Research Guide - European Union Law
From its beginnings as the European Coal & Steel Community uniting 6 countries in 1951 to the current European Union consisting of 27 countries, the EU is a growing, changing organism. Hopefully this guide will help you navigate the many EU Law resources available at Hastings and Online. Use the links in the sidebar to jump to various sections of the guide.
Background Publications
if you're just getting started in this area of research, here are some sources for background information.General information on the European Union
The
Emerging European Union,
2nd ed. by David M. Wood and Birol A. Yesilada
(JN30 .W66 2002)
Encyclopedia
of the European Union edited by Desmond Dinan
(JN30 .E52 2000)
Europe:
A Concise Encyclopedia of the European Union from Aachen
to Zollverein,
3rd ed. by Rodney
Leach
(JN30 .L55 2000)
The
Federal Future of Europe: From the European Community to the European
Union
by Dusan Sidjanski
(JN15 .S54 2000)
The
Government and Politics of the European Union, 4th ed. by Neill
Nugent
(JN15 .N84 1999)
Reforming
the European Union: from Maastricht to Amsterdam edited by Philip
Lynch
(JN30 .R44 2000)
Understanding
the European Union: A Concise Introduction
by John McCormick
(JN30 .M38 1999)
European Union Law
A
Brief and Practical Guide to EU Law, 3rd ed. by David Medhurst
(KJE949 .M43 2001)
European
Union Law in a Nutshell, 4th ed. by Ralph H. Folsom
(KJE949 .F55 2004)
A
Guide to European Union Law, 7th ed. by P.S.R.F. Mathijson
(KJE947 .M37 1999)
Introduction
to European Union Law,
2nd ed. by Walter Cairns
(KJE947 .C34 2002)
Introduction
to the Legal System of the European Union by Philip Raworth
(KJE947 .R395 2001)
The
law of the European Union : a new constitutional order: materials
and cases by Alain A. Levasseur
(KJE945 .L48 2001)
Legal
Research and the Law of the European Communities by Liz Carpenter
(KJE928 .J44 1997)
Wyatt
and Dashwood's European Union Law, 4th ed. by Anthony Arnull
(KJE947 .W97 2000)
Treaties
Treaties are the Primary Legislation of the EU. You can read the four founding treaties here, and complete and explanatory texts of other treaties here.
Print Sources
Treaties
Establishing the European Communities: Treaties Amending These Treaties:
Single European Act: Resolutions, Declarations. Luxembourg:
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1987
(KJE4442.3 .T75 1987)
This official publication is a two-volume set that contains the
texts of the treaties which established the European Communities.
Treaty
on European Union. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications
of the European Communities, 1992
(KJE4443.31 .A2 1992)
The
Treaty of Rome Consolidated and the Treaty of Maastricht. London:
Sweet & Maxwell, 1992
(KJE4442.3 .T73 1992)
The
Rome, Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties: The Treaty on European
Union (the Treaty of Rome) and the Treaty Establishing the European
Community (the Treaty of Maastricht), Amended by the Treaty of Amsterdam:
Comparative Texts. Belgium: Euroconfidentiel, 1999.
(KJE4442.3 T72513 1999)
Online Sources for EU Treaties
•
Lexis-Nexis (Legal
> Legal (excluding U.S.) > European Union > Treaties &
International Agreements > EUR-LEX EU Law Database: Treaties)
• Westlaw (EU-TREATIES)
• EUROPA-the
EU portal website
Secondary Legislation
Print Sources
Official
Journal of the European Communities: Legislation. Luxembourg:
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, volume
16 (1973) - .
(KJE908 .O33 Ser.L)
The L Series of the Official Journal includes the text of all primary
and secondary legislation. The legislation is divided into two sections:
Acts whose publication is obligatory which consists primarily of
Regulations or ECSC Decisions; and Acts whose publication in not
obligatory which consists of all other legislation. The contents
of each issue are listed on the front cover. This series is cited
as OJ L.
Official
Journal of the European Communities: Information and Notices. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities,
volume 16 (1973) - .
(KJE908 .O33 Ser.C)
The C series of the Official Journal consists of information from
the Commission, Council of Ministers, European Parliament and other
EC organizations. Draft legislation or preparatory acts may be found
in the C series. The contents are listed on the front cover by two
divisions: Information which is subdivided by institution and Preparatory
Acts. This series is cited as OJ C.
