Europe's Justice Deficit Introduced

Abstract

The gradual legal and political evolution of Europe has not, thus far, been accompanied by the articulation or embrace of any substantive ideal of justice going beyond the founders' intent or the economic objectives of the market integration project. This absence arguably compromises the foundations of the EU legal and political system since the relationship between law and justice – a crucial question within any constitutional system – remains largely unaddressed. The presented text is a draft introduction to the edited volume Europe’s Justice Deficit?, which the authors edited together with Gráinne de Búrca. The volume, which this introduction describes, chapter by chapter, brings together a number of contributions by leading academics and young scholars whose work addresses both legal and philosophical aspects of justice in the European context. The relationship of law to justice is a core dimension of constitutional systems around the world, and the EU is arguably no different in this respect. The critical assessment of justice in the EU provided by the contributions to the Europe’s Justice Deficit? book could help to create a fuller picture of the justice deficit in the EU and at the same time potentially open up an important new avenue of legal research of immediate importance.

Keywords: EU Law, Justice, Principles of Law, Rule of Law, Human Rights, EU values, Democracy, Demos, Constitutionalism