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Essay on european union history
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The European Union is an international and regional organization in the United Kingdom that unites a variety of countries within the region. Such countries get to carry out similar activities and they are governed by the same rules and procedures. Both international and Regional organizations are imperative since they assist countries in formulating laws and policies that aim at boosting the region’s productivity. The European Union (EU) is among the most successful international organizations across the globe. This paper will aim at discussing the different courts that govern the judicial system in the EU namely; the European Court of Justice and the General Court. Further, it will outline the functions, personnel and procedures that govern the above courts within the European Union.
A brief history of the development of the EU
The origin of the EU traces back to the 1951 Treaty of Paris that was signed to form the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) by Belgium, France, Italy, West Germany, Luxembourg and Netherlands. In 1957, these six members also signed the Treaty creating the European Economic Community (EEC). Later, in 1967, EEC changed to European Community (EC) and in 1973 Denmark, Ireland and United Kingdom joined the EC. Greece joined in 1981 while Portugal and Spain in 1986. Later, The Treaty of Maastricht was signed in 1992 and created the current EU. The EU has a variety of organs that govern its daily operations these include; the European Commission, European Council, European Parliament, Council of EU, Court of Justice of EU (CJEU), European Court of Auditors and European Central Bank.
Different organs under the EU carry out diverse responsibilities. The European Parliament is under a mandate to share the...
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...ement either supporting or opposing the claims of either of the parties who then have a right to respond. The intervener also has the right to submit its observations during the oral stage whereby a public hearing is carried out. Once the lawyers from both parties are heard, judges have the discretion to ask the parties’ representatives questions.
The court has a Judge-Rapporteur who summarizes a report for the hearing, facts relied on and the arguments presented by each party and also those of interveners when necessary. The document is done in the sole language of the case. The above report is relied upon by the judges to draft a judgement which is then delivered publicly. The above procedure is free of court fees since only lawyers are entitled to pay by the persons they are representing. Failure to manage to meet the costs may warrant an individual to legal aid.
For this reason, the Commission is referred as the “guardian of the Treaties” or “watchdog” of the EU. Moreover, the decisions made by the Parliament and the Council must be made on the basis of the proposals given by the Commission.
Witte, Mark Dawson and Floris de. "Constitutional Balance in the EU after the Euro-Crisis." The Modern Law Review (2013): 817-844. Academic Search Complete.
Over the course of sixty years, the European Union (EU) has evolved to become one of the most economically and politically integrated regions in the world. Compare and contrast the EU with one other major global trading bloc, such as NAFTA or ASEAN, with which you are familiar.
Throughout the years there has been limitless legal cases presented to the court systems. All cases are not the same. Some cases vary from decisions that are made by a single judge, while other cases decisions are made by a jury. As cases are presented they typically start off as disputes, misunderstandings, or failure to comply among other things. It is possible to settle some cases outside of the courts, but that does require understanding and cooperation by all parties involved. However, for those that are not so willing to settle out of court, they eventually visit the court system. The court system is not in existence to cause humiliation for anyone, but more so to offer a helping hand from a legal prospective. At the same time, the legal system is not to be abuse. or misused either.
However, it is important to realize that in the absence of a codified constitution, there is no formal separation of powers. The functions of legislature and executive are inter-related and ministers are members of both. Overlaps do occur, which can question its effectiveness in protecting the rule of law. Unlike US, in the UK, the PM is always the leader of the leading party, which makes scrutiny much harder and makes the likelihood of exploitation of powers more likely. Parliament is always a supreme legislating body, and British judges have no power to question the validity of the Acts of Parliament. The impact of the EU, especially in protecting the basic human rights due to the absence of the UK’s equivalent, and in this sense, the separation of powers doesn’t play a crucial role in upholding the rule of law subject to the interests of minorities.
At the Laeken European Council of December 2001, government and state leaders of the European Union (EU) Member States decided to draft a `Constitutional Treaty' for the EU. The draft would then be discussed, amended, approved or rejected by an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) held in 2003. The aim of Fabbrini's article is thus to contribute to the understanding of the constitutional evolution of the EU through a comparison with the constitutional experience of the United States.
When World War II ended the final remnants of the old European order lay in ruins. With such devastation wrought upon the continent twice in less than fifty years, it was remarkable that Europe managed to recover. What is even more remarkable is the Phoenix that rose from these ashes, and the new feelings of unity that accompanied the ending of the war. Those nations of western Europe began to do what decades ago had been unthinkable: develop the blueprints for a common system of the United Europe.
Tiilikainen, T. 2011. The empowered European Parliament: Accommodation to the new functions provided by the Lisbon Treaty. The Finnish Institute of International Affairs.
The EU is a union of sovereign European states who share sovereignty based on treaty. The union also possesses competences in policy sectors with exclusive jurisdiction in the area of Economic and Monetary Union while others are shared with Member States (MS), the other powers belong to MS as derived from the conferral of powers art 5(2) TEU, 2(1) TFEU art.3 & 4 TFEU additionally other powers have been offered by the decisions of the European Court for direct effect on citizens
Following the post-World War II carnage and violence, a new Europe arose from the ashes. This new Europe was decimated from the intermittent fighting between the Allied and Axis powers during the second great war and the nations of Europe sought to devise a plan that to avoid further war-time conflicts within the region. The European Coal and Steel Committee was the first advent of assembling nations together in political and economic interest. The ECSC was formed in 1950 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris whose signatories included West Germany , Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium, France and The Netherlands.
The official European was first officially created in 1993. The purpose of the European Union was to make sure that that it connected parts
The doctrine of Supremacy of the EU Law has been adopted from the European Court of Justice, in which the doctrine covers all aspects of law in member states. The supremacy is evidently implied in the Treaty on European Union Article 4(3) and Treaty of the functioning of the European Union Article 18 , which emphasises the prohibitions against discrimination. This is then supported by Article 288 TFEU whereby the regulations are binding upon each member state. Furthermore, Article 344 TFEU ensures resolution between member states. This assignment will discuss to what extent the acceptance of the supremacy of the EU law has been problematic in regards to parliamentary sovereignty.
Hix, S. 2011. The EU as a new political system. In: Caramani, D. eds. 2011.Comparative Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Through the Lisbon Treaty, the efficiency of the European Parliament has improved. Craig (2010:36) goes as far as to say that the European P...
Because it could be quite complicated to look at the EU model from a point of classical democratic nation-state, it seems to be reasonable to discuss this problem, not by abstract reasoning, but by focusing on a concrete case. European Union is the best case available, which in recent decades has developed into a new type of political system with enormous consequences on democracy and governance in its member states. Despite repeated attempts for major institutional reforms, this system is likely to persist in its basic structures for the future and is unlikely to develop into a federal state or to disintegrate into a classic international organization. The present state of democracy and governance in the EU is therefore worth to be analyzed, as it is not a mere transitory state.