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(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(1), 349-352 | What Should Have Said | (Abstract) This preface to the new series What ... Should Have Said: Rewriting Landmark Judgments of the European Court of Justice introduces the project and its rationale. Legal scholars typically critically analyse court judgments so as to provide a ‘soft power based’ check on judicial reasoning and provide doctrinal and normative guidance for courts in future cases. Notwithstanding the merits of legal scholarship, especially scholarly critiques of case law invites the question of how these scholars concretely would have decided the respective cases. What ... Should Have Said provides a new way of ‘doing EU law’ by asking both junior and senior EU legal scholars to literally rewrite landmark judgments of the European Court of Justice.

Aquest article destaca el paper dels serveis socials locals en l’aplicació de les polítiques d’habitatge, concretament a Catalunya. És per això, que es presenta una revisió de tres instruments normatius: La Llei 18/2007, del dret a l’habitatge, la Llei 24/2015, de mesures urgents per a afrontar l’emergència en l’àmbit de l’habitatge i la pobresa energètica i la Llei 4/2016, de mesures de protecció del dret a l’habitatge de les persones en risc d’exclusió residencial. S’identifiquen els processos o polítiques públiques que ―per a la seva concreció― requereixen de la participació de les professionals dels serveis socials, destacant els reptes que es presenten i la necessària articulació entre les diferents administracions públiques per a garantir l’exercici efectiu del dret a l’habitatge de les persones que resideixen a Catalunya.

Prenent en consideració el paper actual i futur de la intel·ligència artificial en la licitació pública, el present article es centra, des de l’òptica de les directrius de la Llei 15/2022, integral per a la igualtat de tracte i la no-discriminació, en la potencialitat que pot correspondre a la intel·ligència artificial davant la detecció i l’actuació contra les col·lusions en la contractació pública. Dins d’aquest nou dret computacional de la competència o “antitrust 3.0” es detallarà el paper capdavanter que ha assumit l’Autoritat Catalana de la Competència (ACCO) pel que fa a la posada en marxa, en fase experimental, de l’eina informàtica ERICCA, i, en paral·lel, la seva participació activa dins del projecte Computational Antitrust del Stanford Center for Legal Informatics (CodeX).

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2017 2(1), 403-410 | European Forum Insight of 21 May 2017 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. The White Paper. - III. The Free Trade Agreement. - IV. The customs agreement. - V. Conclusion. | (Abstract) The 29 March 2017 is now set to become the historical day Art. 50 TEU was triggered for the first time ever. Equally, unprecedented negotiations, in which the United Kingdom and the European Union will settle their divorce, will follow. With the aim of proving that the UK Government has the necessary negotiating strategy, it recently published a White Paper on its exit from and new partnership with the EU. Despite the promises, this Paper is far from providing certainty and clarity. However, it is also a step away from a previous superficial and simplistic approach to Brexit. In this Insight, I explain why the White Paper is riddled with contradictions and why, nonetheless, this confusing and vague exposition of what the UK will be seeking to achieve from its withdrawal is a welcome though disguised acknowledgment of the complexities that Brexit will entail.

L’any 2019 es va celebrar el 10è aniversari de la posada en funcionament de l’Oficina Antifrau de Catalunya (OAC). En el treball s’analitza, en vista d’aquests deu anys d’experiència, quin ha estat el funcionament de l’OAC en les seves funcions investigadora i preventiva, amb especial atenció a aquells àmbits de major rellevància, com ara les denúncies anònimes i la protecció de les persones denunciants. En el segon bloc del treball, sobre la base de l’anàlisi prèvia, es plantegen línies de reforma en el marc regulador i en el funcionament de l’OAC, amb l’objectiu d’atribuir a l’OAC un paper central en un sistema d’integritat i anticorrupció català efectiu encara en construcció. Les principals propostes són reforçar la protecció de les persones denunciants i clarificar el sistema de denúncies davant l’OAC, reconèixer la potestat sancionadora de l’OAC associada a infraccions de nova creació lligades a les activitats investigadores i preventives de l’OAC, facilitar la formulació de consultes no vinculants i promoure la modernització tecnològica de la lluita contra la corrupció a Catalunya.

Els escàndols de corrupció a l’Estat espanyol han comportat una crisi de credibilitat del sector públic i dels seus mecanismes de control. Els organismes i les institucions internacionals aposten per noves formes de governança i d’integritat institucional que requereixen un canvi profund de cultura organitzativa. Aquest canvi ha de permetre implantar un “marc integral de control intern” inspirat en la metodologia COSO III, que ha de ser implementat i mantingut pels responsables del govern de l’entitat i ha de conviure amb el control intern que és responsabilitat dels interventors del sector públic. En aquest treball s’analitza la configuració actual del control intern en les administracions públiques, les seves debilitats i fortaleses. També es fan propostes de millora per configurar un marc integral de control intern que proporcioni una seguretat raonable sobre la consecució dels objectius de l’entitat, la fiabilitat de la informació financera, l’eficàcia, l’eficiència de les operacions i el compliment de les disposicions legals aplicables que permeti una prevenció efectiva del frau i la corrupció.

Aquesta recerca examina el paper actual del Tribunal de Justícia de la Unió Europea en la governança de la Unió a la llum de la seva jurisprudència recent enunciant primerament resolucions jurisdiccionals emblemàtiques de l’última dècada (2010-2019) i fent una anàlisi particular de la Sentència Bauer i Broßonn, de 2018, per la seva especial transcendència respecte a l’efecte directe horitzontal dels drets reconeguts per la Carta de Drets Fonamentals de la Unió Europea i, indirectament, la invocabilitat en un litigi entre particulars de preceptes d’una directiva que concreta aquells drets. A continuació s’analitza la posició privilegiada del Tribunal de Justícia en l’organigrama institucional de la Unió després del Tractat de Lisboa, de 13 de desembre de 2007, per comprendre millor per què aquesta institució ha pogut contribuir tan decisivament a la preservació i la consolidació de la integració europea. L’estudi conclou amb l’examen de si existeix un govern de jutges en la Unió Europea.

Aquest article analitza l’activitat del Parlament relacionada amb el futur polític de Catalunya. L’anàlisi parteix de la resolució parlamentària de 2013 que declarava la sobirania i el dret a decidir del poble de Catalunya i arriba fins a les darreres resolucions sobre el procés d’independència adoptades durant la legislatura actual per la majoria parlamentària sortida de les eleccions del dia 27 de setembre de 2015. Totes aquestes decisions parlamentàries han obert un important debat jurídic sobre principis constitucionals bàsics, en particular el de democràcia i el de legalitat, debat que gira al voltant dels punts següents: com defensar i promoure un projecte polític que no s’ajusta a l’ordre constitucional establert? Pot el Tribunal Constitucional fiscalitzar actes no normatius de naturalesa estrictament parlamentària? Quins són els efectes de desobeir el deure de complir les resolucions del Tribunal Constitucional? L’article estudia totes aquestes qüestions des de la perspectiva jurídica, sense ometre, però, consideracions d’índole sociopolítica indispensables per contextualitzar-les adequadament.

