Legal Families
Prof. dr. sc. Hana Horak
Introduction
 Why
'Basic Law' course?
 Objectives of the course
 Topics to be covered
 Reading suggestions
Classifying legal systems of the
world



No two national legal systems are the same, but
there are sufficient similarities between some of
them to allow classification;
Different criteria have been used for the
purposes of such classification, incl. historical
background and development, ideology, sources of
law, division of law in the legal system, etc.;
Most authors agree on existence of two major
legal traditions:
◦ the Romano-Germanic civil law tradition;
◦ the Anglo-American common law tradition.
Then, there are so-called 'religious legal
traditions', such as:
-Muslim law,
-Hindu law,
-Jewish law,
-canon law (the law of the church);
 Some authors also distinguish African
(indigenous) customary law.
 However, many legal systems are mixed, they
have elements of more than one legal tradition.

Civil law tradition -1
• The most widely distributed and arguably
the oldest one;
• Dates back to 450 B.C., and Justinian
compilation of Roman law -Corpus Juris
Civilis;
•Corpus Juris Civilis is a collection of
fundamental works in jurisprudence
issued by order of Justinian I, Byzantine
Emperor, approx. 529-534 A.D.
Civil law tradition – 2

Rediscovery of Roman legal science took
place in XI century, with University of
Bologna being the principal legal center;

Development of civil law tradition was
guided and shaped not by law
practitioners, but by legal scholars,
professors who tried to reconstruct and
explain the Roman law (Corpus Juris Civilis)
Codification
17th-18th century -Scandinavian countries;
Later on -codification in Bavaria, Saxony, Prussia and
Austria;
 1804 -French civil code;
 1896 -German civil code. The last two codes served as
the models for many other countries, i.e.:


French civil code was brought by Napoleon to Belgium,
the Netherlands, parts of Poland, Italy, west regions of
Germany; was followed in former French colonies;
 German civil code influenced Austria, the Czech
Republic, Slovakia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland,
former Yugoslavia, Brazil, Japan, Korea.

Common law tradltlon-1
England never experienced a reception of
Roman law, or movement for codification;
 » The origins of common law tradition
can be traced back to 1066 - Conquest of
England;


» Creation of highly centralized legal
system, matters of royal concern were
resolved by the king who exercised
judicial, executive and legislative powers;
Common law tradition-2



Local issues (except of an extraordinary nature )
remained in the local courts (courts of the shires and
hundreds);
... Later, judicial powers were assumed by three royal
(unified, or 'common') courts:
◦ (i) tax disputes;
◦ (ii) disputes between subjects which did not involve a
direct interest of the king, such as title to land;
◦ (iii) disputes with a direct royal interest.
Local courts started to lose their jurisdiction.
Writ system
» However, jurisdiction of the common courts
was limited by the writ system.
 » Writ (form of action) -'a command of the King
directed to the relevant person (official, judge),
containing a brief indication of a matter under
dispute and instructing the addressee to call the
defendant into his court and to resolve the
dispute in the presence of the parties' (Zweigert
and Koelz, 1998, p.184);
 » Writs were issued in the name of the King by
the highest royal officials, later -by the Chancellor,
on payment of a fee by the plaintiff, without
hearing the defendant.

Further evolution -'equity'
» A plaintiff unable to obtain a proper writ was
left with no remedy. To counter this problem and
provide relief other than money damages, in 15th
century a formal Court of Chancery was created
with jurisdiction over pleas in equity;
 » Law of equity introduced the rules of trust and
provided for such remedies as injunctive relief and
specific performance;
 " Reforms throughout the centuries, such as
solving issues of overlapping jurisdiction,
structural changes, fusion of rules of law and
equity, abolishing rigid forms of action,
introduction of more uniform procedure, etc.

