Podcast: the Ugly
Critically consider the means though which the European Union has clarified and developed the status of its laws within the legal systems of its Member States.
Podcast: the Ugly
The EC is made up of over twenty states who have joined together to ensure that France and Germany never go to war again. In order to do this the community works together to make coal and steel and has a free market so that goods can be made and sold all over Europe. The United Kingdom joined through the Single European Act and now has to follow all European laws. There are many sources of European law, namely legislation and case-law. Legislation is made by the Commissions but case-law is made by the European Court. (1) While this paragraph attempts to provide an introduction by considering the composition of the EU and why the Community was originally created, and also by explaining that there are various sources of EU law, discussion is at best vague. It also contains inaccuracies, such as the comment that the UK joined by means of the Single European Act. Out-of-date terminology is used, with references to the EC rather than European Union, for example.
Legislation is the treaties, regulations and directives. When these laws are made by the institutions they have to be followed by everyone. The most important treaty is the treat of Lisbon. This treaty has to be followed by all the member states including Britain. The treaty of Lisbon says that goods cannot be stopped from moving from country to country around Europe and neither can people. When Europe first started there were very few member states who were members. No ther are lots and there are more that want to join Europe. (2) This paragraph demonstrates some recognition of the need to discuss EU law in an attempt at answering the question. However, the student's grasp of the impact of EU law is again vague and at times the discussion is misleading. There is no recognition of the differing impacts of the various forms of EU law, while some of the comments made are irrelevant to the question, for example, the comment relating to states wanting to join the EU. In addition, poor punctuation and spelling suggest that the student has not approached the task with sufficient seriousness or commitment and would not appear to have carried out a 'spell check' or proof read of his/her work.
There are other treaties which are law in the EC. These are the EC Treaty, the Maastricht treaty and the Amsterdam treaty. All these treaties tell the member states what to do and Europe is run by the institutions. The institutions are the Parliament, the Court, the Council and the Commission. Europe is not democratic and that is why everyone has to follow the laws made by the institutions. The European Parliament is the most democratic body as it is made up of MPs. The other institutions have to comply with the rules made by the parliament and the parliament can take them to court if they do not. Parliament also makes the budget for Europe and tells everyone how to spend their money. Then there are regulations. If anyone, even a member state or institution breaks a regulation they will be prosecuted by the European court of justice, which is in Brussels. Regulations are not European laws but the law in the member states. Directives are different and because of this you may not have to follow them. But if you are part of the state you will have to follow them. This is called emanation of the state and was decided in Foster. (3) This paragraph touches on relevant issues but once again contains far too many misunderstandings and/or inaccuracies. It also demonstrates, by moving from issue to issue in a rather random manner, that little thought has been given to the provision of any logical structure to the essay.
If you break European law this will be decided by the European court. The House of Lords can send you to the European Court. If you do not like a decision of the House of lords or one of the other courts you can complain to the European court. This is called an appeal to the European court of justice. The house of Lords and the other courts have to follow what the European court says, otherwise they will be breaking their promise to Europe.
People who live in Europe are called Citizens. They are allowed to live anywhere in Europe and if a country tries to stop them they can appeal to the European Court of Justice. In Van Duyn a citizen was told that she could not come and live in the UK. She complained to the court and was told that she could. The Uk then had to let her come and work in Britain. This case shows how law is made by the European court of justice and that everyone, even countries and people have got follow this law. This is called free movement and is an important part of the European Union laws. (4) These paragraphs are particularly disappointing, as they clearly demonstrate a lack of understanding of the impact of EU law or the way in which it may be enforced by the courts. On the positive side, some attempt at providing supporting legal authority is made, although no effort has been made to provide a full citation.
The development of law of the European Community has been largely moulded by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). In the landmark case of Van Gend en Loos in 1963, the ECJ ruled that the European Community, through the will of Member States expressed in the Treaty of Rome, constitutes a new legal order of international law for the benefit of which the states have limited their sovereign rights albeit within limited fields.(5) This paragraph is most worrying. While it appears to address relevant issues, it actually constitutes an assessment offence, as it has been taken directly from the 'Wikipedia' website with no attempt made at referencing the source. (It should also be noted that Wikipedia should not be used for academic work.)
It can be seen from everyone having to follow the law on the common market and the law on citizens moving around Europe that the law of Europe is supreme to the law of the UK and its member states. (6) This paragraph contains some attempt at providing a conclusion and the relevant issue of supremacy of EU is at least mentioned. However, it is a case of too little, too late to rescue this particularly poor account.
Bibliography
No bibliography provided (7) No bibliography is provided. Inclusion of a bibliography is essential when completing an academic essay and should contain a list of resources referred to in the account. The absence of a bibliography suggests that the account has been written with no apparent use of relevant literature. (8) Overall this account fails to provide sufficient evidence of understanding of issues relevant to the question set. It contains unequivocal evidence that the student's knowledge is inadequate.