El present estudi analitza les tècniques jurídiques de potenciació de la bona administració en relació amb el dret a l´habitatge i té en compte la modificació de la Llei 18/2007, operada per la Llei 9/2011, així com les polítiques públiques en el nou context de crisi econòmica. Així, s’analitzen les noves mesures adoptades per protegir els deutors hipotecaris incapaços de satisfer el pagament de les seves obligacions i s’estudia fins a quin punt seria constitucionalment acceptable l´establiment futur de la dació en pagament si s’aplica a contractes de préstec o crèdit encara vigents, així com la imposició a propietaris de lloguers forçosos per evitar la pèrdua de l’allotjament per part dels deutors. Finalment, partint de la constatació que la mera protecció amb el dret privat del dret a l’habitatge de qui ja té allotjament és clarament insuficient, analitza l’imprescindible concurs del dret públic per promoure un habitatge assequible, mitjançant el paper rellevant del dret urbanístic i de la col·laboració publicoprivada, i fa una sèrie de propostes concretes en la part final.The present study analyses the legal techniques for the enhancement of good administration in relation with the right to housing and takes into account the amendments made to la Ley 18/2007 operada por la Ley 9/2011 [Act 18/2007 implemented by Act 9/2011], as well as public policies in the new context of economic crisis. Thus, the study analyses the new measures adopted to protect mortgage borrowers unable to meet their obligations and considers to what extent the future establishment of assignment of payment would be constitutionally acceptable if applied to loan or credit contracts still in force, as well as the imposition on owners of forced rentals to avoid the loss of accommodation on the part of debtors. Finally, based on the assumption that the mere protection through private law of the right to housing of those who already have accommodation is clearly insufficient, the study analyses the essential need for public law to promote affordable housing through planning law and public-private collaboration, and makes a number of specific proposals in the final part.El presente estudio analiza las técnicas jurídicas de potenciación de la buena administración en relación con el derecho a la vivienda y tiene en cuenta la modificación de la Ley 18/2007 operada por la Ley 9/2011, así como las políticas públicas en el nuevo contexto de crisis económica. Así, se analizan las nuevas medidas adoptadas para proteger a los deudores hipotecarios incapaces de hacer frente al pago de sus obligaciones y se estudia hasta qué punto sería constitucionalmente aceptable el establecimiento futuro de la dación en pago si se aplica a contratas de préstamo o crédito todavía vigentes, así como la imposición a propietarios de alquileres forzosos para evitar la pérdida del alojamiento por parte de los deudores. Finalmente, partiendo de la constatación que la mera protección con el derecho privado del derecho a la vivienda de quien ya tiene alojamiento es claramente insuficiente, analiza el imprescindible concurso del derecho público para promover una vivienda asequible, mediante el relevante papel del derecho urbanístico y de la colaboración público-privada, y hace una serie de propuestas concretas en la parte final.

Cal remarcar, en el si de les federacions contemporànies, una certa tendència a la concentració dels poders resultant de l'aplicació judicial de les normes relatives a la divisió de poders entre els nivells de govern. Canadà no és una excepció en aquest sentit. Com a àrbitre últim dels conflictes federatius, el Tribunal Suprem ha infós un camí d'evolució cap a la centralització de la federació canadenca. Pel que fa als conflictes sobre el repartiment de competències legislatives, aquesta tendència es basa en una dilució del valor normatiu del principi del federalisme, l'adopció d'un concepte anomenat cooperatiu del repartiment de competències i l'hegemonia de l'enfocament interpretatiu evolutiu. Igualment cridat a jugar un paper fonamental en certs moments clau de la història constitucional del país, el Tribunal va haver d'intentar conciliar les qüestions de legitimitat i de legalitat. Si l'adopció d'un enfocament positivista de la interpretació constitucional li va donar aquesta difícil tasca en les referències sobre la repatriació del poder constituent a principis dels anys 1980, una visió més àmplia de l'ordre normatiu canadenc li va permetre, en gran mesura, de tornar-hi en la referència de 1998 sobre la secessió del Quebec. Per una col·lectivitat nacional minoritària com és la del Quebec dins de la federació canadenca, el manteniment d'un equilibri de poders és de vital importància, ja que li permet conservar la seva esfera autonòmica fonamental per a la seva expansió col·lectiva.

Aquest treball analitza el procés de creació i consolidació dels òrgans consultius com una manifestació important del desplegament de l'Estat autonòmic i de la descentralització del poder a Espanya, que té el seu fonament en les potestats d'autoorganització de les comunitats autònomes, com ha tingut ocasió d'afirmar la jurisprudència constitucional que es descriu en la primera part.Després de destacar la necessitat que aquests òrgans estiguin dotats d'unes característiques peculiars que en garanteixin la qualificació tècnica, la independència i l'objectivitat com a condicions de legitimitat, aquest estudi analitza la tasca exercida pels òrgans consultius autonòmics i la seva participació en les funcions legislativa, executiva i administrativa, aturant-se especialment en el paper dels consells consultius coma «guardians de l'autonomia». En aquest aspecte, el treball es refereix a la defensa d'un enteniment ampli de la legitimació dels executius autonòmics en els recursos d'inconstitucionalitat, així com en la interpretació estricta del concepte de «normes bàsiques» i en la doctrina dels òrgans consultius sobre l'abast dels títols denominats horitzontals.

Inevitablement, els sistemes federalistes necessiten processos a través dels quals es puguin resoldre les discussions sobre l'assignació de poder entre els governs nacionals i regionals. L'elecció que un país fa pel que fa a l'autoritat institucional que ha de resoldre tals discussions és crítica. En el context del federalisme americà, la història demostra que tals discussions s'han resolt principalment per mitjà de la via judicial.De manera significativa, el text constitucional mateix sovint disposa només d'una mínima orientació per resoldre si les afirmacions concretes de poder, normalment per part del Govern central, són conseqüents amb l'estructura constitucional. Atès que, de conformitat amb el poder de revisió judicial, els tribunals federals tenen l'última paraula amb relació al significat de la Constitució, aquesta indeterminació ha atorgat al Tribunal un gran poder i discreció a l'hora de donar forma als contorns del federalisme americà. Com a conseqüència, el poder federal ha fluctuat substancialment a través de la història americana i ha depès en gran part de les actituds judicials, les preferències personals i l'orientació política dels jutges.