Vocabulary
Trust-property, either real or personal, that is held by one
party for the benefit of another party. Property held in
trust comprises two interests: a legal interest and an
equity interest. The legal interest is held by the trustee
(person who holds the legal title to property which is
administered for the benefit of someone else) and the
equitable interest is held by the beneficiary (the one who
is intended to benefit from the property, even though she
is not the legal owner);
 Injunction - an order of the court prohibiting a
person from doing something or requiring to do
something;
 Specific performance - a court order to make a party
perform her obligations under the contract .

Distribution of the common law
Most of the Commonwealth countries belong to
the common law family: Australia, Canada(Quebec
has civil law system), India, New Zealand , South
Africa (later partially accepted civil law tradition
(Roman – Dutch later), therefore, now mixed
system);
 The United States (Louisiana rests on civil later)
 Pay attention: Great Britain (England, Wales and
Scotland) has no common legal system. While
many English statutes are applicable in Scotland,
the Scotish private law is based primarily on
Roman law and tehrefore represents a mix of
common and civil law.

Sources of law in civil law countries



Where one has to look to determine what legal rules
are applicable to govern the relationship;
(i)primary sources (binding), such as enacted law and
custom for a number of countries, sometimes, also
general principles of law and
(ii)secondary sources (not binding, may have weight
when primary sources areabsent, unclear or
incomplete), such as case law and the writings of the legal
scholars;
Enacted law is the main source of law , includes
legal rules adopted by the parliament, as well as
issued by executive and administrative agencies;
 Court decisions are not binding in a subsequent
cases.


Sources of law have different legal force, they
form so-called 'hierarchy' of legal acts:
◦ constitution has greater legal force,
◦ it is followed by legislation (laws produced by the
parliament )
◦ executive decrees (acts of the government ),
administrative regulations, etc.

In federal states – special rules concerning
correlation between federal and state law;

Besides, international law rules have special effect
on national law of the country.
Sources of law in common law countries
◦ Case law (as a primary source of law);
◦ legislation;
◦ Customs, conventions, royal prerogative, etc.
 In common law countries precedents exist separately as law
to be followed;

In general, the decisions of a higher court are binding (i.e.
must be followed) upon all rower courts ('doctrine of
binding precedent');

Decision which interpret legislation become a source of law
(as much as the law they interpret), thus, judges create new
law; the statute alone may be viewed as incomplete until it
has been interpreted.

Precedents have been characterized as being precise and flexible;

Decision based on particular facts gives some assurance that in
subsequent indentical fact situation a similar conclusion will be
reached;

Common law lawyers have become ecceptionally skillful at
distinguishing fact situations (in order to acquire different decision);

The statute World not be able to include all these factual varioations
and possible solutions to them;

In civil law countries precedents also have value since they may
provide assistance in determining how statutory laww is interpreted
(teaching function), but the courts do not need to follow earlier
decisions.
Legislation – acts of principal legislative body,
judicial interpretation will follow;
 Custom plays important role in many legal
system (e.g. in England): initial establishment of
custom requires proof that it existed
uninterrupted for a long period of time and
that it existed by common consent (not by
the use of force)
 Conventions (influential source of English law) –
unwritten source of law (together with
custom) .

1. The civil law emerged from Roman
law
a. The coomon law was created by
English courts
2. Civil law has been codified
in most continental
countries
b. The common law is still
largely case law
Civil law vs. Common law: two
major differences
National law, International law and
European law
National law - the law of certain country (law of the
Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, etc.);
 International law - usually we mean 'Public International
law‘ ,i.e. that law that regulates the relationship
between the states, and international organizations.
As opposed to Public Intemational Law, 'Private
International law (or 'Conflict of Laws') rules allow to
determine which national law has to be applied to
situations crossing over the borders of one particular
state and involving so called 'reign element';
 European law – most of the time we mean 'law of the
European Union' (to be discussed further in the
course).

