Wednesday, 10 July 2013
EU Law - not just an academic subject!
In order to gain a "Qualifying Law Degree" in English Law, it is necessary to have a solid grounding in EU Law. Since Britain joined the EEC (now EU) in 1973 - it has become as much a part of English law as statutes passed at Westminster and as cases decided within English Courts. [see European Communities Act 1973 s2].
There are some excellent textbooks & casebooks available. But the practical details of the law - the rights it gives to European citizens; to persons trading or working in other Member States; can be found in literature available from the EU institutions. Sometimes these can be a lot more readable than some academic texts.
It can also be useful to consider how the rules make a difference to individuals (a useful approach for lawyers!)
So here's a short list of links:-
Free Movement of Persons
Looking for work abroad
Cross-border Commuting
Retirement - other than in one's country of origin
Free Movement for EU nationals
How to enforce your rights
Free Movement of Goods & Services
Goods
Services
EU citizenship
There's a question and answer publication by ECAS ['50 Q & A about your rights as a citizen of the EU'] available here.
and from the London Office of the European Commission:
What's in it for me: http://ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/pdf/the_eu_for_me_web.pdf
Your Europe: Your Rights: http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/the-euro-area-pbKC3112553/