Institute for European Law
The Institute for European Law was established by professor Koen Lenaerts in 1990 in order to support the teaching and research activities in European law of the Leuven Law Faculty. Since then, the Institute has been the "home" of various junior and senior academics, who have published extensively on issues of the institutional and substantive law of the European Union. As several of its current and former members have been or are working for the institutions of the European Union, the Institute has always had a close working relationship with the European institutions.
Whereas it is one of the Law School's younger research institutes, the Institute has been the breeding-ground for a series of important Ph.D. theses and of some of the leading textbooks on general European Law (European Union Law, previously Constitutional Law of the European Union) and on judicial procedures (Procedural Law of the European Union).
Together with the colleagues of the Law School's other research groups, the Institute's members take care of a series of courses on European Union law mainly oriented towards bachelor and master students in law, but open to students from other Leuven faculties as well. Since many years, members of the Institute have coached students participating in international moot court competitions on European law.
Publication of 'Federalism in the European Union'
Jointly with Professor Sottiaux and Dra. Elke Cloots (both members of the Constitutional Law Department) Professor De Baere published 'Federalism in the European Union', an edited volume that aims to reveal the Janus-faced character of federalism in the European Union. This book is the written counterpart of the eponymous high-level workshop that was held at the Faculty last year. It contains publications of, among others, several members of our Institute (Koen Lenaerts, Piet Van Nuffel, Kathleen Gutman, Geert De Baere) and of members of other KU Leuven departments (Helder De Schutter, Stefan Sottiaux, Elke Cloots, Stef Feyen). The table of contents moreover contains essays by scholars well-known for their keen insight into federalism (such as Pavlos Eleftheriadis, Nikos Skoutaris, Joxerramon Bengoetxea,...)
The contributions examine federalism at the level of the EU's constitutional structure as well as at the level of its Member States. Federalism indeed appears in two main forms in the EU. On the one hand, numerous formerly unitary Member States have embarked on a path towards a(quasi-)federal governance structure. On the other hand, the EU itself is sometimes qualified as a federal system. Significantly, the concept of federalism has a very different, even opposite, connotation in both contexts. When associated with Member State reform, federalism is regarded as a technique for accommodating autonomy claims of sub-state nations. By contrast, when federalism is used as a label for the EU itself, it is conceived as a far-reaching way of integrating the nations of Europe. This dual appearance of federalism in the EU context is central to the structure of the book. The first collection of essays addresses the question whether the EU may be described as a federal system, and whether it can learn from existing federations. In the second set of contributions, the attention shifts to domestic federalisation processes, more particularly to the impact of these processes on EU law and vice versa.
For more information or to order the book, please visit the website of Hart Publishing.
New editions of textbooks on European law
K. Lenaerts and P. Van Nuffel, Europees recht (Intersentia, 2011)
This classic textbook written in Dutch analyzes the principles of EU law after the Treaty of Lisbon. It systematically develops the general framework of EU law and the EU institutions. Both specialists and lawyers who are confronted with EU law will find this book a useful tool for understanding the law as it stands. The comprehensive structure and the extensive index allows the reader quickly to get at the core of the matter and to find an answer to his questions. The balanced selection of references to the leading case law makes this textbook the ideal basis for research. For these reasons, Europees recht is the Dutch basic textbook on EU law par excellence.
EU law has become an integral part of a growing number of branches of the law, such as labour law, social security law, tax law, criminal law, private international law, procedural law, banking and insurance law and company law. All of these branches of the law are characterized by a continuous interplay between EU and national law, which makes a thorough understanding of Union law indispensable.
This book, which builds on a rich tradition, offers these essential insights to scholars, practicing lawyers and students.
Authors of this textbook are Koen Lenaerts (Judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union and Professor of European Law at the Catholic University of Leuven) and Piet Van Nuffel (Member of the Legal Service of the European Commission and Professor of European Law at the Catholic University of Leuven). Their combined knowledge and experience makes this work an invaluable reference book.
K. Lenaerts and P. Van Nuffel, European Union Law (Sweet & Maxwell, 2011)
The new edition of the English handbook formerly known as Constitutional Law of the European Union is out! Nathan Cambien acted as Special Editor for this Third Edition which is co-authored by Koen Lenaerts and Piet Van Nuffel.
Published by Sweet & Maxwell under the name European Union Law, this book provides readers with a rigorously structured analysis of the institutional structure of the EU, its jurisdiction, its legal instruments and the main substantive principles underlying EU law.
Furthermore it...
- develops a detailed overview of EU substantive law and of the effect the various sources of EU law have within the legal order of every Member State
- outlines the main elements of the Lisbon Treaty
- explores the concept that the constitutional character of EU law is not limited to its "administrative law" aspects
- includes references to case law and legislative developments as well as to academic literature in the major European languages
- covers significant developments in the EU, including the many changes brought about by the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon
- contains examples, diagrams and tables to help readers grasp complex processes and retain information
More information on the website of the publisher.