The European constitution : cases and materials in EU and member states’ law

This book offers a selection of materials that enable a better understanding of some of the most important changes that would be introduced by the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe in the EU legal and political system. It also helps to assess the need for the reforms embedded in the Constitutional Treaty as well as the quality of the formulations agreed upon by the signatory Member States. The book includes excerpts of the European Convention's work, selected statutory and constitutional provisions of the Member States, and also related passages from pertinent court decisions - from both European courts as well as Member States' constitutional courts.Institutional and doctrinal analysis and relevant excerpts from the Constitutional Treaty itself are also included. Many of these documents directly relate to the provisions of the Constitutional Treaty, while the others, although not directly related, are nevertheless relevant to the debate surrounding it. "The European Constitution", by two of the best experts on the Constitution for Europe, will be of great interest to researchers and teachers in the fields of European Law and European politics, and also to policy makers in European affairs.1. The ratification of the Treaty of Rome of 29 October 2004 establishing a constitution for Europe -- 2. Referendums in the ratification process: constitutional bases, results, consequences -- 3. Innovations in the constitution for Europe -- 4. Primacy of EU law -- 5. The EU Charter of fundamental rights -- 6. Competences, legal bases, and instruments in the constitution for Europe -- 7. The role of national parliaments and the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality -- 8. The area of freedom, security, and justice -- 9. Developments under the common foreign and security and defence policie