Sources used:

M.A. Glendon, MW. Gordon, C. Osakwe, Comparative Legal
Traditions: Text,Materials and Cases on the Civil and Common Law
Traditions, with Special Reference to French, German, English and
European Law(2nd ed., St. Paul, Minn.: West Pub. Co., 1994)

Glendon, MW. Gordon, C. Osakwe, Compatative Legal
Traditions in a Nutshell/(Sp. Paul, Minn.: West Pub. Co., 1982)

Zweigerl and H. Koetz, Introduction to Comparative Law (3rd
ed .. Oxford [etc.]: Clarendon Press, 1998)

Gubby, English Legal Terminology: Legal Concepts in Language
(Den Haag: Boom Juridische uitgevers. 2004)
Divisions of Law
Prof.dr.sc. Hana Horak
Siječanj, 2010.
Public law and Private law

Distinction is very important for civil lawc ountries, and much less
important in common law countries;

However, no unifomity exists among civil law countries in distinguishing
public and private law;

Generally speaking , public law is the law that governs the relationship
between the individuals (physical or legal persons) and the state . Thus, in
public law state is directly involved as a legal actor;

Public law includes at least :
◦ constitutional law
◦ administrative law, and
◦ criminal law.
Public law and Private law – 2:

By contrast, private law governs the relationship
between private individuals without intervention
of a state or government. In this areas of law state
is not directly or primarily a party;

Private law includes at least:
◦ civil law, and cemmercial law.

Or, depending upon legal system and accepted
classification of branches of law, one can say that
private law includes the following branches:
contract law, tort law, family law, property law, etc.
(see next slides).





Distinction is ambiguous, besides, even such 'traditional'
private areas as family law are increasingly regulated by
the state;
Classification of some areas is disputable:
e.g. civil procedure-included either in private, or in public
law, depending upon legal system;
labor law, agricultural law, social security law -sometimes
referred as 'mixed' public and private, sometimes
described as sui generis (Glendon, Gordon, and Osakwe,
p.266).
Occasionally, public law would mean the law of general
application, as opposed to private law, which concerns
only a small class, or group, or even a single individual.
Public law

defines the state or governs
the relationship between the
state and its citizens,

tends to be more general, may
involve multiple parties or
interests,

more likely to be prospective
(forward looking),

in some cases goes beyond
awards of monetary damages
(e.g. imprisonment)
Private law



governs relationship
between citizens,
often retrospective,
concerns with resolving
secific disputes about past
conduct between identified
parties,
rarely has public policy
implications.
Public law vs. Private law
Administrative law



When one speaks about public law often
what is meant is administrative law;
Consists of norms that regulate the
organization, functions, interrelation of public
authorities (other than political and judicial),
and the norms governing the relationship
between the administrative authorities and
the citizens (Glendon, Gordon, and Osakwe,
p.267);
E.g. -Tax law.
Civil law
In civil law countries the norms of private law are
divided into two groups – civil law and
commercial law;
 Civil law - applies to everyone, basic provisions
can be found in civil codes;
 Commeroal law- concerns specific groups of
persons and/or specific typesor activities , in most
civil law countries the norms of commercial law have
been codified in separate ccmmercial codes;
 The term 'private law' is often used to designate
civil law(in fact, the terms 'private law‘ and ‘civil
law‘ are often used interchangeably).

Civil law includes:

The law of persons (governs the status of individuals and legal
entities, includes legal rules relating to names, domicile, civil
status, capacity and protection of persons under legal
incapacities of various sorts);

Family law (regulates formation of marriages, legal effects of
marriage, termination of marriage by divorce, separation, and
annulment; family support obligations);

Marital property law (norms establishing and regulating socalled ‘legal regime‘ i.e. the system that governs the property
relations of all spouses who do not choose an alternative
regime by way of entering marriage contract: also, norms
that concern procedure for entering and altering marriage
contracts);
It also includes:
Property law (distinction between movable
and
immovable property (in common law:
personal and real property), protection of
the right of the ownership, etc.);
 Succession law (rules of disposition of property
upon death by will or by intestate inheritance);
 The law of obligations (covers all acts or
situations which can give rise to rights or claims,
divided into three parts: the law of contracts, the
law of tort (delict) and the law of unjust
enrichment).