Index
to the Official Journal of the European Communities. Luxembourg:
Office for Official Publication of the European Communities, 1984
- .
(KJE908 .O33).
This index is divided into two parts: Methodological Table and Alphabetical
Index. The Methodological Table lists in numerical order the Official
Journal reference to all legislative acts.
Official
Journal of the European Communities. Special Edition. Luxembourg:
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1972-1976.
English edition.
(KJE908 .O53, Micrographics)
This special edition of the Official Journal contains the English
texts of acts of the Communities that were adopted and published
when Great Britain joined the European Communities.
Directory
of Community Legislation in Force and Other Acts of the Community
Institutions / European Communities. Luxembourg: Office of Official
Publications of the European Communities, 1984-
(KJE920.5 .D57).
This publication is issued twice a year and lists all community
legislation in force on June 1 and December 1. The publication covers
agreements and conventions concluded by the Communities; binding
secondary legislation under the Treaties; supplementary legislation
and certain non-binding acts. The second volume contains a chronological
index and an alphabetical index of the acts.
Online Sources for Secondary EU Legislation
•
Lawtel provides access to proposed and adopted legislation, including Commission and Council Directives, Regulations aand Decisions, as well as all versions of the EC and EU Treaties. All Available within 24 hours of publication.
•EUR-LEX is the legal database of the European Communities. It contains
the online version of the L and C series of the Official Journal,
as well as EC directives, regulations, proposals, and international
treaties and agreements. It is available through the Internet at EUR-LEX,
or available on Lexis (Legal
> Legal (excluding U.S.) > European Union > Legislation
& Regulations > CELEX EU Law Database: Combined Files).
• The OJ L series (Official Journal of the European Communities:
Legislation), containing international agreements and secondary
legislation promulgated by the European Union, is available on Westlaw (EU-LEG)
back to 1952. The OJ C series (Official Journal of the European
Communities: Information and Notices) is on Westlaw (EU-OJCSERIES)
with selected full-text beginning 1992.
• EUR-LEX is a portal to EU law and archives the Official
Journal L and C series back to 1998.
Cases
Print Sources
Reports
of Cases before the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance.
Luxembourg: Court of Justice of the European Communities. 1954-
(KJE924.5 .R471)
This set contains the full text of the decisions of the Court of
Justice, the opinions of the Advocates-General and the decisions
of the Court of First Instance.
Common
Market Law Reports. London: European Law Centre.
(KJE 923.7 .C66)
This comprehensive weekly publication contains significant cases
from the European Court of Justice, the EC Commission and National
Courts and Tribunals. Our collection begins with volume 63.
European
Community Cases. Oxfordshire: Commerce Clearing House, Volume
1 (1989)-
(KJE924.5 .E87)
These volumes reproduce the full text of selected cases heard before
the Court of Justice and certain Commission Decisions of a quasi-judicial
nature. The material is indexed by subject, by reference to the
relevant provision of community or international law in the Legislation
Finding List, and by case name in the Cases and Commission Decisions
Reported lists. The citation to these volumes is CEC.
Online Sources for EU cases
• Lawtel Provides access to EU Judgments and Opinions. Daily reports of all cases from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the Court of First Instance (CFI), plus all Advocate-General opinions.
•
The Westlaw database EU-CS
contains official case law reports for the Court of Justice and
the Court of First Instance. Westlaw also offers a EU Case
Law Locator (EU-CASELOC)
with coverage beginning 1961. This is useful for when you need the
summary of a court decision, a citation to a reporter in which a
case is reported, a citation to cases and legislation cited in a
decision, or history of the case (direct history, negative indirect
history, and citations to the case).
• European Court of Justice cases from 1954 are on Lexis
(Legal
> Legal (excluding U.S.) > European Union > Case Law >
European Court of Justice Cases Selected by Butterworths) along
with Court of First Instance decisions from December 1989.
• European Court of Human Rights cases are on Lexis
(Legal
> Legal (excluding U.S.) > European Union > Case Law >
Human Rights Cases) from November 1960.
• Recent
decisions of the Court of Justice and Court of First Instance
Digests
Print Sources
European
Current Law: Monthly Digest. London: Sweet & Maxwell, 1992-
(KJC 30 .E9)
This monthly publication digests new international and national
legislation. The publication also summarizes published cases from
all East, Central and West European countries. It replaces European
Law Digest [1975 -1991] (KJC30 E87).
