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GDL Law Notes GDL EU Law Notes

Principles Of Eu Law Notes

Updated Principles Of Eu Law Notes

GDL EU Law Notes

GDL EU Law

Approximately 409 pages

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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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:

Principles of EU Law

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Historical Foundations

Date Signed Treaty Name Objectives
18 Apr 1951

Treaty of Paris /

Treaty establishing the ECSC

 To place coal & steel under common control to prevent conflict
25 March 1957

Treaties establishing the EEC & Euratom /

Treaty of Rome (EEC) /

EC Treaty (post-Maastricht)

 To create a common market in order to accelerate economic growth and living standards in member states. Also created a single Assembly & Court for the 3 Communities (EEC, Euratom & ECSC)
4 Jan 1960 Stockholm Convention To establish the EFTA between UK, DNK, SWE, NOR, CHE, ISL, LIE, AUS, PRT & (later) FIN
1 July 1967 The Merger Treaty To create a single Council & Commission for the three Communities.
17 Feb 1986 Single European Act (SEA) To reinvigorate the concept of the ‘internal market’, and to set out some major administrative amendments to the TR
7 Feb 1992

Maastricht Treaty /

Treaty establishing the EU (TEU)

 Enlarges fields of activity, formalises closer co-operation, changes EEC to EC, timetables plans for EMU, extends use of QMV +, introduces pillar structure
2 May 1992

Treaty between the EC & EFTA establishing an EEA /

EEA Agreement

 To allow the EFTA states access to the internal market (bar CHE who voted against participation)
2 Oct 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam (TA) Renumbers provisions, develops closer co-operation, FHR provisions, integration of Schengen agreement +
26 Feb 2001 Treaty of Nice Prepares for enlargement, further develops closer co-operation, new Statute for CoJ +
18 July 2003 Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe

Division of EU & member states competences, merger of treaties, simplification, transparency, democracy +

Not ratified (FRA & NLD no in referedums; UK referendum postponed)
13 Dec 2007 Lisbon Treaty Ends pillar structure & replaces EU & EC treaties with the TEU & TFEU, develops closer co-operation, introduces President of the Council, increases power to EP +

Underpinning themes:

  • Conferred competence

  • Political stability & dispute resolution

  • Balance between supranational authority & intergovernmental sovereign control

Pre-Lisbon Pillar system:

  1. European Communities: economic, social and environmental policies (comprised EC, ESCS & EURATOM

  2. The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP): foreign policy and military matters.

3. Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters (PJCCM)

Conflicts of supremacy:

  • EDC refusal by French Parliament to ratify – defence raises the most intimate question of national sovereignty

  • Luxembourg Accords: political compromise about use of QMV “where very important national interests are at stake”

    • Charles de Gaulle’s intergovernmentalism

  • Challenges to Maastricht:

    • UK: ex parte Rees‑Mogg [1993] JR of the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993

    • Germany: Brunner v European Union Treaty [1994]

  • TEU:

    • European Citizenship

    • Europe a la carte Denmark & UK

  • Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe:

    • Division of MS & Union competences for greater principled organisation

  • Laeken Declaration on the Future of the EU 2001:

    • In the context of a successful EU with the Euro about to start

    • The ‘accidental constitution’ (Peter Norman) section titled ‘towards a constitution for European citizens’

    • Art 21 ambitions for a unified international presence

  • Lisbon Treaty: ‘reform treaty’

    • Craig & de Burca: a constitution in all but name, because the word constitution is politically sensitive

    • Irish referendum (amendment to guarantee national sovereignty on abortion & taxation); Czech Republic legal challenge; German legal challenge (compatible but requiring German law on parliamentary rights of participation)

    • Designed to provide checks and balances through the institutional infrastructure

      • EP given more powers in international agreements Art 218 TFEU express consent

Institutions

The Commission >< The Council >< Parliament

| | |

EU >< States >< Citizens

The Commission = ‘guardian of the treatiess’ (Art 17 TEU 1 national of each MS)

  • Legislative & executive

  • Commissioners are completely independent of their MS

  • Commission may instigate proceedings against MS

European Council (Art 15 TEU & Arts 235-6 TFEU) = heads of state

  • “general political directions and priorities thereof. It shall not exercise legislative functions”

  • President of the European Council elected by QMV

Council of Ministers (Art 16 TEU & Arts 237-43 TFEU) = 1 representative of each MS drawn from their government

  • Legislative & budgetary functions -> casts the MS’s vote

  • Alongside the EP, the Council makes the final decision on most legislation under the ordinary legislative procedure

European Parliament (Art 14 TEU) = MEPs directly elected

  • Began as Common Assembly (advisory role)

  • Expanded jurisdiction – directly elected since 1979

  • Some debate about the fact that MEPs are not proportionate to population

    • Germany has far less MEPs per head than Luxembourg

  • Art 263(1) TFEU actions for annulment

  • Art 234 TFEU censure the Commission

High Rep. of the Union for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy: unified external voice of the EU (member of the Commission & Council)

  • “horizontal rather than vertical – heterarchichal rather than hierarchical” Neil Walker – constitutional pluralism

Voting

QMV: Art 16(3) QMV is the norm except where it is provided for otherwise in the treaties (55% member of the Council comprising at least 15 of them representing MS >65% population)

Simple majority: rare

Unanimity: taxation, social security, foreign policy & common security policy

Art 294 TFEU ordinary legislative procedure:

  • EP & the Council as co-legislators, with right of veto

    • HOWEVER 3rd GSP Case on the special procedure which only had to consult the EP – though Council must endeavour to obtain opinion of the EP

Policies &...

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