The European Union under Transnational Law

For almost a decade the European Union has been stuck in a permanent crisis. Starting with domestic constitutional crises, followed by an imported financial crisis, it has evolved into a fully formed political crisis. This book argues that none of the crises are exclusively internal to the EU and the responses to date, which have taken inward looking approaches, are simply inadequate. Resolution can only come when the EU engages more fully with transnational law. This highly topical book offers an innovative dual focus on both transnational and EU law together. It sets out the relationship between the two frameworks by exploring practical concrete problems that transnational law has posed to the EU. These problems are explored from the perspective of four key tenets of both systems, namely the rule of law, democracy, the protection of human rights, and justice. It does this by advancing the theoretical framework of principled legal pluralism. In so doing it offers clear normative guidance as to how the relationship between EU and transnational law should be developed and fostered.

For almost a decade the European Union has been stuck in a permanent crisis. Starting with domestic constitutional crises, followed by an imported financial crisis, it has evolved into a fully formed political crisis. This book argues that none of the crises are exclusively internal to the EU and the responses to date, which have taken inward looking approaches, are simply inadequate. Resolution can only come when the EU engages more fully with transnational law. This highly topical book offers an innovative dual focus on both transnational and EU law together. It sets out the relationship between the two frameworks by exploring practical concrete problems that transnational law has posed to the EU. These problems are explored from the perspective of four key tenets of both systems, namely the rule of law, democracy, the protection of human rights, and justice. It does this by advancing the theoretical framework of principled legal pluralism. In so doing it offers clear normative guidance as to how the relationship between EU and transnational law should be developed and fostered.

1. The Emergence and Growth of Transnational Law I. Reaching beyond the Exclusive Statist Focus in EU Law II. The Concept of Transnational Law III. The Challenges of Transnational Law 2. The Theory of Principled Legal Pluralism I. A New Theory for a New Legal Polycentricity II. From Pluralism to Legal Pluralism III. The Theory of Principled Legal Pluralism IV. The Advantages of a Theory of Principled Legal Pluralism 3. A Pluralist Conception of the EU I. Introduction II. The Many Conceptions of the EU III. The Union in an Historical Perspective IV. The EU as a Union 4. Transnational Law and the Rule of Law in the EU I. Introduction II. The Rule of Law in the EU III. The Erosion of the Rule of Law under Transnational Law IV. Upholding the Rule of Law in the EU under Transnational Law V. Improving the Rule of Law in the EU-International Law Relationship 5. Transnational Law and Democracy in the EU I. Introduction II. On the Concept of Democracy III. Democracy in the EU IV. The Pre-emption of National Democracy in the EU V. The Pre-emption of Supranational Democracy VI. Assessment from the Perspective of Principled Legal Pluralism 6. EU Law, Transnational Law and Human Rights Protection: The Case of Privacy I. Introduction II. The Right to Privacy between Lex Sportiva and EU Law III. The Right to Privacy between Lex Informatica and EU Law IV. The EU's Relationship to Lex Sportiva and Lex Informatica Compared V. Assessment from the Perspective of Principled Legal Pluralism 7. Justice, the EU and Transnational Law I. Introduction II. Specificities of Justice in the EU III. Three Examples of Injustice under Transnational Law IV. Principled Legal Pluralism and Justice 8. Principled Legal Pluralism, EU Law and Transnational Law I. The Main Findings of this Book II. Pluralism versus the Old and New Monisms