Graham Butler

Sweden has no constitutional court. What it has is a duty in regeringsformen for courts not to apply laws that conflict with higher norms. When the legislative process erodes, that duty becomes more visible and more demanding. Judges will need to be prepared to find, and to state, that a given application of a law cannot be reconciled with the constitution. The citizenship reform belongs in this picture. dagensjuridik.se/opinion/domsto…

New chapter 📕 examining how the Court of Justice of the European Union decides not to decide cases. I argue that it does so through procedural control, narrow rulings, and related techniques. 🏛️🇪🇺 URL: doi.org/10.1093/978019… (eds: L. Lonardo & A. Loxa) #EUlaw #CJEU

Is there a political question doctrine in EU law? The CJEU long took no position. No more! It has now discovered it. By me: 'From Search to Discovery of the Political Question Doctrine in EU Law' in European Law Review, 2025, 50(6), pp. 761-774. URL: uk.westlaw.com/Document/I29FF…

So you want to stand for election? For European Parliament elections, AG Ćapeta says in Case C-438/24, Erakond Eestimaa Rohelised that election deposits to be made, whilst permissible, must not be excessively high. Her Opinion: curia.europa.eu/juris/document… #EUlaw #CJEU

@EUCourtPress Not true. There has been four Opinions of judges in the General Court (then, CFI) previously, 1991-1992. See the chapter by Judge Edward, reflecting on his Opinion in Automec/Asia Motor France: doi.org/10.5040/978150…

A first in more than 33 years today. Today, a GC judge acting as an Advocate General, delivered an Opinion. Case T-575/24, Digipolis: curia.europa.eu/juris/document… The last time this happened, was March 1992 in cases T-24/90 and T-28/90, Automec/Asia Motor: curia.europa.eu/juris/showPdf.…

New book, now published. The EU Law of Investment: Past, Present, and Future (Hart Publishing/Bloomsbury, 2025), edited by Xavier Groussot, Marja-Liisa Öberg, and Graham Butler. Hardback, here: bloomsbury.com/uk/eu-law-of-i… Full open access, here: doi.org/10.5040/978150… #EUlaw

Appeals brought by Member States against General Court judgments to the Court of Justice under Article 56 of CJEU Statute. Case C-728/23 P. Nice to see both a book I co-edited and an article I authored cited in the Opinion of the Advocate General today. curia.europa.eu/juris/document…

This week in Copenhagen. Meeting of the Agents (of the Member States) before the @EUCourtPress ⚖️ at the @DanishMFA 🇩🇰🇪🇺 #EUlaw #CJEU

Vacancy: Doctoral Fellowship in European Law, Linnaeus University, Sweden. 📅 Apps: by 1 Nov '25. 💡 On offer: 4-year full-time salaried position. 💭 Interest in: Competition, data protection, privacy law. 👉 Job ID: HR-2025/1249: 🔗 EN: web103.reachmee.com/ext/I009/613/j… #EUlaw

Can the 🇪🇺 High Representative be in CJEU proceedings ⚖️ in their individual capacity (i.e., not as Comm VP, Head of the EEAS, other hats)? Evidently, yes, though with nuances as intervener, applicant, and defendant. My contribution in a new Festschrift: doi.org/10.1163/978900…

@GAVClaw 10/10 on the title.

Should you happen to be in Bologna on 17 June...

Is the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) leaning too heavily on 'solidarity' in its rulings? I argue yes, and that is problematic as a matter of legal reasoning. The full article is in current issue of the Maastricht Journal (MJ): doi.org/10.1177/102326…

New book out now. Research Handbook on EEA Internal Market Law, edited by one, but written by many. Focusing on the internal market aspects of the EFTA pillar of the EEA. Available in hardback: e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/resea… Available online: doi.org/10.4337/978180… #EUlaw #EEAlaw

🆕 Research Handbook on EEA Internal Market Law edited by @GrahamButler1 Contributors include experts from @EFTA_Court and @eftasurv More info ➡️ e-elgar.com/shop/isbn/9781… 🆓 chapter | The EEA Agreement: on 30 years of an extended internal market ➡️ doi.org/10.4337/978180…

Deposit return schemes (on drinks containers) Are they still justified in the interests of the environment, as long claimed? They are an impediment to the EU's internal market in the food/drink sector. New article (open access) in @RECIELjournal doi.org/10.1111/reel.1… #EUlaw

Liberty Media (commercial rights holder of Formula One, motorcar racing) wants to now acquire the commercial rights of MotoGP, motorcycle racing. The Commission is concerned this will lead to over-concentrated in the motorsport broadcasting market. OJ: eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/…

First reference for a preliminary ruling at the General Court (as opposed to the Court of Justice) is Case T-534/24, Gotek. The case, sent by a Croatian court, concerns EU excise duty law and energy products on the basis of falsified invoices. curia.europa.eu/juris/fiche.js… #CJEU

New pre-ratification judicial review case at the CJEU. Opinion 1/24. Who has the competence to conclude an 'Agreement on Air Transport' with the Sultanate of Oman? The EU (exclusive competence)? Or the EU and its Member States (shared competence)? curia.europa.eu/juris/fiche.js…

A warm thank you for a wonderful book and conference says Prof @akulith at the closing of the @EULegalStudies Conference in her honour with Profes @CSBarnard24 @DanielSarmiento and Adam Lazowski @cambridgelaw @Cambridge_Uni