Court; – an evaluation of the role of the CJEU’s members and staffs and their selection; – an insider’s perspective into the workings of the repeat players (Legal Services of the European Commission and of the European Parliament) and the parties’ lawyers; – an assessment of the procedural reforms before the Court of Justice and the General Court with a speci c focus on the PPU; – the unfolding and impact of the digital revolution (e-Curia) on the CJEU; – the challenges of the languages regime and legal reasoning before the CJEU. Comparative perspectives elucidate speci c judiciary reforms across Europe, including detailed analyses of developments at the European Court of Human Rights, the French Conseil Constitutionnel, and the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. As a timely assessment of the effects of recent reforms on the EU Courts’ decision-making practices, roles, and identities, and more broadly on the legitimacy of the EU and its institutions as a whole, this book is unparalleled. It will be of great value to practitioners engaged in EU litigation, scholars of European law and policymakers at EU institutions, and all those interested in judicial process and reform.

This book provides fresh perspectives in the legal study of the Court of Justice of the European Union. In the context of European studies, the Court has mainly been analysed in light of its central role in the process of continental integration. Moreover, the Court has traditionally been studied by specialists for its important role as an agent of comparative law. This book studies the evolution of the Court itself, rather than that of the EU legal order in its judge-made dimension, and addresses several institutional aspects of its structure and organization, selected and constructed as a complete range of symptomatic figures of judicial institutionalisation. In doing so, the author seeks to showcase how the development and the institutional evolution of the CJEU happened through a selective internalization of comparative influences.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is one of the central institutions of the EU and has played a decisive role in European integration. As one of the most powerful international courts, at a time when political systems around the world are becoming more judicialized, it is a key actor to understand in world affairs. Yet it is not without controversy. As both an interpreter of law and as a political power influencing policy-making through its bold case law, it has become increasingly criticized in recent years for its perceived activism and distance from the European people. Combining the perspectives of a legal scholar and a political scientist, this important new text gives a uniquely broad-ranging account of the CJEU. It introduces readers to the role and function of the Court and explains how it fits into the broader political system and historical evolution of the European Union. It examines the constitutional contributions made by the Court and the part it plays in policy-making, in areas such as the environment, gender equality and human rights. Drawing on the latest research, the book takes full account of recent changes to the place of the Court in the European political system, and shows how new forms of governance, such as the open method of coordination, have had a significant impact on the role the Court is able to play.