Weaving the Threads of a European Legal Order

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1301-1315 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. Actants. – III. The absence of brute facts. – IV. Valency. – V. Law as proliferation of power. – VI. Increasing adjudicative power. – VII. Increasing r...

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Main Author: Pauline Westerman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: European Papers (www.europeanpapers.eu) 2024-02-01
Series:European Papers
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.europeanpapers.eu/en/e-journal/weaving-threads-european-legal-order
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author Pauline Westerman
author_facet Pauline Westerman
author_sort Pauline Westerman
collection DOAJ
description (Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1301-1315 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. Actants. – III. The absence of brute facts. – IV. Valency. – V. Law as proliferation of power. – VI. Increasing adjudicative power. – VII. Increasing regulatory power. – VIII. Conclusion: the importance of inclusion and empowerment. | (Abstract) Two assumptions dominate and frustrate the debate concerning the emergence and rapid expansion of the European legal order and its relation to national legal systems. The first is that the will and consent of sovereign powers should be seen as a (social) fact that is logically and practically unable to give rise to (legal) norms. The second is that legal orders are distinct systems demarcated by separate sets of criteria of validity. In this Article both assumptions are criticised. Facts are not mere facts. And legal orders are not “autonomous” buildings erected on separate foundations. In order to account for the ways in which the European order overlaps with international and domestic law normative orders a legal order may be more adequately pictured as a web. In such a web, rules are the threads that bind together things, persons and institutions. It is hypothesised that the density of such webs as well as their capacity to connect to other webs determine their weight and relevance as reasons for action and decision-making. This hypothesis is tested in the capacity of European adjudication and regulation to connect to and to include national actors and institutions.
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spelling doaj.art-829c756cd361426f92357a20fab4c7b02024-02-16T09:28:09ZengEuropean Papers (www.europeanpapers.eu)European Papers2499-82492024-02-012023 831301131510.15166/2499-8249/719Weaving the Threads of a European Legal OrderPauline Westerman0University of Groningen(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(3), 1301-1315 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. Actants. – III. The absence of brute facts. – IV. Valency. – V. Law as proliferation of power. – VI. Increasing adjudicative power. – VII. Increasing regulatory power. – VIII. Conclusion: the importance of inclusion and empowerment. | (Abstract) Two assumptions dominate and frustrate the debate concerning the emergence and rapid expansion of the European legal order and its relation to national legal systems. The first is that the will and consent of sovereign powers should be seen as a (social) fact that is logically and practically unable to give rise to (legal) norms. The second is that legal orders are distinct systems demarcated by separate sets of criteria of validity. In this Article both assumptions are criticised. Facts are not mere facts. And legal orders are not “autonomous” buildings erected on separate foundations. In order to account for the ways in which the European order overlaps with international and domestic law normative orders a legal order may be more adequately pictured as a web. In such a web, rules are the threads that bind together things, persons and institutions. It is hypothesised that the density of such webs as well as their capacity to connect to other webs determine their weight and relevance as reasons for action and decision-making. This hypothesis is tested in the capacity of European adjudication and regulation to connect to and to include national actors and institutions.https://www.europeanpapers.eu/en/e-journal/weaving-threads-european-legal-ordervalidityvalencyactantscount as rulesnetworksdemocratic criteria
spellingShingle Pauline Westerman
Weaving the Threads of a European Legal Order
European Papers
validity
valency
actants
count as rules
networks
democratic criteria
title Weaving the Threads of a European Legal Order
title_full Weaving the Threads of a European Legal Order
title_fullStr Weaving the Threads of a European Legal Order
title_full_unstemmed Weaving the Threads of a European Legal Order
title_short Weaving the Threads of a European Legal Order
title_sort weaving the threads of a european legal order
topic validity
valency
actants
count as rules
networks
democratic criteria
url https://www.europeanpapers.eu/en/e-journal/weaving-threads-european-legal-order
work_keys_str_mv AT paulinewesterman weavingthethreadsofaeuropeanlegalorder