ABSTRACT
In academic articles and in public discourse the EU is frequently depicted either as a paragon of international law or as a ‘scofflaw’. These rival views can to an extent be reconciled because they focus on different aspects of the EU’s engagement with international institutions. Those that depict the EU as a paragon focus on how the EU pursues its external relations, particularly its commitment to ‘effective multilateralism’. Those that depict the EU as a scofflaw focus on its failures to comply with international rules, particularly adverse rulings by the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB).
