Full Description
This publication describes the quest of the European Parliament to define itself whom it represents and in what manner. It was prompted by the controversial judgment of the German Federal Constitutional Court (GFCC) regarding the Lisbon Treaty handed down on Tuesday, 30 June 2009 (the Lisbon Decision). That judgment ignored crucial elements of the European Parliament's nature; important rules that determine how members of the European Parliament can carry out their representative mandate, and how they can present themselves to their electorate, were brushed aside.
Contents
PART I. REPRESENTATION AND AUTONOMYEuropean Parliament Represent?; 2. The Concept of Representative Autonomy; 3. The European Parliament: Potential, Powers and Structure; PART II. REPRESENTATION AND AUTONOMY: THE PRACTICE; 4. Electoral Legislation in an Intergovernmental Context; 5. Immunity and the Liberty to Represent; 6. Indemnity and Dependency on National Structures; 7. European Political Groups - Channels of Representation; PART III. REPRESENTATIVE AUTONOMY: THE CASE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT; 8. Representative Autonomy: A Drive for Action and a Vehicle for Change.
