European Union Research

The European Union (EU), as it is now known, has a long history, dating back to 1951. The future of the EU has been the subject of much debate. As with many other research projects, the first step is usually to review the secondary sources literature, such as law reviews. To research primary documents you may need to look at treaties and documents from the many institutions and bodies which make up the EU. For further information there are many other sources.

Citing EU Materials

  • The Fordham International Law Journal, A Citation Manual For European Community Materials, Second Edition.
  • The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 18th Edition, Table 3, pp. 332-333 and Rule 218.2, pp. 184-187 (Law Ref Desk and Dictionary KF 245 B55 2005).
  • Please note, the current ALWD Citation Manual does not address international and foreign legal citation.
  • Abbreviations for European Legal Materials (KULeuven) - It is organized by country. Click on the flag of the jurisdiction you need.

EU research may also lead to researching the law of foreign countries which are part of the EU, to look at implementing legislation, case law, etc.

The Institutions and Bodies of the European Union

To begin researching the EU, it is important to understand how the main institutions of the EU work. The three main decision-making bodies include:

The other important EU bodies include:

There are also numerous EU agencies.

Decision making in the EU involves many different institutions, and many legislative procedures, including codecision, cooperation, assent and consultation. Different areas of law specify the use of a different procedure.

Tools for understanding the law making process of the EU:

Treaties

There are two different types of treaties involved with EU research: treaties which define the European Union, also called primary legislation, and treaties the EU enters into with other governments as part of its foreign policy or international agreements. The EU has recently been in the throes of a constitutional reform process which is not yet resolved.


Treaties which define the EU


EU Foreign Policy and Treaties

The EU as an entity concludes agreements both with member states and with non-member states. Recently the EU has adopted a common foreign and security policy.

Your research may require you to look at the interaction between the EU and other european organizations like the Council of Europe. This organization is the source of many important treaties in Europe but be aware these have nothing to do with the EU. These treaties can be found in the following places:


Finding European Union Documents

Much of secondary Legislation is published in the Official Journal (O.J.). If you have a citation you can go directly there. Otherwise it might be good to look in a digests of EU law by subject area. You will need to update your research with a source that provides legislative history. Finally, directives must be implemented by national legislation. You may need help finding these laws.

In the course of this research you may encounter documents that do not appear, or have not yet appeared, in the Official Journal. You should search for these according to the institutions that issue them.

Consult a listing of document types to identify the body from which they are issued.

The Official Journal

The Official Journal of the European Union, called the "O.J.", is issued daily in three distinct series:

  • L Series - Enacted legislation, whether a decision, directive, opinion, recommendation or regulation, is published in the L series of the Official Journal, cited as "year O. J. (L number) page".
  • C Series: The C Series of the Official Journal includes non-binding decisions, resolutions, communications and information about proposed legislation, new cases before the Court, etc.
  • S Series: a supplement with information about public supply contracts is now only available electronically.
  • Annex: The Annex includes the debates of and oral questions submitted to the European Parliament. These are now available at the EU Parliament website.

The Official Journal is available in a number of places:

  • Law Annex Reserve JN15 .O36 (1981-present)
  • Law Micro JN15 .O36 (1973- 1981)
  • Eur-Lex: OJ (1998- )
  • LexisNexis: (EURCOM; LEGIS)(1980- )
  • Westlaw: (EU-LEG) (1952- )

Digests

For a suject-matter or digest approach to legislation which provides document numbers see:

Legislative History

For an overview of the legislative posture of a particular law consult:

  • the Legislative Observatory provides news and general information on current legislative activities.
  • PreLex allows you to follow the progress of a piece of legislation

National Implementing Legislation

Citations to national Implementing legislation for directive can be located at the application of community law website. It is also available when you search of directives on Eur-lex. It is sometimes included in SCADPlus, if it was available. You might also try:

  • WESTLAW   EU-LEG, 1952-   "Countries (National Measures)" following a directive is a list of citations to any national implementing measures.
  • LexisNexis  EUROPE;NATPRV, 1989-.  
  • N-Lex is an experimental portal to National Laws of Member states


EU Commission Documents

The European Commission is composed of Directorates-General which are responsible for differenct policy areas. If you read about the various decision-making processes most legislation originates in the Commission. Commission proposals for legislation, new policy initiatives, and reports are published as Commission Documents, cited as COM(year/page), i.e., COM(92) 247. There is a Register of Documents available to the public.