Vocabulary:


An 'obligation'-in civil law countries is the duty of one person (the
‘debtor') to transfer the ownership of property or create a right over it/
to do or not to do something to the benefit of another person (the
'creditor;).
May arise:
◦ from the law alone(e.g. 'alimentary obligation').
◦ by contractor by reason of unilateral undertaking of one person;
because of a delict (e.g. a person has committed a fault,or must
compensate for a damage caused by a thing under his care,or by a
person for whom he must answer);
◦ from the fact that a person is, by reason of various circumstances,
unjustly enriched at the expense of another person who has suffered an
impoverishment;

The concept of 'obligatlon‘ is unknown is common law tradition
(David, Brierley, p.B7).
Contract law:

In civil law countries the code will first include the rules which are
applicable to all contracts, and then – the rules which are special
for particular types(sorts)of contracts, such as sales, leases, agency,
loans;

Contract is an agreement between two or more parties that is
binding in law, i.e., contract is a legally enforceable agreement
(Gubby, p.166);

Contract creates rights and obligations that maybe enforced in the
courts;

In general, no special requirements as to the form in which a
contract has to be concluded (can be concluded orally, in writing,
can be inferred from the conduct of the parties);
Contract law - 2:
However, some contracts require special form
and will be invalid if the form was not observed;
 Formation of contracts:

◦ offer and acceptance;
◦ intention to create legally binding relationship;
◦ for common law, the presence of consideration.
An 'offer' shows a willingness to enter into
agreement without further negotiations (parties
involved –offeror and offeree);
 Acceptance -unconditional assent, communicated
to the offeror by the offeree, to all the terms of
the offer;
 Notions of 'counter-offer', 'battle of the forms';

Contract law -3:



'Postal rule'- in English law: acceptance is
complete when the letter is posted, even if
such a letter never reaches offeror;
Consideration (common law requirement!):
in a contract each party has to give value to
the other either by exchanging promises or
by a promise given in exchange for an act;
Therefore, as opposed to civil law, in the
common law one-sided promises, such as
gift, do not contribute binding contract (they
are unenforceable);
Contract law – 4:

Excuse for non--performance:
◦ Frustration (impossibility) and force majeure clause,

Frustrating event - an event beyond the control of the parties,
that has made it impossible to carry out the contract or
commercially pointless to do so;

Force majeure clause – a provision of the contract that lists events
considered to be outside the control of the parties and for which
the parties cannot be considered to be in breach (Gubby, p.154).
Ex. war, fire, flood, acts of God, labor disputes, compliance with the
law or governmental order, accident, etc.

Remedies for breach of contract:
◦ -damages, specific performance, injunctions .
Tort law
 'In
modern civil codes much of tort
law depends on short, general
provisions that say that a person is
liable for harm (or certain harms)
that have been causes through his
fault'

J. Gordley and A.T. von Mehren, An Introduction to the
Comparative Study of Private Law: Readings, Cases; Materials
(Cambridge [etc.]: Cambridge University Press, 2006), p.234
To give an example:
Art. 1382 of the French Civil Code states: "Any
act of a person which causes harm to another
obligates the person through whose the harm
occurred to make compensation for it".
Art. 1383: "A person is liable for the harm that he
causes not only by his acts but by his negligence
or imprudence:'
 § 823(1) of the German Civil Code:
"A person who intentionally or negligently
unlawfully injures the life, body, health, freedom,
property or
similar right of an other is bound to compensate
him for any damages that thereby occurs"

Torts in common law:

Common lawyer will ask whether the
defendant committed a particular tort for
which common law courts give relief, such
as:
◦ tort of negligence (the defendant is liable if he
negligently harmed the person or property of the
plaintiff),
◦ tort of battery (the defendant must make
contact with the body of the plaintiff, something
that is not acceptable, e.g. bashing the defendant
on the head),
Torts in common law – 2:
tort of assault (the defendant must have done
something that makes the plaintiff to believe he
may imminently be the victim of a battery, such as
pointing the gun),
 tort of false imprisonment (the defendant is liable if
he confined the plaintiff, it may be in any space,
large or small, no matter how confinement is
affected, by force or threats, or fraud; there will
be liability of the defendant even if he mistakenly
but reasonably thought he had the right to
confine the plaintiff), etc.

