{"title":"War as a pretext to wave the rule of law goodbye? The case for an EU constitutional awakening","authors":"Petra Bárd, Dimitry V. Kochenov","doi":"10.1111/eulj.12435","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/eulj.12435","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The war in Ukraine triggered significant changes at the European Union level. The speed at which the EU has achieved progress on sanctions, migration and defense is particularly impressive. But the Russian aggression against Ukraine has also served as a pretext for putting aside internal discussions about the rule of law, and provided additional political rationales for inaction against Member State governments responsible for the violation of European values, as well as triggered the deepening of double standards in several fields. Against this background, the paper argues that using this crisis as a justification for further inaction in the context of EU values is not a sustainable course of action. The Union must not delay further the need to act to halt the insidious erosion of democracy and the rule of law <i>within</i> its own borders both at the national and supranational level.</p>","PeriodicalId":47166,"journal":{"name":"European Law Journal","volume":"27 1-3","pages":"39-49"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eulj.12435","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"109169167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The double helix of rule of law and EU competition law: An appraisal","authors":"Maciej Bernatt","doi":"10.1111/eulj.12422","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eulj.12422","url":null,"abstract":"<p>By discussing the experiences of Hungary and Poland, this article aims to demonstrate that there are three layers of the rule of law which are relevant for EU competition law. The first one is external: it relates to the legal system of EU Member States of which competition law is a part. In national legal systems, rule of law safeguards need to be put in place in order to provide an adequate legal environment for the competition law system to perform its role. The second one is internal: it concerns rule of law safeguards in relation to the Member States' competition authorities, in particular their independence. The third one is consequential: the weakening of the rule of law within the external and internal layers affects the proper functioning of the competition law system. As a result, the effectiveness of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU is endangered, and a vicious circle of mutually reinforcing competition law and rule of law crises unfolds.</p>","PeriodicalId":47166,"journal":{"name":"European Law Journal","volume":"27 1-3","pages":"148-166"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eulj.12422","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44545333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"In courts we trust, or should we? Judicial independence as the precondition for the effectiveness of EU law","authors":"Petra Bárd","doi":"10.1111/eulj.12425","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eulj.12425","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The present article argues that the EU possesses an arsenal of tools to address dissuasively rule of law problems in the Member States. This shows the double nature of the EU's separation of powers problem. Whereas some states suffer from rule of law decline and a lack of limitation of governmental powers, there is a risk of the crumbling of separation of powers at the EU level, too, where institutions fail to adequately address rule of law violations. Against the EU institutions' lack of forceful action towards rule of law backsliding, domestic courts try to protect judicial independence increasingly via preliminary references. Also, they attempt preventing the proliferation of the consequences of rule of law decline via judicial cooperation in the mutual trust/mutual recognition domain. This article explores to what extent preliminary rulings can make up for the failure to use adequate EU tools of rule of law enforcement.</p>","PeriodicalId":47166,"journal":{"name":"European Law Journal","volume":"27 1-3","pages":"185-210"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eulj.12425","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46485673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The accountability of non-governmental actors in the digital sphere: A theoretical framework","authors":"Mark Dawson","doi":"10.1111/eulj.12420","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eulj.12420","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The last decade has seen increasing demands for greater accountability in digital governance. What, however, does accountability require and what normative goods does it serve? This article develops a general framework for assessing digital accountability focused on four normative goods: openness, non-arbitrariness, effectiveness and publicness. As the article will evidence, claims for digital accountability often refer to deficits relating to one or more of these goods. While scholarly attention has deservedly focused on tying powerful digital actors to rule of law guarantees, the article argues that accountability offers an important normative yardstick to allow citizens to contest digital decisions beyond strict legality. The framework therefore provides a basis for both conceptually disaggregating and normatively forwarding accountability claims in the digital sphere.</p>","PeriodicalId":47166,"journal":{"name":"European Law Journal","volume":"29 1-2","pages":"78-90"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eulj.12420","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43204172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The contribution of the European Union to the rule of law in the field of international investment law through the creation of a Multilateral Investment Court","authors":"Colin M. Brown","doi":"10.1111/eulj.12421","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eulj.12421","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The concept of the international rule of law has developed in a form distinct from, but related to, the rule of law at the domestic (or European) level. This article examines the notion of the international rule of law and then, after explaining the international system of investment protection and its dispute settlement system, sets these against the international rule of law. It concludes by looking at how the European Union's proposal for a Multilateral Investment Court would contribute to augmenting the international rule of law in the field of investment protection.