Escape from the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice: A good reason to quit the European Union?
| DOI | 10.1177/1023263X18760550 |
| Author | Phedon Nicolaides |
| Published date | 01 February 2018 |
| Date | 01 February 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Escape from the jurisdiction
of the Court of Justice:
A good reason to quit the
European Union?
Phedon Nicolaides*
Abstract
One of the principal objectives of Brexit is to end the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the
European Union (EU) over the UK. It raises the question whether the UK has ‘suffered’ more than
other Member States from judicial action. To answer this question, this paper examines statistics
on judicial action and finds that i) the UK has not been embroiled in more proceedings before the
Court of Justice than other large Member States; ii) fewer proceedings have been initiated against it
by the Commission than other larger or medium-size Member State; and iii) the UK has won
relatively more cases than other large Member States. The paper also argues that in principle
judicial bias towards integration is not necessarily harmful to the interests of a relatively open
economy like that of the UK. This is because such an integrationist tendency would pry open other
markets which would be beneficial to UK firms. In addition, the distortion-preventing powers of
other EU institutions such as the European Commission also tend to favour pro-market countries
like the UK. Lastly, the paper considers alternative dispute resolution arrangements identified by
the UK and suggests that they are more likely to reduce legal certainty and delay effective
enforcement than the present system based on the Court of Justice.
Keywords
Brexit, court of justice, dispute settlement, infringement proceedings, market access
* Maastricht University Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerdheid, Bouillonstraat, Maastricht 6200, Netherlands
Corresponding author:
Phedon Nicolaides, Maastricht University Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerdheid, Bouillonstraat, Maastricht, 6200 MD,
Netherlands.
E-mail: phedon.nic olaides@coleurope.eu
Maastricht Journal of European and
Comparative Law
2018, Vol. 25(1) 7–21
ªThe Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/1023263X18760550
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