Judicial Activism at the European Court of Justice

This well-constructed, and well-written, collection fills a gap in the scholarship. It offers a rounded and plausible picture of the Courts role in Europe, engaging with the complexity of the law without losing sight of the bigger political picture. Well-contextualised, critical, but nuanced, discussions of the role of rights, economics, science, and institutions, and of the important particularities of EU adjudication, will make this volume unmissable for those interested in the political role of the Court of Justice of the EU. -- Gareth Davies, VU University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Edited by Mark Dawson, Professor of European Law and Governance, Hertie School, Berlin, Germany, Bruno De Witte, Professor of European Law, Maastricht University, the Netherlands and Elise Muir, Professor of European Law, KU Leuven, Belgium

Contents: Preface 1. Introduction: The European Court of Justice as a Political Actor Elise Muir, Mark Dawson and Bruno de Witte 2. The Political Face of Judicial Activism: Europes Law-politics Imbalance Mark Dawson 3. The Least Dangerous Branch of European Governance? The European Court of Justice Under the Checks and Balances Doctrine Marcus Hreth 4. Maybe Not Activist Enough? On the Courts Alleged Neoliberal Bias in its Recent Labor Cases Clemens Kaupa 5. The Court of Justice: A Fundamental Rights Institution Among Others Elise Muir 6. Actively Talking to Each Other: The Court and the Political Institutions Vassilis Hatzopoulos 7. The European Court of Justice in the Face of Scientific Uncertainty and Complexity Ellen Vos 8. The European Court of Justice and the Duty to Respect Sensitive National Interests Loc Azoulai 9. A Cautionary Tale: Some Insights Regarding Judicial Activism from the National Experience Maartje de Visser 10. Judicial Activism and the European Court of Justice: How Should Academics Respond? Anthony Arnull 11. The Potential of Civil Society and Human Rights Organizations Through Third-Party Interventions Before the European Courts: The EUs Area of Freedom, Security and Justice Sergio Carrera and Bilyana Petkova 12. Strategies Developed by and Between National Governments to Interact with the ECJ Mielle Bulterman and Corinna Wissels Index