EU Treaties and the Judicial Politics of National Courts : A Law and Politics Approach

Bridging the gap between the disciplines of law and politics, this book presents a comprehensive review and analysis of the participation of national higher courts with powers of constitutional review throughout the ratification processes of European Union treaties. Unlike most studies of judicial behaviour, which focus on decisions on the merits, this book analyses interpretative decisions in the rulings. By focusing on the rulings of these courts and the political environment in which these rulings were issued, the author demonstrates that powers of constitutional review have been essential to EU Treaty reform.

Cases such as the Maastricht ruling by the German Federal Constitutional Court or the ''Crotty; decision by the Irish Supreme Court have gone down in the history of European integration as outstanding examples of intervention by judicial actors in important political processes. In this book, Dr. Castillo Ortiz makes for the first time a comprehensive analysis of all such rulings by national higher courts on European Union treaties issued during their processes of ratification.

Using an interdisciplinary Law and Politics approach and a sophisticated methodological strategy, the book describes the political dynamics underlying some of the most relevant judicial episodes in the process of European Integration during the last decades: litigation strategies by Europhile and Eurosceptic actors, relations between the judiciary and the other branches of government, and clashes of power between national courts and the European Court of Justice of the European Union. By offering empirical evidence and by relying on scientific rigor, the book seeks to provide both experts and the general public an accessible account of one of the most salient but least studied aspects of current European law and politics.