The Gazette 1974

managers, administrators and legal advisers. Their

sk is different from that of the Community lawyer

and their skills needs little adaptation. Large corpora-

hons, already straddling several countries, can look

alter themselves though they could certainly do with

People versed with expertise in the European com-

mercial law. This expertise consists of the knowledge of

me economic directions of the Community and their

mipact on the member States, as well as the economic

a n

d fiscal laws of the member States.

A fair proportion of legal business will be conducted

°n home ground and in this respect no difficulty should

j given a knowledge of the Community law and its

®V

ect

in this country. A Community element may well

msturb the placid existence of a solicitor practising in

rural area where his clients feel the pinch of the

Community Agricultural Regulations, or where migrant

^prkers seek enlightenment in a matte of our indus-

al relations law or social welfare.

Advising clients on Community Law abroad

Far more challenging is the prospect of advising

clients on Community matters abroad, because in addi-

"°n to strictly Community law the domestic law of the

Member States may be involved. Specialisation will be

^eded and firms of solicitors venturing into these areas

jjdl establish close relations with foreign practitioners.

At the initial stage of such cases somebody will have

diagnose the problem and carry on the liaison work.

Article 55 of the EEC Treaty gives the "right of

establishment" on the basis of free movement within

fae Community. So far this freedom has not resulted

a migration of lawyers within the six original mem-

e r s

of the Community and the legal profession will

Probably remain home bound. However, foreign lawyers

m a

y avail themselves of this opportunity if our own

Profession is unable to cope. By the same token our

'awyers are entitled to set up in practice abroad on an

basis, their success depending upon their pro-

ficiency in foreign and Community law, not to mention

guistic aptitude.

actice in Community Courts

Practice before the Community Court presents its

°Wn problems. The Court was set up largely upon the

Pattern of the French

Conseil d'Etat.

Its jurisdiction

includes supervision of the execution of the Treaties,

Adjudication of disputes between member States and

^Uveen member States and the Community institutions,

a n

d the interpretation of the Treaties and Community

^gislation. Its procedure is French with some German

e,e

ments imported recently. In the main the proceedings

conducted in writing—hence the art of "written

dvocacy". As it is unlikely that the existing practice

^ul be changed to accommodate British lawyers, new

Kills will have to be learned and unusual difficulties

ercome. unless we prefer to leave it to others.

It can be seen that in these three areas knowledge

t Community law and of the laws of the member

tes is only a modest beginning. Any self-respecting

cher must take these matters into consideration when

^ b a r k i ng on his new venture, and the head of the

Partment may well ponder the nature and dimen-

°ns of the task as well as the potential of the lecturer.

So far it has been assumed that there is a consensus

to the meaning and scope of the Community law.

fact this is not so and indeed it would be un-

profitable to attempt a comprehensive definition. In-

ad it seems more appropriate to consider the dimen-

ns of Community law in the light of the three basic

areas of its application,

i.e.

in the field of the Com-

munity bureaucracy (civil service), the commercial

world and professional legal practice. Each of these is

a kind of specialisation but all have a common core

and this common core may be regarded as an introduc-

tion to the Community law.

Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources

Another way of looking at the dimensions of Com-

munity law is through the eyes of its sources. The

primary sources are the Treaties and Conventions

which set up the institutions and which lay down the

obligations of the member States. The secondary

sources consist of the law-making acts of the Com-

munity institutions which result in a body of law gene-

rated by the Community itself in its quasi-autonomous

capacity. These include the regulations, directives and

decisions made by the Council or the Commission in

the execution of their duties and powers under the

Treaty, as well as the judgments o fthe Community

Court which, though not binding in the sense of our

doctrine of precedent, have a persuasive authority and

are respected as an authoritative exposition of the

law. The third source is the sovereign legislative power

of the member States which, in accordance with the

Treaty, are bound to effect approximation and har-

monisation of their domestic law.

Thus Community law defies the accepted classifica-

tions of law; it is both international and municipal,

public and private, enacted and formulated in pre-

cedents. It is a

sui generis

law and must be treated

as such. Therefore it has to be studied in its inter-

national setting with due attention to its impact upon

the laws of the member States and the quasi-autono-

mous law-making capacity of the Community Institu-

tions. Although by virtue of the European Communi-

ties Act 1972, Community law has become at a stroke,

as it were, incarnated into our system, it remains in

many respects a distinct legal order.

How do we put all these things into a workable

syllabus? There are, I suppose, various ways and,

within the bounds of academic freedom tempered by

the respect for the subject and one's students, one would

concentrate on the core, and ration details according

to one's interests and inclinations. I suggest that it can

be done as follows.

The European Communities and Community Law

We begin with the concept of the European Com-

munities and Community law. Without overdoing the

historical and political aspects, the student must be

brought face-to-face with this unique phenomenon, its

philosophy, its purpose, its ideology and its reality. We

proceed straightaway to the legal status of the European

Community as a blueprint of federal organisation, but,

more importantly, as a legal person both in interna-

tional law and the domestic laws of the member

States Having defined the Community we turn to its

legal order. We analyse the concept and the scope of

Community law, its sources, its binding power, im-

plementation and enforcement.

At this stage the student will have a fair idea of what

is involved and this will enable him to study in depth

the constitution of the European Community. This is a

very essential part of the course as he must know how

the Community is governed and how the sovereign

member States fit into the picture. He will then appre-

ciate the special relationship between the Community

and its members, between the Community law and the

laws of the member States. The student will learn that