European
Current Law Year Book. London:
Sweet & Maxwell, 1993-
(KJC30 .E97)
Annual culmination of European Current Law: Monthly Digest.
Digest
of Case-Law Relating to the European Communities: A Series.
Looseleaf. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European
Communities, 1984-
(KJE925.5 .D6) This
series digests decisions of the Court of Justice of the European
Communities relating to general principles. The digest excludes
judgments relating to civil service and jurisdiction questions.
The Library has volume 2 and the index.
Digest
of Case-Law Relating to the European Communities: D Series.
Looseleaf. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European
Communities, 1981- (KJE923.6
.D6)
This very infrequent series digests judgments of the Court of Justice
of the European Communities, and a selection of judgments given
by courts of Member States on the Convention on Jurisdiction and
the enforcement of judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (the
Brussels Convention).
Online Digest Sources
•
EUR-LEX
• Recent
case-law of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance
• Lawtel - search case law on Lawtel.
Secondary Sources
European
Union Law Reporter. Chicago, Ill.: Commerce Clearing House,
1997- 2008
(HC241.2 .E8)
European Community Cases
(KJE 924.5 .E87)
Full-text of selected Cases and Commission decisions from 1989 to 2008.
The
Law of the European Community: A Commentary on the EEC Treaty.
Edited by H. Smit and P. Herzog. N.Y.: Matthew Bender, 1976 - .
(KJE947 .S6).
This looseleaf set includes the complete text and analysis of the
Treaty of Rome; and detailed discussion of other important topics
including: free movement of goods; trade with countries outside
the EU; harmonization of laws; social and transportation policies;
the Community and national law; and Community relations with United
States and other countries.
Blackstone's
EC Legislation. Foster, Nigel G.
(KJE916 .B55 2002)
Covers most common areas of EC law litigation including: provisions
relating to public and private undertakings, competition, industrial
and intellectual property law, consumer protection, environmental
law, financial, monetary and banking law areas, insurance services
and relevant UK EC legislative provisions.
EU
Law: text, cases, and materials. Craig, Paul and Grainne de
Burca.
(KJE947 .C73 2003)
Addresses all recent key developments in legislation, with particular
focus on the Treaty of Nice.
Current Information
Lawtel. Provides authoritative commentary on the relevance or implication of important EU cases and significant developments in EU law.
Bulletin
of the European Union. Luxembourg: Commission of the European
Communities, 1991-
(HC241.2 .A214)
This monthly publication reports on activities of the Commission
and other community institutions. It concisely covers main events
of the European Union and discusses issues such as political cooperation,
economic and monetary policy, and external relations. It continues
Bulletin of the European Communities.
Available online at Bulletin
of the European Union
Bulletin
of the European Union: Supplement. Luxembourg: Commission of
the European Communities.
(HC241.2 .A123 [year][no.])
Each supplement covers a single topic and is individually cataloged.
For example, supplement 4/90 is The European Community and German
Unification. Use a word search such as "bulletin European
supplement" to see all of the titles in this series.
General
Report on the Activities of the European Union. Brussels: The
Commission 1994-
(HC241.2 .A18)
This important annual report gives an overview of the activities
of the European Communities for the recent year. Summaries of the
General Report are available for 1995
& 1996,
and full
reports are available from 1997 to present at General Report
on the Activities of the European Union
Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, provides free access to all data and publications here.
The Delegation of the European Commission to the United States website discusses recent developments and activities relating to the EU.
RAPID: This database provides access to press releases of the Press and Communication Service of the European Commission since 1985. Also available through Lexis (News & Business > News > By Country & Region > European Union > RAPID).
Periodicals
Cardozo
Journal of International and Comparative Law. New York: Benjamin
N. Cardozo School of Law, Volume 3 (1995)-
(K14 .E83)
Volumes
1-11 through HeinOnline (on-campus only). This journal continues
the New Europe Law Review.
Common
Market Law Review. London: Stevens, Volume 1 (1963)-
(JC241.2 .A2 C8)
European
Intellectual Property Review. Oxford: World Intellectual Property
Organization, Vol. 9 (1987)-
(K5 .U68)
European
Journal of International Law. Firenze Ferrovia: European University
Institute, Vol. 1 (1990)-
(K5 .U69)
Volumes
1-8 through HeinOnline (on-campus only).
