Competence and Member State Autonomy: Causality, Consequence and Legitimacy

THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE AND THE AUTONOMY OF THE MEMBER STATES, Hans W. Micklitz and Bruno de Witte, eds., Forthcoming

Oxford Legal Studies Research Paper No. 57/2009

38 Pages Posted: 16 Sep 2009

See all articles by Paul P. Craig

Paul P. Craig

University of Oxford - Faculty of Law

Date Written: September 16, 2009

Abstract

The scope of EU competence and the limits on Member State autonomy can validly be analyzed from a variety of perspectives. This chapter considers one such perspective, the prevailing concern about the scope and exercise of EU competence. This concern is often based on the premise that some reified entity called the EU has increasingly arrogated power, with a consequent diminution of national autonomy that the Member States have been unable to resist, and the ECJ is frequently regarded as bearing primary responsibility. It will however be argued in the first half of this chapter that the Community courts were but one factor out of four responsible for the expansion of EU power over time, and that the Member States themselves were equally important. This in turn raises interesting questions as to why Member States accepted and contributed to the expansion of EU competence, which is addressed in the second half of the chapter.

Keywords: competence, autonomy, legitimacy, judicial activism

Suggested Citation

Craig, Paul P., Competence and Member State Autonomy: Causality, Consequence and Legitimacy (September 16, 2009). THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE AND THE AUTONOMY OF THE MEMBER STATES, Hans W. Micklitz and Bruno de Witte, eds., Forthcoming, Oxford Legal Studies Research Paper No. 57/2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1474325

Paul P. Craig (Contact Author)

University of Oxford - Faculty of Law ( email )

St. Cross Building
St. Cross Road
Oxford, OX1 3UJ
United Kingdom

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