Next |Contents

The article presents comprehensive data on Article 177 (EEC) activity. The data, never before collected and analysed, are coded by date, member state of origin, referring court, legal subject matter of the reference, and other categories, which permit us to construct a dynamic, multidimensional picture of the litigation of EC law across the Community. Using this data, we assess of a range of approaches to European legal integration. The evidence corroborates transaction-based theories of integration, and broadly supports approaches that emphasize the transformative impact of the Court's doctrines of supremacy and direct effect. We found less support for recent critiques of the "judicial empowerment" thesis developed by Weiler and others.

Alec Stone Sweet (astone@uci.edu)

Thomas L. Brunell (tbrunell@uci.edu)

Department of Politics and Society
School of Social Sciences
3151 Social Science Plaza
University of California
Irvine, CA 92697-5100
FAX: (714) 824-8762

• The European Court and the National Courts:
• I Theories and Debates
• II Data and Analysis
• Conclusion
• References
• Figure 1: Annual Number of Art. 177 References to the European Court of Justice
• Figure 2: Average Annual Number of References by Member States
• Figure 3: Intra-EC Trade and Average Number of Art. 177 References
• Figure 4: Actual and Predicted Annual Levels of Art. 177 References from Intra-EC Trade
• Figure 5: Actual and Predicted Annual Levels of Art. 177 References from Intra-EC Trade and Euro-rules
• Figure 6: Number of British References By Year
• Figure 7 : Article 177 References by Court Level Across Time
• Figure 8: Article 177 References By Country and Court Level
• Table 1. The Impact of Intra-EC Trade on Article 177 References:
• Table 2: Average Number of Preliminary References Per Year, Per Member State
• Table 3. Distribution of Legal Claims by Subject Matter, Article 177 References
• Table 4: Art. 177 References: Actual Number, Proportional Share, and Percentage Difference by Legal Subject Matter
• Table 4 (continued): Art. 177 References: Actual Number, Proportional Share, and Percentage Difference by Legal Subject Matter
• Table 5

• Contents

Next |Contents

Top of the page