Commercial law:



Developed from mercantile customs into
well- established separate branch of private
law;
Generally speaking, includes corporations
and other business legal entities, securities,
banking, and negotiable instruments;
Civil codes are frequently brought into fill
the gaps in the commercial codes and their
supplementary laws since commercial codes
lack the general principles and internal
coherence of the civil codes (Glendon,
Gordon, and Osakwe, p.273)
Commercial law – 2:
Commercial law has increasingly been
affected by a body of legislation regulating
commercial and corporate
activity(requirements of special permits,
licenses, etc.);
 Sometimes it is hard to distinguish
commercial law from administrative law;
 'Commercial law' => 'commercial and
economic law'(economic law-'regulatory
law of the administrative state').

Other branches:
Corporate law;
 Competition law (or Antitrust law);

◦ Distinction between substantive and
procedural law.
Sources used:
M.A. Glendon, M.W.Gordon, C.Osakwe,
Comparative Legal Traditions:Text, Materials and
Cases on the Civil and Common Law Traditions-with
Special Reference to French, German, English and
European Law (2nd ed., St Paul, Minn.:WestPub.co.,
1994);
 R.David and J.E.C. Brierley, Major Legal Systems in
the World Today: Introduction to the Comparative
Study of Law(3rd ed., London: Steven & Sons, 1985);
 H. Gubby, English Legal Terminology: Legal Concepts
in Language (Den Haag: Boom Juridische uitgevers,
2004).

Basic EU Law
Prof.dr.sc. Hana Horak
Siječanj, 2010.
Structure of the lecture
Why EU law?
 Summary of the European Integration
 The European Communities and the
European Union
 The Institutions
 The Doctrines, Principles and Sources of
the Community Law
 Conclusion

The birth of the European Communities
1951 -the Treaty of Paris establishing the European
Coal and Steel Community (ESCS) was signed by six
countries Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands,
Belgium and Luxembourg
 The ECSC received international legal status and
separate and autonomous institutions, control over
production and distribution of coal and steel,
legislative and administrative powers in the area
concerned
 1957 -the same six countries signed two Treaties of
Rome establishing the European Atomic Energy
Community (Euratom) and the European Economic
Community (EEC, now -EC), the latter one with a
view of creating a "common marker'

The three Communities:
Remain legally distinct (the ECSC was created for 50 years, it
therefore expired in 2002);
 Originally each of three Communities had a set of
autonomous institutions, but in 1967 institutions were
merged (a single Council, a single Assembly, and a single
Commission were created);
 The powers and functions of the institutions depend upon
provisions of the Treaty under which they act.

Further we will mainly discuss the European
Economic Community (now the 'European
Community'). Most of the times we will refer to it as
the 'Community'. The Treaty establishing this
community will be referred to as the 'EC Treaty'.
Further growth:

1986 - signing of the Single European Act
(with objective of completion of 'internal
market', i.e. 'an area without internal
frontiers in which the free movement of
goods, persons, services and capital is
ensured', Art. 14(2) of the EC Treaty)
The birth of European Union:

1992 - signing of the Treaty of Maastricht (the
'European Union Treaty', or the 'EU Treaty'),
entered into force on November 1, 1993;

Provided for a European Union with main
objectives being the establishment of an
economic and monetary union ultimately
including a single currency, a common foreign and
security policy, the introduction of the citizenship
of the European Union, co-operation in justice
and home affairs, the maintenance of the acquis
communautaire, etc.
May 1, 1999 the Treaty of Amsterdam entered into
force (in particular, changed the numeration of the
Articles);
 2001 -the Treaty of Nice (amended the EU Treaty, and
the Treaties establishing the European Communities);