El dret públic de la immigració s'ha anat desenvolupant en els darrers anys per donar resposta a les necessitats que planteja el fenomen migratori. Tot i que el protagonisme l'han tingut el legislador i l'Administració sobretot centrals, la jurisprudència del Tribunal Constitucional ha estat decisiva per posar en relleu la dimensió constitucional d'aquest nou sector de l'ordenament. A partir de pocs preceptes, aquest Tribunal ha anat concretant les exigències constitucionals que se'n deriven pel legislador, les administracions i els jutges ordinaris en aquest àmbit. El present estudi analitza quina ha estat la contribució del Tribunal Constitucional en el desenvolupament del dret públic de la immigració. No s'analitzen una per una les quaranta sentències constitucionals dictades en aquest àmbit, sinó les grans línies jurisprudencials que s'han anat perfilant durant els gairebé trenta anys de jurisprudència constitucional sobretot en la determinació de l'estatut constitucional de l'estranger.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(2), 665-687 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. Regulating innovation in the digitalised age. – II.1. Impact of regulation on innovation. – II.2. Crypto-assets as innovation: a moving target. – III. The regulation of crypto-assets in the EU. – III.1. The MiCA framework, its objectives and challenges. – III.2. Activity-and risk-based approach to regulating crypto-assets. – IV. Future-proofing the EU regulation of crypto-assets. – IV.1. The challenge of future-proofing a regulatory intervention in innovative markets. – IV.2. Activity-based regulation of crypto-assets: future-proofing the regulatory perimeter. – IV.3. Risk-based approach to regulating markets in crypto-assets. - V. Conclusion. | (Abstract) The 2023 EU regulation of markets in crypto-assets (MiCA) is a timely and ambitious response to the regulatory challenges of a fast-developing and technology-intensive field. The new regulation expands the regulatory perimeter, thus enabling EU-wide supervision of crypto-asset service providers and issuers of the so-called “stablecoins”. As such, the MiCA is in line with the key objectives of the 2020 EU Digital Finance Strategy: it updates the existing EU regulatory framework to facilitate digital innovation while protecting European consumers. “Same activity, same risk, same rule” approach is at the core of the MiCA regime. The new regulatory intervention, however, is to be put to test by the incessant technological and business model innovation within the crypto industry. Is this new regulation future-proof? This paper identifies and explores the two main points of vulnerability that often undermine the future-proof nature and, ultimately, the effectiveness of regulatory interventions in innovative sectors. First, it analyses the structures that define the scope of the new framework, and their capacity to adjust to and incorporate innovation falling outside of the regulatory perimeter. Second, the paper explores the mechanisms that ensure the regulatory and supervisory framework under the MiCA remains relevant and able to address the changes in the amplitude and sources of risks. Against this background, the paper discusses two features indispensable for a future-proof regulation: the openness of the regulatory perimeter, and the regulatory capacity for risk anticipation.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(2), 803-808 | European Forum Highlight of 28 November 2023 | (Abstract) This paper seeks to address the question of the future of the Ukrainian territories that have recently been or are currently being occupied by Russia primarily through the prism of relevant rules of international humanitarian law. After briefly recalling the conditions for the beginning of a belligerent occupation, the focus will be on the modalities for its termination, which will be examined and discussed with reference to the case of Ukraine.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2024 9(1), 39-52 | European Forum Insight of 15 April 2024 | (Table of Contents) I. The complexity of the geopolitical matter. - i.1. EU gas policy before 2022. - i.2. The Russian retaliation after the invasion. - II. The measures adopted in response (and their opposers). - ii.1. The first steps: saving gas. - ii.2. Gently steering the market. - ii.3. Joint purchases of gas. - ii.4. Enforcing solidarity. - III. The most debated aspect: what limits to market intervention? - iii.1. Regulation 2022/2578: another round of the price cap debate. - iii.2. A balancing solution? - IV. The effectivity of the measures: the impact assessments and the comments. - iv.1. After the emergency: the situation after one year. - iv.2. The energy community (was) now: was the EU prepared? - iv.3. The legal issues. - iv.4. The return of geopolitics and the future of an open(?) strategic autonomy. | (Abstract) This Insight offers an overview of the EU's evolving energy policy in the face of the energy crisis which followed the Russian illegal invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the critical interplay between legal measures, market dynamics, and geopolitical strategy. In the first section, the Insight will examine the history of the EU policy on gas and its inherent risks, presenting the supply shock which occurred after the invasion February 2022. In the second section, the Insight details the legislative measures adopted under RepowerEU in the field of gas, describing the various approaches such as reducing consumption, ensuring storage, and fostering interstate solidarity, highlighting how the political debates between member states have contributed to shape the Regulations on the matter. In the third section, the Insight also explores the complex dynamics of market interventions, particularly the debated Market Correction Mechanism (MCM) and its implications for EU energy markets. In the final section, the Insight examines the impact of these measures, noting the mixed outcomes highlighted in the EU commissioned reports and presenting the criticism of other stakeholders, highlighting the legal challenges in implementing coordinated energy policies among Member States with diverse interests. Moreover, reflecting on the post-crisis landscape, the Insight advocates for a transition from emergency measures to strategic foresight in energy policy. It argues for the EU's need to balance national autonomy with collective energy security, suggesting a shift towards more integrated energy policies also in light of preserving the EU’s strategic autonomy in response to emerging geopolitical challenges.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2024 9(1), 21-38 | European Forum Insight of 15 April 2024 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. Context. - III. The draft regulation in detail. - III.1 Category 1 NGT plants. - III.2 Category 2 NGT plants. - III.3. Provisions for delegated and implementing acts as well as guidance material. - IV. Assessment of different scientific aspects in the regulation. - IV.1. Scientific reasoning of equivalence criteria as given in Annex I. - IV.2. Scientific reasoning of risk assessment criteria as given in Annex II. - V. Assessment of different legal aspects in the draft regulation. - V.1. Deliberate releases of cat 1 plants and committee procedure. - V.2 Precautionary principle. - V.3. Cartagena protocol. - v.4. Amendment of Annex I via delegated act. - VI. Ongoing discussion | (Abstract) This Insight explains in detail, yet easily understandable, the contents of the European Commission’s draft regulation on plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed. It critically comments on the underlying scientific considerations and discusses potential legal issues – the precautionary principle being one of them, though arguably not the most important one. Finally, the Insight summarizes the ongoing discussions and developments regarding the draft regulation. The Authors also hint at potential amendments, which might resolve some of the remaining problems.