This book addresses the interplay between the proportionality principle and EU digital law. Does EU digital law provide a fair balance of rights and interests? How does proportionality limit legislation in the digital economy? How can it be used to balance competing rights and interests? Diving into the dialectics of law and technology, the book analyses the relevance of the proportionality principle in regulating the digital world and as a vital tool for balancing competing rights and interests. The chapters analyse how conflicting rights and interests are resolved in EU digital law through the proportionality principle and critically reflect on its application. They scrutinise recent EU regulatory initiatives such as the GDPR, AI Act, Copyright Directive, DSA, and more. They reflect on the unique context of AI systems regulation, digital marketing, and data protection, illuminating the application and impact of proportionality in these arenas. Providing an in-depth examination of legal actors and real-life conflicts resolved by applying EU digital law, the book explains the pivotal role of the principle of proportionality in achieving an optimal balance of rights in our digital era.

Digitalization of societies has important ramifications for citizens and businesses. The digital landscape is rapidly changing, whereas at the same time there are growing concerns about how market access in the EU’s digital market as well as fundamental rights can be sufficiently safeguarded in the shadow of ‘big data’ and algorithms. This timely and important book presents expert analyses of how digitalization raises questions of the future role for general principles of European Union (EU) law, including the foundational principles of the EU’s fundamental economic freedoms and EU competition rules. Examining a number of issues revolving around the internal market, the digital single market, competition law, intellectual property, data protection, democracy and the rule of law, the contributors provide deeply informed insights of the challenges as to: effects of the technological disruption on the doctrine of general principles; the resilience of general principles in the digital society; the need to rely on new general principles in the digital society; the realization of the digital single market; the safeguarding of fundamental rights and the rule of law. The contributors are highly esteemed scholars from major European universities. A common theme is the need for judicial evolution of EU fundamental rights law in the digital era, alongside penetrating analyses of recent Court of Justice of the European Union case law on the impact of digitalization. Dealing as it does with an area of European law of particular complexity and rapidly growing importance, the anthology provides insights and knowledge about the ways in which digitalization is rapidly changing EU law. Are general principles of EU law as developed in an ‘analogue world’ sufficiently resilient to withstand the rapid and often disruptive developments taking place in the digital marketplace? The fresh look at the concept of ‘general principles’ taken by the various contributors helps to clarify the actual application in EU law in areas related to the ongoing digitalization of our society. It will be greatly appreciated by practitioners, policymakers and academics active in any of the many fields of law affected by the digital revolution.

The proportionality principle has become ever more important in European law and elsewhere. The career of the principle has attracted considerable attention from legal practitioners, legal theorists and political scientists alike, but the debate so far has been quite fragmented. In this new book the author offers a broad and systematic analysis of the proportionality principle. Discussing and comparing proportionality analysis as applied by European courts in part one of the book, the author proceeds to contrast proportionality analysis with alternative assessment schemes. In the third part of the book the author reaches beyond doctrinal reconstructions as he deciphers the functions of proportionality jurisprudence. In view of the various facets of proportionality analysis the author departs from the asserted infringement of a legally protected position by some regulatory act, proceeds to discuss the legitimacy of this intervention and undertakes an analysis of its suitability, appropriateness and necessity. According to the author, the safe grounds of proportionality means-ends rationality do not suffice where the legitimacy of an infringement has to be assessed, where conflicting values have to be “balanced” or where courts engage in a proportionality analysis “stricto sensu”. In the concluding remarks, the author proposes how proportionality analysis may be structured in order to better secure the legitimacy of the analysis.

This book addresses the interplay between the proportionality principle and EU digital law. Does EU digital law provide a fair balance of rights and interests? How does proportionality limit legislation in the digital economy? How can it be used to balance competing rights and interests? Diving into the dialectics of law and technology, the book analyses the relevance of the proportionality principle in regulating the digital world and as a vital tool for balancing competing rights and interests. The chapters analyse how conflicting rights and interests are resolved in EU digital law through the proportionality principle and critically reflect on its application. They scrutinise recent EU regulatory initiatives such as the GDPR, AI Act, Copyright Directive, DSA, and more. They reflect on the unique context of AI systems regulation, digital marketing, and data protection, illuminating the application and impact of proportionality in these arenas. Providing an in-depth examination of legal actors and real-life conflicts resolved by applying EU digital law, the book explains the pivotal role of the principle of proportionality in achieving an optimal balance of rights in our digital era.

The main objective of this study is to present a comparative legal analysis of proportionality. It provides a close examination of the key areas in which this principle has been applied, both at the national and supranational levels. The whole work is placed in the context of transformation of public law in the twentieth century. As many important general principles of law as applied by the Court of Justice have been borrowed from German and French law, a comparative study of the various forms which this principle has assumed in both German and French public law is presented. The book then offers an in-depth analysis of the application and impact of the principle of proportionality in EC law. The introduction and development of this principle by the Court of Justice represents one of the most striking examples of the interaction between the Community and national legal systems. It also illustrates the character of Community law as developed by the Court and the law-making function of the latter.

This textbook provides an explanatory and contextual view of EU law and its impact in a simple and easily accessible yet analytical manner. It illustrates the power struggles behind a given EU law act, to allow for full understanding of how it developed. This allows the student to understand EU law as a force in the increasingly globalized world, rather than as technical and doctrinal subject. The textbook begins by setting the scene of EU integration, how we got there and why it is important. Thereafter it explores the constitutional framework for understanding EU law in context and by discussing inter alia, division of competences, accountability, legitimacy, enforcement, human rights, participation rights and so on as well as the general principles of the EU and citizenship rights. Subsequently the textbook explores the essentials of the internal market as well as the principles of competition law. It also discusses free movement rights and links to the growing “Area of Freedom, Security and Justice”. Finally the textbook offers fresh insights on the external dimension of EU law and the role of the EU in the world today before concluding with an outlook on the future of EU law including the consequences of events such as Brexit.

This book looks at the changing role of the regulation of State intervention in the liberalised and privatised markets of the European Union.