On judicial mobilization: Entrepreneuring for policy change at times of crisis

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingBook chapterResearchpeer-review

  • Juan A. Mayoral
  • Aida Torres Pérez
National courts all over Europe have faced the challenge of whether to protect rights in times of crisis. In the context of the Spanish housing crisis, judges adopted an activist role by mobilizing the Court of Justice of the EU in multiple cases to challenge national legislation. This forced the Spanish government to adopt reforms to strengthen the position of mortgage debtors to fulfill the obligations under EU consumer law. This article discerns the factors that lead Spanish judges to cooperate with the CJEU. We show that, although political and legal opportunities and resources play a role for the judicial mobilization of EU law, the degree to which they matter vary when we consider: the role of ‘judicial entrepreneurs’ who introduce EU law as a novel legal strategy, and the impact of this tactic on how judicial actors frame EU law, with important consequences for the politics within the judiciary.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPublic Policy and the CJEU’s Power : Bringing Stakeholders In
EditorsEmmanuelle Mathieu, Christian Adam, Miriam Hartlapp
PublisherRoutledge
Publication date2020
ISBN (Print)9780367425029
ISBN (Electronic)9780367853112
Publication statusPublished - 2020
SeriesJournal of European Integration
ISSN0703-6337

    Research areas

  • Faculty of Law - National courts, Court of Justice of the European Union, CJEU, Aziz, Empowerment, Judicial mobilization

ID: 231322627