After successive waves of EU enlargement, and pursuant to the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Court of Justice finds itself on the brink of a new era. Both the institution itself and the broader setting within which it operates have become more heterogeneous than ever before. The issues now arriving on its docket are also often of great complexity, covering an unprecedented number of fields. The aims of this volume are to study the impact of these developments, examine the legitimacy of the Court's output in this novel context and provide an appraisal of its overall performance. In doing so, specific attention is paid to its most recent case law on four topics: the general principles of EU law, external relations, the internal market and Union citizenship.

Featuring contributions by Maurice Adams, Henri de Waele, Johan Meeusen and Gert Straetmans, Koen Lenaerts, Ján Mazák and Martin Moser, Stephen Weatherill, Jukka Snell, Michael Dougan, Daniel Thym, Eileen Denza, Michal Bobek, and Joseph Weiler.

... a fascinating volume that addresses the legitimacy of the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It would be of particular interest to those working on the ‘hard cases’ recently decided by the CJEU, but also more generally to anyone interested in European law. -- Michele Finck * EUtopia Law Blog *
...I can only wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in EU law and the more philosophical or political questions of its legitimacy. Again, particularly in these times of euroscepticism and the tabloids' war on the EU, this book fills an important gap and might provide Europhiles with some excellent arguments for their next chat with the sceptics. -- Paul Gragl * European Law Blog *
In what way has the guiding role of the Court of Justice evolved in the European Union after the broadening of its eastern boundaries and the reforms brought about by the Lisbon Treaty? Has this guiding role been undermined? The nine studies published in this volume address this two-fold, ambitious question. (Translated from the original Italian.) -- Mario Davino * Rivista Trimestrale di Diritto Pubblico 4/2014 (Oct-Dec) *

Maurice Adams is Professor of General Jurisprudence and 'vfund' Professor of Democratic Governance and the Rule of Law at Tilburg University, and Visiting Professor at the Universities of Antwerp and Leuven.

Henri de Waele is Senior Lecturer in European Union Law at Radboud University Nijmegen and Guest Professor of European Institutional Law at the University of Antwerp.

Johan Meeusen is Vice-Rector and Professor of European Union Law and Private International Law at the University of Antwerp, and former holder of a Jean Monnet Chair ad personam.

Gert Straetmans is Professor of European Economic and Commercial Law at the University of Antwerp, and Visiting Professor at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wihelms-Universität Bonn.