Graham Butler, 2026, Deciding Not to Decide: Dismissal, Narrowing, and Relinquishment at the Court of Justice of the European Union. in Luigi Lonardo & Alezini Loxa (eds), The Reasoning of the Court of Justice of the EU: A Normative Assessment. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 331-351.

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/10.1093/9780...

(eds @luigilonardo.bsky.social, Alezini Loxa)

#Europeanlaw #EUlaw #CJEU

Graham Butler, 'From Search to Discovery of the Political Question Doctrine in EU Law', European Law Review, 2025, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 761-774.

Is there a political question doctrine in EU law? The CJEU long took no position.

No more!

It has now discovered and applied 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/I29...

New book: The EU Law of Investment: Past, Present, and Future (Hart Publishing/Bloomsbury, 2025), edited by Xavier Groussot, Marja-Liisa Öberg, and Graham Butler.

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: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/eu-law-of...

Full open access, here: doi.org/10.5040/9781...

#EUlaw

Opinion of Advocate General Emiliou, delivered on 18 September 2025. Case C‑728/23 P, Kingdom of Spain v Robert Stockdale, Council of the European Union, European Commission, European External Action Service (EEAS), European Union Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Court of Justice of the European Union.

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/docume...

#EUlaw #CJEU

Meeting of Agents before the Court of Justice of the European Union. Copenhagen, Denmark. 5-6 September 2025.

This week in Copenhagen:

Meeting of the Agents (of the Member States) before the @eucourtofjustice.bsky.social ⚖️ at the @danishmfa.bsky.social 🇩🇰🇪🇺

Speeches and discussion practice, procedure, and reasoning, sharing the stage with Niels Fenger, Susanne Lehrer, and Rass Holdgaard.

#EUlaw #CJEU

Vacancy: Doctoral Fellowship in European Law, Linnaeus University, Sweden. Job ID: HR-2025/1249. www.lnu.se

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...

#EUlaw

Another EU law institute has arrived on Bluesky! 👋

Starting with a blog post you can really sink your teeth into... 🦇

New chapter by Professor Graham Butler called 'The High Representative as a New Actor before the Court of Justice of the European Union' in a book called 'The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy as a Legal Actor: Liber Amicorum in Honour of Stephan Marquardt', edited by Frank Hoffmeister and Lóránt Havas, published by Brill (Leiden, 2025).

New chapter by Professor Graham Butler called 'The High Representative as a New Actor before the Court of Justice of the European Union' in a book called 'The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy as a Legal Actor: Liber Amicorum in Honour of Stephan Marquardt', edited by Frank Hoffmeister and Lóránt Havas, published by Brill (Leiden, 2025).

Can the High Representative of the EU 🇪🇺 be in CJEU proceedings ⚖️ in their individual capacity (i.e., not as Commission 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/10.1163/9789...

Article by Professor Graham Butler called 'Solidarity on trial: On reliance, reason and logic at the Court of Justice of the European Union', published in a 2024 issue of the Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law (Volume 31).

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/10.1177/1023...

Research Handbook in EEA Internal Market Law. Edited by Graham Butler. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2025.

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: www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/res...

Available online: doi.org/10.4337/9781...

#EUlaw #EEAlaw

Kom på lanseringsseminar for Research Handbook on EEA Internal Market Law, redigert av professor Graham Butler, den 4. mars 2025 klokken 12:00 👇

Parliamentlive.tv European Affairs Committee

An excellent European Affairs Committee’s session on the legal aspects of UK-EU reset with @cbarnard.bsky.social, @grahambutler.bsky.social & Sir Richard Aikens is now available on-demand parliamentlive.tv/event/index/...

Article by Professor Graham Butler called 'Deposit return schemes of EU Member States and the EU's internal market', published in the Review of European, Comparative, & International Environmental Law journal.

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.

My new article (open access) in @recieljournal.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1111/reel...

#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.

Today's OJ: eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-conten...

Professor Graham Butler, Advocate General Eleanor Sharpston, and Professor Adam Lazowski. Trinity College, University of Cambridge, October 2024.

Professor Graham Butler. Trinity College, University of Cambridge. October 2024.

Conference and Essays in Honour of Advocate General Eleanor Sharpston.

Kudos to Catherine Barnard, Adam Lazowski, and Daniel Sarmiento for the organisation and hosting at Trinity College, University of Cambridge, this week.

The book is here: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/pursuit-o...

I’ll have something up as soon as my teaching for the week is done

KS and KD, on the Jurisdiction of the CJEU within the CFSP: Taking Conferral Seriously? — Thomas Verellen The Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice delivered its judgment on the cases of KS and KD, and Neves 77 Solutions on September 10th, 2024. Both cases addressed the scope of the CJEU’s jurisdiction ...

