The Lisbon Treaty, which came into force in December 2009, aims to make the European Union both more efficient and legitimate. Two new important posts were created; an elected President of the European Council and a High Representative (HR) of the Union for Foreign and Security Policy who will also be a Vice-President of the Commission. Leading international scholars have been gathered together to examine the institutional choices and innovations of the Lisbon Treaty and discuss the likely effects of these changes. Will the changes meet the declared goals of a more efficient and democratic Union which will allow the EU to act internationally with greater coherence and efficiency? If institutions matter, how much do they matter? How significant is the Lisbon Treaty? What kind of leadership will be available in the post-Lisbon EU?

The major Commentary on the Treaty on European Union (TEU) is a European project that aims to contribute to the development of ever closer conceptual and dogmatic standpoints with regard to the creation of a “Europeanised research on Union law”. This publication in English contains detailed explanations, article by article, on all the provisions of the TEU as well as on several Protocols and Declarations, including the Protocols No 1, 2 and 30 and Declaration No 17, having steady regard to the application of Union law in the national legal orders and its interpretation by the Court of Justice of the EU. The authors of the Commentary are academics from ten European states and different legal fields, some from a constitutional law background, others experts in the field of international law and EU law professionals. This should lead to more unity in European law notwithstanding all the legitimate diversity. The different traditions of constitutional law are reflected and mentioned by name thus striving for a common framework for European constitutional law.

This book offers a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the concept of sovereignty. This book outlines the origins, context and evolution of the concept of sovereignty as an essential attribute of the modern territorial State since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The book identifies two competing traditions of the concept of sovereignty; the tradition inaugurated by Jean Bodin in 1576 in his work The Six Books of the Commonwealth and another that started with Johannes Althusius in 1603, considered the father of federal theory, in his less known work Politica. In order to understand the concept of sovereignty, it is necessary to understand the constitutional rules of each international system and the fact that the States are the primary polities in the international arena. The rise of International Organizations and the increasing institutionalization of the international system challenges this state-centric world, considering their exercise of sovereign powers. Following authors such as Daniel Elazar, the book discusses the importance of federalism as political theory, which offers a different understanding of the concept of sovereignty. The book discusses the European Union as a paradigmatic case of a postmodern confederation, which challenges the notion of sovereignty as an absolute and exclusive statehood attribute. Furthermore, the reconceptualization of sovereignty in International Law should consider the rise of regional and functional legal orders, the different understandings of sovereignty offered by the federalist tradition and the processes of deterritorialization and disaggregation of authority. The book concludes with the idea that concept of sovereignty in International Law should be seen as a flexible concept which is not an exclusive attribute of the modern territorial state. This book is required reading for all interested in the history and the evolution of the concept of sovereignty.

The implementation of the Lisbon Treaty is profoundly changing many areas of EU law and policy. This volume gathers leading specialists in the field to analyse the implementation process and the directions of legal reform post-Lisbon, situating the Lisbon reforms in the broader context of on-going policy programmes.

This volume deals with the law governing the administrative implementation of European Union public policy. Much of this law is specific to individual policy sectors. The volume provides a study of such specialized admininstrative law for more than twenty sectors. This cross-sectoral approach allows for detailed comparisons of EU administration in diverse policy fields. It identifies situations where legal structures and approaches may be unnecessarily duplicated, thus indicating where a comprehensive, general system could be advantageous for both Union law and policy achievement. The comparative nature of the study also draws attention to policy fields which have proven to be testing grounds for approaches adopted subsequently in other areas. In addition, the work highlights the distinctive, highly networked, and strongly cooperative character of EU administration, as a reflection of, and a foundation for, the operative nature of the European Union as a whole.

The main challenges within international human rights law are generally thought to be in the fields of transitional justice, non-state actors, terrorism, development, poverty and environmental degradation. This volume of articles not only covers these mainstream challenges but also a wider and more systematic range, including justiciability of social and economic rights, extraterritoriality, health care and investment arbitration. The key literature selected for this collection includes articles that have appeared in mainstream journals and books from leading publishers as well as papers that have appeared in lesser known journals, hard to find books and UN documents. Some of these are classic essays whilst others are more recent additions that reflect the current state of the debate. The papers are put into context by a specially commissioned introduction by the volume editor. This volume is an invaluable resource for human rights lawyers in search of the key literature in fields outside their own specialization as well as for students, researchers and lecturers seeking an overview of the challenges in human rights law.

The book is explaining in detail the current discussion regarding the unification of European patent law. It explains the current national legal practices in Europe, describing the legal and factual issues and the different approaches to achieve unification. The book manages to show the complex situation and the different opinions from the beginning of the discussion in a clear and comprehensive manner without requiring previous knowledge of the reader and is therefore to be recommended for everyone interested. Jochen Pagenberg, LL.M. Harvard, President EPLAW, Germany and Thomas Schachl, LL.M., Attorney-at-law, Germany In his detailed study, Stefan Luginbuehl critically examines the latest efforts to establish a common European and EU patent litigation system and suggests possible alternatives to such a system. Due to the lack of a European patent court, both the EPO and national judges interpret European patents and European patent law. This results in diverging interpretation across Europe and costly litigation for patent holders. Stefan Luginbuehl s proposals to promote the goal of a uniform interpretation of patent law and ease the difficulties are timely and highly insightful. Dealing with important legal and political issues related to European patent litigation and the establishment of a common patent litigation system, this book will appeal to practitioners, patent litigators, patent attorneys and judges specialised in patent litigation. Academics teaching and learning IP (patent law), private international law, or international civil procedure, will find this study interesting as the book deals with important aspects of national and international patent litigation, as well as procedural and structural questions related to the establishment of a patent court for Europe.

Describes, analyses, and assesses the European social dialogue from a combined theoretical and normative perspective and applies theoretical strands stemming from industrial relations, EC law, and political theory to an understanding and assessment of the genesis, actors, processes, and outcomes of the European social dialogue through 2007

'After Lisbon the EU has reached a new precarious stage in its development. New institutions have been created and policies reformed. The different chapters of this book cover the most important innovations, while providing a fresh critical assessment of the shortcomings of the present arrangements. Works are always in progress at the EU site and the authors provide the future architects of this grand building as well as the academic community with much food for thought.' – Roberto Caranta, University of Turin, Italy This comprehensive and insightful book discusses in detail the many innovations and shortcomings of the historic Lisbon version of the Treaty on European Union and what is now called the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Divided into six parts, the 23 chapters provide 'after Lisbon' perspectives on law and governance of the EU, its powers and nature, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, EU external action and policy, justice and criminal policy, and economic governance. The authors, drawn from eleven EU Member States, offer a uniquely diverse and extensive coverage of the new EU law and policy after Lisbon. The book argues that while the Treaty of Lisbon has to be considered a milestone in the history of European integration, its shortcomings and open questions will make a future major treaty inevitable. The Treaty of Lisbon and the Future of European Law and Policy will appeal to postgraduate students and academics in European law and policy, EU institutions, diplomatic missions, lobbying, NGOs, specialised lawyers and governments.