Why has the European Court of Justice been so central to the process of integration?

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

10 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

01/12/2009

Category :

Political science

Sub category :

European union

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Summary :

Introduction.
1951-1965: The solid foundations of the ECJ.
1. The European Community a legal entity.
2. The Treaties of Paris and Rome empowering the ECJ.
3. The judges' expansive methods.
1965-1986: The ECJ as the driving force behind integration.
1. The ECJ at variance with initial technical conception.
2. Law as a 'mask' and a 'shield' for a 'set of political objectives'.
3. Extending the scope of the individual rights in EC law.
1986-2005: A defensive and more cautious case law.
1. The principle of mutual recognition and unwanted attention.
2. Moderate 'spill-over' effects and defence of its area of competence.
3. Increasing criticism of the ECJ.
Conclusion.
Bibliography.

Abstract

"Law is often still treated as if it were a separate field, clearly distinct from the economic or political spheres" . As the european court of justice (ECJ) has never been given a lot of media coverage, most of the time, its role in the integration process is either disregarded or ignored. Although the first judges and advocates general of the institution had set its original rules by March 1953, interests in the court's political contribution began to arise in the early 1990s, i.e. some forty years later. What role has it played in the integration process? "Of all Community institutions, the court has gone furthest in limiting national autonomy, by asserting the principles of superiority of Community law and of the obligation of Member States to implement building acts consistent with Community directives"
Keohane and Hoffmann, 1991 In parallel, european integration is described by Haas as the process "whereby political actors in several, distinct national settings are persuaded to shift their loyalties, expectations and political activities towards a new centre, whose institutions process or demand jurisdiction over the pre-existing national states". In order to complete the syllogism, one could say that "limiting national autonomy" in Keohane and Hoffmann's terms - i.e. in late intergovernmentalist theory - equals "shifting their loyalties" and "demand jurisdiction over the pre-existing national states" in Haas' terms, i.e. in the neofunctionalist theory. Now that we have our two premises and our middle term, the conclusion can be deduced: the ECJ is the institution which has done the most towards the european integration process.