The role of the ECJ in the development of EU copyright law: an empirical experience.

Abstract

The influence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and in particular of this its higher Court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on all fields of European Law does not need to be demonstrated, as it has been extensively argued by legal doctrine. Divergence of opinion still persists on whether this influence is contained and prudent or innovative and activist, but it is widely accepted that rules produced, directly or indirectly, through interpretation of EU Law by the Court are mostly respected. Some political scientists argue that Member States elaborate European Policy at intergovernmental level, while other maintain that, given the difficulty in reaching consensus among EU Member States prompts a ‘judicialisation’ of the EU governance (neo-functionalism). According to the latter theory the Court sets legal principles that induce policy reforms, which in turn underpin further European jurisprudence, in a virtuous circle. Both these theories inform and enrich the discussion on the normative function of the Court, instrumental to European integration, already discussed by previous commentators of European law