2011 AALL Annual Meeting
Saskia Mehlhorn, Lyonette Louis-Jacques,
Alison Shea, and Roxana Popescu
Moderator: Jennifer Allison
 Workshop Format
 Introduction of Speakers
 Speaker Presentations
 15-minute introduction to the EU
 Four 45-minute presentations
 Questions?
Brief questions period at the end of each
presentation
Order of the Day
13:05
Jennifer Allison: Overview of the EU
13:20
Alison Shea: Researching for Litigation
14:10
Roxana Popescu: Trade, Banking, and Corporate Law
14:55
Coffee Break
15:15
Lyonette Louis-Jacques: Religious Freedom
16:05
Saskia Mehlhorn: Energy and Environment
Special Bonus…
Print copies of these EU publications are available
to all of today’s workshop participants:
 The ABCs of European Union Law
 Europe in 12 Lessons
 Guide to the EU for Americans
Heartfelt thanks to the EU’s UN delegation,
especially Jelena Vujic and David, the chauffeur!
Alison Shea joined the Fordham Law Library as a Reference
Librarian in August 2007. She earned her JD and MLS from
Catholic University of America in Washington D.C.
Alison’s interest is in foreign, international and comparative
law, focusing on European competition law. She also
specializes in UK and Irish legal research.
In addition to reference, Alison teaches sections of basic and
advanced legal research on several topics, including foreign
and international legal research.
Alison is a member of AALL, the British and Irish Association
of Law Librarians, the International Association of Law
Librarians, and the European Information Association.
Roxana Popescu obtained her law degree from the Freie
Universitaet Berlin, where she specialized in European Union
Law and Private International Law.
She received her LLM in International Business and Trade
Law from Fordham Law School, where she taught a course on
the Harmonization of Private International Law.
Roxana has worked at law firms in Berlin, Bucharest, and
New York, focusing in the areas of Trademark Law,
International Business Transactions, and European Union
Private International Law.
Starting this Fall, she will be pursuing an SJD degree at the
University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, researching prospects
of decisional harmony in private international law.
Lyonette Louis-Jacques is the Foreign and
International Law Librarian and Lecturer in Law at the
University of Chicago Law School D’Angelo Law Library.
She has her library science degree from the University of
Michigan and her law degree from the University of
Chicago.
Lyo went on a library practicum early in her career that
took her to Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland. She has
also attended several International Association of Law
Libraries meetings in Europe.
Lyo has been interested in legal issues involving the
wearing of headscarves in Europe since 2004.
Saskia Mehlhorn is the Visiting Foreign and
International Law Librarian at the University of
Houston.
Saskia holds a juris doctorate from the University of
Hamburg, a LL.M. from the University of Houston and
an MLIS from the University of North Texas.
Prior to becoming a law librarian, Saskia worked for the
German Government as a District Attorney in the area of
environmental criminal law. She also worked for several
corporations and law firms in the area of energy law.
Jennifer Allison
Librarian for Foreign, Comparative, and International Law
Pepperdine University School of Law
Malibu, CA
jennifer.allison@pepperdine.edu
 EU Timeline
 EU Constitution
 Organization of the EU
 EU vs. Council of Europe
1952
Treaty of Paris
1967
Merger Treaty
1958
Treaties of Rome
Early Community Formation
Treaty of Paris (1952)
 Establishes the European Coal and Steel
Community (ECSC)
 Facilitates free movement of and
access to coal and steel within
France, Germany, Italy, and
the Benelux countries
(Belgium, the Netherlands, and
Luxembourg)
Treaties of Rome (1958)
 The first Rome Treaty establishes the European
Economic Community (EEC).
 It establishes a common market,
based on the “Four Freedoms”
(free movement of persons,
services, goods, and capital).
 It also establishes a common
European economic policy.
Treaties of Rome (1958)
 The second Rome Treaty establishes the
European Atomic Energy
Commission.
 It facilitates the development of
a combined nuclear energy
infrastructure to ensure a secure
and independent energy supply.
Merger Treaty (1967)
 The Merger Treaty, signed in Brussels,
establishes a single Council and a Single
Commission of the European Communities.
 It merges the ECSC, the EEC
and the European Atomic
Energy Commission.
1987
Single European Act
1992
Treaty on
European Union
1997
Treaty of Amsterdam
2001
Treaty of Nice
Community Reform and Expansion
Single European Act (1987)
 This act, signed in Luxembourg, amends
the Treaties of Rome.
 It expands and clarifies the
structure of the organization in
order to further a common
market and a cooperative
foreign policy.
Treaty on European Union (1992)
 The Maastricht Treaty establishes the
European Union by combining the three
original communities (with the EEC becoming
the EC).
 It strengthens common foreign,
security, and economic policies, as
well as the European Parliament’s
powers.
 It also establishes European
citizenship.
Treaty of Amsterdam (1997)
 This treaty establishes and clarifies individual
rights and freedoms for European citizens.
 It also creates and defines a
common European employment
policy, intended to further
employment opportunities for
all European citizens.
Treaty of Nice (2001)
This treaty amends administrative and
institutional components of several
of the previous European
treaties.
European Accession
1973
Denmark,
Ireland, UK
1986
Portugal,
Spain
1981
Greece
Accession Timeline
2004
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta,
Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia
1995
Austria, Finland,
Sweden
Accession Timeline
2005
Bulgaria,
Romania
The Union needs to
become more democratic,
more transparent, and
more efficient.