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1679-1695 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. The normative positioning of the Union: a new space for the collective exercise of sovereignty. – II.1. Human rights and criminal law, a source of inspiration and legitimacy. – II.2. Normative interpretation and hybridization within the Council practice. – III. “Supplementing” criminal repression? A new space to overcome the limits of jurisdiction. – III.1. Foreign policy v. criminal repression: the nature and purpose of the measures involved. – III.2. Overcoming the limits of jurisdiction and extending the reach of the measures. | (Abstract) The EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime was adopted by the European Union in December 2020, following in the footsteps of its allies and some of its own Member States. Initiated across the Atlantic in response to the murder of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, these thematic international sanctions can now target anyone associated with the most serious human rights violations. Presented as key levers in the international fight against impunity, these instruments lie at the confluence of foreign policy and criminal justice. The EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime is therefore a privileged observation point for studying the evolution of practice in areas that are traditionally closely associated with State sovereignty. More specifically, the analysis, carried out within the framework of both EU external action law and public international law, shows how the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime enables the Union and its Member States to grasp some international situations which would fall outside their single competences and jurisdictions. This in turn illustrates a form of enhanced, collective and long-armed sovereignty, exercised on the international stage by the EU and its members in the service of their values and strategic interests.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1575-1597 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. New formulas in the regime of mutual recognition in the EIO. – III. The question of defining investigative measures and having recourse to a different one. – III.1. The applicability of the corrective mechanism in other cooperation systems. – IV. An increased extent of direct communication between the issuing and the executing authorities. – IV.1. Regulating greater communication between issuing and executing authorities as a form of institutionalised distrust. – V. The fundamental rights-based refusal ground and the question of its applicability. – V.1. Making the fundamental rights-based refusal ground the norm instead of it being the exception. – VI. Conclusion. | (Abstract) This Article concerns the European Investigation Order (EIO) and its relations to the principle of mutual recognition. The principle has been the engine of judicial cooperation in criminal matters between Member States of the European Union since the adoption of the Tampere conclusions in 1999. Member States rely on the principle in creating cooperation systems, thereby facilitating interaction among their criminal justice systems. Since Member States refrain from extensive criminal law harmonisation, the principle is of utmost importance. As such, a common regulatory technique was developed through which the principle is given effect in every cooperation system created so far. Although this regulatory technique was mostly followed in the directive establishing the EIO, it also introduced several novelties in the regime, notably the option to have recourse to another investigative measure, the possibility for a greater extent of communication, and the fundamental rights-based refusal ground. This Article argues that these rules make the EIO directive more protective of fundamental rights and show a new trend in the cooperation systems based on the principle of mutual recognition. In addition, while reviewing the applicability of these rules in other cooperation systems, it provides a proposal on how to apply them to enhance mutual trust between Member States through legislation.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1697-1740 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. Aid and assistance provided to Ukraine since February 2022. – II.1. The European Union and its Member States. – II.2. The United States of America, the United Kingdom and Canada. – II.3. Russia’s response. – II.4. Reactions from other states. – II.5. Conclusion. – III. Jus ad bellum, neutrality law, and jus in bello: the need for legal coherence. – III.1. Collective self-defence. – III.2. Different shades of neutrality? – III.3. Party status. – IV. Conclusion. | (Abstract) To assist Ukraine in defending itself against Russian aggression, the EU invoked the European Peace Facility to “finance the provision of […] military equipment and platforms designed to deliver lethal force for defensive purposes”. It marks the first time that the EU is funding the provision of lethal equipment to a third state. In October 2022, the EU announced the creation of EUMAM Ukraine to train Ukrainian Armed Forces to use the weapons EU Member States have provided. Since February 2022, the EU’s military aid and assistance has only increased. EU Member States are also providing military aid and assistance bilaterally, including training Ukrainian soldiers. In so doing, they are aligning their assistance with “like-minded” partners and NATO Member States, particularly the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Canada. This Article will assess the supply of military aid and equipment to Ukraine as well as the training of UAF through the lens of international law. One wonders whether the EU’s military aid and assistance amounts to collective self-defence, even if none of the supporting actors have invoked art. 51 UN Charter. The argument could be made that the EU and its Member States are breaching neutrality law in supplying lethal aid to Ukraine, albeit it has been argued that neutrality law is no longer relevant in the post charter era. The question also arises whether these actors have become parties to the conflict, even if supporting states and the EU frequently assert that they are not co-belligerents.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2024 9(1), 1-15 | European Forum Insight of 27 March 2024 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. Background to the case. - III. The Advocate General's Opinion. - IV. The Judgment. - IV.1. The Analysis Under Art. 102 TFEU. - IV.2. The Analysis Under Art. 101 TFEU. - IV.3. Freedom to Provide Services. - V. Analysis. - V.1 What Role for the "European Sport Model"? - V.2. Can the UEFA/FIFA Rules Be Objectively Justified? - V.3. Broadcasting Rights, or How to Apply the European Sport Model.- VI. Conclusion: What Next for European Sport Law? | (Abstract) In European Super League Company (ESLC), the Court of Justice was faced with a challenge against the legality of FIFA and UEFA’s prior approval scheme for the creation of, and participation in, breakaway football competitions. The Court’s judgment is lengthy and nuanced, and touches on many of the issues which have characterised the ever-growing interaction between EU law and sport. The Court of Justice holds that the lack of a clear, transparent framework for the prior approval of breakaway constitutes a violation of arts 56, 101 and 102 TFEU, but provides indications about how such practices could be justified. Other aspects of the FIFA-UEFA regulatory ecosystem – for example, the framework for the joint sale of broadcasting rights – are found to be justifiable under EU law. The judgment also provides clarifications about how sport-related considerations can feed into the analysis of the TFEU’s competition and free movement provisions.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1663-1678 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. Primary law: migration management and its limits. – III. Secondary legislation: enhanced protection of migrants’ rights. - III.1. Enhancing the rights of migrants – III.2. Promotion of State interests. - IV. Asylum policy: reform failure and circumvention. – IV.1. “Pushbacks” as an extreme form of non-compliance. - IV.2. Continuity of “organised hypocrisy” over time. – V. Conclusion. | (Abstract) EU primary law reaffirms that States have the right to control the entry and stay of non-nationals, but it also entrusts the legislature with deciding, within the confines of human rights, how open or closed the external borders shall be. The ensuing tension between protection and state control is deeply engrained in the history and presence of European migration law. Supranational legislation often establishes a higher level of protection than human rights in the form of individual rights to legal entry or stay; these statutory guarantees considerably curtail the room for manoeuvre of the Member States, albeit on the basis of their “voluntary” consent. At the same time, EU migration law and policy can increase the practical leverage of States by means of inter-state cooperation. These contrasting dynamics coalesce in the contemporary debate about asylum policy. Protective elements exist, but several Member States violate their obligations, notably in the external border control context (“pushbacks”). While such instances of open resistance are unprecedented, they build on a history of half-hearted commitment ever since the signature of the Refugee Convention. EU migration law comprises reasonably generous domestic legislation and contributes to reducing the numbers of arrival at the same time, in particular via cooperation with third states such as Tunisia, Turkey, or Morocco, thus reiterating the simultaneity of “rescuing” and “taming” the nation-state.