Convergence and Divergence in European Public Law

This book grew out of a symposium held in the University of Aberdeen in May 2000. It examines the extent to which the European Union has brought about and should bring about convergence of law in Europe. Rather than focusing narrowly on the Intergovernmental Conference process, the book engages those who wish a detached and, at times, theoretical examination of the politics of institutional reform in the EU; of the legal techniques for accommodating diversity within the Union and the process of treaty making or constitution building in the EU; the cross-fertilization of administrative law concepts between the EU level and the national level; the need for and legitimacy of a European Union competence on human rights; and whether private law and public law differ in the extent to which they reflect national culture and therefore in the extent to which they are amenable to convergence.