Reviews
| Date | 01 January 1997 |
| Published date | 01 January 1997 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.t01-1-00072 |
REVIEWS
Stephen Weatherill,Law and Integration in the European Union, Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1995, xxi + 306 pp, hb £35.00, pb £13.99.
Weatherill’s book has developed from a restructuring of the European Community
law undergraduate curriculum at Nottingham University. The new university
course structure, and hence this book, acknowledges that undergraduate law
students need to be introduced to EC law at the very beginning of their studies in
order to ensure that EC law does not ‘creep up on them subsequently as an
awkward twist to the perceived ‘‘normal’’ pattern of English law.’ Most EC
academics would agree that this can be a real problem. Students often resist
accepting EC legal principles because they can appear to be unintelligible concepts
which at times contradict previously taught constitutional law principles. The
importance of lawyers appreciating what Weatherill refers to as the ‘nature’ of EC
law is illustrated by the fact that EC law is about to become a compulsory subject
of study for undergraduate law students in England and Wales. It is already a
compulsory subject in Scotland.
Weatherill’s book has two primary aims. The first aim is to impress upon
students why EC law is important to them as English lawyers. Weatherill identifies
EC law as having ‘a different feel from English law.’ Most of the book
concentrates on those aspects of EC law that give it this distinctive nature. For
example, Chapter Two looks at Community competence by addressing concepts
such as the EC’s attributed competence and the principle of non-discrimination.
Chapter Four looks at characteristics of EC law, addressing concepts such as direct
effect, supremacy, uniformity via Article 177 EC and effectiveness as an
overarching principle. Chapter Five deals with pre-emption, subsidiarity and
competence in a wider and deeper Union. Chapter Six addresses the role of the
European Court of Justice as a Constitutional Court. The aim of portraying the
distinctive nature of the law of the EC and the European Union is a difficult one;
Weatherill achieves his aim with a clarity and integration of subject-matter that is
commendable.
The second primary aim is to portray ‘the dynamic and still evolving character of
EC law.’ As such, the subject-matter is addressed from the focal point of
integration, which is becoming more prominent with the prospect of an
increasingly wider and deeper EU. Chapter One traces the history of the EU
from an integrative perspective by assessing the wider influences on
developmental changes such as politics, economics, tensions of enlargement and
the EU’s relationship with the wider Europe. A consequence of this approach is
that Weatherill illustrates how EC law has responded to a variety of legal and
extra-legal influences. As a result, this book has a rich interdisciplinary feel.
Weatherill also provides a wealth of discussion points and suggestions for the
future development of the EU, both throughout the text and separately in Chapter
Nine, entitled ‘Reshaping the Union.’ The issue of future integration is approached
from a practical stance, suggesting clear, realistic goals that can be achieved at the
next intergovernmental conference, to which he makes constant reference. A
related aim is to show the progression of the Community from an economically
centred common market to a multifunctional Union. This is addressed in Chapters
The Modern Law Review Limited 1997 (MLR 60:1, January). Published by Blackwell Publishers,
108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. 133
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