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1599-1628 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. Reform of epidemic surveillance. – III. Limited attention to decisions. – IV. Linguistic dimension. – V. Diversity and incidence of decisions. – VI. Inspiration for comparison. – VII. Substantial classification of decisions. – VIII. Outlining the doctrine of “standardising” decisions. – IX. Identified replacements by regulations. – X. Evaluation of these replacements. – XI. Perspectives andlimits of the tendency. – XII. Envisaged reform of secondary law instruments. – XIII. Conclusions. | (Abstract) The reform of epidemic surveillance in the European Union as a reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic attracts attention to one sporadically discussed phenomenon. Following the usual meaning of this term in legal settings, many decisions address individual cases. Nevertheless, a new category of decisions establishing rules has emerged in the past decades, i.e. “standardising” (“normative”, “norm-setting”, or “general”) decisions. These decisions have addressed the cooperation between the EU and national authorities, funding programmes and assistance to foreign countries. The European Parliament and the Council approved them. Theoretical reflections on these decisions are rare, but their pitfalls are identifiable. Namely, their possible effects on individuals are limited. The definition of unaddressed decisions provided by the Lisbon Treaty did not clarify the situation. Therefore, the recent tendency to replace these decisions with regulations deserves attention.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1645-1661 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. Law-making capacity as an expression of sovereignty. – III. The participation of international organizations in the formation of customary international law. – III.1. Overview. – III.2. Whose practice? – III.3. Which norms? – III.4. Conclusion. – IV. The practice of the EU and its relevance in the creation of customary international law. – IV.1. Overview. – IV.2. Legislative practice of the Union. – IV.3. Judicial practice of the CJEU. – IV.4. Positions taken by the Commission in (quasi-)judicial proceedings. – V. Conclusions. | (Abstract) This Article argues that the ability of the European Union to participate in the creation of customary international law curtails the sovereignty of its Member States. First, it shows that authority to participate in norm-creation constitutes a core aspect of sovereignty under international law. Second, it argues that the conduct of the European Union (as an international organization) may be determinative in ascertaining the existence and content of customary norms. However, that authority lacks an explicit basis in the treaties. Third, it asserts that this encompasses norms that are directly relevant for the Member States, potentially in circumstances outside of the scope of EU law. The Article then specifically discusses three types of acts of the Union and their relevance for the creation of customary international law, while providing examples that touch upon traditional inter-states relations. In particular, this concerns the legislative practice of the Union, the judicial practice of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and public statements made by the Commission in (quasi-)judicial proceedings.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1555-1574 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. Rainbow families’ parental rights in the EU: charting progress through law and politics. – II.1. From courtrooms to Commission: the evolution of LGBTIQ parenthood recognition in EU law. – II.2. Political strategy of the Regulation proposal. – III. Concerns on the efficiency of the EU legislative mechanism. – III.1. The ambiguity of “EU value driven policy”. – III.2. The TFEU as an unexpected obstacle. – III.3. The Regulation proposal at an impasse: which alternatives? – IV. Conclusion. | (Abstract) The EU is known for its commitment to protecting the fundamental rights of same-sex couples as outlined in art. 10 TFEU and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU (Charter) within its value-driven principles. Nevertheless, same-sex couples still face discrimination in forming families. Only 14 out of 27 Member States allow same-sex marriage, seven offer some form of recognition, and the other six offer no recognition at all. To address this issue, the European Commission has proposed a legal instrument which would introduce uniform rules for jurisdiction and applicable law in matters of parenthood, with the goal of ensuring recognition of parental rights for rainbow families across the EU. While the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union have made significant efforts to legally protect LGBTIQ individuals, the EU’s ability to act in the face of anti-LGBTIQ legal and social climates is still being questioned. This Article will examine the contents of the Commission’s legislative proposal, its political strategy, and the practical obstacles to its adoption, including legal mechanisms and political situations in certain Member States. The effectiveness, practicability, and sustainability of the proposal will also be evaluated. The goal is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the Commission’s efforts to promote and protect the rights of same-sex couples in the EU.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1629-1643 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. The present meaning of State sovereignty. – II. The sovereignty of EU Member States. – III. Concluding remarks. | (Abstract) The present Article addresses the issue of the sovereignty of EU Member States from the perspective of general international law. In a first part, it tries to define the present meaning of sovereignty in international law. As a guide, three main approaches to sovereignty are used, i.e. an understanding of sovereignty as independence, as Völkerrechtsunmittelbarkeit (direct legal relationship between a State and international law), and as an autonomy of States under the constitution of the international community. In a second part, the Article applies the criteria of these three approaches to the Member States of the EU. It also addresses the question of whether the EU itself can be qualified as sovereign, and the issue of a “shared” or “divided” sovereignty in Europe. By way of conclusion, the third part makes a plea for defending the concept of supranationalism, as established in Europe after World War II, against the idea of State sovereignty.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1539-1554 | European Forum Insight of 4 March 2024 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. Cross-Border Telemedicinetext. - III. Clinical Risk. - IV. Product Liability. - IV.1. Conflicts of Jurisdiction. - IV.2. Conflicts of Laws. - V. Health Professional's Liability. - V.1. Conflicts of Jurisdiction. - V.2. Conflicts of Laws. - VI. Conclusions. | (Abstract) Telemedicine raises complex legal issues. The challenging regulatory choices needed to adequately cope with the digital transformation of healthcare become more pronounced when the provision of healthcare services bridges national borders. Recently the EU has undoubtedly presented itself as a particularly active player in harmonising the Member States’ substantive regimes on civil liability. However, harmonisation is still far from complete. Against this background, the general instruments of EU private international law have proved to be relatively fit for accommodating diverse legal orders in the digital age. Yet, their interaction with cross-border eHealth services remains to some extent complex and uncertain, last but not least in the light of the uncertain characterisation of medical liability.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(1), 301-316 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. The One Health approach: main conceptual features. – III. The One Health approach in EU policy and legislation – III.1. The One Health approach in EU policies. – III.2. The One Health approach in EU legislation. – IV. The One Health approach in the European Green Deal. – V. Concluding discussion. | (Abstract) The paper investigates how the One Health concept is used in the European Union and what functions are attributed to it in EU laws and policies. To this end we conduct a systematic analysis of EU laws and policy documents, with specific emphasis on the European Green Deal and its actions. The first section outlines the main conceptual features of the evolving One Health approach over time. The second section analyses how European laws and policies have considered One Health over time, showing its erratic use. The third section is dedicated to analysing how One Health is taken into account by the Green Deal’s actions. The conclusion recognises that the EU conceptualization and operationalization of One Health is far from being clear, coherent or concrete. However, we argue that a transition may be underway and One Health has the potential to become a new political and legal principle capable of permeating future EU actions towards a new phase of policy integration and sustainability.