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.

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.

In this edited volume, scholars from a wide range of areas of international law consider whose interests are at stake in the application of the principle of proportionality. In so doing, the volume casts new light this important principle.

Proportionality analysis describes a particular legal technique of resolving conflicts between human rights or constitutional rights and public interests through a process of balancing. However, as a general tendency, the current vivid academic debate on proportionality pays insufficient attention to the institutional context - the question of judicial review. Based on the premise that proportionality analysis is a permissible approach to resolve conflicts between rights and other interests, this book lays out a strategy for courts and tribunals to deal with the challenge of using proportionality analysis in an adequate manner, taking into account their situation and context of judicial review. For this purpose, the book develops the concept of models of judicial review in a first theoretical chapter. These models are then applied to six comparative case studies in German and US constitutional law, the law of the European Convention on Human Rights, European Union law, World Trade Organization law, and international investment law. (Series: European Administrative Law - Vol. 8)

The aim of this monograph is to analyze how the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court have resorted to proportionality and other limitation techniques when placing implied external limits upon the exercise of substantive and procedural human rights enjoyed by the accused and other actors affected by international criminal proceedings. Implied external limits in this context are defined as those limits that override the exercise of a human right on public interest grounds or on grounds relating to competing human rights and that either fall outside the scope of a limitation/qualification clause of an international criminal court's internal legal instruments or go beyond its express and ordinary terms. The present monograph will point to various sources of legal uncertainty which international criminal courts have generated in the limitation process of those human rights relevant to international criminal proceedings and to the definition of international crimes. The monograph will examine the relation between human rights, limitations on human rights standards and proportionality under international criminal procedural law and international criminal law (understood substantively) in light of the limitation and proportionality practices of international human rights monitoring bodies.

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.

This important new book seeks to widen the understanding of the principle of equality within European law. Firstly, it deconstructs the European Court of Justice's adjudication of cases in the field. It then explores how the Member States' courts decide on the question of equality. This detailed rigorous research allows the author to argue for a reconceptualised equality doctrine. Such an adaptation, the author argues, will provide judges, practitioners and academics with the tools to balance institutional considerations against substantive interpretation. Theoretically ambitious, while grounded in practical application, this is a significant restatement of one of the key principles of European law: the equality doctrine.

This book re-examines the law governing the obligations of the Member States in the European Union from the perspective of the interests formulated and pursued by national governments in the EU. Member States’ interests provide the source as well as the limitations of the obligations undertaken by the Member States in the Union. From the early days of European integration, they have determined how the law frames and defines EU obligations in the Treaties, in legislation and in the jurisprudence of the EU Court of Justice. The book neither challenges directly, nor undermines the current state of the law in the EU. Instead, it introduces a framework for interpreting and analysing legal developments – both legislative and jurisprudential – from an angle which brings the legal dimension of the membership of States in the European Union closer to its political reality. By choosing Member State interest to frame its analysis of the law, the book expresses a clear intention to explore further the interactions and the potential interconnectedness of the intergovernmentalism of EU decision-making and the normative supranationalism of the application and the enforcement of Member State obligations, in particular at the national level. Analysing how diversity among the Member States, which arises from different local interests, institutional frameworks and socio-economic arrangements, is assessed and sustained in EU legislation and in the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice, the book examines the impact of EU obligations on Member State territorial authority and territoriality. Providing a new perspective on Member State interests and European Law, the book closes the widening gap between the politics and law of European integration and between its political science and legal analysis. The book is essential reading for students and scholars in the field of state law, EU law and politics.

This book analyses the voluminous and meandering case law on gambling of the Court of Justice from an empirical perspective. It offers a comprehensive overview of the legal situation of gambling services in the EU Single Market. Additionally, the book presents the current state of research on gambling addiction. It then seeks to answer the central research question as to what extent the views of the Court of Justice on gambling find support in empirical evidence. The Court of Justice granted exceptionally wide discretion to the Member States due to a so-called ‘peculiar nature’ of games of chance. With the margin of appreciation having played a key role, the book inquires whether the Court of Justice followed the principles and criteria that normally steer the use of this doctrine. Noting the Court’s special approach, the book elaborates on its causes and consequences. Throughout the book, the approach of the Court of Justice is contrasted with that of its sister court, the EFTA Court. Finally, the potential role of the precautionary principle and of EU fundamental rights in the area of gambling law is examined. Situated at the intersection of law and science, this book seeks to bridge the legal and scientific perspectives and the unique vocabularies common to each. It illustrates the direct relevance of science and empirical research for court cases and policy making. And it contrasts science-informed policy making with the on-going morality discourse on gambling.

This title is a comprehensive textbook of EU constitutional law, setting out the structure, values, procedures, and policies of the European Union. It is a first point of reference for issues of EU constitutional law. The book encompasses six major parts. The first part addresses the formation history of the European Union, the treaties, the accessions, and the withdrawal of the United Kingdom. The second part covers the competences of the European Union. It contains an extensive analysis of the key constitutional principles governing the exercise of competences by the Union and the balance of power between the Union and its Member States, followed by an in-depth anaylsis of EU citizenship and the four freedoms, followed by an overview of the main internal and external policy domains. The third part addresses the role and workings of the various institutions (European Council, Council, European Parliament, Commission, European Court of Justice, and European Central Bank), the position of the Member States of the Union, and various other institutional matters. Part four explores the various decision-making processes, addressing not only the legislative and executive decision-making, but also the budget, CFSP, and external action. The fifth part looks at the legal instruments and the position of EU law in the EU and national legal orders, with an attention to the key principles of primary and direct effect, and the role of fundamental rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The final part sets out the complete and coherent system of judicial protection in the European Union, offering an overview of the various courses of action before the EU courts and in the national legal orders to enforce EU law or to obtain judicial protection.