European Union Internal Market Law, 2d ed.

AuthorRitchie, Brian
PositionBook review

European Union Internal Market Law, Second Edition. By Gareth Davies, London: Cavendish Publishing, 2003. Pp. 226. $49.95 (paperback).

The European Union, an unprecedented experiment in international federalism, features a unique distribution of legal authority between member states and the community. The EU's "internal market law" governs trade between its member countries, making the Union much more than a free-trade area, but still something less than a fully-integrated national economy. In European Union Internal Market Law, Gareth Davies describes the basic workings of this legal regime and discusses many of the emerging legal and political controversies.

The book is intended to be an introduction to the subject for students, and as a reference for non-expert practitioners; as such, it is written to be as clear and concise as possible. The focus is on presenting and explaining the legal rules of the internal market, rather than providing a comprehensive discussion of these features. Davies relies on case law from the European Court of Justice as an illustrative tool, often using a brief summary of stylized facts and the court's central holding. He also makes effective use of hypotheticals to explain subtle distinctions. A few of the court's most famous cases, such as the Cassis de Dijon decision that reshaped the law on production regulation, receive lengthy exposition.

Most of the content is purely descriptive; the book tends to shy away from normative conclusions about whether the laws are right. Davies is most apt to criticize the court when it acts with a lack of clarity when decisions are contradictory or when the actual operation of a rule is inconsistent with its plain meaning. Since Davies's purpose is explanatory rather than persuasive, the book lacks a thesis as such, and there is little in the way of a unifying theme.

Nonetheless, Davies does frame the EU's internal market law with respect to two main policy goals: promoting economic growth and prosperity, and furthering the political and social integration of the Union. Davies notes that the court evaluates rules based on the degree to which they promote or hinder these goals rather than on formal distinctions. Despite the generally neutral tone, it is apparent that Davies favors European integration and is supportive of the concept of the internal market. However, his views on economic theory at times make him skeptical of internal market laws that substantially interfere...

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