2B2: Developments in H

1
2B2 Developments in HS Law

• Institutions of the EU
• Role of the EU in UK Law

2
Main Institutions

• Council of Ministers
• European Commission
• European Parliament
• European Court of Justice

3
Council of Ministers

• One member from each member state
• Meet usually in Brussels
• Presidency rotates on 6-monthly basis
• 2 types of meeting
• General Council meeting of Foreign ministers of
  each state and
• Special Council meeting of national ministers of
  subject under discussion e.g. finance, transport
  etc.
• Most important powers
• Ensure co-ordination of general economic policies
  of member states
• Take decisions and delegate implementing powers
  to commission
• Principal decision making institution in EC

4
European Commission

• Consists of 20 Commissioners - 2 from each 5
  larger member states plus 1 each from others
• Presidency is nominated for 2 years
• Voting is by simple majority
• Functions
• Formulate and implement policy decisions
• Promote and represent interests of EU
• Implement EU policy
• Institute proceedings before the ECJ for
  violations of Community obligation by member
  states or against any Community institution
  considered to have exceeded its powers

5
European Parliament

• Members (MEPs) elected for 5 years from member
  states
• 626 seats distributed in proportion to population
  of member states (UK has 87)
• No government and opposition
• Co-operation procedure gave EP more powers
• Co-decision procedure (Maastricht Treaty) makes
  EP a co-decision maker with the Council of
  Ministers

6
European Court of Justice

• Based in Luxembourg
• Judges appointed from member states for term of 6
  years, which may be renewed
• No. of judges is always odd to provide a majority
  when voting
• 15 Judges and 9 Advocates-General appointed from
  member states
• Advocate General
• Gives impartial and measured legal opinion as to
  facts of a case before judge decides
• Judges do not have to abide by opinion
• Does not have a vote in voting of judges in
  arriving at their decision

7
European Court of Justice

• Most cases deal with interpretation or
  application of EU legislation as it affects
  individual rights
• If an individual person can show that the member
  state is in breach of EU law, s/he can bring the
  case before the ECJ
• However, the individual cannot make a direct
  approach to the ECJ -the case must commence in a
  national court

8
European Court of Justice

• Where there is conflict between EU and national
  law, EU law takes precedence
• ECJ has no jurisdiction in purely internal cases
• If during the course of a case in a national
  court a point of EU Law is raised and disputed,
  the individual may ask the court to refer the
  matter to the ECJ for interpretation
• Not an appeals procedure
• Requests for rulings may be made by any court or
  tribunal but must be made only by the final court
  of appeal if requested by an individual
• Ruling of the ECJ is binding on referring court

9
Instruments in EC Law

• Regulations
• Directives
• Decisions
• Recommendations and Opinions
• No binding legal force and merely contain the
  views of the institution that issues them

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Regulation

• Apply directly in member states
• Where conflict arises with national law,
  regulation prevails
• No requirement to assimilate into national law
• Rarely used in practice

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Directives

• Binding on member states with regard to
  objectives to be achieved, but method is left
  open
• Framework Directives lay down general objectives
  to be achieved and Daughter Directives specify
  how these results can be obtained in specific
  instances
• Directives then have to be implemented by
  regulations made in member states, in UK normally
  by Statutory Instruments
• May have direct effect if member state does not
  implement

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Decisions

• May be made by Council or Commission
• Binding upon those they address
• member states, legal persons or individuals
• Main use is to allow a member state to depart
  from a requirement of a EU Treaty

13
Precedence

• EU legislation takes precedent over laws of all
  member states
• Treaties and Regulations are directly applicable
  in UK without further action from British
  Parliament

14
Legislative Procedures

• Consultation
• Old procedure was simple process
• Involved proposal from Commission to Council who
  accepted or rejected by unanimous or QMV
• Parliament had little say
• Co-operation Procedure
• Introduced by Single European Act of 1986
• Gave EP much greater influence in shaping
  legislation
• Council of Ministers still has final say and
  Parliament had no power of veto
• Co-decision Procedure
• Introduced by Maastricht Treaty in 1993
• Arranged to achieve consensus between Council and
  Parliament

15
Legislative Procedures

• Qualified Majority Voting (QMV)
• Introduced to speed passing of legislation by
  dispensing with need for unanimous agreement
• Each member state has proportion of available
  votes allocated according to relative size (UK
  has 10 votes)
• 62 (out of the 87 available) is usually enough

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Articles of Treaty of Rome

• Article 95
• Intended to remove barriers to trade/ ensure
  unrestricted movement and sale
• Harmonised product standards
• Unanimous vote required/ no power of veto by EP
• Example Machinery Directive
• Article 137
• Concerned with setting minimum standards of hs
• Harmonisation (and improvement) of workplace hs
  standards
• Co-operation procedure/QMV
• Example Framework Directive

17
Recent Directives

• Physical Agents Directive
• Noise, vibration etc.
• Chemical Agents Directive
• Temporary Work at Heights Directive

18
Previous Exam Questions

• Identify 2 types of proceedings dealt with by the
  ECJ that could have relevance to the regulation
  of h,s and the environment within EU member
  states. (4 marks)
• Distinguish between directives made under Article
  95 and those made under 137 of the Treaty of
  Rome, giving a health safety example of each
  kind. (6 marks)
• With respect to EC law, distinguish between
  Regulations, Directives and Decisions. (8
  marks)
• Outline the possible role of the ECJ in a case
  between a member state and a citizen of that
  member state. (2 marks)
• Review, with relevant examples the subject,
  content and form of national legislation on
  hs. (13 marks)
• Outline the procedure for making a EU
  Directive. (10 marks)