Europe's Justice Deficit? - by Dimitry Kochenov & Gráinne de Búrca & Andrew Williams (Hardcover)

About the Book

This edited volume brings together contributions by leading academics and young scholars whose work addresses both legal and philosophical aspects of justice in the European context and appraises the existence and nature of the justice deficit in the EU.

Book Synopsis

The gradual legal and political evolution of the European Union has not, thus far, been accompanied by the articulation or embrace of any substantive ideal of justice going beyond the founders' intent or the economic objectives of the market integration project. This absence arguably compromises the foundations of the EU legal and political system since the relationship between law and justice-a crucial question within any constitutional system-remains largely unaddressed. This edited volume brings together a number of concise contributions by leading academics and young scholars whose work addresses both legal and philosophical aspects of justice in the European context. The aim of the volume is to appraise the existence and nature of this deficit, its implications for Europe's future, and to begin a critical discussion about how it might be addressed. There have been many accounts of the EU as a story of constitutional evolution and a system of transnational governance, but few which pay sustained attention to the implications for justice.

The EU today has moved beyond its initial and primary emphasis on the establishment of an Internal Market, as the growing importance of EU citizenship and social rights suggests. Yet, most legal analyses of the EU treaties and of EU case-law remain premised broadly on the assumption that EU law still largely serves the purpose of perfecting what is fundamentally a system of economic integration. The place to be occupied by the underlying substantive ideal of justice remains significantly underspecified or even vacant, creating a tension between the market-oriented foundation of the Union and the contemporary essence of its constitutional system. The relationship of law to justice is a core dimension of constitutional systems around the world, and the EU is arguably no different in this respect.

The critical assessment of justice in the EU provided by the contributions to this book will help to create a fuller picture of the justice deficit in the EU, and at the same time open up an important new avenue of legal research of immediate importance.

Review Quotes

"This is a remarkable volume which addresses a long-neglected question about the EU: situated between integration through market freedoms and an emerging constitutional project, how does the EU contribute to the achievement of justice? A set of lively, engaged and scholarly contributions which extend the boundaries of the debate. A must-read for all interested in European Studies." --Professor Seyla Benhabib, Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Yale University

"The pluralism in approaches ... is a big plus of this book and makes it an interesting and inspiring read: a read which has the capacity to kindle further discussion and research ... In the end, the book does not give one answer, but many - and this is what makes it so valuable for the current debate of a future (of) Europe." --Eva Julia Lohse, Common Market Law Review

"The list of authors reads like a veritable "Who's Who of European studies"...The outcome is fascinating, enormously rich and diverse (with the authors occasionally disagreeing with each other) - just as Europe is. Once you have read it, you realize what an important void it has filled. It opens up a new, fresh perspective within the European studies, and I can safely predict that it will become a canon, by reference to which we will be discussing "justice in/of Europe" in the years to come." --Wojciech Sadurski, Challis Professor of Jurisprudence, The University of Sydney Faculty of Law

"By arranging a multi-disciplinary discussion about justice in the EU "as a flow of ideas" this most engaging book offers a gripping account of justice as the proverbial contested concept...The editors have succeeded in bringing together a group of feisty scholars keen to present their rather diverse, and at times even exclusive, take on the meaning of justice...A must read for all interested in justice, nothwithstanding their own disciplinary home." --Prof Antje Wiener, Chair in Political Science, especially Global Governance, University of Hamburg

"The question of the EU's justice deficit could not be of greater relevance. Both scholars and politicians have often argued that the economic and other benefits of the EU compensate for any democratic failings. Yet, as the eurocrisis renders these benefits less apparent, it becomes more appropriate than ever to ask whether it distributes them and any accompanying costs in a just way. The responses of the contributors to this volume prove as disturbing as they are informative." --Professor Richard Bellamy, Director of the Max Weber Programme, European University Institute, Florence

"The critical assessment provided by this book will help to create a fuller picture of the justice deficit in the EU, and open up an important new avenue of legal research." --Hans-W Micklitz, Journal of Consumer Policy

"The book is an interesting read and could not have been more timely, considering all the challenges the EU is currently facing." --Martijn van den Brink, European Law Review

"Europe's Justice Deficit?, a collection of essays by leading academics and young scholars, offers a robust conversation about the legal and philosophical aspects of justice in Europe." --Yale Journal of International Law

About the Author

Dimitry Kochenov, Gráinne de Búrca and Andrew Williams are respectively Professor of EU Constitutional Law at Groningen Faculty of Law, Florence Ellinwood Professor of Law at NYU Law School and Professor at Warwick School of Law.