In this stimulating context, many of the difficult issues that often arise in discussions of Community law are treated in depth, including the following:
- the relationship between national law and international law in general and the relationship between Community law and national law in particular (primacy, direct effect)
- the process of constitutionalisation of Community law
- the battle between national constitutional courts and the European Court of Justice
- the significance of Community law for the law of the European Union
- the penetration of Community law into the national legal orders
- the role of national courts in the application of Community law
- the ultimate source of the powers of the Community
- the extension of Community law to the fields of penal law and police cooperation
- the significance of the internal market for Community law
- the principle of uniform application and interpretation of Community law
- Community law as a forerunner of global law.
- All relevant UK, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian and US literature has been taken into account, as well as the case law of various national constitutional courts. On each issue and topic extensive bibliographies are contained in the footnotes.