Circulated in May 2011 Oxford’s EU law newsletter includes information on new titles and developments, perspectives from authors, and recent highlights.
This issue includes:
EU Law Text, Cases, and Materials
Authors Paul Craig and Gráinne de Búrca introduce the fifth edition prior to its publication in August
Lisbon Treaty Challenge
Margot Horspool and Matthew Humphreys explain the challenges faced in incorporating the extensive legal changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty into the sixth edition of European Union Law
Focus on Online Resources
Many of our EU law textbooks are supported with additional online materials. Take a closer look at the interactive map and timeline that accompanies our publishing in this area
EU Law Revision resources
Supporting students throughout their course and in preparation for exams are Blackstone’s Statutes, Concentrates, and Questions and Answers
Recently reviewed
Snapshot feedback on two EU law textbooks
Your newsletter, your input
We’d like to make these newsletters relevant and interesting to you. If you have feedback on the content of this newsletter, or have ideas and suggestions for future ones please email clare.weaver@oup.com
EU Law Text, Cases, and Materials | Fifth Edition | August 2011
By Paul Craig and Gráinne de Búrca
The authors of the bestselling EU Law Text, Cases, and Materials tell us how they've approached the updating of the fifth edition, available from August 2011.
The new fifth edition of EU Law Text, Cases, and Materials presents the law of the EU in its post-Lisbon landscape. We have always taken the revision process for this book very seriously, and for this fifth edition, more than any other, the process has been thorough, rigorous and challenging: to maintain the elements of the book which have made it a favourite, with the need to accurately reflect the changes brought about by the Lisbon Treaty.
The process of revising an edition is never a case of bolting on new material, everything is up for grabs and has to earn its place in the chapter. We also always consider whether the material can be expressed more clearly.
The text features such as the opening central issues have been praised by reviewers as offering students useful ‘hand holds’ and we are preserving and enhancing them with additional pointers. In a co-authored book we are very aware of the need to present a coherent voice to the reader. We share responsibility for each of the chapters and always review and critique each other’s work.
EU Law Text, Cases, and Materials has earned a reputation over its lifetime with reviewers using words such as “definitive” and “classic”, and whilst this is gratifying for us to hear, it is just as important to us that we present a textbook that can be used and understood by serious students at all levels. To achieve this objective we always lay the foundations clearly before proceeding to more complex points. Each chapter therefore builds through the basic rules of law, before entering into policy discussion and the cutting edge of current debates.
Visit the Online Resource Centre to view advance sample content from the new edition. Please visit the catalogue page where you can see a full contents list and order your inspection copy. Please remember to give us your feedback by completing the comment card.
About the authors
Paul Craig is Professor of English Law, at St John’s College Oxford. Paul is one of the foremost scholars on European Law and Administrative Law. His recent book The Lisbon Treaty: Law, Politics, and Treaty Reform (OUP, 2010) is the definitive work on the Treaty of Lisbon.
Gráinne de Búrca is a leading expert in European Union law, European human rights law, and European and transnational governance. Gráinne has recently moved from Fordham University Law School to Harvard Law School. Gráinne has written widely on European Union Law and is co-editor of the Oxford University Press book series Oxford Studies in European Law.
Lisbon Treaty Challenge: A Q&A with Margot Horspool and Matthew Humphreys
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Authors Margot Horspool and Matthew Humphreys tell us about the key features of the new edition of European Union Law, along with the challenges faced in updating a new edition following the Lisbon Treaty. |
What changes to the sixth edition has the Lisbon Treaty necessitated?
The book has been fully updated to reflect the various changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. The first four chapters of the book have been extensively re-written to take full account of the changes in the Treaty structure from the 'Three Pillars' to one coherent Treaty, the legislative changes aimed at simplifying the various forms of legislation and the changes in the institutions. The text is fully up-to-date with recent judgments affecting the law. We also took the opportunity to re-organise the extensive material on the free movement of persons and citizenship, not just setting out chronological development, but with particular focus on trying to set out the law coherently as a piece as it affects individuals.
Although the Lisbon Treaty has dominated EU Law recently have other developments been taking place?
There are many changes to the law that are not caused by the Lisbon Treaty reforms: the development of the law on citizenship and the free movement of persons is in places quite remarkable and is generally extensive. Major developments there are reflected in the book, as are the continuing interesting developments in the law on the free movement of goods, discrimination and the effect of EU law in the Member States.
When updating the new edition to incorporate extensive changes how do you decide what to include and what to leave out?
The layout of the book is led by our choice as to which areas - from the broad scope of the subject - reflect the key attributes of European Union law and are needed by students. We were keen for the book to set out the legal system and retain both institutional and substantive internal market law. We also considered it important for the book to include chapters on environmental policy and discrimination law - i.e. to take the coverage to a level beyond the basics of the market. This also included an awareness of the relationship between European Union Law and Public International Law. However, there are always things that cannot be covered in full detail because of space constraints. The 'Further Reading' sections at the end of each chapter are intended to guide interested readers in the choice of more extensive reading on subjects discussed in the chapter.
How would you recommend students keep up to date with the latest changes?
The Online Resource Centre for our book will contain updates; students and lecturers can sign up to be kept updated. Students can also stay up to date by checking the online resources available from the Court and the Commission. While many matters occurring at the EU level are not always reported well in the press, some stories obviously do make national news and students should stay abreast of them. Students should also consult other websites which deal with recent developments in the law; for example, many law firms publish their own commentaries on recent important cases in the Court of Justice of the European Union.
What advice would you share with first time EU law students, or indeed their lecturers?
Students should endeavour to learn both the institutional and market law halves of the course: these topics are interdependent but do require a slightly different mindset. To put this another way, there is an extensive range to EU law and this makes it difficult sometimes to get to the required depth in any particular aspect of the law. It is, however, necessary to know something about the institutions and the way European law works, including the way the law looks at EU doctrines such as direct effect and supremacy, and at general principles before embarking on the section on substantive law. This makes it much easier to understand the law on the 'Four Freedoms' and other topics such as competition, environmental and discrimination law.
More about the authors
Margot Horspool is emeritus Professor of European and Comparative law at the University of Surrey. She is based at and a Fellow of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL). She also teaches European Union law and Comparative European Law at Queen Mary University London and the University of Notre Dame London Programme.
Matthew Humphreys is Professor of Law and Head of School at Kingston Law School, Kingston University.
EU Law textbook authors
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Our authors are our greatest asset and the line-up of academics working on Oxford’s diverse range of EU law textbooks can only be described as stellar. EU law students today have an enviable array of textbooks at their disposal, giving them access to some of the best writings on the subject by scholars at the very top of their field. Together these authors have gained experience of teaching and researching across dozens of jurisdictions.
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For any textbook you can find out more about the author(s) behind it by clicking the “Author Information” tab on the book’s catalogue page.
Focus on… Online Resources
Many of our EU Law textbooks are accompanied by Online Resource Centres – additional online materials specifically designed to support learning and teaching. Take a closer look at the interactive map of europe.
Our range of resources to support EU law teaching and learning have been pulled together here. Browse interactive maps, timelines, video footage from the European Commission archives as well as book-specific resources.
Recently reviewed
"As it stands – and complemented as it is by an invaluable index – the book establishes itself as an indispensable tool not only for students, but for all those on either side of the Channel who are keen to gain a better understanding of the other’s legal system and, in the process, of their own as well." Translated from: Revue internationale de droit comparé
Order an inspection copy here
"An excellent analysis of the constitutional law of the EU, written in a very clear & succinct manner, suitable for both UG and PG students."Dr Dimitrios Doukas, Queen's University Belfast
Order an inspection copy here
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