July 18, 2003 -draft Constitution was presented to the
European Council of Rome (later ratified by the
Parliament and by ten Member States, but rejected at
referenda in France and the Netherlands. In July 2005
the ratification process was temporary suspended as
the Member States decided that they needed a 'period
of reflections' to unable a broad debate in each
country).
The enlargement process:






As from January 1, 1973 the United Kingdom, Ireland, and
Denmark are members of the Community;
January 1, 1981 -Greece is a Community member;
January 1, 1986 -Spain and Portugal are full members;
January 1, 1995 -Austria, Sweden and Finland joined the
European Union;
May 1,2004 - the biggest enlargement ever, bringing 10 new
Member States (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia);
January 1, 2007 -the EU is joined by Bulgaria and Romania.
Three pillars under One Roof:

The EU is said to be based on three 'pillars':
(i) The Communities constitute the first pillar of the
European Union,
(ii) The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) forms
the second pillar,
(iii) Police and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters
(PJCC) constitutes the third pillar of the EU.
However, only the first pillar is governed by the Community
law (Community is supranational in nature),the rest -fly
intergovernmental cooperation, and, therefore, these areas
are outside of the jurisdiction of the Community institutions;
 The European Union is wider than the European Community.

The EU Treaty – contents:









Preamble
TITLE I Common provisions
TITLE /I -Provisions amending the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community with a view to establishing the European
Community
TITLE III Provisions amending the Treaty establishing the European
Coal and Steel Community
TITLE IV Provisions amending the Treaty establishing the European
Atomic Energy Community
TITLE V Provisions on a common foreign and security policy
TITLE VI Provisions on police and judicial cooperation in criminal
matters
TITLE VII Provisions on enhanced cooperation
TITLE VIII Final provisions
The Institutions

Five principal institutions (Art.7 of the EC
Treaty);
◦ the European Parliament;
◦ the Council;
◦ the Commission;
◦ the Court of Auditors;
◦ the Court of Justice.
Other. the European Council , the Economic and
Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions,
the EC‘s monetary institutions (Ch. 20), and
agencies.
The European Parliament
Consists of representatives of the peoples of the
Member States, since 1979 elected by direct
universal suffrage for a term of 5 years;
 There are 785 MEPs (until the end of the 20042009 session, after that there will be 736 seats);
 Generally speaking, the seats are allocated
depending upon the population of the State
(today Germany has 99 seats, France, Italy and the
United Kingdom -78, Poland and Spain -54, etc.);
 MEPs are grouped by political affinity and not by
nationality.

The European Parliament - 2
Holds annual sessions (i.e. lasting 12 months), meets on the
second Tuesday in March;
 May also meet in extraordinary session and so-called
'additional‘ sessions;
 Has its seat in Strasbourg, however, the periods of additional
plenary sessions shall be held in Brussels, the Committees of
the Parliament meet in Brussels, and the Secretariat of the
Parliament and its departments remain in Luxembourg;
 President of the European Parliament (now-Hans-Gert
Pottering) is elected for a renewable term of two and a half
years, represents the Parliament to outside world and in its
relations with other Community institutions.

The task and powers of the European
Parliament:
Previously, advisory and supervisory powers, however, the
role increased by the Single European Act (introduced the
co-operation procedure), and by the Treaty of Amsterdam
('co-decision' power);
 Yet, does not fully exercise the attributes of an elected
representative body (legislating and raising of taxes);
 Main taska and powers:

◦ to participate in the legislative process,
◦ to approve the nomination of the President and the members of
the Commission,
◦ to participate in budgetary procedure,
◦ to initiate procedures in the Court of Justice against the Council
or the Commission, in case the latter fail to act,
◦ to put questions to the Council, to the Commission and to the
Presidency of the Common Foreign and Security policy.
Current legisltaive procedures:
Consultation (the European Parliament is merely
consulted on the issue, instances are few
nowadays),
 Co-operation (in fact, more elaborate
consultation procedure under Art. 252 of the EC
Treaty),
 Co-decision (due to this procedure the
Parliament now shares with the Council real
legislative power, see Art.251 of the EC Treaty),
 Assent (in a way, a veto right, when assent is
required the Council can only act after obtaining
the agreement of the Parliament).