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2024 9(1), 17-19 | Highlight | Highlight of 08 April 2024 | (Abstract) The method of the lead candidates is commonly conceived of as an expedient to enhance the political power of the European Parliament vis-à-vis the European Council. On closer inspection, however, this method has deep constitutional underpinnings and can contribute to determine the material constitution of the European Union. After the next round of the European elections, which will likely produce a robust rise of the sovereigntist movements, this method could prove to be an essential tool to establish a connective thread among the European institutions and to enhance their legitimacy.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(1), 67-76 | European Forum Insight of 24 May 2023 | (Table of Contents) I. Einleitung zum Sonderheft „Die deutschsprachige Europarechtswissenschaft und ihre Rolle in Europa“. - I.1. In Vielheit geeint. - I.2. Die deutschsprachige Europarechtswissenschaft. - I.3. Europa-)Rechtswissenschaft als Sprachwissenschaft. - I.4. Gelingensbedingungen für eine gemeinsame – d.h. europaweite – Europarechtswissenschaft. - II. Die Beiträge zum ersten deutschsprachigen Sonderheft (special focus) von EP. - III. Zukunftsaussicht: Veröffentlichen von deutschsprachigen Insights, Highlights und Abhandlungen in der multilingualen open access Fachzeitschrift European Papers. - III.1. Die Vision von European Papers. - III.2. Zukünftige auch deutschsprachige Beiträge zum Europäischen Forum bei European Papers. | (Abstract) For the first time, a German language Special Focus is to be published in the European Forum of European Papers. One of the key questions in EU law is what it means to be part of a scientific community whose object of study are legal norms existing in a multiplicity of languages and legal cultures. As the European Forum starts to accept German language manuscripts next to English, French, Italian and Spanish texts, the authors of the present Special Focus inquire in various ways into the role, structure and issues of the German-speaking community of EU law scholars. After a short introduction, the various papers are briefly presented, followed by an exposition of European Papers’ mission and some details about how to submit manuscripts, all of it in German, as a welcoming message for hopefully many future German language submissions to the journal.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(1), 99-115 | European Forum Insight of 24 May 2023 | (Abstract) The paper addresses the question whether there exists a specific “Austrian” community of EU law scholars. This forms part of the broader question whether there exists a peculiar German or German-speaking community of EU law scholars (to which the current issue is devoted). To this end, the paper examines three fields – the impact of the legal positivist tradition in the Kelsenian style on EU law re-search in Austria, the constitutional framework for the Austrian participation in the EU as well as empir-ical factors specific to Austrian EU law academia and practice – and concludes that one may well make a case for the existence of a genuinely “Austrian” community of EU law scholars.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(1), 25-42 | European Forum Insight of 19 April 2023 | (Series Information) European Papers (News of dd month yyyy) | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. How did we get here? - III. What is the General Court supposed to get? - IV. When is a matter specific and exclusive? - V. When should the General Court refer the matter back to the Court of Justice? - VI. Which way, national courts? - VII. Conclusion. | (Abstract) The end of 2022 saw the publication of the proposal for reform of the preliminary ruling procedure, drafted by the Court of Justice of the EU. If the proposal goes through, it will bring about one of the most significant changes in the EU judicial system in its seventy years’ history. In this Insight, I start with an overview of the background to this reform proposal in order to provide the relevant context, before turning to its content. The focus is on specific areas of EU law in which the General Court would acquire jurisdiction in the preliminary ruling procedure. Then I discuss some downsides of the proposed distribution of powers between the Court of Justice and the General Court and suggest certain adjustments to the practice of the two courts to make the reformed preliminary ruling mechanism respond better to its objectives. Before concluding, I also reflect on the possible impact of the reform on the most numerous members of the EU judicial system – national courts.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2024 8(3), 1523-1537 | European Forum Insight of 16 February 2024 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. Hobbes: power and peace. - II.1. One, two … many sovereigns? - II.2. International relations, the Hobbesian way. - II.3. Lessons for the EU. - III. Immanuel Kant and international relations. - III.1. Human nature and the state. - III. 2. Striving towards perpetual peace? - III.3. Striving towards perpetual peace? - IV. Machiavelli and the arts of diplomacy. - IV.1. A Pragmatic Ruler. - IV.2. Inaction or military action in international conflict? - IV.3. Crafting diplomatic solutions. - V. Conclusion. | (Abstract) This Insight examines the stance the EU should adopt towards the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the basis of the political thought of Immanuel Kant, Thomas Hobbes, and Niccolò Machiavelli. Taking as its starting point Josep Borrell’s comment that “we are too much Kantians and not enough Hobbesians” at the 2022 EU Ambassadors’ Conference, this Insight offers a revisionist interpretation of both Kant and Hobbes while suggesting Machiavelli as a third possible inspiration for EU external action. Although he is often portrayed as a proto-“realist” intent on increasing state power, Hobbes in reality favours stability above all else and would therefore presumably not support a more “aggressive” foreign policy. Kant, on the other hand, has traditionally been seen as more of a philosophical idealist, but his political philosophy in fact supports a more assertive conduct by states in their external relations. Both of these philosophers are thus quite different from how Borrell portrays them. The Insight also introduces the perspective of a third thinker, Machiavelli, whose philosophy suggests that the EU should adopt a pragmatic diplomatic strategy, forging alliances, supplying Ukraine with weapons, and maintaining strong ties with allies.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1513-1522 | European Forum Insight of 16 February 2024 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. Who are the oligarchs in third countries? - II.1. Targeting leading businesspersons: the precedent of Syria. - II.2. Targeting Russian businesspersons: emerging trends. - III. Losing the status of Russian oligarch: any possibility to be de-listed? - IV. Conclusions. | (Abstract) This Insight examines the developments in the EU restrictive measures against Russia in the aftermath of the full-scale aggression in Ukraine, focusing on the novel "(g) criterion" designed to target Russian businesspersons (often referred to as Russian oligarchs). The analysis illustrates the recent litigation before the General Court, in which targeted individuals seek to annul their designations. It highlights that, compared to previous sanctions practice, the new criterion adopts an innovative sector-based approach, establishing a new link between businesspersons operating in certain economic sectors and vital source of revenue for the Russian government. The Insight further explores the Court's cautious stance on de-listing Russian businesspersons, emphasizing the prudent assessment of evidence and circumvention attempts. Finally, the Insight points to the broad implications of the "(g) criterion" and suggests that the Council holds considerable political discretion in exerting maximum pressure on Rus-sia's business elite, with the ultimate objective of reducing the Kremlin's ability to finance its war.