GDL Law Notes GDL EU Law Notes
A collection of the best GDL notes the director of Oxbridge Notes (an Oxford law graduate) could find after combing through applications from top students and carefully evaluating each on accuracy, formatting, logical structure, spelling/grammar, conciseness and "wow-factor". In short these are what we believe to be the strongest set of GDL notes available in the UK this year. This collection of GDL notes is fully updated for recent exams, also making them the most up-to-date GDL study materials ...
The following is a more accessible plain text extract of the PDF sample above, taken from our GDL EU Law Notes. Due to the challenges of extracting text from PDFs, it will have odd formatting:
European Union Law Revision
Direct Effect and Directives 6
Horizontal Effect of Directives 8
Preliminary References (Art 267 TFEU) 17
Action for Annulment (Art. 263 TFEU) 21
Free Movement of Goods: Fiscal Barriers 26
Customs Duties (‘CDs’) and Charges of Equivalent Effect (‘CEEs’) 26
Discriminatory or Protective Taxation 27
Free Movement of Goods: Non-Fiscal Barriers 29
Indistinctly Applicable MEQRs 30
Directive 2004/38: Citizens’ Rights Directive 39
History
1957: EEC established under Treaty of Rome (inc. four freedoms)
1973: UK, Ireland Denmark Join.
1980s: Southern and Iberian Additions
1987: Single European Act (SEA), first major treaty amendment. Internal market priority
1992: Maastricht Treaty expanded competence in monetary, foreign, and security policy. Became EC not EEC.
1999: Treaty of Amsterdam.
2003: Treaty of Nice
2004: Big bang with 10 additions.
2007: Lisbon Treaty repackaged Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe (2001), set out TEU and TEFU
Institutions:
European Council: Heads of State or of Governments of Member States meets to discuss direction of EC.
Council of Europe/Council of Ministers: Council consists of ministers of member states. Qualified majority voting.
European Commission: represents interests of the union. 28 independent members nominated my MSs. Proposes and implements legislation.
European Parliament: 751 seats (not population proportional)
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy: conducts EU common foreign and security policy
The Economic and Social Committee (ECOSOC): Advisory body intended to represent various sectional interests
The Committee of the Regions: Advisory body representing regional and local interests.
Policies
Core Policies:
Creating the Common/Internal Market; removing barriers to free movement
Regulating the internal market
Competition (anti-trust) law (Articles 101-109 TFEU)
Peripheral Policies:
Social, Environmental… Policies (see e.g. Articles 151-161 TFEU and 191-193 EC)
Common European Policies
Agriculture (Articles 38-44 TFEU), Fisheries, Transport
Other policies besides.
Principles of EU Action:
The Principle of Conferral/Limited Competence (Art 5(2) TEU)
Under the principle of conferral, the Union shall act only within the limits of the competences conferred upon it by the Member States in the Treaties
The Principle of Subsidiarity: Given the EU has the power to act is it a good idea for the Union to act (Article 5(3) TEU)
the Union shall act only if and in so far as the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States
The Principle of Proportionality: how far should the EU go with a particular power (Article 5(4) TEU)
Under the principle of proportionality, the content and form of Union action shall not exceed what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Treaties.
Applying these principles:
Lisbon introduced yellow and orange card protocol. Commission must send new legislation to domestic parliaments who can provide and opinion.
Yellow Card Protocol Article 7(2) of the Protocol: if one third of domestic parliaments object to the legislation then the commission must revisit the legislation but it does not have to withdraw.
Orange Card Protocol Article 7(3(b)) if a majority of domestic parliaments object he commission has to review its legislation; it does not have to change its mind.
But the other institutions (the council/EU Parliament) may kill the legislative proposal.
Types of Competence:
Exclusive competence: excludes the power of the member states (Article 2(1) TFEU)
Customs union, competition rules, euro monetary policy
Shared Competence: (Article 2(2) TFEU) When the Treaties confer on the Union a competence shared with the Member States in a specific area.
The Member States shall exercise their competence to the extent that the Union has not exercised its competence.
Internal market, social policy, agriculture, environment etc.
Also: Coordinated Competences (2(3)); Competence in accordance with treaties (2(4)); and, Competence to support, coordinate or supplement the actions of MSs (2(5))
The Gap-Filler Provision (Article 352 TFEU)
Opinion 2/94 (re: Accession by the EC to the ECHR)
If something needs to be done it can be done
But, this cannot be used to widen EU competence
Secondary Legistlation (Under Art 288 TFEU)
A regulation shall have general application. It shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Just like a domestic act of parliament
A directive shall be binding, as to the result to be achieved, upon each Member State to which it is addressed, but shall leave to the national authorities the choice of form and methods.
Directives are methods which in principle are to be adopted domestically buy member states.
A decision shall be binding in its entirety.
A decision which specifies those to whom it is addressed shall be binding only on them.
These are for specific situations and may address specific states.
Recommendations and opinions shall have no binding force.
Procedure
Ordinary legislative procedure (what used to be ‘co-decision’) – Art. 294 TFEU
Applies to most areas of economic activity (i.e. not applied to Foreign, Security Policy etc.)
Constant interactions between different institutions: the commission (interests of the Union); the council (the interests of the states); the parliament (i.e. the interests of the citizens)
Commission instigates > parliaments (EU and domestic) > amendments agreed by the council > council disagrees second reading in parliament > conciliation committee > third reading.
Neither institution has absolute power to pass legislation....
Buy the full version of these notes or essay plans and more in our GDL EU Law Notes.
A collection of the best GDL notes the director of Oxbridge Notes (an Oxford law graduate) could find after combing through applications from top students and carefully evaluating each on accuracy, formatting, logical structure, spelling/grammar, conciseness and "wow-factor". In short these are what we believe to be the strongest set of GDL notes available in the UK this year. This collection of GDL notes is fully updated for recent exams, also making them the most up-to-date GDL study materials ...
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