The European Court of Justice and the Policy Process: The Shadow of Case Law

Description

The European Court of Justice is one of the most important actors in the process of European integration. Political science still struggles to understand its significance, with recent scholarship emphasizing how closely rulings reflect member states’ preferences. This book argues that the implications of the supremacy and direct effect of the EU Treaty have still been overlooked. As it constitutionalizes an intergovernmental treaty, the European Union has a detailedset of policies inscribed into its constitution that are extensively shaped by the Court’s case law. If rulings have constitutional status, their impact will be considerable, even if the Court only occasionally diverts from member states’ preferences.By focusing on the four freedoms of goods, services, persons, and capital, as well as citizenship rights, the book analyses how the Court’s development of case law has ascribed a broad meaning to these freedoms. The constitutional status of this case law constrains policymaking at the European and