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1301-1315 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. Actants. – III. The absence of brute facts. – IV. Valency. – V. Law as proliferation of power. – VI. Increasing adjudicative power. – VII. Increasing regulatory power. – VIII. Conclusion: the importance of inclusion and empowerment. | (Abstract) Two assumptions dominate and frustrate the debate concerning the emergence and rapid expansion of the European legal order and its relation to national legal systems. The first is that the will and consent of sovereign powers should be seen as a (social) fact that is logically and practically unable to give rise to (legal) norms. The second is that legal orders are distinct systems demarcated by separate sets of criteria of validity. In this Article both assumptions are criticised. Facts are not mere facts. And legal orders are not “autonomous” buildings erected on separate foundations. In order to account for the ways in which the European order overlaps with international and domestic law normative orders a legal order may be more adequately pictured as a web. In such a web, rules are the threads that bind together things, persons and institutions. It is hypothesised that the density of such webs as well as their capacity to connect to other webs determine their weight and relevance as reasons for action and decision-making. This hypothesis is tested in the capacity of European adjudication and regulation to connect to and to include national actors and institutions.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1495-1511 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. The identity of the EU and European values. – III. A constitutional moment: becoming a member of the EU. – IV. The principle of autonomy and the wider world. – V. Concluding remarks. | (Abstract) This epilogue rejects the idea that the principle of autonomy is an end in itself or a tool for judicial self-empowerment. On the contrary, we support the contention that that principle serves first and foremost as a means of promoting and protecting the values on which the EU is founded. In so doing, that principle also contributes to defining the identity of the EU as a common legal order. Compliance with those values does not mean that the Member States must adopt a specific constitutional model. Instead, those values limit themselves to providing a framework of reference within which the Member States may make their own constitutional choices. Finally, it is submitted that in times when authoritarian tendencies are on the rise, the principle of autonomy allows the EU to operate as a beacon of freedom, democracy and justice for the wider world.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1403-1439 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. The concept of autonomy beyond a jurisdictional claim. – III. Autonomy as a source of coherence. – IV. Autonomy’s omnipresence in the case law of the Court. – IV.1. Autonomy operating visibly. – IV.2. Autonomy not explicitly mentioned but operating actively. – IV.3. Autonomy as a silent undercurrent. – V. Conclusion. | (Abstract) This Article aims to demonstrate that if there is a single vision of the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is the idea of autonomy. It portrays how autonomy, defined as an idea of a new legal order with its distinct ontological and axiological character, serves as an organizing principle ensuring the coherence of the case law. It first examines the concept of autonomy, and then investigates the presence of autonomy in the case law of the Court, arguing that it is either explicitly or implicitly always present as the undercurrent in the Court’s legal reasoning. It goes on to show the inextricable link between autonomy and the fundamental principles of the EU legal system, among them the rule of law, the protection of human rights and the effectiveness of the EU legal order. By drawing upon case law of the Court in varied areas of EU law, the Article establishes that autonomy, with its distinct character, is the most important guideline in understanding the Court’s jurisprudence, ensuring its predictability and coherence. Autonomy vitally ensures pluralism of the European Union by contributing to the integrity of the judicial process and enabling the Court to speak with one voice. Through Aristotle’s’ approach for the search of knowledge, the Article portrays that autonomy is not the end in itself, but is rather vital for realizing the goals and values of the European Union.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1465-1494 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. Normative autonomy as the very foundation of the EU legal order. – III. Regulatory autonomy. – IV. The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). – IV.1. Substantive tensions. – IV.2. A clash with nor-mative autonomy? – IV.3. Limiting regulatory autonomy? – V. The reformed text of the ECT. – VI. The dark side of the EU’s external regulatory autonomy. – VII. Conclusion. | (Abstract) The autonomy of EU law is what makes the EU legal order what the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) claims it to be, namely a domestic legal order that allows the EU to be an international actor in its own right. Investor-State-Dispute-Resolution (ISDS) mechanisms have recently been exam-ined by the CJEU as to their compatibility with the jurisdictional normative autonomy of EU law and the regulatory autonomy of the EU institutions (Achmea, Opinion 1/17, Komstroy). The EU is only party to one international agreement in force that contains an ISDS mechanism. It is also the most litigated in-vestment treaty in the world: the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). In 2022, the negotiations between the Contracting Parties to the ECT have led to an ‘agreement in principle’ on a reformed treaty text. This Article examines the compatibility of the current ECT and of its reformed text with the normative and regulatory autonomy of the EU. It also argues that the Commission’s actions in the period between the agreement in principle on the revised text of 24 June 2022 and the adoption of a resolution of the Euro-pean Parliament calling on the EU to withdraw from the ECT on 23 November 2022 demonstrate the dark, undemocratic side of vesting the EU with external regulatory autonomy vis-à-vis the Member States. It highlights in particular that greater external regulatory autonomy of the EU may lead to an usurpation of executive powers and comes at the price of parliamentary control.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1293-1299 | Article | (Abstract) Jurisprudential accounts of the autonomy of EU law have struggled to offer a compelling account of its unique features. Nevertheless, I argue that Ronald Dworkin’s court-centric methodological approach is better-suited than Hartian positivism to shed light on the notion that EU law is autonomous. This is because most questions about the autonomy of EU law, when asked from a positivist perspective, are of little or no practical significance and philosophical inquiry will inevitably be inconclusive. By contrast, the autonomy of EU law is routinely employed as a normative principle helping EU courts to decide the issue of which party should win the case at hand. It is better understood as a shorthand reference to a political requirement, namely that EU courts ought to identify the main values behind European integration and to build – as opposed to find in the extant legal materials – a coherent body of principles.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1441-1464 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction – II. Cultural analysis, metaphor and the imageries of project and system – III. Autonomy and project and system in EU law – III.1. The EU legal order as the ECJ's project to create a system – III.2. The EU legal order as construction and body – III.3. Autonomy as the immanent principle of EU legal order – IV. The autonomy of EU legal order and the tension between project and system – IV.1. Autonomy and the presumed compatibility of telos, ethos and system – IV.2. The incompatibility of autonomy as project and system – V. Conclusion | (Abstract) This Article examines the understanding of EU legal order that underpins the concept of the autonomy of EU legal order. Building on the work of the American constitutional scholar Paul Kahn, this Article argues that the EU legal order can be understood as either project or system. From the perspective of project, the autonomy of EU legal order is the necessary means to realise the values and objectives the EU pursues, but from the perspective of system, the autonomy of EU legal order is an end in itself. By making this tension explicit, this Article hopes to cast doubt on the claim that autonomy operates in complete harmony with the telos the EU pursues and the ethos on which it is founded. Autonomy will only express a telos or ethos if these align with the preservation of the systemic integrity of the EU legal order. There thus exist no necessary relationship between the autonomy of the EU legal order and the objectives and values it pursues, but only a contingent one.