In a World of Their Own? Justice and Home Affairs Opt-Outs and the Treaty of Lisbon

After Each New Treaty amendment, it comes time to hand out the ‘Major Awards’ for the worst-drafted new Treaty provisions. For the Treaty of Lisbon, there is a clear winner: the provisions concerning the opt-outs of the UK, Ireland and Denmark from the EU’s Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) policies. These already-complex provisions have been made further complex in order to address, on the one hand, the demands of these Member States for further flexibility as regards JHA policies, and on the other hand, to clarify the position if these Member States wish to opt out of further developments regarding rules into which they have already opted.