</p>","PeriodicalId":47166,"journal":{"name":"European Law Journal","volume":"27 1-3","pages":"96-108"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-05-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eulj.12421","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43442986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Data retention and the future of large-scale surveillance: The evolution and contestation of judicial benchmarks","authors":"Valsamis Mitsilegas, Elspeth Guild, Elif Kuskonmaz, Niovi Vavoula","doi":"10.1111/eulj.12417","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eulj.12417","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Recent and upcoming judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) have resurfaced a much-debated topic on the legal limitations of law enforcement authorities and intelligence services under EU law in implementing surveillance operations. In its decisions, the CJEU has reinstated and at times remoulded its case-law on data retention, unearthing a variety of legal issues. This article aims to critically analyse the legal limitations of (indiscriminate) surveillance measures, the role of the private sector in the scheme, and the line between the competence of the Member States and that of the EU on national security matters. It also aims to remark on the latest developments on the reception of the decisions by the Member States and the EU legislator, as well as on the ongoing dialogue between the CJEU and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).</p>","PeriodicalId":47166,"journal":{"name":"European Law Journal","volume":"29 1-2","pages":"176-211"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eulj.12417","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46439666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Banking Union's accountability system in practice: A health check-up to Europe's financial heart","authors":"Marco Lamandini, David Ramos Muñoz","doi":"10.1111/eulj.12404","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eulj.12404","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) form the Banking Union, which comprises EU authorities (ECB and SRB) and national authorities (NCAs and NRAs) with vast powers. Although crucial for its legitimacy, the Banking Union’s accountability is flawed, and not for the (stereo)typical reasons: accountability is a visible concept in SSM and SRM regulations, and political, administrative and judicial bodies are knowledgeable, engaged and thorough. Rather, this article posits that the SSM and SRM work very well because the legislature focused on practical details such as information flows, planning and continuity and coordination, while there has been no comparable effort to ensure the functioning of accountability tools. The result is a “system” characterised by limited access to crucial information, lack of continuity, and uncoordinated functioning. Changing this should not be hard but requires replacing blanket criticism and stereotypical views with greater attention to detail.</p>","PeriodicalId":47166,"journal":{"name":"European Law Journal","volume":"28 4-6","pages":"187-217"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eulj.12404","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48795380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A declaration on the rule of law in the European Union","authors":"Helsinki Rule of Law Forum","doi":"10.1111/eulj.12419","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eulj.12419","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47166,"journal":{"name":"European Law Journal","volume":"27 1-3","pages":"306-307"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46470598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From sneaking to striding: Combatting competence creep and consolidating the EU legislative process","authors":"Sacha Garben","doi":"10.1111/eulj.12408","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eulj.12408","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper argues that the EU legislative process should be used for taking all decisions at European level that matter, banning the various backroads of European decision-making (competence creep) that are currently legal but not legitimate. This is a silver bullet, resolving at once a range of seemingly disparate but intimately connected legitimacy problems across all areas of EU activity, that ultimately result from an incorrectly calibrated state of transnational constitutional democracy at EU level, where certain aspects are over-constitutionalised while others remain fundamentally under-constitutionalised. This is therefore the key transversal issue that the Conference on the Future of Europe and its ensuing changes should address. The paper makes various concrete proposals to this effect, including for a general legislative competence.</p>","PeriodicalId":47166,"journal":{"name":"European Law Journal","volume":"26 5-6","pages":"429-447"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42430836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The European Green Deal: The future of a polycentric Europe?","authors":"Josephine van Zeben","doi":"10.1111/eulj.12414","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eulj.12414","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Green Deal (GD) and the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) are both central to the EU's environmental, economic and social sustainability, even as many questions persist regarding their processes and outcomes. This article considers both processes as essential catalysts for, and tools of, a more polycentric Europe. It specifically wants to harness the problem-definition and problem-solving abilities of such a polycentric system through greater participation, solidarity and trust. By ensuring citizen empowerment through citizen assemblies such as the CoFoE, the success and legitimacy of the GD, as a central part of the EU's sustainability agenda, could be strongly amplified. This article highlights several procedural and substantive overlaps and synergies that present low-cost, high-gain opportunities to make these processes mutually reinforcing. More generally, the CoFoE, and possible future iterations, should be central to the EU's democratic integration and its longevity.</p>","PeriodicalId":47166,"journal":{"name":"European Law Journal","volume":"26 5-6","pages":"300-318"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eulj.12414","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45791567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}