The European Parliament’s public refusal to consent to several international agreements gives EU citizens a voice in international relations, which, with all its flaws, draws on a source of democratic legitimation that is independent and separate from the EU Member States. … [Read more...]

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This essay examines, first, the reasons for the extraordinary impact and iconic status which attached to Van Gend en Loos. It argues that the explanation lies in a confluence of structural factors and not in the "direct effect" doctrine simpliciter. It then looks at the … [Read more...]

WTO law does not require its direct effect in domestic legal orders. Whilst the stances taken in these are diverse, showing that direct effect is not denied on the whole to WTO law, all the major trading members of the WTO deny it. The fact that, in a case where a WTO member does … [Read more...]

Upon conceiving constitutionalism on the scale of the nation-state as transparent and unproblematic, one may think global constitutionalism to be a mere utopia. On closer analysis, however, legitimation of nation-state constitutionalism turns out to be much more complex and … [Read more...]