And here it is:

www.thomasverellen.com/blog/ks-and-kd-on-the-jurisdiction-of-the-cjeu-within-the-cfsp-taking-conferral-seriously

Image of the table of contents of an issue of the Journal of International Dispute Settlement (Oxford University Press) containing an article by Professor Graham Butler

Image of the front cover of an issue of the Journal of International Dispute Settlement (Oxford University Press) containing an article by Professor Graham Butler

Cover image of academic article in the Journal of International Dispute Settlement (Oxford University Press) by Professor Graham Butler

European (non-EU) international administrative tribunals of international organisations.

On the ECMWF Appeals Board and and the broader development of international administrative law.

I have a new article in the Journal of International Dispute Settlement: doi.org/10.1093/jnli...

Just thought I would shamelessly repost this, given I originally posted it before the Bluesky gold rush: my and @grahambutler.bsky.social’s considered take on the extent of the Commission President’s power to sack members of the Commission.

The president of the European Commission and the power to request a Commissioner’s resignation - Common Market Law Review View The president of the European Commission and the power to request a Commissioner’s resignation by - Common Market Law Review

Pleased to see this piece with @grahambutler.bsky.social published in the CML Rev. It draws interesting conclusions about the Commission President’s power to dismiss Commissioners, a power we think is more extensive than has been realised in existing literature. kluwerlawonline.com/journalartic...

Judgment by the Grand Chamber of the CJEU in Case C-551/21, Commission v Council (Gabon) today.

Big win for the Commission.

For almost all international agreements (ex. CFSP matters, it is 'it' that signs the treaty (para. 81), and not the Council.

curia.europa.eu/juris/fiche....

There are good days.
There are great days.
And there are days when an article is accepted by the Common Market Law Review.

@drjohncotter.bsky.social & @grahambutler.bsky.social, "The President of the European Commission and the Power to Request a Commissioner’s Resignation", CMLRev, Vol. 60 (2024).

Embedsværket misforstod regler for våbeneksport og fejlinformerede Folketinget De europæiske regler for våbeneksport er juridisk bindende for Danmark, erkender ministerier – efter tidligere at have påstået det modsatte.

Is a CFSP Common Position 'binding'?

Denmark has changed it view.

Today's Information newspaper: "Civil service misunderstood arms exports rules and misinformed parliament" (Embedsværket misforstod regler for våbeneksport og fejlinformerede Folketinget).

www.information.dk/indland/2024...

Of course :-) Still getting used to this and Threads!

Hope the storm didn’t disrupt the departure.

Today, we celebrated the PhD defense of Christian Thorning, welcoming ‘highly learned opponents’ from @grahambutler.bsky.social Ulla Neergard and others.

Congrats to the new doctor! Proposition no. 7 will definitely be worth considering for the next writing crisis!

Can an Member State national/Union citizen (not a third country national) have restrictive measures (sanctions) imposed on them?

No clear answer yet.

But today's judgment in Case T-313/22, Abramovich (paras. 163-164) appears to say yes:

curia.europa.eu/juris/fiche....

Judgment of the General Court in Case T‑233/22, Islentyeva v Council today

A dual Lux-Russian national holding a Lux private pilots license loses the case.

But at the same time, clarifies that Lux is wrongly interpreting the CFSP sanctions (and she can still fly).

curia.europa.eu/juris/fiche....

Updates on EU-Swiss relations today.

Helpful PDFs on each sectoral area (from the Swiss perspective)

www.admin.ch/gov/en/start...

H/t @stevepeers.bsky.social

Judicial control over alleged breaches of fundamental rights in the implementation of Eulex Kosovo a... Antje Kunst* Photo credit : Sharon Hahn Darlin, via Wikimedia Commons Advocate General (‘AG’) Ćapeta delivered her Opinion in Joined...

CJEU jurisdiction over human rights and EU foreign policy missions
Analysis of a recent Advocate General's opinion, by Antje Kunst
eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2023/11/judi...

Op-Ed: “Jurisdiction of the EU Courts in the Common Foreign and Security Policy: Reflections on th... 1.               Introduction The law concerning the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the EU legal order remains and opaque field subject to intricate constitution...

Opinion.

Could the pending Court of Justice (Grand Chamber) judgments in:

- KS and KD (Joined Cases C-29/22 P and C-44/22 P),
- Neves 77 Solution (Case C-351/22),

pave the way for EU accession to the ECHR?

In my view: no.

eulawlive.com/op-ed-jurisd...