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The Uneven Legal Push for Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Marlene Wind

    (University of Copenhagen, Denmark, mwi@ifs.ku.dk)

  • Dorte Sindbjerg Martinsen

    (University of Copenhagen, Denmark, dm@ifs.ku.dk)

  • Gabriel Pons Rotger

    (Danish Institute of Governmental Research (AKF), Denmark, gpr@akf.dk)

Abstract

National courts have been key players in the legal push for Europe, though notably to varying degrees. This paper examines the persisting variations in the referral rates of national courts and the underlying causal factors, aiming to better understand why some member states' courts have been more reluctant to join in the legal push for Europe. By using econometric methods, it challenges the modified neofunctionalist argument that the extent of intra-EC trade explains the referral practice of the individual member states. Majoritarian democracy is hypothesized as a causal factor in the low referral rates for some of the EU member states. Key characteristics of majoritarian democracy versus constitutional democracy are outlined and the former is further detailed by means of two case studies: Denmark and the UK. Finally, a panel data analysis is conducted and finds evidence of a negative impact of majoritarian democracy on the number of referrals. The paper concludes that, owing to the uneven legal push for Europe, some member states and their citizens remain at arms' length from the legal integration process — and, in consequence, from the full impact of European integration.

Suggested Citation

  • Marlene Wind & Dorte Sindbjerg Martinsen & Gabriel Pons Rotger, 2009. "The Uneven Legal Push for Europe," European Union Politics, , vol. 10(1), pages 63-88, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:eeupol:v:10:y:2009:i:1:p:63-88
    DOI: 10.1177/1465116508099761
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Grimmel, Andreas, 2011. "Politics in robes? The European Court of Justice and the myth of judicial activism," Discussion Papers 2/11, Europa-Kolleg Hamburg, Institute for European Integration.
    2. Andreas Grimmel, 2011. "Integration and the Context of Law: Why the European Court of Justice is not a Political Actor," Les Cahiers européens de Sciences Po 3, Centre d'études européennes (CEE) at Sciences Po, Paris.
    3. Fritz W. Scharpf, 2009. "The Asymmetry of European Integration - or why the EU cannot be a Social Market Economy," KFG Working Papers p0006, Free University Berlin.
    4. Scharpf, Fritz W., 2009. "The double asymmetry of European integration: Or: why the EU cannot be a social market economy," MPIfG Working Paper 09/12, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    5. Lampach, Nicolas & Wijtvliet, Wessel & Dyevre, Arthur, 2020. "Merchant hubs and spatial disparities in the private enforcement of international trade regimes," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    6. Nicolas Lampach & Arthur Dyevre, 2020. "Choosing for Europe: judicial incentives and legal integration in the European Union," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 65-86, August.
    7. Dyevre, Arthur & Lampach, Nicolas, 2018. "The origins of regional integration: Untangling the effect of trade on judicial cooperation," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 122-133.
    8. Scharpf, Fritz W., 2010. "Community and autonomy: Institutions, policies and legitimacy in multilevel Europe," Schriften aus dem Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung Köln, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, volume 68, number 68.
    9. Cecilia Bruzelius, 2020. "How EU Juridification shapes Constitutional Social Rights," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(6), pages 1488-1503, November.
    10. Marlene Wind, 2010. "The Nordics, the EU and the Reluctance Towards Supranational Judicial Review," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(4), pages 1039-1063, September.

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