Faculty Research Seminars - The Curious Case of ‘General Principles’ in EU law

Faculty Research Seminars will again this year take place on Thursdays from 12:30-2pm in the Law Board Room in weeks 2 and 7. Lunch and refreshments will be provided from 12:30pm with the seminar starting at 1pm.

‘General principles’ are an institution of EU law. It has counterparts in international law and national jurisdictions. Thus, it is easy for observers of EU law to be deceived by the familiar concept of ‘general principles’ and identify it with seemingly similar domestic judicial practices. The presentation will investigate the institution of ‘general principles’ in EU law and demonstrate that they are neither ‘general’ nor ‘principles’. To debunk the similarity thesis, the presentation will explain that ‘general principles’, as applied by the Court of Justice of the EU, possess certain peculiar features which distinguish them from their domestic counterparts. It will argue that the Court’s use of ‘general principles’ is frequently unreflective and inconsistent with propositions advanced elsewhere in the case law, raising questions of legitimacy in the use of this institution.