The Council
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consists of a representative of each MS at ministerial level
who is authorized to commit the government of that State
(art. 203 of the EC Treaty),
meets when convened by the President of the Council, or at
the request of one of its members, or at the request of the
Commission,
approx. 80 Council meetings per year (most of the times in
Brussels),
meetings arranged by subject-matter with different ministers
attending (the General Affairs and External Relations Council
(GAERC) as a rule attended by foreign ministers, the
Economics and Finance Council (Ecolin) -finance ministers,
etc.),
Currently 9 Council configurations (Employment, Social
Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs; Environment, Education,
Youth and Cultures, etc.).
Presidency of the Council is held in turn by each MS
for a six months period (Art. 203 of the EC Treaty),
currently -by Portugal;
 Since the Council meets no more than a few days a
month, a more 'permanent' national presence in
Brussels was required. Therefore, on a day-to-day basis
the various Community activities are followed by
Permanent Representatives who are high level civil
servants with the rank of Ambassador. Together they
form the Committee of Permanent Representatives, or
so-called 'Coreper' (Comite des Representants
Permanants) .They prepare the work of the Council and
carry out the tasks that have been assigned to them by the
Council.
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Secretary – general of the Council
of the European Union
the head of General Secretariat of the
Council (direct administrative support to the
Council);
 also acts as High Representative for the EU's
foreign and security policy;
 assists the Council in Foreign Policy matters,
through contributing to the formulation,
preparation and implementation of the
European policy decisions;
 acts on behalf of the Council in conducting
political dialogue with third parties;
 currently -Mr. Javier Solana.
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The European Council
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Composed of the Heads of State or of Government of the
Member States and the President of the Commission,
assisted by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and a Member of
the Commission;
According to Art. 4 of the EU treaty, it provides the Union
with the necessary impetus for s development, defines the
general political guidelines thereof;
In particular, defines the principles and general guidelines for
the Common Foreign and Security Policy, and decides on
common strategies to be implemented by the Union in areas
where Member States have important interests in common;
issues general guidelines (but not binding decisions as the
'normal' Council does);
meets four times per year.
Tasks and powers of the Council:
Decision-making powers (in the whole spectrum of the
Community's activities, in accordance with the provisions of
the EC Treaty),
 has to ensure coordination of the general economic policies
of the Member States,
 Co-ordinated strategy for employment (promotion of
economic and social progress and a high level of employment
were set as one of the objectives of the EU, therefore, the
Member States and the Community work together towards
'developing a co-ordinated strategy for employment and
promoting a skilled, trained and adaptable workforce and
labour markets responsive to economic changes'. Yearly
discussions at the EU level, and guide lines to the Member
States.)
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The Commission
As from January 1, 2005 one
Commissioner from each Member State,
further on (on reaching 27 Members) the
number of Commissioners will be
changed (will be less than a number of
Member States, exact number to be set
by the Council acting unanimously,
rotation system will be in place);
 Headed by the President (Mr. Jose Manuel
Barroso) who is a 'first among equals'.
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The President of the Commission
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appointed by the govemments of the MSs, must
then be approved by the European Parliament;
Art. 217 of the Treaty of Nice: 'the Commission
shall work under the political guidance of its
President;
decides internal organisation of the Commission,
allocates responsibilities to the Commissioners
(portfolios can be reshuffled);
plays important role in shaping overall policy of
the Commission, negotiating with the Council and
the Parliament;
represents the Commission.
The commissioners
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chosen on grounds of their general
competence, independent from respective
national governments (do not represent
their own MSs),
serve for 5 years, the term can be renewed,
each is in charge of particular policy area
(consumer protection, competition, trade,
taxation and customs union, fisheries and
