Resisting the European Court of Justice: West Germany's Confrontation with European Law, 1949-1979
The European Union's (EU) powerful legal
framework drives the process of European integration. The Court of Justice (ECJ)
has established a uniquely effective supranational legal order, beyond the
original wording of the Treaty of Rome and transforming our traditional
understanding of international law. This work investigates how these fundamental
transformations in the European legal system were received in one of the most
important member states, Germany. On the one hand, Germany has been highly
supportive of political and economic integration; yet on the other, a
fundamental pillar of the post-war German identity was the integrity of its
constitutional order. How did a state whose constitution was so essential to its
self-understanding subscribe to the constitutional practice of EU law, which
challenged precisely this aspect of its identity? How did a country who could
not say "no" to Europe become the member state most reluctant to accept the new
power of the ECJ?