European
Law Review. Andover: Sweet & Maxwell, Volume 1 (1975)-
(K5 .U7)
European
Union: Annual Review of Activities. Oxford: Blackwell, Volume
1 (1993)-
(HF1531 .J863)
General
Budget of the European Union for the Financial Year. Brussels:
European Commission, 1997-2001
(HJ 2094 .E79a)
As of 2002, this is only available online.
International
and Comparative Law Quarterly. London: British Institute of
International and Comparative Law, Volume 1 (1952)-
(K9 .N76)
Volumes
1-49 through HeinOnline (on-campus only).
Irish
Journal of European Law. Dublin: Round Hall Press, Volume 1
(1992)-
(K9 .R55)
Journal
of Common Market Studies. Oxford: Blackwell, Volume 24 (1985)-
(HF1531 .J86)
Maastricht
Journal of European and Comparative Law. Antwerp: Maklu, Volume
1 (1994)-
(K13 .A22)
Netherlands
International Law Review. Dordrecht: Nijhoff, Volume 34 (1987)-
(K14 .E5)
Yearbook
of European Law. N.Y.: Oxford University Press, Volume 4 (1984)-
(K29 .E174)
Legal
Issues of European Integration. Deventer: Kluwer, 1974/75-1994/95.
(K12 .E353)
European Integration Current Contents provides access to the tables of contents of journals relevant in European Integration research.
Indexes
Lawtel Articles Index- covers articles published in journals specializing in EU law.
Index
to the Official Journal of the European Communities, 1984 -
(KJE908 .O33)
Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (available to Hastings students, faculty, and staff).
Other Databases
The European Commission Libraries Catalogue (ECLAS) is a bibliographic database consisting of about 350,000 completed catalogue records in the domain of European affairs; about 7,000 new records are added annually. It is available on the Internet at ECLAS. The catalogue includes both print and Internet resources.
PAIS
International (Public Affairs Information Services), an index
available through Westlaw, provides access to periodical
articles; books; pamphlets; federal, state, local, and non-U.S.
government documents; as well as publications of public and private
agencies; yearbooks; and statistical compilations and directories
published throughout the world covering the full range of the social
sciences, with emphasis on contemporary public issues and the making
and evaluating of public policy. PAIS contains documents dating
back to 1972. Search
Public Affairs Information Service International - Current (PAIS-C)
for the most recent 12-24 months.
PARLIT (a derivative of Parliaments and Literature) is an index of bibliographic reference on the role, structure and working methods of national parliaments, and on electoral systems, constitutional law, history and political science. This database provides reference to articles in non-law journals that you might not know existed. It is available free at PARLIT.
COM Documents
Publications cited as COM are European Commission official documents. Green papers are discussion papers and set out a range of ideas presented for public discussion and debate. White Papers contain an official set of proposals in specific policy areas and are used as vehicles for their development. Search EU Commission documents here. Certain documents published before 1993 are, however, not available online so try one of the EU Depository Libraries.
Depository Libraries
The EU has established a network of libraries in the US to access its official publications. A web page providing a list of all the depository libraries in the United States. Nearby depositories are at U.C. Berkeley and Stanford University's Cecil H. Green Library.
Selected Internet Sites
European
Union Internet Resources via U.C. Berkeley
The Guide to EU Information Sources on the Internet, 2nd ed. (JN27 .G85 2002) is a thematic digest "of the major and lesser sites focusing on EU affairs." The layout includes website names, URLs, address and contact details, a brief overview of contents of the website, languages of the website, webmaster info, latest update of website, cost to use site (if any), keywords used to describe the website, and other information.
EU Legal Research Guides
European Union: A Guide to Tracing Working Documents- Globalex
European Union Internet Resources- UC Berkeley
European Union Law- UC Berkeley Law
European Union Law: An Integrated Guide to Electronic and Print Research- LLRX
European Union Law Information Resources- Cornell University Law School
European Union Legal Materials: An Infrequent User's Guide- Globalex
European Union Research- NYU Law School
European Union Research Guide- Georgetown Law Library
Research Guide: European Union Legal Materials - Columbia Law School
Updated November 28, 2011
Prepared
by
FCIL
Librarian