The Ethos of Europe: Values, Law and Justice in the EU

by Andrew Williams

Overview

Can the EU become a 'just' institution? Andrew Williams considers this highly charged political and moral question by examining the role of five salient values said to be influential in the governance and law of the Union: peace, the rule of law, respect for human rights, democracy, and liberty. He assesses each of these as elements of an apparent 'institutional ethos' and philosophy of EU law and finds that justice as a governing ideal has failed to be taken seriously in the EU. To remedy this condition, he proposes a new set of principles upon which justice might be brought more to the fore in the Union's governance. By focusing on the realisation of human rights as a core institutional value, Williams argues that the EU can better define its moral limits so as to evolve as a more just project.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521134040
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/11/2010
Series:	Cambridge Studies in European Law and Policy
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Formerly a practising solicitor in London, Andrew Williams teaches EU and human rights law at the School of Law in the University of Warwick.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

1 The ethos of Europe: an introduction 1

An uncertain 'soul' 1

The objectives of the book 14

Conclusion 21

2 Peace 22

Introduction 22

The 'original peace' 26

The external dimension: towards global peace 35

The new peace: security as a third dimension 52

Conclusion 64

3 The rule of law 70

Introduction 70

The conceptual spectrum 73

The supranational dimension 77

The institutional dimension 94

The international dimension 98

Conclusion 104

4 Human rights 110

Introduction 110

Establishing the principle 112

The conception of human rights in the EU 117

Scrutiny and surveillance 135

Enforcement 143

Conclusion 152

5 Democracy 154

Introduction 154

The concept of democracy beyond the state 156

Democracy in the EU 165

Conclusion 192

6 Liberty 197

Introduction 197

The concept of liberty 199

Collective liberty and the EU 208

Individual liberty and the EU 219

Conclusion 238

7 The institutional ethos of the EU 242

Introduction 242

The value(s) of the institutional ethos 243

The philosophy of EU law and the EU's institutional ethos 250

Conclusion 281

8 Towards the EU as a just institution 283

Introduction 283

Nine assumptions for an account of justice for the EU 284

Conclusion 313

9 Concluding proposals 314

Introduction 314

Two proposals for justice 317

A research agenda for a just institution 327

Final thought 338

Bibliography 340

Index 354