EU Soft Law in the EU Legal Order: A Literature Review

46 Pages Posted: 27 Mar 2019

See all articles by Oana Andreea Stefan

Oana Andreea Stefan

King's College London - The Dickson Poon School of Law; King's College London

Matej Avbelj

New University

Mariolina Eliantonio

Maastricht Center for European Law

Miriam Hartlapp

Freie Universität, Berlin

Emilia Korkea‐aho

University of Helsinki

Nathalie Rubio

Aix-Marseille University

Date Written: March 4, 2019

Abstract

In this first SoLaR working paper we are reviewing the literature on EU soft law, with a special focus on research dealing with competition law, state aid, financial regulation, environmental protection and social policy. The literature reviewed consists of studies conducted at the EU level of governance. A further paper will focus on nationally centered analyses, in particular concerning Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and the UK. The present paper first discusses different definitions of soft law and taxonomies before moving to an analysis of status and legal effects of soft law. The paper then reviews studies dealing with the interface between soft law and adjudication. It finally looks into issues concerning the justiciability of soft law instruments in order to distill a theory with regards to the use of soft law in courts and national administrations. The paper concludes by looking at the consequences that the enforcement of soft law can have from a rule of law perspective.

Keywords: soft law; legal effects; justiciability

Suggested Citation

Stefan, Oana Andreea and Stefan, Oana Andreea and Avbelj, Matej and Eliantonio, M. and Hartlapp, Miriam and Korkea‐aho, Emilia and Rubio, Nathalie, EU Soft Law in the EU Legal Order: A Literature Review (March 4, 2019). King's College London Law School Research Paper Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3346629 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3346629

Oana Andreea Stefan (Contact Author)

King's College London ( email )

School of Law
Strand
London, WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

King's College London - The Dickson Poon School of Law ( email )

Somerset House East Wing
Strand
London, WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

Matej Avbelj

New University ( email )

Žanova ulica 3
Kranj, 4000
Slovenia

M. Eliantonio

Maastricht Center for European Law ( email )

PO Box 616
Maastricht, 6200 MD
Netherlands

Miriam Hartlapp

Freie Universität, Berlin ( email )

Boltzmannstr. 3
Berlin, 14195
Germany

Emilia Korkea‐aho

University of Helsinki

No Address Available

Nathalie Rubio

Aix-Marseille University ( email )

3 Avenue Robert Schuman
3 Avenue Robert Schuman,
Aix-en-Provence, 13628
France

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