The publicity of EU law and the privatization of EU digital regulation
| Published date | 01 June 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1023263X241301937 |
| Author | Annalisa Volpato |
| Date | 01 June 2024 |
The publicity of EU law and
the privatization of EU
digital regulation
Annalisa Volpato*
Abstract
The publicity of the law is a fundamental principle of EU law, but recently it has come under dis-
cussion in the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU). This Editorial reflects on the
constitutional foundations of the principle of publicity of the law in EU law, giving account of
the recent controversies arisen before the CJEU in relation to soft law and harmonized standards,
and of the growing tension between this principle and the rights of private regulators in the field of
digital technologies.
Keywords
Publicity of law, Official Journal, soft law, harmonized standards, digital regulation
1. Introduction
Who owns the text of the law? To lawyers and citizens in a democratic society the question may
appear odd as the law is expected to be public and freely available to everyone. The publicity of
the law is a fundamental principle of law and an essential feature of a functioning legal system.
Knowing the law enables the citizen to regulate his or her conduct in accordance to the will of
the public power, creating the conditions for the spontaneous compliance with the legal provisions
and, in case of violation, for him or her to foresee the consequences which a given action may entail.
Without publicity, the citizen cannot know what the law requires. Indeed, archaeological finds of
normative texts testify the importance of communicating and disseminating the law since ancient
*
Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy
Corresponding author:
Annalisa Volpato, Dipartimento di Diritto Pubblico, Internazionale e Comunitario, Università degli Studi di Padova, via
Anghinoni, 3, Padova, Padova, 35122, Italy.
Email: annalisa.volpato@unipd.it
Editorial
Maastricht Journal of European and
Comparative Law
2024, Vol. 31(3) 319–332
© The Author(s) 2024
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1023263X241301937
maastrichtjournal.sagepub.com
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