Commission Documents (COM Docs) are found in many sources:

Subsequent to the proposal, there is generally an opinion given by the Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee.

Council of the EU Documents

The Council of European Union is the primary decision-making body of the EU. It is composed of ministers of the various EU nations. It's documents have generally been the most difficult to find as its role is primarily a decision-making one.

Council of the European Union documents are available:

  • in the Public Register (1999-present) which indicates Council documents available to the public
  • Council Documents
  • Consult the Review of the Council's Work (1983-1984, 1986-1996) (Law Annex KJE 5318 A7 C68).
  • in theOfficial Journal, C Series.

EU Parliament Documents

Based on the early founding treaties of the EU the Parliament was the weakest decision-making institution. As the EU has gained more democratic legitimacy the Parliament has become more important. More areas involve the Parliament as a decision maker rather than just as a consultative body. Many documents can be accessed via the Legislative ObservatoryThere is also a Register of Documents. Many different documents are generated by the Parliament, including:

EU Courts

Case law has been an increasingly important component of EU law. You can find the opinions and decisions of the Courts:

  • Reports of Cases Before the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance
  • Common Market Law Reports
    • Law Annex KJE923.7 C66
    • Westlaw (1963- )(CML-RPTS)
  • European Union Law Reporter (KJE925.5 .C66) (1962- )

Some helpful reference resources for finding EU case law include:

  • Index A-Z: numerical and alphabetical index of cases before the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance of the European Communities since 1953 (Law Annex KJE924.2 .C68 1998)
  • Synopsis of the work of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (Law Annex KJE 5461 A7 S96)
  • European Union Law Reporter (KJE925.5 .C66) (1962- )
  • Westlaw European Union Case Law Locator (EU-CASELOC) (1954- )
  • Lists of new cases before the Court are included in the Official Journal, C Series.

EU Committee Documents

The Economic and Social Committee

The Economic and Social Committee (ESC) has a consultative role in the EU, which is reflected in the documents it issues. It also has a Register of Documents

ESC Opinions are found at their website and cited as CES number/year, i.e., CES 1342/93. They are available in their official format::

  • on Microfiche from 1989-present (Law Micro HC241.2 E36)
  • in the C series of the Official Journal, cited as year O. J. (C number) page"

Plenary Sessions, where opinions are adopted, are also useful (2001 to present). Also, follow the actions taken by the Commission based upon the Committee's opinions (2001-present).

The Committee of the Regions

The Committee of the Regions issues opinions and has a Register of Documents. It also issues press releases and holds plenary sessions.

 

The First Step for EU Research is Secondary Sources

Looking at secondary sources, including law review articles, treatises and loose-leaf services, news, and working papers is a very helpful first step for any legal research project, including EU legal research projects. The footnotes of law review articles, working papers and books can provide a wealth of references for further research, and may even cite primary materials, such as legislation and case law.

Legal periodicals

One of the problems with researching EU law is that there are many legal periodicals published outside the U.S. that are not indexed in U.S. indexes or included in U.S. legal databases. The Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals has tried to address this problem as has the European Legal Journals Index. Make sure to check these.

  • Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (IFLP) (BULaw only): This database, secured by IP address, is available from any computer on the BU campus. The IFLP indexes articles about international and comparative law of countries other than United States, British Isles, and British Commonwealth.
  • European Legal Journals Index (Law Annex Ref KJC 6.5 E87) indexes articles from legal periodicals published in Europe.
  • Legal Journals Index (Law Annex Ref K33 .L44 through 1999 and via Westlaw (LJI)(1986 to date)), which indexes articles from legal periodicals published in the United Kingdom (member state of the EU) is likely to have articles on EU related topics.
  • Search the Legal Resource Index (1980 to present) on LexisNexis (LGLIND), Westlaw (LRI) or Legaltrac (BULaw only).
  • Search the full-text law review databases on LexisNexis (ALLREV) and Westlaw (JLR), most journals dating from the early 1990s.
  • Search law reviews available via HeinOnline (BU only), including older law review articles not available via LexisNexis and Westlaw. Articles are all in Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf).
  • PAIS: Public Affairs Information Service: This database contains citations to articles related to political science which can often be useful when looking at the EU and its institutions (BU only).
  • Check the location of periodicals at the BU Pappas Law Library.

Working Papers: Indexes and subscription databases usually do not pick up working papers which is a growing area of publication. There are web-based search engines that are trying to fill the holes:

Journals that might have relevant articles include:

    • Common Market Law Review
      • Law Annex (1963- )
      • Lawtel (abstracts 1999- )
    • Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law
      • Law Annex KJE 5075 M33 (1994- )
    • European Law Journal
      • Law Annex KJC 6 E972 (1995- )
      • Lawtel (abstracts 1999- ) Please note that the Pappas Law Library does not currently subscribe to this service.
    • Columbia Journal of European Law
    • Fordham International Law Journal (special EU issues)
    • Journal of Common Market Studies
      • Law Annex (1962- )
    • European Review of Private Law
      • Law Annex KJC 956 A13 E872 (1993- )
    • European Law Review
      • Law Annex (1975- )
      • Lawtel (abstracts 1999- ) Please note that the Pappas Law Library does not currently subscribe to this service.
      • Westlaw (EURLR) (select coverage 1986- )
    • European Journal of International Law
      • Law Annex JX 1 E97 (1990- )
      • HeinOnline (.pdf format) (1990-1997)
    • East European Constitutional Review
      • Annex (1992- )
    • Journal of Constitutional Law in Eastern and Central Europe
      • Law Annex KJC 4431 A13 J682 (1994- )

Books, treatises and loose-leaf services

  • Search the BU online catalog by WORD to find materials related to the EU, including:
    • European Union Law Reporter (Law Annex KJE 925.5 C66 1962): a loose leaf with an extensive index which provides information about current developments as well as giving a thorough introduction to most areas of EU law.
    • Butterworths Expert Guide to the European Union (Law Ref KJE 926.5 B88 1996).
    • The Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies (Law Annex KJE 958 C36) (1998-present).
    • EU Brief (Law Annex KJE 947 M95 1996).
    • European Union Law in a Nutshell (Law Reserve KJE949 .F55 2005).
    • A Guide to European Union Law (Law Annex KJE947 .M38 1999).
    • Introduction to European Union Law (Law Annex KJE947 .C34 2002)
    • Access to Information in the European Union : a Comparative Analysis of EC and Member State Legislation (Law Annex KJC 5162 .K73 2005)
    • EU Enlargement and the Constitutions of Central and Eastern Europe (Law Annex KJC 5057 .A95 2005)
    • Principles of European Union Law (hornbook) (Law Reserve KJE 947 .F65 2005)
  • Refer to the European Legal Book Index (Law Ref KJC6.5 E86) which lists books on many European legal topics, including the EU.
  • If you do not find the materials you require in the BU collection, you can search the catalogs of libraries from around the world through the online catalog Worldcat, then request to borrow the materials through interlibrary loan. Please consult a reference librarian with any questions.

News and hot topics

Other Resources for European Union Research

 

Guides for EU Research


Links to European Union Information on the Internet

Understanding the jargon or terminology of the European Union:

Page maintained by Stefanie Weigmann
Last updated: August 2007