TY - JOUR

T1 - What is a Leading Case in EU law? An empirical analysis

AU - Sadl, Urska

AU - Panagis, Yannis

PY - 2015/2/8

Y1 - 2015/2/8

N2 - Lawyers generally explain legal development by looking at explicit amendments to statutorylaw and modifications in judicial practice. As far as the latter are concerned, leading casesoccupy a special place. This article empirically studies the process in which certain casesbecome leading cases. Our analysis focuses on Les Verts, a case of considerable fame in EUlaw, closely scrutinising whether it contains inherent leading case material. We show how thelegal relevance of a case can become “embedded” in a long process of reinterpretation bylegal actors, and we demonstrate that the actual legal impact of Les Verts on the acquis ismost visible in the area that was sidelined in the academic commentary. This implies that aleading case is a symbolic category, which might not always correspond to the actual role thatthe case plays in the Court’s jurisprudence.

AB - Lawyers generally explain legal development by looking at explicit amendments to statutorylaw and modifications in judicial practice. As far as the latter are concerned, leading casesoccupy a special place. This article empirically studies the process in which certain casesbecome leading cases. Our analysis focuses on Les Verts, a case of considerable fame in EUlaw, closely scrutinising whether it contains inherent leading case material. We show how thelegal relevance of a case can become “embedded” in a long process of reinterpretation bylegal actors, and we demonstrate that the actual legal impact of Les Verts on the acquis ismost visible in the area that was sidelined in the academic commentary. This implies that aleading case is a symbolic category, which might not always correspond to the actual role thatthe case plays in the Court’s jurisprudence.

M3 - Journal article

VL - 40

SP - 15

EP - 34

JO - European Law Review

JF - European Law Review

SN - 0307-5400

IS - 1

ER -