On 9 February, the European Research Council (ERC) funded research project ‘Protecting the Right to Culture of Persons with Disabilities and Enhancing Cultural Diversity through European Union Law: Exploring New Paths – DANCING’ hosted the third event in their series DANCING Academic Conversations.
The DANCING team welcomed Dr. Vilija Vėlyvytė (University of Reading, UK) for the presentation of her recent book: Judicial Authority in EU Internal Market Law. Implications for the Balance of Competences and Powers (Hart Publishing 2022) which was shortlisted for the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) Best Book Prize 2023.
After an introduction to the series and the author by Professor Delia Ferri, Dr. Vėlyvytė presented the core argument and aspects of her book which examines the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the regulation of the internal market from a competence perspective. Challenging the conventional view of the CJEU as an enforcer of the limits of EU competence, the author demonstrates how the CJEU itself expands those limits — and the limits of its own powers — through the interpretation of EU free movement law. The book examines selected case law (education, healthcare, collective labour rights and gambling) of the CJEU in light of the constitutional principles that govern the allocation of competences and powers in the EU. It argues that the CJEU’s observance of those principles has not been consistent throughout its case law. The author advances that this has created imbalances in the constitutional allocation of competences and powers in the EU, thereby putting into question the credibility of the CJEU as a guardian of the rule of law in the EU and implicating the legitimacy of the EU as a whole.
After the presentation by Dr. Vilija Vėlyvytė, the DANCING Academic Conversation saw a lively and engaging discussion on some of the issues raised. The DANCING team were delighted to welcome attendees from the School of Law and Criminology at Maynooth University, other institutions in Ireland and from further afield in Europe to this blended edition of the Academic Conversations series.
The ERC DANCING project is based at the School of Law and Criminology and the Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute at Maynooth University and is led by Principal Investigator Professor Delia Ferri.
Professor Ferri is Professor of Law and Co-Director of the ALL Institute at Maynooth University.
