The General Principles of EEC Law and the Individual

Although the written law of the EEC was drafted primarily to regulate the trading activities of corporations and member states, the European Court is intervening with increasing frequency in the wider affairs of the citizens of Europe. In particular the Court has become notable for its practice of applying general principles of law to individuals' grievances. This book is a close examination of the key cases in which some of the most important principles of European law have been applied to individuals. The principles examined are those of legal certainty, equality, proportionality and the right to a fair hearing. The individual rights to which these principles have been applied are the free movements of persons, social security rights and sexual equality. Anthony Arnull's book is both a scholarly appraisal of the successes and failures of the application of general principles of law, and a vital addition to the libraries of academic and practising lawyers for whom the addition of a European dimension represents the most important change in their profession this century.