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1317-1331 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. Autonomy in the early theories of sovereignty. – III. A historical hypothesis: autonomy as an institutional tool. – IV. The triumph of autonomy. – V. A change of paradigm: absolute autonomy v offene Staatlichkeit. – VI. Reverse autonomy. – VII. Autonomy of the EU vis-à-vis its Member States. –VIII. Autonomy vis-à-vis international law. – IX. Autonomy v Völkerrechtsfreundlichkeit. – X. The political dimension of autonomy. | (Abstract) The notion of autonomy sinks its roots in the dynamics between political sovereignty and legal sovereignty. Although autonomy, namely normative sovereignty, was perceived by the early theorists as an inseparable prerogative of the sovereign, its conceptual development took far more time than the notion of political sovereignty. Autonomy emerged at a later time in-keeping with the conception of a legal order, conceived of as a close system of rules proceeding from a fundamental rule conferring normativity to the whole system. In the process of the European integration, the notion of autonomy followed an inverse trajectory. Whereas the EU does not possess the prerogatives of political sovereignty, it developed into a normative entity independent vis-à-vis the legal orders of its Member States. But the transplant of this notion of absolute autonomy in the realm of international law could deeply affect the capacity of the EU to implement its international values enshrined in its Constitutional setting.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1255-1291 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. Defiance. – III. Primacy of what? – IV. Pluralism in action. – V. The incoherence of pluralism. – V.1. Legal systems do not “conflict”. – V.2. Legal systems do not “overlap”. – V.3. Pluralism cannot provide a framework for consensus. – VI. Federal monism. – VII. Social monism. – VIII. Primacy: a pragmatic view. – VIII.1. Europe’s legal order. – VIII.2. MacCormick’s internationalism. – IX. Conclusion: the principle of primacy. | (Abstract) A leading position among European Union lawyers is that the primacy of EU law has a “structural” dimension. Under views known as pluralism and monism, many scholars believe that the EU has created a new legal system which either sits next to or, alternatively, above the legal systems of the member states. These views, however, are paradoxical and self-defeating. This is shown when we apply the structural theories to the question of primacy as put by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal in case K 3/21 of 7 October 2021. Neither pluralism nor monism can show that EU law prevails over a state that takes Poland’s defiant position. The correct way of understanding EU law is interpretive, not structural. It is the only way that shows that the Polish Court has acted unlawfully. The EU Treaties have not created a new “legal system”, allegiance to which remains optional. According to the best view of EU law, universally accepted in legal practice although not yet fully by legal theory, EU law is entirely continuous with the established constitutional settlement. The EU treaties are ordinary treaties of international law that create constitutional obligations in the normal way. They create bonds of cosmopolitan reciprocity that each member state is legally obliged to respect. The primacy of EU law is based on our ordinary practices concerning the status and authority of the law of nations.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1333-1359 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. The law of integration. – II.1. The summa divisio of the modern law and the autonomous “sphere of intervention”. – II.2. The concept of law-making treaty and the search for a European constitution. – II.3. Jürgen Habermas and the revision of Kant’s cosmopolitan right. – III. The law of intervention. – III.1. Two faces. – III.2. The concept of intervention treaty. – III.3. Post-war Europe. – IV. Joseph Weiler and the political messianism in EU law. – V. Conclusion. | (Abstract) In this Article, the EU Treaties which establish a new and autonomous legal order are analysed through the lens of Pierre Pescatore’s qualification of their operating sphere as “sphere of intervention”. Combining Jürgen Habermas' revision of Kant's concept of cosmopolitan law and Joseph Weiler's thesis on the messianic impact of the European integration process, a concept of international treaty is presented that is suitable for a proper analysis of the transformative character of the EU Treaties and the Common Market as such a "sphere of intervention”. Highlighting implications of the theory of international treaty, legal philosophy and messianism, the concept of the European autonomous legal order, endowed with direct effect and supremacy, shall be proven to be the historical answer to the aporias of classical international law and to the totalitarian abuse of the law in the fascist regimes in Europe in the first half of the 20th century – not only on a symbolical level but also on the level of the concrete legal structure of the European integration process. The general aim of this Article is therefore to contribute to the debate about the nature of the EU Treaties as constituting an autonomous legal order from an international law perspective by identifying a type of international treaty suitable to explain the special character of a legal order that is identical neither with international nor with domestic law, but rather constituting a realm in-between the former and showing an independent legal standing in itself.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1361-1401 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. The autonomy of the federal legal order in US antebellum constitutionalism. – III. Justifying legal order. – IV. Autonomy, dual federalism and the monism–dualism dichotomy. – V. Conclusion. | (Abstract) This Article analyses debates in US antebellum constitutionalism on the “autonomy” of the US federal order in light of similar debates in contemporary EU constitutionalism. In the early American republic, two interrelated questions permeated constitutional theory: what was the nature of the federal order that had been created by the ratification of the US Constitution, and who was the final arbiter in constitutional questions. Today, EU constitutional lawyers would have no trouble recognising these debates, which are essentially re-enacted both in scholarly discussions and in collisions between the Court of Justice and national constitutional courts. This Article starts with a brief historical overview of some of the main constitutional debates in US antebellum constitutionalism, showing that these debates were remarkably similar to issues recently presented by the PSPP judgment of the German Federal Constitu-tional Court and the K 3/21 decision of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal. Secondly, this Article shows that both debates are characterised by a similar asymmetry: proponents of an autonomous federal legal order mainly use functionalist arguments, while proponents of the sovereignty of the states mainly use arguments about the “nature” or “origin” of the federal order. Thirdly, the Article contrasts the framing of the debate about the autonomy of the US federal order with the monism–dualism dichotomy that is central to our thinking about the relationship between national and international law. It shows how this distinction was not relevant to constitutional debates in the early American republic, and how that could cast a different light on the EU legal order today.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1247-1254 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. The autonomy of EU law and legal theory: bridging the disconnect. – II. Overview of this Special Section. | (Abstract) The autonomy of EU law is a source of ample connections between EU law and legal theory. This Special Section contributes to the mutual enrichment between EU constitutional law and legal theory – which traditionally have been mostly disconnected disciplines – by bringing together new, theory-informed perspectives on the autonomy of EU law and European integration from both EU lawyers and legal theorists. The ten Articles in this Special Section are grouped together in three categories, focusing re-spectively on philosophy of law, legal theory and legal history, and legal doctrine and the role of the European Court of Justice. Together, they provide a plethora of contrasting and complementary legal-theoretical views on the autonomy of EU law and the EU legal order, within the broader context of European integration. With this Special Section, we aim to contribute to the legal-theoretical analysis of EU constitutional law, hoping that many others will follow in our footsteps.