- Presidency Conclusions,
European Council Meeting
in Laeken, 2001
2004
Rome Constitutional Treaty
2007
Treaty of Lisbon
Major Constitutional Treaties
Constitutional Treaty
Signed 2004 in Rome
Constitutional Treaty
Signed 2004 in Rome
 Purpose:
Simplify the structure and increase the
transparency of the European government.
 Intention:
Create a single Constitution to replace the
numerous European treaties.
Constitutional Treaty
Signed 2004 in Rome
Part I
EU Foundational
Principles and Objectives
Constitutional Treaty
Signed 2004 in Rome
Part II
European Charter of
Fundamental Rights
Constitutional Treaty
Signed 2004 in Rome
Part III
EU External & Internal
Foundational Policies
Constitutional Treaty
Signed 2004 in Rome
Part IV
Entry into force and
repeal of earlier treaties
Constitutional Treaty
Signed 2004 in Rome
RATIFIED:
Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain, Austria, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Finland,
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria
RATIFICATION REJECTED:
Netherlands, France
RATIFICATION DELAYED:
Ireland, UK, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Portugal, Poland,
Slovakia, Czech Republic
Source: BBC, March 25, 2007
Constitutional Treaty
Signed 2004 in Rome
The treaty could only come into force if it was
ratified by all 25 EU member nations.
Since it was expressly rejected by France and the
Netherlands, this never happened.
Source: BBC, March 25, 2007
Back to the drawing board…
Treaty of Lisbon
Signed: 2007
Ratified and entered into force: 2009
Treaty of Lisbon
Signed: 2007
Ratified and entered into force: 2009
 Amends existing European treaties, rather than
creating a new Constitution
 Objective:
To further define and strengthen the European
legal infrastructure to meet 21st century
challenges.
Treaty of Lisbon
Signed: 2007
Ratified and entered into force: 2009
The treaty provides an enhanced definition of roles and
responsibilities of the European Parliament, Member State
national governments, and European citizens.
Treaty of Lisbon
Signed: 2007
Ratified and entered into force: 2009
It also establishes, as European primary law,
the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Treaty of Lisbon
Signed: 2007
Ratified and entered into force: 2009
Some Member States have opted out of the Charter, however,
either in general or for specific areas of domestic law.
Treaty of Lisbon
Signed: 2007
Ratified and entered into force: 2009
The treaty also solidifies and strengthens a
common European foreign policy.
Treaty of Lisbon
After being ratified by all EU Member States,
the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force in December 2009.
European
Council
“Legislative” Bodies:
European Parliament
Council of the
European Union
European Commission
European
Court of
Justice
European Council
European Council
 Comprised of high-level government
officials (such as Presidents and Prime
Ministers) of all EU Member States
 Tasked with determining policy priorities
for the EU
 Meets, at a minimum, every six months
European Council
European Parliament
European Parliament
 Comprised of members directly elected by
European citizens every five years
 Tasked with the following:
 With the Council of the European Union,
enacting legislation
 Providing democratic supervision of EU
political organizations
Council of the European Union
Council of the European Union
 Comprised of government ministers from EU
Member States, organized into “configurations”
by policy subject
 Tasked with the following:
 With the European Parliament, enacting
legislation
 Developing the European economic policy
 Executing international agreements for the EU
European Commission
European Commission
 Comprised of one Commissioner from each
EU Member State
 Tasked with the following:
 Drafting proposed legislation and submitting
it to the European Parliament and the
Council of the European Union
 Administering the EU budget
European Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
Judges
 Tasked with interpreting EU laws to ensure
their uniform application throughout the EU
 One judge per EU Member State
Advocates General
 Tasked with presenting an impartial opinion
for each case heard by the ECJ
European Court of Justice
Basic Procedure for ECJ Cases
European Court of Justice
Basic Procedure for ECJ Cases
ONE
An action is filed by an EU citizen,
an EU corporation, or an EU country.
European Court of Justice
Basic Procedure for ECJ Cases
TWO
A judge and an advocate general are
assigned to the case.
European Court of Justice
Basic Procedure for ECJ Cases
THREE
The parties submit written statements
to the judge.
European Court of Justice
Basic Procedure for ECJ Cases
FOUR
A hearing takes place before
a judicial panel.
European Court of Justice
Basic Procedure for ECJ Cases
FIVE
The assigned advocate general issues a
non-binding opinion.
European Court of Justice
Basic Procedure for ECJ Cases
SIX
The judicial panel deliberates and issues
the final opinion of the court.
European Union
 27 Member States
 Purposes of European Union:
 Development of “European” common market
and economic policy
 Development of “European” foreign policy
 Democratic establishment and enforcement of
“European” laws and legal principles
Council of Europe
 47 member countries throughout Europe
 Major purpose:
Enforce human rights guaranteed in the
European Convention on Human Rights
 Primary judiciary body:
European Court of Human Rights
Questions?
Researching for Litigation
Alison Shea, Fordham University
Trade, Banking, and Corporate Law
Roxana Popescu, Fordham University
Religious Freedom
Lyonette Louis-Jacques, University of Chicago
Energy and Environment
Saskia Melhorn, University of Houston