ABSTRACT

This book discusses how the plurality of legal norms operating in the European Union can be balanced to produce a functioning, sustainable and legitimate legal system. Presenting a conceptual framework for assessing and comparing transformations of national judicial systems in the context of EU membership, the book contributes to the EU legal theoretical debate on the relationship between 'authority' and 'coherence'. The author develops an original analytical framework of coherence to assess the application of EU law by national courts and uses interdisciplinary scientific methods and research design that combine legal doctrinal and social science methodology to the study of 'classical' legal questions. Providing an extensive database of 2004-2009 national judgments of national courts in Latvia and Estonia, the book offers an extensive comparative review of the jurisprudence of constitutional and supreme courts, as well as providing insight into the jurisprudence of ordinary national courts. It will appeal to legal scholars and political scientists studying courts and jurisprudence.

part I|14 pages

The Three-Dimensional Coherence Approach

chapter 1|12 pages

Conceptual Framework

part II|97 pages

Intra-System Coherence: Constitutional Structures and Adjudication of EU Law by the Highest National Courts

part III|76 pages

Adjudication of EU Law by the National Ordinary Courts

chapter 5|4 pages

Comparative Overview of National Case Law

chapter 6|48 pages

Jurisprudence of Estonian Courts

chapter 7|22 pages

Jurisprudence of Latvian Courts

part IV|11 pages

Synthesis and Conclusion