The ECJ between the Individual Citizen and the Member States: A Plea for a Judge-Made European Law on Remedies

Abstract

Time and again the ECJ comes under fire, from the Member States who fear the loss of sovereignty, as well as from trade unions and public interest groups who fear the downgrading of ‘The Social’. The overall message then may be condensed into the plea for a court which takes a more cautious stance. I am arguing the exact opposite, at least with regard to remedies in the social and the citizen rights order. Only more judicial activism can overcome the lacunae which results from a rights-remedyprocedure mechanism that is too much designed to enforce economic freedoms.

Keywords: European Court of Justice, citizen rights