701 European Union Law

Background Information on the European Union

The European Union (EU) is an international federation of twenty-seven European countries.  Its member states delegate sovereignty to common institutions representing the interests of the Union.  According to Europa, the portal site of the European Union (http://europa.eu/), the principal objectives of the EU are establishing European citizenship, ensuring freedom, security, and justice, promoting economic and social progress, and asserting Europe’s role in the world.  All decisions and procedures are derived from the basic treaties ratified by the member states.  Current members of the EU are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Turkey have submitted applications for EU membership. 

The foundations of the EU are in four treaties designed to achieve economic expansion through reduced trade barriers and closer relations among member countries:  the Treaty Establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) (1951); the Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) (1957); the Treaty Establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) (1957); and the Treaty on European Union (1992), which introduced new forms of cooperation between EU governments on defense and in the area of “justice and home affairs.” In 1986, the Single European Act established a program of wide-ranging measures to further harmonize EU member countries’ regulations affecting trade and to achieve a single market by December 31, 1992.  The Treaty of Nice (2001) merged the former EC and EU treaties into a single consolidated version.

EU law is found in the basic treaties and annexes (as amended), secondary legislation promulgated by EU institutions, and court decisions construing the treaties and legislation.  The principal EU institutions are the Council of the European Union, the EU’s legislative arm (although it shares this function along with control over the EU budget with the European Parliament); the European Parliament,a democratic forum for debate and plays a part in the legislative process; the European Commission, the executive branch of the EU,  granted powers to it by the Treaty of Rome; and the Court of Justice, the EU’s judicial arm, with jurisdiction in disputes involving member states, EU institutions, businesses, and individuals.  For more background information on the EU, see Encyclopedia of the European Union [2nd fl.: Reference JN30 .E52 2000].

Sources of EU Law:

Primary (or Fundamental) Law

Primary Law consists of the treaties establishing EU institutions or which otherwise fundamentally shape the EU.  Primary law research sources include:

1. Eur-Lex web site at http://eur-lex.europa.eu.
2. Lexis and Westlaw:  For further information, see the current Westlaw Database Directory and/or the LexisNexis Directory of Online Services, located in the Underwood Law Library Reference Office.
3. Lawtel EU  (This link takes you to Underwood's Research Databases page, which is accessible only from the law quad, where the active link to this subscription database is located.)  (Access via law school network or VPN.)

Secondary (or Ordinary) Law

Secondary Law is the law created by EU institutions and includes legislation and decisions of the Court of Justice. Legislation:  There are four categories of legislation:  regulations, directives, decisions, and recommendations and opinions.  Legislation can usually be found in the following research sources:

1. Official Journal of the European Communities [4th Floor, KJE908]:  This publication is the official gazette of the EU, containing legislation and draft legislation, as well as official documents and information on EU activities. The Law Library's print subscription was cancelled in 2008. Current and past issues dating back to 1998 are available on the Eur-Lex website.
2. Eur-Lex at http://eur-lex.europa.eu.
3. Common Market Law Reports [4th Floor, KJE5380 .A5 C65]..
4. Lexis and Westlaw:  Westlaw has extensive materials in the area of EU Legislative and Regulatory Materials.  The Lexis European Communities library provides access to EU legal and news materials.  For further information, see the currentWestlaw Database Directory and/or theLexisNexis Directory of Online Services.
5. Lawtel EU  (This link takes you to Underwood's Research Databases page, which is accessible only from the law quad, where the active link to this subscription database is located.)  (Access via law school network or VPN.)

Decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union are published in:

1. Reports of Cases Before the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance (Office of Official Publications of the European Communities, 1954 to date; English edition, 1974 to date)  [4th Floor, KJE924.5 .C67]
2. European Court of Justice Reporter [4th Floor, KJE924.3 .C68]. Covers 1982-1991.
3. European Court Reports: Reports of European Community Staff Cases [4th Floor, KJE924.5 .E97]. Covers 1994 to date.
4. European Community Cases [4th Floor,  KJE947 .C657]. Full text of selected cases, 1989 to date.
5. Common Market Law Reports  [4th Floor, KJE5380 .A5 C65]. Also on Westlaw.
6. Curia—search engine for cases: http://curia.europa.eu/jurisp/cgi-bin/form.pl?lang=en.
7. Lexis and Westlaw:  Westlaw has extensive materials in the area of EU Case Law and Judicial Materials.  The Lexis Europe library provides access to EU legal and news materials.  For further information, see the currentWestlaw Database Directory and/or the LexisNexis Directory of Online Services.

Best EU Legal Research Sources

1. Eur-Lex web site at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/.  This web resource provides access to the text of the Official Journal, various EU treaties, EU legislation, preparatory texts for legislation, and EU court judgments.
2. Official Journal of the European Communities [4th Floor, KJE908].  This daily publication contains EU legislation, proposed legislation, notices, etc.  Available in edited form on Lexis (Command Search EUROPE; ECLAW) and Westlaw (CELEX database). The Law Library's print subscription was cancelled in 2008. Current and past issues dating back to 1998 are available on the Eur-Lex website.
3. Common Market Law Reports [4th Floor, KJE5380 .A5 C65].  This weekly publication contains the text of Court of Justice decisions and some Commission decisions.
4. Encyclopedia of the European Union  [Law Reference JN30 .E52 2000].
5. Lawtel EU  In addition to treaties and legislation, Lawtel EU provides secondary source commentary that is not available in Eur-Lex, Lexis, or Westlaw.  (Access via law school network or VPN.)
6. Lexis and Westlaw.  Both Lexis and Westlaw offer numerous EU databases containing EU legislation, treaties, court decisions, national provisions, parliamentary questions, preparatory documents, and other materials.  A large number of Europe-related news and business periodicals are also available.  For further information, see the most currentWestlaw Database Directory and/or theLexisNexis Directory of Online Services.

EU Documents

The EU maintains a depository library system that is somewhat analogous to that of the U.S. Government Printing Office.  Depository libraries house EU documents for the purpose of making those materials available to the general public. There are forty-plus EU depository libraries in the U.S.  The Tarlton Law Library at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin and Texas Christian University in Fort Worth are the only EU depository libraries in Texas.  The Underwood Law Library receives a number of the most important EU publications.  Consult the library catalog or a reference librarian to determine whether an SMU library owns a specific EU publication.  Some EU documents are available on the EU websites listed below.
 

EU Internet Resources

1. Europa, the European Union Online:  Includes official press releases of the European institutions and publications and databases; explains the role of specific EU institutions.  Includes links to treaties currently in force.  http://europa.eu/index_en.htm.
2. EUR-Lex:  This web resource provides the text of the Official Journal, various EU treaties, EU legislation, preparatory texts for legislation, and recent EU court judgments.
   http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm.
3. Lawtel EU  (This link takes you to Underwood's Research Databases page, which is accessible only from the law quad, where the active link to this subscription database is located.)  (Access via law school network or VPN.)
4. European Parliament:  http://www.europarl.europa.eu/.
5. Council of the European Union:  http://www.consilium.europa.eu/.
6. European Commission:  http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm.
7. Court of Justice of the European Union:  http://curia.europa.eu//.
8. European Court of Auditors:  http://www.eca.europa.eu.
9. Institutions of the European Union:  http://europa.eu/institutions/index_en.htm.
10. Bulletin of the European Union:  http://europa.eu/bulletin/en/welcome.htm.
11. Archive of European Integration http://aei.pitt.edu/  From University of Pittsburgh:  "The AEI is an electronic repository and archive for research materials on the topic of European integration and unification. The AEI collects two types of materials: certain types of independently-produced research materials and official European Community/European Union documents . . . ."

Revised September 2010