Non-subscription European Union Research On the Web By Susan Phillips Texas Wesleyan University School of Law

Commercial subscriptions Lawtel: Thomson/Sweet & Maxwell Justis: Justis CELEX,compiled and operated by the European Commission through the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, is a documentation system for European Union law that is used by all EU institutions. Coverage: 1951 – present

Verify Site Authenticity Use sites that are credible and accurate a. Authorship: known and respected organization or individual b. Date of page creation, update or version

Guides on EU Law: Cornell: European Union Law Information Resources by Charlotte Bynum (01/2001) guides/eu/eu.html

Guides on EU Law: Cornell: The Nuts and Bolts of European Law Research by Jean Wenger (Spring 1997) /guides/eu/main.html

Guides on EU Law: Pittsburgh: European Union Research Guides by Phil Wilkin (01/17/2000) esteuropean/wwwes/euguides.guide.html

Guides on EU Law: The ABC of Community Law Dr. Klaus-Dieter Borchardt lets/eu_documentation/02/txt_en.pdf

History of the EU: The European Union is a unique, treaty-based, institutional framework that defines and manages economic and political cooperation among its fifteen European member countries.

History of the EU: In 1951, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands entered into the Treaty of Paris creating the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).

History of the EU: In 1957, another two communities, the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Community (EURATOM) were established by the Treaty of Rome.

History of the EU: From the three came the European Union with the signing of the Treaty of Maastricht which went into force in EU saw further development with the Treaty of Amsterdam, 1999 took effect.

History of the EU: Treaty of Nice was signed in 2000 and entered into force in Most of the institutional aspects will not take effect until 2005.

Institutions of the EU: Commission Council of the European Union Parliament European Court of Justice (ECJ) Court of Auditors European Central Bank

Institutions of the EU: Commission Administers the Union, engages in policy-making, and proposes laws to the Council of European Union

Institutions of the EU: Council of the European Union Enacts laws proposed by the Commission

Institutions of the EU: Parliament Originally was consultative and had no authority to pass legislation but through changes in treaties, it has an increased role in law-making

Institutions of the EU: European Court of Justice (ECJ) “Supreme Court”--Entrusted with ensuring the correct interpretation of the EU’s treaties “Lower court”—Court of First Instance, created in 1988

Institutions of the EU: Court of Auditors Ensures the proper administration of the EU budget

Institutions of the EU: European Central Bank Together with its European System of Central Banks, is responsible for monetary policy and the Euro

Primary law of the EU: Treaties Secondary Legislation: Directives Regulations Decisions

Primary law of the EU: Treaties Can be found in a number of locations including:

Primary law of the EU: Treaties University of Glasgow EU/treaties.shtml

Primary law of the EU: Treaties Europa’s Eur-Lex lex/lex/en/treaties/index.htm

Secondary Legislation: Directives Binding as to result achieved but specific implementation is left to the member states

Secondary Legislation: Regulations General application and are binding on the member states

Secondary Legislation: Decisions Addressed to specific individuals, institutions or countries

Secondary Legislation: Directives, Regulations & Decisions Published in their official form in the European Union Official Journal

Secondary Legislation: Directives, Regulations & Decisions European Union Official Journal (OJ) Official gazette of the Community, published daily

Secondary Legislation: Directives, Regulations & Decisions European Union Official Journal Is divided into the following series: L Series C Series

Secondary Legislation: Directives, Regulations & Decisions European Union Official Journal L Series contains adopted legislation including directives and regulations

Secondary Legislation: Directives, Regulations & Decisions European Union Official Journal C Series contains commission proposals for legislation (drafts), non- binding decisions, Minutes of the Parliament and other information

Reading Citations: 1993 OJ L95/29 = Page 29 in Issue L Series 95 in year 1993

Reading Citations: Regulations (EC) 2913/92 = European Community regulation 2913 in year 1992

Recommended European Union Law Sites Europa’s Eur-Lex

Recommended European Union Law Sites European Union in the US

Recommended European Union Law Sites UC Berkeley Library: European Union Internet Resources