maritime affairs, research, science and
enlargement, etc.).
Main task and powers of the
Commission
enforcement of the Community law,
 formulating recommendations and
delivering opinions,
 exercising its own power of decision,
 participation in the legislative process,
 negotiation of international agreements
and representation of the Community.
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The European Court of Justice ( the ECJ
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Presently consists of 27 judges (one from each MS) assisted by
eight Advocates General chosen from persons whose independence
is beyond doubt and who possess the qualifications required for
appointment to the highest judicial offices in their respective
countries... , appointed by common accord of the governments of
the MSs for a term of six years (Art. 223 01the EC Treaty);
Judges and Advocates General are partiality replaces every three
years;
The President of the Court (currently Judge Vassilios Skouris) is
elected by Judges themselves for a renewable term of three years;
The ECJ meets as plenary body, or as a grand chamber of 13 judges,
or in chamber of three of five judges;
Located in Luxembourg (together with the Court of First Instance).
The function and jurisdiction of the
Court
The ECJ and the CFI shall ensure that in the
interpretation and application of the EC Treaty the
law is observed (Art. 220 of the EC Treaty),
 It arbitrates conflicts between the institutions of the
Community, between the Community and the
Member States, reviews the validity of legislative and
administrative acts;
 May be called upon by the courts of the Member
States to decide on the interpretation of Community
laws, or on validity of Community legislation when
those courts need to resolve a dispute pending
before them in which a question of Community law
arises ('preliminary rulings' procedure).
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The Court of First Instance (the
CFI)
Established in October 1988 to assist the ECJ with ever
increasing load of cases;
 Comprises of at least one judge from each Member State
(currently 27), but has no own Advocates General;
 Jurisdiction:
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◦ actions brought by any natural or legal persons against acts of
the Community instituitons;
◦ actions brought by the MSs against the Commission;
◦ actions seeking compensation for damage caused by the
Community institutions or their staff;
◦ some other cases
The rulings of the CFI may be subject to appeal to the ECJ;
 For your information: The prefic C indicates a case before
the ECJ, and the prefix T – a case before the CFI
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Doctrines and principles of
Community law:
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The supremacy of Community law (the
Community law prevails over national law, the
national court must set aside any provisions of
the national law which may conflict with the law
of the Community);
Principle of proportionality (any action of
the Community shall not go beyond what is
necessary to achieve the objectives of the Treaty,
Art. 5 of the EC Treaty).
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Principle of subsidiarity (in areas outside its
exclusive competence, the Community shall take
action only if and in so far as the objectives of
the proposed action cannot be sufficiently
achieved by the Member States and can
therefore... be better achieved by the
Community, Art. 5);
The doctrine of direct effect (developed by'
the ECJ; generally speaking, the Community law
confers the rights on individuals and can be
invoked by them in national courts).
Sources of Community law:
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Treaties;
Regulation -has general application, binding in its
entirety, and directly applicable in all Member States
(Art. 249 of the EC Treaty);
Directive -binding, as to the result to be achieved,
upon each Member State to which it is addressed,
but leaves to the national authorities the choice of
form and methods (Art. 249);
Decision -binding in its entirety upon those to whom
it is addressed (Art. 249);
Recommendation and opinions have no binding
force.
Useful links
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The European Union online: http://europa.eu
The EU at glance:
http://europa.eulabclindex_en.htm
Homepage of the European Parliament:
http://wwW.europarl.europa.eu
Homepage of the Council of the European Union:
htlp://www.consilium.europa.eu
Homepage of the European Commission:
htlp://ec.europa.eu
Homepage of the European Court of Justice:
http://curia.europa.eu
Sources that have been used:
P.S.R.F. Mathijsen, A guide to European
Union Law (9th ed., London: Sweet &
Maxwell, 2007), pp. 1-155.
 P. Craig and G. de Burca, EU Law: Text,
Cases, and Materials (4th ed., Oxford [etc.]:
Oxford University Press, 2008 [Le. 2007])
 http://europa.eul
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